China Thursday accused Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of being insincere and misleading international public opinion, dampening hopes for a resumption of dialogue between the two sides.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue once again declined to respond directly to the Dalai Lama's comments on Monday that he was awaiting a decision from Beijing on an offer to resume dialogue.
"The Dalai Lama ... has often used the contact with the central government to create propaganda and mislead the international public opinion and engage in splittist activity," Zhang told reporters.
"So we think we have not seen any sincerity from his side," she said.
Speaking from the seat of his exiled government in Dharamsala, India, the Dalai Lama said his brother Gyalo Thondup traveled to Beijing in late October at the instigation of the Chinese authorities and discussed a resumption of dialogue.
However, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner refused to discuss the nature of his brother's talks and said he was awaiting final word from Beijing on whether formal dialogue would be resumed.
Formal contact between the Dalai Lama and Beijing, through the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, was cut in 1993.
Informal links were maintained, but then severed completely by Beijing in November 1998.
Beijing's conditions for a resumption of talks call on the Dalai Lama to give up Tibetan independence and openly declare that the Communist mainland government is the sole legal government of all of China, including Taiwan and Tibet.
The Dalai Lama maintains that he has fulfilled all the conditions, however Beijing says he is not sincere and that all of the Dalai Lama's international activities are aimed at garnering support for Tibetan independence.
"Indeed, the Dalai Lama has not advocated Tibetan independence, but facts have shown that he has never stopped activities aimed at splitting China," Zhang said.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala – BEIJING (AFP)
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