China Scolds Marco Rubio for Dalai Lama Comments
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
China scolded U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he extended birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.
"Xizang affairs are purely China's internal affairs, which brook no external interference," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Tuesday, July 8, using the Chinese name for Tibet.
"As is widely known, the 14th Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion.
"He and the so-called 'Tibetan government in exile' are in no position at all to represent the people in Xizang, still less decide the future of Xizang."
Mao said China is protecting and promoting the freedoms of various religious and ethnic groups in Xizang.
"The world can clearly see that, and the U.S. is in no position to point its fingers at China," Mao said.
"We urged the U.S. to be fully cognizant of the importance and sensitivity of Xizang-related issues, see clearly the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalit group, honor the commitments that the U.S. has made to China on issues related to Xizang, stop meddling in those issues, and stop sending any wrong signal in any form to the Tibet independence forces."
In a July 5 post to his official X account, Rubio said: "Extending best wishes to His Holiness @DalaiLama on his 90th birthday. The Dalai Lama continues to inspire with his message of unity, peace, and compassion."
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Russia and China discuss Ukraine war and ties with the United States
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia and China's foreign ministers on Sunday discussed their relations with the United States and the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Beijing on Sunday. Lavrov is due to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) foreign ministers in China. "The parties also discussed relations with the United States and prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis," the foreign ministry said. "The importance of strengthening close coordination between the two countries in the international arena, including in the United Nations and its Security Council, the SCO, BRICS, the G20 and APEC, was emphasized," the ministry said. China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing, days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Putin has sometimes described China as an "ally". The U.S. casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Trump Gets 'Ratioed' on Truth Social for First Time Amid Epstein Backlash
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's weekend post defending Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files has triggered an unprecedented backlash, marking the first time the Republican has been "ratioed" on his own social media platform, Truth Social. The term "ratioed" refers to when a social media post receives more replies than likes or shares, often signaling more disagreement or criticism than support. In his Saturday evening post, Trump lashed out at those criticizing Bondi, calling her performance "FANTASTIC" and dismissing the ongoing interest in Epstein as a waste of time. "We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening," the president wrote. "Let's not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about." President Donald Trump stands while greeting first responders as he observes flood damage in Kerrville, Texas, Friday, July 11, 2025 President Donald Trump stands while greeting first responders as he observes flood damage in Kerrville, Texas, Friday, July 11, 2025 AP The post—lengthy, defensive, and directed at his own base—appears to have backfired. According to public engagement data archived from Truth Social, the post has garnered more than 36,000 replies, compared with nearly 11,000 re-truths (the platform's term for shares) and 32,000 likes as of 10:45 a.m. ET Sunday. Why It Matters The backlash on Truth Social reflects growing internal division among MAGA supporters, many of whom have spent months anticipating revelations from the so-called "Epstein Files." Unlike mainstream social media platforms, Truth Social was designed as a haven for Trump and his supporters, where engagement overwhelmingly leans positive. What To Know The internal rift appears to stem from growing frustration over unfulfilled promises related to the Epstein case. Trump and several of his allies had long suggested that secret documents, including a so-called "client list," would be released under his administration. Bondi had previously claimed to possess such a list. But last week, the Justice Department announced that no list exists and reaffirmed that Epstein acted alone, dying by suicide in jail in 2019. The anticlimactic conclusion and the administration's refusal to release further files sparked fury from parts of Trump's base, especially activists and influencers who had built expectations around broader revelations. At the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa this weekend, chants calling for Bondi's resignation could be heard. Trump's post defending her appeared to be a direct response to that dissent, but it only fueled it further. A user called Mother Rosie wrote: "This statement breaks my heart, Mr. President. I have four daughters, and live in Texas, where families lost little children. I can't even begin to comprehend the flipped narrative that 'it was so long ago' 'why are we still talking about this' and 'nobody should care.' These victims were some ones daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone's child. Please reconsider, sir. I voted for everything you are doing! Accountability was not something negotiable." Another woman, Crissy, who can be seen wearing a Trump-supporting beanie in her profile picture, said: "We want the ELITE PEDOS exposed! You promised us that. Pam promised us that. Kash promised us that. Now it's OUR fault bc we want that promise fulfilled and call Pam out every time she lies? What else has she lied to us about?" A third user, Dewayne Sykes, said: "This is going to cost you so many supporters. I being one of them." There will still some people speaking out in support of Trump in the comments, including from Navy veteran known as Robby F, who said: "We all want to know. But President Trump only has the evidence that these criminals left for him to find. If he gets his hands on anything that's useful, we will know." How the Analysis Was Done The data comes from an open-source GitHub repository which scrapes and stores all of Trump's Truth Social posts along with public metrics including reply count, like count, and re-truths. Using this dataset—which includes over 1,000 posts since 2022—Newsweek applied a filter to identify any posts where the number of replies exceeded both likes and shares. Only one post met that condition: the July 12, 2025 post defending Pam Bondi. Other posts in the archive occasionally drew large reply volumes, but in every case until now, likes or re-truths outnumbered them. This post represents the first—and so far only—time Trump was publicly rebuked by more of his own followers than supported him. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House, on June 27, 2025, in Washington D.C. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House, on June 27, 2025, in Washington D.C. Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images What People Are Saying FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X on Saturday afternoon: "The conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been. It's an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump—and I'll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me." Far-right political activist Laura Loomer on Saturday wrote on X: "President Trump says he thinks Blondi [sic] is 'doing a Fantastic job' as AG in a post he posted on Truth Social today...." Charlie Kirk, conservative founder and president of Turning Point USA, wrote on X: "President Trump on the Epstein Files, says he supports Pam Bondi at AG, the files are untrustworthy and created by Comey and Brennan. He wants his Justice Department focused on the voter fraud, the rigged election, ActBlue, and arresting thugs and criminals." What Happens Next While Trump used his Truth Social post to try shift focus away from the Epstein controversy, his followers seem unconvinced. The administration now faces the challenge of reuniting a fractured base ahead of the 2026 midterms elections.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Nvidia's Huang Says China's Military Unlikely to Use US AI Chips
Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the US government doesn't need to be concerned that the Chinese military will use his company's products to improve their capabilities. Addressing the largest concern Washington has cited in placing increasing restrictions on US technology exports to the Asian nation, Huang said the Chinese military will avoid using US technology because of the risks associated with doing so.
