Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made strong remarks against Chinese President Xi Jinping, asserting that while the Dalai Lama’s legacy will endure, Xi’s will not. “The Dalai Lama will live long and his legacy forever. But you, the President of China, will be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything,” Pelosi stated.
Despite warnings from China, a bipartisan US Congressional delegation, led by US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Michael McCaul and including Pelosi, met with the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government-in-exile officials in Dharamsala on Wednesday. The delegation reassured the spiritual leader of US support for Tibet’s full autonomy.
McCaul dismissed Beijing’s claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times as false.
The delegation’s visit comes in the wake of the US Congress passing the Resolve Tibet Act, which encourages Beijing to re-engage with Tibetan leaders. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to travel to the US this week for knee surgery.
Pelosi expressed her admiration for the Dalai Lama, stating, “His Holiness Dalai Lama, with his message of knowledge, tradition, compassion, purity of soul, and love, will live a long time and his legacy will live forever. But you, the President of China, you’ll be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything. Dalai Lama would not approve of my saying that when I criticize the Chinese government, he says, let’s pray for Nancy to rid her of her negative attitudes. I hope he will indulge me today to say that change is on the way. As our colleagues have said, hope brings some faith and the faith of the Tibetan people in the goodness of others is what is going to make all the difference.”
These statements and the Congressional visit highlight the US’s ongoing support for Tibetan autonomy and its challenge to China’s claims over Tibet.
