News and Views on Tibet

Dialogue must be encouraged between the envoys of Dalai Lama and China, says CTA President

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Screen grab of the CTA President speaking at the first hearing on Aug 6 (Photo-CTA)
Screen grab of the CTA President speaking at the first hearing on Aug 6 (Photo-CTA)

By Choekyi Lhamo

DHARAMSHALA, AUG 7: The President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan government in exile, Dr. Lobsang Sangay said dialogue between the Tibetan and Chinese counterparts must be encouraged, as he testified before the Canadian House of Commons’ Special Committee on Canada-China relations (CACN) on Thursday.

The head of the Tibetan polity speaking via video conference urged the committee to support and pass a motion in the parliament supporting the Middle-Way Approach and asserted that a legitimate dialogue must be encouraged between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the representatives of China. 

The special parliamentarian committee which was established last year examines different aspects of Canada-China relations including economic, legal, security, and diplomatic matters. The CTA President warned the Canadian government of China’s masked diplomacy that continue to undermine democratic and human rights values in CACN’s first hearing.

President also mentioned the ‘Unity law’ in Tibet which has similar undertones with the security law imposed in Hong Kong. He said that these laws are constructed to undermine freedom of speech and also to encourage political repression of the people. He told the committee, “We have been warning the nations and global leaders that the tragedy of Tibet should not be neglected as the incident could strike again.”

He also mentioned the arrests of two Canadian citizens to highlight Chinese strategic fronts in diplomatic matters. China detained Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China in Dec. 2018 on the account of espionage. He told the committee that Canada must not succumb to Chinese pressure in the matter as CCP demanded Meng Wanzhou in exchange for the release of the detained Canadians. 

“It is very much likely that more such cases will happen in the future where China would blatantly use more Canadians as hostages just to pressure the Canadian government for concession,” he further remarked. 

He further requested the Canadian government to pressurize the Chinese government by creating solidarities and joining allies of democracy to further the cause of human rights in Tibet, East Turkistan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.  

One Response

  1. Dialogue for what exactly? Genuine autonomy? It failed in Hong Kong recently, what makes the CTA think that China will ever grant Tibetans any kind of autonomy or freedom? CTA isn’t even asking for democracy any more, just Communist Party rule in Tibet with cultural autonomy and China has repeatedly rejected even that modest proposal. CTA leadership is failing the people of Tibet who are desperate for freedom from China.

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