The increasing tension in Tibet and Xinjiang provinces, including self-immolations by monks, is an issue of “grave concern” and would be raised by the US during Chinese Vice-President visit to the country next week, the White House has said.
“It is an area of grave concern for us to witness the increase of tensions in Tibet and Xinjiang. We are watching this, tracking very closely, with real concern,” Mr Daniel Russel, Special Assistant to the US President, told reporters during a conference call.
The senior director for Asian affairs, Mr Russel said a US goal of Mr Xi Jinping’s trip would be for him to understand issues that are important to America, including the situation in Tibet, and freedom of speech and religion.
The Obama aide asserted that the US would not sacrifice the important issues for the sake of having a comfortable visit.
“Nor do we shy away from candid private conversations with the Chinese about human rights,” he said.
The Chinese Vice President is visiting US next week at the invitation of US Vice-President, Mr Joe Biden.
“We routinely, regularly, invariably raise our concerns about the human rights situation in China and about China’s adherence to global human rights norms. This is a central part of our agenda,” he said.
“Part of our goal with respect to this visit is for Vice President Xi to understand the issues that are important to us, and that includes issues like the situation in Tibet, like freedom of speech and freedom of religion and so on,” he said in response to a question.