British GovT. Warned over Stance on Tibet

Dhasa: The newly elected British Conservative Government has been heavily criticized by the Chinese media for its about-turn change in attitude on the issue of Tibet. British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, raised his concerns over human rights abuses targeted at the Tibetan population at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Beijing on 14th July. Chinese newspaper China Daily have warned that ‘raising the Tibet issue to upset the Chinese government is a lose-lose strategy' and that ‘the British side will have to pay a dear price for this.'

Hague's predecessor, David Miliband, of the Labour Government publicly supported the One China policy, regarding Tibet as part of the People's Republic of China; a stance that was held for 94 years. At the meeting earlier this month, Jiechi and other officials lectured Hague on Britain's controversial new position, arguing defensively that China's sovereignty and territorial integrity was very sensitive to the issue of Tibet and that the human rights situation is currently at its historical best.

The agenda for the meeting was to establish a political and economic alliance between Beijing and London's new coalition government; however the exchange seems to have unsettled both aspects of this relationship, the China Daily warns. They suggest, in a threatening manner, that pointing the finger and providing a stage for ‘separatists' may have dyer consequences for future Chinese-British relations.