A recently published book that details the archives of a U.S. diplomat suggests that Tibet is "an inseparable part of China," China Daily reported.
Cheng Long, a former associate professor at the Beijing Language and Culture University, compiled the archives of William Rockhill, a Tibet scholar and U.S. diplomat, and said that the late academic considered Tibet as part of China.
"Rockhill several times pointed out to the US public that Tibet is an inseparable part of China, and he introduced his position to president Theodore Roosevelt," Cheng said in a China Daily interview.
"So I came up with an idea - to tell the history and culture of Tibet by using Western historical documents, which are more convincing to them," he added.
Cheng compiled the records in a book titled "Selected Documents Relating to Tibet from William W. Rockhill Papers." It was published by the China Intercontinental Press.
According to Cheng, he began to focus on Rockhill in 2008 during his teaching stint at the University of South Carolina.
Since then, Rockhill's stance on Tibet and China has been his focus, inspiring him to dig up documents in Harvard and Yale, the U.S. National Archives and the Library of Congress, among others.
Philadelphia-born Rockhill served as the third assistant secretary of state starting in 1894, China Daily reported per the U.S. State Department's website. He then became the U.S. ambassador to China in 1905 and held the position for four years.
At present, the U.S., through current president Barack Obama, reaffirms its position that Tibet must be covered by China.
"The president stressed that he encourages direct dialogue to resolve long-standing differences and that a dialogue that produces results would be positive for China and Tibetans," the White House said as quoted by The Daily Mail. This was stressed during the White House visit of the XIV Dalai Lama, the revered Tibetan leader.