Senior US lawmaker Nancy Pelosi led a congressional delegation on a rare visit to Tibet, China confirmed Thursday, more than six years after reportedly being forbidden from visiting the region.
Beijing rejected a request by the Democratic party leader to visit the sensitive Himalayan area during her last trip to China in 2009, according to US diplomatic cables from the time released by Wikileaks.
Pelosi, the US House of Representatives minority leader, has long been a fierce critic of Chinese human rights abuses and an advocate for the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader in exile and frequent target of Beijing's wrath.