Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that the country's position on Tibet is consistent and well-known. Mao further stated that the Dalai Lama is a political exile and alleged that he has been involved in efforts to separate Xizang -- also known as Tibet outside China -- under the guise of religion.

Even as the Dalai Lama has called for a ‘middle way’ approach, the Communist Party of China (CPC) cannot come to terms with the idea of co-existing with Tibetans as its totalitarian ethno-nationalist state has no room for a non-Han group or leader — and certainly not for someone like the Dalai Lama whom his followers revere like a god.