By Tenam
Paris, March 4 – The film “Tibet, le mensonge Chinoise?” (Tibet, the Chinese lie?), had an exclusive screening at the French Senate yesterday in presence of the filmmaker Bernard Debord, former Senator Louis de Broissia, Jean-Francois Humbert, the President of Tibet Group at the Senate and Kasur Tashi Wangdi, Representative of His Holiness to Europe.
The film chronicles the recent history of Tibet, since its occupation by juxtaposing Chinese newsreel and interviews with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, exile Tibetans and former political prisoners. It also shows how the Chinese propaganda, with a little help from from former Soviet Union, worked to manipulate and spread lies about Tibet and its occupation.
The filmmaker said that he was inspired by the Canadian-Tibetan film ‘What Remains of Us” and wanted to show how the Chinese propaganda tries to manipulate and distort facts about Tibet. He said that one of his goal is to not make China the sole source of information when it comes to Tibet. While looking for archives of CCTV news reel, the BBC who has exclusive rights in Europe, told the director to sign a contract that he will not use use them to challenge the sovereignty of China.
“Today, it is the western media that is becoming a tool of Chinese propaganda,” the filmmaker who co-authored Wei Jinsheng’s biography with Marie Holzman said.
While acknowledging the difficulty of speaking for Tibet and Tibetans as business interest goes against it, the filmmaker said that “together with the French people, he will continue to fight for Tibet.”
Kasur Tashi Wangdi updated the audience about the grim situation inside Tibet and said that the country is under “an undeclared Martial Law”.
Since the protest in Tibet last year, China has continued to blame the Dalai Lama for “orchestrating riots” and “spreading lies” about Tibet.
“Though the Chinese premier claimed to the international press in March last year that he has undeniable proof of the Dalai Lama’s hand in protest across Tibet; till date, he has not shown a single proof,” Tashi Wangdi said.
Later in the evening, a book titled l’Autobiographie Spirituelle du Dalaï-Lama (The Spiritual autobiography of the Dalai Lama) by Sofia Stril-Rever, a French author was released.
The film will be broadcast in Belgium on RTBF channel on 11 March and on France 3 television on 14 March.
