Dr Lobsang Sangay speaking at Reitaku University in Japan
Photo: tibet.net
Dr Lobsang Sangay, Sikyong [President] of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA),visited Japan from February 17 to 23; his fourth official visit there. Dr Sangay met Japanese parliamentarians, interacted with the Japanese media and gave public talks related to Tibet and the importance of Tibet on the global stage.
His first major visit was to Reitaku University where he spoke on Tibet’s Tragedy and Future. Speaking to a packed auditorium, Dr Sangay said that supporting Tibet sends a powerful message that the world supports morality and non-violent conflict resolution as Tibetans stands for freedom, justice and democracy. “Tibet is an issue of morality and moral is at the very core of the Tibet issue. What we seek from China are freedom, justice and democracy, which are denied to the Tibetan people,” he said. He also spoke about China’s years of attempts to destroy Buddhism in Tibet and how His Holiness the Dalai Lama has spearheaded a revival of Buddhism in India and Tibet.
Photo: tibet.net
Speaking at his welcome reception Dr Sangay said, “We have no choice but to make peace and victory for Tibet a reality. We have no choice because, in the 19th Party Congress, President Xi Jinping said socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era is what China is going to do. The socialism with Chinese characteristics means no liberal democracy or freedom of expression. It is one-party rule”. He added that the Mao Zedong era was the unification of China, the Deng Xiaoping era was to make China rich and the Xi Jinping era is to consolidate one-party rule. He continued, saying that this means the world has no choice: either China needs to be transformed into a liberal democracy or there is a danger that the world will be transformed to become like China.
The welcome reception was attended by representatives of government offices, Japanese parliamentarians and their representatives, Buddhist institutions, non-government organisations including Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), Tibetan community members and educational institutions. Mr Uto Takashi, a Member of the Japanese Parliament,spoke, making a commitment towards Japan’s ongoing support in restoring the cause of Tibet.
Dr Sangay gave a series of media interviews during his stay in Japan including an exclusive interview for Genron TV where he was interviewed by Ms Sakurai Yoshiko, the veteran journalist and head of the think tank, Japan Institute of National Fundamentals. He spoke of the Chinese government’s repression in Tibet;the threats to Tibet’s culture, religion and environment; Tibet’s non-violent struggle and the CTA’s Middle Way Approach, and the selection process for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation.
The visit concluded on February 22 with an address to 250 people gathered in Japan’s Osaka city. The talk was attended by Mr Nagao Takashi, a Member of Parliament from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Secretary of the All Party Japanese Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet.
His previous visits to Japan were in 2012, 2016 and 2017.
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