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Tibet not open to global debate, spokesman says

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-02 08:59

China expressed on Tuesday its resolute opposition to discussing the Tibet situation in any form at international conferences, saying the issue is an internal affair.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao was speaking at a press conference following the announcement of President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan to attend the outreach session of the G8 summit.

Hu's three-day tour will start on Monday.

Liu also said Tibet should not be linked to the Olympic Games, which was seen as a response to comments by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said his attendance at the Games' opening ceremony would depend on the progress of talks between the Chinese government and the private representative of the Dalai Lama.

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"We oppose meetings between state leaders and the Dalai Lama; we oppose attaching Tibet-related issues to the Beijing Olympics; and we oppose politicizing the Beijing Olympics," Liu said.

Tibet is China's internal affair, as is any contact between the central government and the private representatives of the Dalai Lama, he said.

One the subject of the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula, Liu said that China is coordinating with relevant parties to hold the meeting of the chief negotiators of the six-party talks.

It has been widely reported that the nuclear talks will resume sometime next week due to the progress made recently.

China appreciates the constructive efforts made by all sides, which will be conducive to the further progress of the talks, Liu said.

The Six-Party Talks are facing new challenges in finding ways to move forward, he said.

He said he also hopes that all parties will take advantage of the upcoming chief delegates meeting to implement the remaining actions of the second phase in a comprehensive and balanced way.

China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard," Liu said.

Analysts have already said that future challenges will include the verification of Pyongyang's nuclear declaration, as well as the monitoring of the process.