PM Modi Hosts US Leaders after Dalai Lama Meeting | Resolve Tibet Act

Political messaging comes in many shapes, from a yoga pose to a social media post like this one. As Prime Minister Modi with a group of American lawmakers, they met the Dalai Lama earlier this week and then they met the Indian Prime Minister along with Indias National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. This delegation had both Republican and Democrat leaders, including former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. New Delhi has not issued a detailed statement about the meeting. All we have is this post on the official handle of the Indian Prime Minister. It says the Prime Minister I'm quoting the Prime Minister, had a very good exchange of views with friends from the US Congress. That's all. And yet its quite a statement. the US is poking China on Indian soil. It is calling out Beijing rights abuses in Tibet. And India is quietly facilitating all of this by giving these American lawmakers a platform. Understand this, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with his message of knowledge and tradition and compassion and purity of soul and love. He will live a long time and his legacy will live forever. But to you, President of China, you'll be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything. Xi Jinping got the message, and he's issued a response in the form of a visit to Qingai in western China, where he held engagements with Tibetans. The Chinese president visited a middle school for Tibetans. He also went to a temple, the Buddhist Hong Zhu Temple. It is a Tibetan Buddhist heritage site. Beijing released some pictures from the visit along with a statement. During this visit, Xi Jinping also met with some Communist Party officials and government representatives. And what did he discuss with them? The need to cynicize religion in China. To cynicize is to make something Chinese in character and form. Beijing wants to cynicize religion by taking away the unique aspects and giving it Chinese characteristics. They also had a message for the Dalai Lama. The so-called Tibetan government in exile is an out and out separatist and political group. With regard to the contacts and negotiations between the Chinese government and the 14th Dalai Lama, our policy is consistent and clear. The key is that the 14th Dalai Lama must fundamentally reflect on and thoroughly correct his political views. Now the message is loud and clear. Xi Jinping will not accept any other version of Buddhism other than the one that he has complete control over, where loyalty to the Communist Party supreme. He stressed on the same point in 2021 during a visit to Tibet, his first visit as a president of China and a very significant one. For the first time in three decades, a Chinese president was visiting Tibet. Xi Jinping plane landed in Ningchi, a city which is less than 20 kilometers from the border with India, the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Its along this border now. The visit coincided with the 70th anniversary of Tibets takeover. Of course China doesn't call it a takeover. They call it the peaceful liberation of Tibet. No one believes them because the world knows the truth. China took Tibet by force. In 1951, Chinese troops invaded Tibet. It led to the signing of the 17 point agreement. This agreement was forced upon Tibetan leaders. The pact guaranteed autonomy for Tibet and religious freedom for Buddhists. In return, China was allowed to set up a civil and military headquarters in Lhasa. Now, throughout the 1950s, the Communist Party faced widespread resistance in Tibet. China refused to honor its promises of autonomy. In 1959, Tibetans LED a mass uprising against them. It was violently crushed by the Communist Party. This forced the Dalai Lama to leave along with some 80,000 Tibetans. They left. They came to India and India gave them refuge. They were allowed to stay in Dharamshala and Himachal Pradesh where they established the Tibetan government in exile. This week, American lawmakers went there to meet the Dalai Lama. Washington is bringing Tibet back on the geopolitical radar. Its a way to build pressure on China. Recently, American lawmakers also passed a law its called the Resolved Tibet Bill. It basically calls on China to resolve the Tibet issue. It demands that Beijing open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. But American laws aren't binding on China, and it has swiftly rejected this demand. But the law is still important. Apart from political messaging, it has financial implications. This bill authorizes the US government to use money to counter Chinese disinformation. Disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people and their institutions. Also disinformation about the Dalai Lama himself. So this law is a valuable tool to challenge Chinese narratives about Tibet, including the claim that Tibet was liberated peacefully. U.S. President Joe Biden is yet to sign this bill into law. But that's just a formality. And India too appears to be making a shift here. It seems more willing to work with like minded partners and taking steps to build pressure on China. Facilitating this visit and meeting this delegation were both welcome moves. India will lead multiple strategies and decisive moves to contain a wily and belligerent neighbour like China on the situated T20 World of war 5 defense move across to the West E than we expected. Hello, I'm Alex Rain coming to you from South Africa. We'll start with a report on India's first time. Hello and welcome to First Call of America. I'm Eric Ham, coming from the nation's capital in Washington, DC.