Biden says he will meet Dalai Lama, sanction China over Tibet

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has stated that as president he will meet the Dalai Lama, persevering with a decades-old apply adopted by American presidents apart from President Donald Trump, and press China to renew talks with Tibetans for “meaningful autonomy”.

The nominee additionally vowed to impose sanctions on Chinese officers accountable for human rights abuses in Tibet and “step up” help for Tibetans.

Biden accused Trump of sustaining a “deafening silence” on Chinese actions in Tibet and focussing as a substitute on an “empty trade deal” and nurturing his “very good friendship” with China’s President Xi Jinping.

“As President, I’ll put values back at the center of American foreign policy,” Biden stated in an announcement Thursday. “I’ll meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama; appoint a new Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues.”

The nominee referred to as out Trump for not assembly the Tibetan chief but, saying “It’s disgraceful, though not surprising, that Trump is the first American president in three decades who has not met or spoken with His Holiness the Dalai Lama”.

The appointment of a particular coordinator is remitted by the US Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 — “to promote substantive dialogue between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representative”. The place has been vacant since January 2017, when President Trump took workplace.

Biden went on to say: “I’ll work with our allies in pressing Beijing to return to direct dialogue with the representatives of the Tibetan people to achieve meaningful autonomy, respect for human rights, and the preservation of Tibet’s environment as well as its unique cultural, linguistic and religious traditions.”

He will additionally “step up” help for the Tibetan individuals, he stated, by, amongst issues, increasing Tibetan language providers at Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to get data from the skin world into Tibet.

But the Trump administration has not been smooth precisely on China over Tibet, as charged by Biden. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo introduced visa restrictions in July on some Chinese officers due to Beijing’s restrictions on US diplomats, journalists and vacationers from travelling to Tibet and for “human rights abuses” there.