Tibet under Dalai was slavery, says China

Sticking to its opposition to any meeting between the Dalai Lama and Barack Obama, China on Thursday sought to draw a parallel between the alleged "serf system" in Tibet and slavery in America, saying the "black" US president should understand its stance on the Tibetan leader.

"China is firmly opposed to the Dalai Lama's acts in international arena and opposed to any contact between the Dalai Lama and leading officials of foreign governments in whatever name or capacity," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a media briefing, official Xinhua news agency said. He was replying to a question on a possible meeting between the Dalai Lama and Obama.

Qin repeated the Chinese allegation that before his exile to India in 1959, the Dalai Lama presided over a "feudal serf system" which the Chinese government abolished. "The abolishment of the serf system in Tibet is as significant as the end of the slavery in the US," he said.

"In one of his speeches, President Obama said he was very grateful to president (Abaraham) Lincoln, because without president Lincoln, he would not have been the first black president of the US," Qin said. As Obama was appreciative of Lincoln, who abolished slavery, China believed Obama could understand its stance of opposing Tibet independence and the Dalai Lama's attempts to "split" the country, the spokesman said. "As a black president, he knows the importance of slave abolition."

"We call for the United States to respect China's territorial integrity and national unity," Qin said.