Chinese Embassy in Czech expresses strong dissatisfaction, firm opposition to President Pavel's meeting with Dalai Lama

China expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to Czech Republic President Petr Pavel's disregard for China's solemn position and the overall China-Czech relationship, and his insistence on meeting in India with the 14th Dalai Lama and Penpou Tseringem from the "Tibetan government in exile," said a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Czech on Sunday.  

The Xizang region has been an integral part of China's territory since ancient times, that Xizang affairs are purely China's internal affairs and allow no external interference, said the spokesperson. 

The 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile who, under the guise of religion, engages in anti China separatist activities and is by no means a mere religious figure. His "middle way" seeks to carve out a "Greater Xizang" covering one quarter of China's territory — a region that has never existed historically — and thus amounts to de facto independence. This is something to which the Chinese government and people will never agree, said the spokesperson. 

Likewise, the "Tibetan government in exile" is an organized, programmatic separatist political body striving for "independence" of the region, recognized by no country, Czech included. China firmly opposes any official contacts between representatives of other countries and the Dalai Lama's group, according to the spokesperson. 

The Chinese Embassy in Czech urged the Czech side to uphold its one China commitment, take effective measures at once to eliminate the adverse impact of this incident, cease sending any wrong signals to "Xizang independence" separatist forces, and in deeds safeguard the healthy and stable development of China-Czech relations.