Beijing, 23rd September: US President Clinton met Dalai [the Dalai Lama] in the White House on two occasions in 1993 and 1994. On 13th September this year, the US government, disregarding the Chinese government's firm opposition and solemn and just representations, again arranged a meeting between Clinton and Dalai. This is another serious incident which the US government deliberately created to interfere with China's domestic affairs.

Sino-US relations are now in a difficult period created by the playing of the "Taiwan card" on the part of the United States by permitting Li Denghui [Li Teng-hui] to visit the United States to promote "two Chinas", or "one China, one Taiwan". The US government should have taken concrete actions to eliminate the harmful consequences which Li Denghui's US visit has caused Sino-US relations; but instead of doing so, it played the "Tibet card" by supporting and conniving with Dalai in launching activities to divide China. This has created new troubles in Sino-US relations.

On Tibet and Taiwan issues, which involve China's territorial sovereignty, the US government often says one thing but does quite another. It is so changeable and untrustworthy that it says this today but will do something else tomorrow. The US government has on many occasions publicly acknowledged that Tibet is China's territory. and that it does not recognize "Tibet independence", or Tibet as a "sovereign state", or Dalai's so-called "government in exile". Covertly, however, the US government and Congress have long been supporting Dalai's activities of splitting the motherland. Over the past several years, the US president and vice-president have time and again met with Dalai. During Dalai's US trip this time, in particular, not only did the US government accord him high-level and courteous reception, but also provided him with a political forum and let him trumpet "Tibet independence". When he met with prominent Republican Party figures of the Senate and House of Representatives in Washington, Dalai was m

oved to tears of gratitude for the US Congress' many years of support for his "Tibet independence" activities.

Although the US government announced not long ago that President Clinton was not ready to meet Dalai, it made such arrangement that, when Vice-President Gore was meeting with Dalai in the White House, Clinton and Dalai could have a "drop-by meeting" This reminds people of the recent incident when the US government suddenly announced to let Li Denghui to have a "private visit" to the United States shortly after stating that it would not concur with his US visit. This shows that the Clinton-Dalai meeting and the permission granted Li Denghui to visit the United States were both meticulously plotted and arranged by the US government. Alleging a meticulously plotted meeting as a "drop-by meeting" is just the diplomatic language which the US government used to cover up its connivance at Dalai's activities of splitting the motherland.

Washington explained that the reason that the US leaders met Dalai was because he was a "religious leader", not a political leader nor a political personality". This is entirely a self-deceiving explanation to mislead the public. As is universally known, what Dalai has pursued in the past several decades are primarily not religious activities, but political activities aimed at separating Tibet from China. In a statement issued in the United States, Dalai appealed to the United States to pressure China on the "Tibetan question". He demanded the United States to "play a pivotal role" in solving the Tibetan question, and declared that the "settlement of the Tibetan question accords with the USA's own interests". In a speech at Harvard University, Dalai even asked the United States and other Western countries to help him "liberate Tibet from the hands of Chinese". Which of the aforesaid statements by Dalai is related to religious activities? In fact, Dalai, like Li Denghui, is a shameless politician who embraces

foreigners to earn himself dignity. He has been stripped off his religious mantle by his political statements and actions, which the US government is not really ignorant of.

The US government said repeatedly that Sino-US relations were very important, and that the two countries "need to do many importantthings together", expressing the hope to improve bilateral relations. Meanwhile, however, the US government looked for various pretexts to create new trouble in Sino-US relations; and, following the "Taiwan card", played the "Tibet card" again, thus adding new injuries to Sino-US relations before the old ones were healed. China has never done any disservice to the United States. However, the United States has continuously hurt China on the sensitive questions of Taiwan and Tibet, which involve China's sovereignty. People cannot but ask: Is the United States really sincere on the question of improving Sino-US relations?

China has always attached great importance to improving and developing Sino-US relations, and has called for the two countries to "increase trust, reduce trouble, develop cooperation and refrain from confrontation". China has been true to its word. If the United States really does not intend to carry out the policy of "containment" against China and really wishes to improve Sino-US relations, it should translate its word into action by stopping interference with China's internal affairs and refraining from creating new trouble.