The Tibetan separatist group's failure to join the refugee team of the 2016 Rio Olympics shows they were isolated from the mainstream in the international community, and that the world respects China's sovereignty, a Chinese expert said.
A Tibetan separatist leader named Kelsang, who is "the President of the Tibetan Sport National Association," complained to Norwegian media on Wednesday that Tibetan separatists failed to qualify for the Refugee Olympic Team, which shows that the international community doesn't recognize their "refugee status," Voice of Tibet reported.
Kelsang also called on the Olympic Committee to ban China from the Games due to Beijing's "anti-human rights" behavior.
Xiong Kunxin, a professor on ethnic studies at Beijing's Minzu University of China and an expert on Tibet, told the Global Times that the Tibetan separatists who follow the Dalai Lama tried to use the Olympics to attract attention the way they sabotaged the Beijing Olympics torch relay in 2008.
Xiong said that the international community has reached a consensus that Tibet is a part of China and Dalai Lama's followers will be isolated for sure when they try to make noise to attract attention.
Xiong said Tibetan refugees can return to China and play for their homeland.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, Tibetan athletes have played or are playing for China, including Choeyang Kyi, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics and Topgye, a long-distance runner who is competing for China in Rio.
Tenzin Pelkyi, a Tibetan separatist writer, wrote on Diplomat in January that the "Tibetan government-in-exile" doesn't allow Tibetan exiles to abandon their "refugee status" or to get Indian citizenship. "A lack of citizenship means exiled Tibetans are unable to own land and travel freely," Pelkyi said.
The lives of most Tibetan exiles along the China-India border are much worse than Tibetan people living in China, said Xiong, adding that many of them want to return.
