Canberra, Australia: Representative Karma Singey of the Office of Tibet in Canberra wrote to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on the eve of her visit to China, urging her to raise the Tibet issue with her counterpart Wang Yi and other Chinese Communist Party leaders.
In a letter dated 19 December 2022, the Representative wished success to Foreign Minister’s week-long official engagements in Beijing and requested to raise the Tibet issue in ‘the strongest terms possible’ in her interaction with the Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other Chinese Communist Party leaders.
He writes, “I would like to call on you to make the protection of Tibet’s distinct culture, religion and national identity a priority in your interactions with the People’s Republic of China. In particular, to raise the issue of the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Dalai Lama recognised Panchen Lama – the world’s youngest political prisoner, who, ever since his appointment at the age of six, had disappeared along with his parents in 1995. Likewise, thousands of Tibetans are languishing in Chinese prisons for simply exercising their fundamental rights. I earnestly request you to urge the Chinese government to immediately declare its whereabouts and release all Tibetan political prisoners by upholding China’s commitment to international Law and universal freedom”.
Representative detailed the repression of Tibetan people’s cultural and national identity inside Tibet, including the ecological destruction on an industrial scale. He listed the number of self-immolations that have taken place since 2009 due to the constant denial of their human rights and freedom. He further highlighted the prevalence of colonial boarding schools that are potentially intended to separate Tibetan children from their cultural roots. He additionally drew Minister Wong’s attention to the coercive system of harvesting mass DNA collections inside Tibet transforming the nation into an Orwellian Surveillance State, remarking that such events would have negative implications not just for Tibetans but for the wider humanity.
“Therefore, I once again call on you to use the opportunity of your visit to China to make a strong public statement highlighting the Australian Government’s concerns about the current situation in Tibet and calling on the need for earnest dialogue to resolve the longstanding Sino-Tibet Conflict, ” the letter concludes. Read the letter here.
On 20 December 2022, the Australia Tibet Council (ATC) wrote a letter to the Foreign Minister reasserting a similar request made by the Office of Tibet. Read the letter here.