BEIJING - China yesterday accused the United States of meddling in its domestic affairs after lawmakers recognized the Dalai Lama with an award for his efforts to improve human rights.
Congress presented the award, which was in honor of the late US human rights activist Tom Lantos, to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Tuesday.
China reviles the Dalai Lama and has pressured foreign governments not to meet with him.
“We urge some members of the US Congress to respect the history and the facts, recognize the true face of Dalai Lama, and stop using the Tibet issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs,’’ Ma Zhaoxu, Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.
The criticism was made even though President Obama did not meet the Dalai Lama during the trip. Obama said he would not meet the spiritual leader until after he visits President Hu Jintao in November.
The Obama administration, which needs Chinese support for crucial foreign policy, economic, and environmental goals, seeks to balance efforts to establish friendly ties with China with the desire to support the Dalai Lama, who has called for more autonomy for Tibetans.
China says Tibet has been part of its territory for four centuries, and it has aggressively governed the Himalayan region since communist troops took control there in 1951. Many Tibetans say that they were effectively independent for most of their history and that Chinese rule is eroding their Buddhist culture.
