“Dalai Lama’s legacy will live on forever, you will be gone”: Nancy Pelosi launches scathing attack on Chinese President Xi Jinping

Pelosi, who is on a two-day visit to India, said no one would give credit to Xi for anything.

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama will live long with his wisdom, tradition, compassion, purity of soul and message of love and his legacy will live on forever. But you, the President of China, you will be gone and no one will give you credit for anything,” the former US House Speaker said.

Pelosi said the Dalai Lama would not accept her comments against China. “When I criticise the Chinese government, he says, let's pray for Nancy to get rid of her negative attitude,” Pelosi said at a public reception held at the Tsuglagkhang Complex in Dharamshala.

The bipartisan Congressional delegation arrived in India on Tuesday and was received by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration at the Kangra airport in Himachal Pradesh the same day.

Last week, the US Congress passed a bill urging Beijing to re-establish contact with the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders to peacefully resolve the dispute over the status and governance of Tibet.

According to Radio Free Asia's report, the US House of Representatives has passed the 'Tibet-China Dispute Resolution Act', also known as the 'Tibet Resolution Act'. It will now be sent to President Joe Biden for signature to become law.

“You heard our colleagues talk about this legislation that was passed last week. We've been fighting this issue for a long time and with the spirituality of His Holiness, with maneuvering inside Congress, we've made progress. But now with the passage of this bill (Resolve Tibet Act) it's different because this bill sends a message to the Chinese government that there is clarity in our thinking and our understanding on this issue of Tibet's independence,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi also recalled the Chinese president's visit to Washington DC, where she told him that the US “objects” to what China was doing to Tibetan culture.

In response, Pelosi recalled, Xi said, “You know what you're talking about. You should go there and see for yourself the improvements China is making in Tibet.”

“They're trying to erase the culture by reducing the use of the language. They're trying to do something we can't let them do. I'll be kind to the Chinese people, I don't know if they're willing to do this, but we know the Chinese government is doing this, and we know they should get the message. This law sends the message to the House and Senate and will soon be signed by the President of the United States, Joe Biden…” the former US House Speaker said.

US Representative Congressman Gregory Meeks, who is leading the American delegation's visit to India, also reacted strongly to Beijing's criticism of his visit, and said that America will stand for what is right.

He said, “China can express its displeasure if it wants. We will stand for what is right. The right thing is that Tibetans should get freedom. They should be able to return to their original land and maintain their culture and history… This is most important…”

“Nobody can really please China,” said Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Speaking about the meeting of the US delegation in Dharamsala, Penpa Tsering said, “The meeting lasted for about an hour. His Holiness (the Dalai Lama) spoke about the wider interest of society… He praised the people of the US Congress for passing the law.”

He further said, “Who can please China? They have to look at the reality and the situation and understand it from a better perspective…”

The US bill specifically rejects Beijing's stance that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and urges China to “stop propagating misinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including the Dalai Lama.”

It also urged China to begin talks with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders about how to govern Tibet. There have been no formal talks between the two sides since 2010.

Meanwhile, China on Tuesday said Beijing was “deeply concerned” over the US delegation's visit to Dharamsala.

Addressing a regular press conference yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian called on the US to fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai group and “stop sending the wrong signals to the world”.