China accuses Dalai Lama of ruining Tibet

BEIJING, April 4 (UPI) -- China said the Dalai Lama and his supporters have been ruining Tibet in the name of religion and human rights.

The People's Daily, quoting Basang Wangdui, a researcher with the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, said, "The Dalai Lama and his supporters, representatives of the feudal serf owners of old Tibet, have never done anything good for the Tibetan people in the past 50 years."

China has been attacking the Dalai Lama since the Tibetan unrest against Chinese rule began in early March, blaming him for masterminding the unrest. The Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since 1959, has denied all Chinese charges.

Separately, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said China is "seriously concerned and strongly discontented" over a reported statement of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a strong supporter of the Dalai Lama, on the Olympics, Xinhua reported.

Jiang Yu was responding to a statement attributed to Pelosi that the International Olympic Committee erred in awarding the 2008 Summer Games to China.

The Xinhua report also quoted the California lawmaker as saying "a boycott of the Beijing Olympics would unfairly harm our athletes." The Olympic torch is scheduled to pass through San Francisco next month.

Jiang said China urges U.S. political figures to respect the spirit and principles of the Olympic Games.