Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Riley Barnes’s appointment on Feb. 17, coinciding with the Tibetan New Year.
- Barnes will serve concurrently as assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
- China’s foreign ministry rejected the move, calling the coordinator a tool to meddle in China’s internal affairs and insisting Tibet policy is off-limits.
- The Central Tibetan Administration welcomed the appointment and urged renewed dialogue between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing.
- Radio Free Asia said it has resumed broadcasts into China in Mandarin, Tibetan and Uyghur, citing private transmission contracts and congressional funding approved by President Donald Trump.