Stop demand for free Tibet, China asks Dalai Lama

China is willing to discuss with the Dalai Lama’s representatives the future of his followers and that of the Tibetans settled in India and abroad, but the union of the country and future of Tibet are “not negotiable”, a top Chinese official has said.

Accusing the Tibetan spiritual leader of inciting separatism in Tibet, the Chinese official said Beijing will not engage in any talks with the Dalai Lama if he continues to “promote separatism” and “incite” monks to commit self-immolations.

China blames the Dalai Lama for inciting trouble in the Tibetan region where at least 34 Buddhist monks and nuns have set themselves afire over the past year as a mark of protest against China’s repressive policies.

Qiangba Puncog, head of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress from Tibet, said the Dalai Lama’s representatives were sticking to the points of separating Tibet from China and forming a “bigger Tibetan region” (Greater Tibet), which includes parts of Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan, where other Tibetans live. This, he said, China was not ready to discuss.