The statement was issued to denounce the Dalai Lama's recent speech at the European Parliament (EP) general assembly.

Time and again, the Chinese Government has reiterated that its problem with the Dalai Lama is not religious, but political. The Dalai Lama is not merely a religious figure but a politician-in-exile who indulges in activities designed to split the motherland, the statement said.

The NPC Foreign Affairs Committee sincerely hopes that the EP can soon take into consideration the importance of friendly Sino-European relations and stop doing things to hurt Chinese people's feelings, the statement said.

"We hope that EP members can put aside their prejudices and learn the true picture of Tibet by visiting it themselves," the statement said. "This way, they will be able to avoid making erroneous judgments based on biased information and avoid hampering the sound development of Sino-European relations."

In defiance of China's repeated presentation and strong opposition, a few irresponsible EP members had permitted the Dalai Lama to visit the EP's general assembly on Oct 24 and deliver a long, fact-distorting speech that attacked the Chinese Government and unscrupulously discussed his plot to split China.

Such an erroneous act naturally causes China great indignation, the statement said.

It is perfectly justified for a central government of one country to exercise jurisdiction upon its own territory, as China does with Tibet, the statement said. But the Dalai Lama wrongly repeats claims that China has "invaded Tibet" and refuses to recognize Tibet as part of China, and his desire to split the motherland is very clear, the statement said.

In his speech, the Dalai Lama declared that he wants a "referendum" for Tibet. Since Tibet is an inseparable part of Chinese territory and an autonomous region under the jurisdiction of China, there is no need to conduct a "referendum" on Tibet's future, the statement said.

The old Tibet before the liberation was one of the places in the world where human rights were violated most seriously during the 20th century.

The Dalai Lama bears inevitable responsibility for this, so he is the real arch-criminal who has trampled upon human rights and freedoms in Tibet, the statement said.

He never dares mention his barbaric rule over old Tibet nor has he expressed any sense of repentance. On the contrary, he deceives the international community by shamelessly regarding himself as the "spokesman" for the freedom of Tibet and "protector" of human rights and humanity, the statement said.

After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, some members of the Tibetan ruling class were hostile towards the reform policies and wanted to preserve serfdom to maintain their own vested interests, the statement said.

In March 1959, a handful of Tibetan serf-owners, colluding with foreign forces, launched an armed rebellion under the separatist slogan "Tibetan independence."

With help from Buddhist monks and laymen, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) swiftly quashed the separatists' rebellion, and the Dalai Lama fled the country.

But the Dalai Lama falsely describes the rebellion as one in which "the Tibetan people rose up against the Chinese" and said he had no choice but "to escape from Tibet."

From his comments, it is clear he distorts the truth, the statement said.

By analyzing what the Dalai Lama has done over the past 40 years, anyone can see that he has done nothing to "serve the people of Tibet." Instead, he has done everything to try to regain his lost paradise and re-enslave the Tibetan people and separate Tibet from the motherland, the statement said.

His dreams will not come true, the statement said.

The Dalai Lama fled the country more than 40 years ago and has never since set foot on the soil of Tibet; Therefore, he knows nothing of the real situation there, the statement said.

But that doesn't stop him from uttering such nonsense like Tibet is "oppressed by force and scarred by suffering" and "an entire people with its unique culture and identity are facing the threat of extinction."

But history proves that in a short span of 40 years, Tibet has gone through a social and economic revolution that would normally have taken centuries for mankind to achieve.

This makes Tibet one of the fastest developed and best improved areas of the contemporary world in terms of various kinds of social undertakings and human rights.

The Dalai Lama is reluctant to admit that the Tibetans have become the masters of their own affairs, and the "genuine autonomy" put forward by him is nothing but a synonym for "separation" and "independence," the statement said.

Moreover, in his speech to the EP, he said that his "initiatives and overtures to engage the Chinese leadership in a dialogue remain unreciprocated" and that "Beijing's attitude has hardened significantly compared to the 1980s," but this again is an outright lie, the statement said.

China's policy towards the Dalai Lama is consistent and explicit. That is, we hope that he will renounce his separatist call for "Tibetan independence" and become a patriot, the statement said.

It said the door will always be open to contact between the central government and the Dalai Lama.

Looking back at the history of contacts between the central government and the Dalai Lama for the last 20 years, it is clear that the Dalai Lama's call for "Tibetan independence" never wavers - even when he is in contact with the central government.

The statement asks rhetorically: Isn't the Dalai Lama's EP speech proof of his activities to oppose the central government, split the motherland and undermine national unity?

(China Daily October 29, 2001)