China says a planned meeting of Tibetan exiles in India next week will go nowhere if it seeks to promote independence for the remote Himalayan region.
Speaking with reporters Thursday in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang also argued that the meeting, which will be held in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, cannot represent the vast majority of Tibetans.
The meeting is the largest of its kind in decades. It was called by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who recently said he was losing hope in the possibility of negotiating a settlement with Beijing over the future of Tibet.
At the meeting, Tibetans will discuss whether they want to continue negotiations for autonomy with China, or take more radical measures such as supporting independence.
Tibet's exiled community is divided between those who support the Dalai Lama's efforts of seeking greater autonomy for Tibet, and those who support independence.
Earlier this week, China said it would never accept the Dalai Lama's plan of greater autonomy for Tibet.
China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans disagree with that assessment.
China took control of Tibet shortly after the 1940 Communist revolution. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese communist rule.
Some
information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.