Tibetan children
Washington: Accusing China of indulging in the coercion of Tibetan children, the United States today said its State Department was taking steps to impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials in this regard. The visa restriction would be imposed on these authorities under the authority of Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinked said today.
The US Secretary of State Blinken claimed Chinese authorities were involved in the forcible assimilation of more than one million Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools.
“These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans,” he said.
“We urge PRC authorities to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and throughout other parts of the PRC. We will continue to work with our allies and partners to highlight these actions and promote accountability,” the US Secretary of State said.
China, however, stressed that Tibet-related affairs were purely China’s internal affairs that brooked no foreign interference. It counter-attacked the US by claiming that throughout US history, more than 4.7 million Native Americans were slaughtered. “People of Asian and African descent and other ethnic communities suffer daily from the scourge of racial discrimination,” it stated and went on to claim that in recent years, the US’s armed invasion led to millions of casualties in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.
Beijing asked Washington to immediately withdraw its “wrong decision” or else there will be a “resolute response” from China. It warned the US against meddling in its “internal affairs, and undermining China’s interests”.
– global bihari bureau
