By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, May 21: A delegation from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) attended the inauguration ceremony of the 11th Taiwan Parliamentary Group for Tibet in Taipei on May 20. The Office of Tibet in Taiwan and Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan started lobbying effort in late March to re-establish the Taiwanese parliamentary group for Tibet in the 11th Legislative Yuan.
The Tibetan delegation included Minister Norzin Dolma of CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations, Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Tibetan Parliamentarians Ven. Tenpa Yarphel, Tashi Dhondup, and DIIR Secretary Karma Choeying. Representatives from the Taiwan Immigration Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture were also present.
Among the many Parliamentary Groups for Tibet around the world, Japan has the largest parliamentary group for Tibet, and in Europe, the Czech Republic has the largest group. Other countries with parliamentary support groups include Spain, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, among others.
Parliamentary Groups for Tibet consist of parliamentarians who support and advocate for the Tibetan cause in their respective countries. Members of these groups work to advocate for the Tibetan people and address Tibet-related issues through their governments.
The Tibetan government in exile have organised the ‘World Parliamentarian Convention for Tibet’ eight times to date with the objective to make lawmakers taking a leading role on the international stage to push for Tibetan causes including human rights and environmental protection of Tibet, among other critical issues. Additionally, it encourages parliamentarians to consider initiatives within their respective countries to support the early resumption of dialogue between the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the People’s Republic of China, to achieve a solution for Tibetan issue.
The first World Parliamentarian Convention for Tibet (WPTC) took place in New Delhi in 1994, which discussed India’s role in preserving Tibetan identity following the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet. Subsequent conventions were held in Vilnius, Lithuania (1995); Washington D.C., USA (1997); Edinburgh, Scotland (2005); Rome, Italy (2009); Ottawa, Canada (2012); Riga, Latvia (2019); and the eighth in Washington D.C. in 2022.
