BEIJING, April 23 (UPI) -- China says the Paris City Council interfered in Chinese internal affairs when it awarded honorary citizenship to Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
"This act grossly interferes in China's internal affairs and severely infringes on Sino-French relations, as well as the existing friendly relations between Beijing and Paris in particular," Xinhua quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu as saying.
She was responding to a vote Monday by the city council in the French capital to give the honorary award to the Dalai Lama, whom China accuses of masterminding the worldwide protests against Chinese rule of Tibet. The Tibetan Buddhist monk has denied the accusations.
Asserting Tibet is part of China, Jiang said, "China is strongly against any nation or individual using the Dalai Lama issue to interfere in China's internal affairs."
Jiang also accused "some French people and media" of continuing to make negative reports and remarks about China. She said the protests staged in Paris during the Olympic torch rally seriously hurt the feeling of the Chinese people and impaired Sino-French relations.
