China: Paris council's honorary citizenship for Dalai Lama 'another insult'

Anita Chang, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING - China says a decision by Paris city council to bestow honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama is an insult that will harm diplomatic relations.

Anti-French sentiment has been growing in China since the Beijing Olympics torch relay was disrupted during a chaotic leg in Paris on April 7.

But even as French officials tried to smooth over relations with Beijing, the Paris city council voted Monday to bestow the title of "honorary citizen" on the Dalai Lama.

A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry says the decision to honour the Dalai Lama will "only be considered as another insult against the 1.3 billion Chinese people, including Tibetans."

Beijing demonizes the Tibetan spiritual leader, accusing him of organizing violent protests in Tibet last month to split the far western region from China, and of trying to sabotage this summer's Olympic Games.

The Chinese spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, She urged France to "erase the negative impact of their erroneous action, stop indulging and supporting Tibetan independence forces."

Jiang's statement did not mention Hu Jia, a Chinese human rights activist who will also be recognized as an honorary citizen of Paris. Hu was recently convicted of subversion charges and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.

China has said consistently that Hu's case was dealt with in accordance with the law, though it has never provided specifics about the charges against him.

Over the weekend, protesters waving Chinese flags rallied in front of the French Embassy in Beijing and at outlets of French retailer Carrefour in nine Chinese cities.

Many consider the torch relay disruptions by pro-Tibet activists as an affront to their country. China, and the vast majority of Chinese, consider Tibet an integral part of China that can never be broken away.

© The Canadian Press, 2008