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Chinese ambassador to the UK, Mr Liu Xiaoming

The UK’s Chinese ambassador, Liu Xiaoming, lost his cool at a talk in the city of Bath, telling Tibetan activists and supporters that their cause is “doomed to failure” and that they will “never succeed, period.”

Direct exchanges between representatives of the Chinese government and exile Tibetans are a rarity, this interaction occurring at a presentation entitled “World Affairs through our eyes – China.”

After the Ambassador’s speech one young Tibetan, Sherab Gyaltsen confronted Liu, asking him to explain the self-immolations occurring in Tibet, the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama and the countrywide lack of freedom.

Liu avoided the question as to the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama who has not been seen for 21 years, simply saying that he was an “ordinary boy” and was never recognised. He boasted about the happiness of Tibetans under Chinese rule stating, “There are 3 million people in Tibet, everyone would agree that Tibetan people are much happier, they live much longer and are much freer.”

Protesters outside the venue of Liu Xiaoming’s talk
Photo: freetibet.org

His statement was immediately rebuffed by Gyaltsen who replied, “Not according to my family in Tibet,” and an angry exchange then followed between the ambassador and a human rights activist who was also in the audience.

The dispute came to a head with Liu accusing the activist of breaching human rights then and there by denying spectators their right to continue with the talk. “That’s nothing compared to torture,” was shouted back at him, to which the diplomat snapped back that it was all, “absolute lies.”

“Your cause is doomed to failure … you try to separate Tibet from China, you will never succeed, period,” Liu finished on.

On the ambassador’s instruction, anything related to Tibet was banned from the event, creating another point of contention between him and the public. Free Tibet campaigns manager Alistair Currie condemned Liu for imposing Chinese influence not just in Tibet, but in the “free and democratic” UK by denying Tibetans their right to display symbols of their identity.

“The Chinese ambassador is a representative of a human rights-abusing regime, responsible for the occupation of Tibet and the brutal repression of the Tibetan people. While he tours the country spreading China’s lies and showing a friendly face, no one must forget that.”