Xi-Jinping-China
(Photo: yahoo news)
China and the exile Tibetan government have held a number of dialogues to address the issue of Tibet but have so far produced no concrete results. The last talk was held in January 2010.
Now in 2013, with constant hope of change made even greater with the change in Chinese leadership, Tibet support groups worldwide are pressuring those visiting China to meet the new Chinese leader.
Julia Gillard
Photo: tibet.net
The Australia Tibet Council (ATC) presented Julia Gillard with a letter urging her to raise the issue of the Tibet crisis with the new Chinese leadership on her visit in early April. Following her meeting with the Chinese authorities she made a statement, saying she “did raise human rights, with a reference to Tibet” and, “these discussions are best had in private but, as I indicated, we do raise human rights concern and I did raise human rights today.”
US Secretary of State, John Kerry
Sikyong Lobsang Sangay (Prime minister of the exile Tibetan administration), wrote to the US Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to raise the Tibet issue, human rights and the current crisis in Tibet during his first visit to China on April 13-14. Sikyong wrote, “China has neither employed the constitutional mechanism at its disposal nor has it shown the political will to resolve the Tibet issue peacefully. Prompt resumption of dialogue between the Chinese and Tibetan leadership, which has been stalled since January 2010, will give new hope to Tibetans and begin the process of finding a solution that works for both the sides.”
Sophie Richardson, the China Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), also wrote to Secretary Kerry to raise the critical human rights situation in Tibet. The letter said, “Despite the increasing death toll, there is still no evidence to suggest willingness on the part of the Chinese authorities to address the grievances articulated either by those who have self-immolated or more broadly by Tibetans, including those that represent basic human rights violations.”
Since his visit to China, there have been no reports that John Kerry did raise the issue of Tibet with the Chinese Leadership.
François Hollande
Photo: wikipedia
French President Francois Hollande, who is in China to meet his counterpart Xi Xingping, has said his talks touched upon Beijing’s human rights record. He is taking a sizeable risk by speaking of Tibet or the country’s human rights record and must tread carefully. Chinese officials have shunned high-level meetings with their British counterparts since Prime Minister David Cameron met with the Dalai Lama last May.
Before his visit, in an open letter, French Deputies Jean-Patrick Gille and Noel Mamere, co-presidents of the French parliamentary group for Tibet, called on “President Francois Hollande not to exclude the issue of Tibet in the discussions with Chinese authorities during his forthcoming visit to Beijing…..France in Partnership with the European Union must carry the banner of Tibetan freedom” The letter also noted that China must allow access to Tibet to everyone, including the media, and “resume the dialogue that China decided to stop.”
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