In June 1929, when Liu Manqing had worked for just five months, she realized the situation in Tibet was tremendously grave. Tibet had been coveted by western powers, and the British imperialists intended to take the opportunity to commit aggression; the National Government had no plan to deal with this, so she proposed to the Head of Civil Service, Gu Yingfen, and the Chairman of the National Government, Chiang Kai-shek, that she should travel to Xikang and Tibet to conduct an investigation.

As ordered by Chiang Kai-shek, she secretly traveled to Tibet to meet the Dalai Lama on behalf of the National Government. The Dalai Lama stated that, “The British truly intend to tempt me, but I know that our sovereignty must not be lost” and “My greatest wish is for real peace and the unification of China.”