New York City, January 13 – Tibetans and supporters hailed BP’s decision yesterday to divest its stake in PetroChina, China’s largest state-owned oil company. BP has been the target of a campaign by Tibetans and activists since it became PetroChina’s largest foreign shareholder after the company’s initial public offering in 2000. BP’s $578 million dollar investment was the amount needed by PetroChina to build a gas pipeline in Tibet, a project opposed by local and exiled Tibetans as a political move aimed at consolidating China’s control over the region.
“BP’s decision to back out of PetroChina is long overdue,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “We welcome the news that they will no longer be contributing funds to the Chinese government’s colonization of Tibet.” BP came under fire from a diverse coalition of advocacy groups during the construction of the pipeline, which was part of the Chinese government’s “Western Development Campaign,” a politically charged and motivated effort aimed at solidifying China’s grip on its western regions, including occupied Tibet and East Turkestan.
The high-profile campaign calling for BP to divest from PetroChina included coordinated international protests targeting BP corporate offices and gas stations, as well as shareholder activism at BP’s annual meetings. Activists declared the campaign a success when other corporations began to note Tibet as an area of concern in relation to their China investments.
“Any foreign investor faces high risk – both economic and reputational – when investing in a Chinese company working in Tibet,” said Freya Putt, Campaigns Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Until Tibetans control their country, massive projects like PetroChina’s Tibet pipeline will serve the ulterior motives of the Chinese government – primarily consolidating control over the region – rather than either economic gain for investors or social benefit for Tibetans.”
Students for a Free Tibet works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. A chapter-based network of more than 650 schools worldwide, SFT campaigns for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom through education, grassroots organizing, and nonviolent direct action.
Contact: Lhadon Tethong, 212.358.0071 or 917.418.4181 (mobile)
Freya Putt, 212.358.0071
