A group of US lawmakers who met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in India say they will not allow China to influence the choice of his successor, comments expected to anger Beijing, which calls him a separatist.
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They also signalled that Washington would pressure Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders, stalled since 2010, to resolve the Tibet issue with a bill President Joe Biden is expected to sign soon.
The bipartisan group of seven, led by Michael McCaul, a Republican representative from Texas, who also chairs the House committee on foreign affairs, met the Nobel peace laureate at his monastery in the northern town of Dharamsala.
"It is still my hope that one day the Dalai Lama and his people will return to Tibet in peace," McCaul told a public reception on Wednesday.
Beijing had even attempted to insert itself into choosing the successor of the Dalai Lama, he said, but added, "We will not let that happen."
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.
After years of health problems, the 88-year-old will fly to the United States this week for medical treatment.
The question of his successor has been a contentious issue.
Beijing has said the tradition must continue and its officially atheist Communist leaders have the right to approve the successor, as a legacy inherited from China's emperors.
Tibetan tradition holds that the Dalai Lama is reincarnated after his death, and the current leader has said his successor might be found in India.
The US group, which includes Democratic former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived on Tuesday to a warm reception from schoolchildren, Buddhist monks and nuns.
Pelosi said approval by Congress for the legislation sent a message to China that Washington was clear about Tibet.
"This bill says to the Chinese government: things have changed now, get ready for that," Pelosi said to cheers from hundreds of Tibetans at Wednesday's event.
Beijing, which calls the Dalai Lama a dangerous "splittist" or separatist, said it was seriously concerned about the lawmakers' visit and the bill.
It urged them not to make contact with the "Dalai clique" and Biden not to sign the bill.
Chinese officials chafe at any interactions of the Dalai Lama with officials of other countries, though he has met US officials, including presidents, on previous US visits.
Australian Associated Press
