Dharamshala: The Chinese Embassy caused a stir in the Australian press after demanding the National Press Club to revoke its invitation to Sikyong Penpa Tsering, head of the Central Tibetan Administration, expressing their displeasure at his scheduled appearance on 20 June 2023.
In an interview with TibetTV this afternoon, Representative Karma Singey, Office of Tibet Canberra, assured Sikyong’s scheduled talk on 20 June to proceed as planned despite China’s objections while asserting Australia’s strong values of democracy, freedom of speech and expression.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering is scheduled to visit New Zealand and Australia between 14-25 June. Sikyong is scheduled to give a talk on ‘Resolving Sino-Tibet Conflict and Securing peace in the region’ at the invitation of National Press Club of Australia on 20 June.
Sikyong will visit Auckland on the first day in New Zealand where he will be staying for two days and address the local Tibetan community, meet with the Tibet Support Group and Chinese friends, and hold a press interview. On 16 June, he will visit Wellington and meet with a group of MPs and friends of Tibet.
He will arrive in Sydney, Australia on 17 June where he will address the local Tibetan community and Tibetan youth. In particular, he will meet with legislators of New South Wales, and Chinese friends and hold a press interview with Sydney Morning Herald. In Canberra, Sikyong will deliver a talk at the National Press Club, interact with experts of Australian Strategic Policy Institute, meet with MPs and prominent dignitaries, Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, followed by a visit to Melbourne where he will speak at the Australia India Institute. In Brisbane, Sikyong will attend the Tibet festival and meet with Tibetan community.