Beijing fears Tibet will figure in US poll
22 Mar 2008 ,Saibal Dasgupta
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TNN
BEIJING : China is worried that the Tibet issue will spill over to the US election debate after Friday’s visit by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Dharamsala. Beijing noted that Tibetan monks waved the American flag, which was eagerly acknowledged by Pelosi.
"Pelosi was mainly responsible for the Dalai Lama getting the Congressional Gold Medal in the US last year. We are not surprised by her visit to Dharamsala. But this has happened at a wrong time for China . We are worried the Tibet issue may figure in the US election as candidates may be asked to give their opinion on it," Hu Shushing, director of South Asia Studies at the state-run think-tank, China Institute for Contemporary International Studies told TOI.
Both democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have already expressed concern about the loss of American jobs owing to heavy exports of Chinese goods to the US . The Tibet issue has not yet figured but it is possible that it will be mentioned along with the issue of human rights in the coming days. "She may advise Dalai Lama on the Tibet issue. This really is a form of political interference in China ’s affairs," Hu said.
