US reps, Dalai Lama take aim at China sore spot Tibet

A group from the U.S. House of Representatives has taken aim at one of China’s sore spots — Tibet — during a gathering in India with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader (Photo: Dalai Lama/Flickr)

DHARMSALA, India — A group from the U.S. House of Representatives has taken aim at one of China’s sore spots — Tibet — during a gathering in India with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi said China was using “brutal tactics” and economic leverage to crush Tibetan calls for autonomy.

She told Tibetans at Wednesday’s gathering in the Dalai Lama’s main temple in the Indian hill town of Dharmsala that they “will not be silenced.”

Pelosi, a California Democrat, was in India along with seven other U.S. representatives.

The challenge to Tibet’s status is likely to irritate Beijing, which considers the Dalai Lama to be a dangerous separatist. China insists the Himalayan region is an integral part of the country.