中文
Farmers sing during a ceremony marking the start of spring farming in Doilungdeqen district in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 16, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
By Chen Dongjie
On July 12, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the so-called Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act. This act is another manifestation of the U.S. practicing hegemonism, manipulating the rhetoric of democracy and freedom and interfering in China's internal affairs.
The U.S. government has long implemented a policy of using China's Xizang Autonomous Region to contain China, generally manipulating academia to fabricate various anti-China research conclusions related to Xizang, and instructing Western media to hype up international anti-China opinions on Xizang. The U.S.' intentions are clear: to use the so-called Xizang issue to affect China's international reputation and suppress China's development.
The U.S. Congress's enactment of the "Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act" has a specific context. First, to use Xizang to contain China and increase pressure on China. Since taking office, Biden has continued Trump's China policy, with broader and more aggressive measures to suppress China. In this context, Biden has been utilizing his good relationship with Congress to further strengthen activities related to Xizang in Congress, coordinating with the U.S. executive department's containment policy against China, bringing more challenges to the China-U.S. relationship.
Second, raising the Xizang issue helps U.S. senators establish a "politically correct" image. The Xizang and Xinjiang issues are relatively special topics in the U.S. Congress. On the one hand, addressing the Xinjiang- and Xizang-related issues helps senators establish a "moral image of defending human rights," aiding them in gaining reputation and political status. Therefore, deeply intervening in the so-called Xizang issue and promoting the strategy of using Xizang to contain China helps U.S. senators enhance their influence and status in Congress. On the other hand, intervening in China's internal affairs using the excuse of both Xinjiang- and Xizang-related issues is relatively low-cost.
Third, it is currently the U.S. presidential election period, and the Democratic Party is addressing the so-called Xizang human rights issue to gain more electoral resources, because presidential candidate Donald Trump from the Republican Party had downplayed human rights affairs during his tenure as U.S. president, such as withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council, and "performed poorly" in human rights issues, facing criticism from various quarters. Therefore, the Democratic Party needs to highlight its so-called "defender of human rights" image to gain more support.
Students at a branch school of Lhasa Experimental Primary School have lunch in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, May 12, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]
Compared with previous U.S.' Xizang-related bills, the "Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act" has significant changes. It does not focus on the so-called Xizang human rights issue but on denying that Xizang has been a part of China since ancient times, launching an ideological war against China from a historical perspective. This indirectly indicates that previous U.S. anti-China policies regarding Xizang-related issues lacked effectiveness. The lies they fabricated cannot erase the truth of Xizang's social and economic development and human rights protection since its liberation, such as the improvement of the social status of the Xizang people, their liberation from serfdom to become masters of their own homes, the eradication of absolute poverty with the strong support of the CPC Central Committee and the people of the whole country, and the overall achievement of a moderately prosperous society alongside the rest of the country, showcasing a vibrant scene of prosperity. Therefore, the U.S. is playing the historical ideology card, attempting to create a new wave of anti-China public opinion related to Xizang, affecting China's internal stability.
The fact that Xizang has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times is irrefutable. The U.S. is well-versed in launching disinformation campaigns against other countries. It is the originator of manufacturing false information, possessing a complete disinformation industry chain. The signing of the bill can be seen as a preview: Some U.S. academic community will ignore domestic and international research findings. For the sake of "political correctness" regarding Xizang, they will fabricate various false research conclusions to provide suggestions for the U.S. Department of State's anti-China actions.
A word of advice to American politicians: Ideology is one of the core interests of a country. If the U.S. insists on launching an ideological war against China, it will inevitably lead to further setbacks in China-U.S. relations and damage the existing international system and order, thereby affecting the interests of countries and peoples worldwide. Looking back at the trajectory of China-U.S. relations over the past half-century, we can fully conclude that cooperation benefits both countries, while confrontation harms both. Respecting China's core interests in issues such as Xizang is undoubtedly a rational move that the U.S. needs to recognize and adopt.
Chen Dongjie, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an assistant professor at the Center for Central Asia, Shaan'xi Normal University.
