US ambassador to China Gary Locke in Lhasa, Tibet
Photo: US State Department
US Ambassador to China Gary Locke left Lhasa on June 28 after a rare three-day visit to urge the Chinese leadership to open up Tibet to foreign diplomats, journalists and tourists.
Locke, who travelled with US embassy staff and his family members, met residents and officials to familiarise himself with local conditions.
Expressing concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet, US Embassy deputy spokesman Justin Higgins said, “The US urges Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions.”
Locke called the self-immolations “very deplorable” and demanded that China show respect for Tibetans’ religion, culture and language.
“We implore the Chinese to really meet with the representatives of the Tibetan people to address and re-examine some of the policies that have led to some of the restrictions and the violence and the self-immolations,” Locke said after a September 2012 visit to two Tibetan monasteries in the Zungchu region of Ngaba.
Ambassador Locke visiting Gaden Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet
Photo: US State Department
Locke’s visit marks the first time Chinese authorities have approved an embassy request to visit Tibet since September 2010.
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