Tibetan exile leader laments absence of rights in Trump China dealings

WASHINGTON: The leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile expressed disappointment that human rights appeared absent from US President Donald Trump’s dealings with China, telling Reuters that a focus solely on trade and business risked emboldening Beijing.

Penpa Tsering said in an interview on Wednesday night that US support for Tibet remained broadly stable under the Trump administration, but Tibet was not on the agenda at the presidential level as Washington focuses on trade, security and other priorities with China.

“(Trump) has never mentioned Tibet, he has never mentioned human rights,” he said during a visit to Washington.

China seized control of Tibet in 1950 in what it describes as a “peaceful liberation” from feudalistic serfdom.