Biden vows to meet Dalai Lama and sanction China over Tibet if voted to power

In light of China's recent plan to further tighten grip over Tibet, US Democrat Presidential Nominee Joe Biden has said that he will arrange a meeting with Dalai Lama and his administration will sanction Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in Tibet, if he is voted to power to become the next US president. He said he will press China to resume talks with Tibetans for the region's autonomy. 

“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,” Biden said.

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“As President, I’ll put values back at the centre of American foreign policy. I’ll meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama; appoint a new Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues,” he said in a statement.

"My administration will sanction Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in Tibet, and step up support for the Tibetan people, including by expanding Tibetan language services at Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to get information from the outside world into Tibet," he said.

Biden targets Trump

Biden also slammed incumbent US President Donald Trump over his silence over the decades-old issue of Tibet. Biden accused Trump of focussing more on the trade deal with China and his friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping instead of the issue of Tibet. This statement by Biden is surprising as Trump administration has been lambasting China over several issues ranging from the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, China's aggression in the South China Sea and its faceoff with Indian Army in Ladakh, to the human rights violations of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and imposition of draconian national security law in Hong Kong. Trump has repeatedly blamed Jinping's administration for not restricting the spread of the Coronavirus from spreading across the world but controlling it from spreading in the rest of China.

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Biden criticised Trump for not meeting Dalai Lama and discontinuing the practice followed by American presidents for the past three decades. 

“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”.

Biden's statements come in the wake of China's plan to convert Tibet into a more socialist and China loving region by imposing the socialist ideology in Tibetan schools. Earlier the US had imposed travel bans on Chinese officials after claiming that they are restricting foreigners’ access to Tibet.  In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian indicated that the US government should step back from ‘internal’ affairs with the Tibet-related issues in a bid to avoid further damage to the already spiralling relations between both nations.