Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 26: The Musée du quai Branly in Paris has removed the term “Xizang” from its descriptions of Tibetan artefact, following widespread public outcry. The museum has reverted to using “Tibet” in its catalogue and exhibition labels for items related to Tibet.
The museum’s decision comes after strong opposition from Tibetans and their supporters in France, who swiftly mobilised, launching petitions and making repeated appeals for the museum to correct its labelling. Scholars and activists argued that the use of “Xizang” – the Chinese term for Tibet – aligns with China’s official narrative, which they say undermines Tibet’s distinct cultural identity and historical autonomy.
However, the Musée Guimet, which renamed its Tibetan exhibition spaces as the “Himalayan World,” has yet to respond to similar appeals. Meanwhile, the Branly Museum is scheduled to meet with representatives from six Tibetan NGOs in France, who had previously sent formal letters to both museums, seeking discussions on the implications of these terminology changes.
President Penpa Tsering, the political leader of the exile Tibetan government officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also condemned the change in terminology. In a letter sent to French officials and the directors of both museums on September 14, Tsering argued that using “Xizang” is part of a broader Chinese strategy to erode Tibetan identity. He urged the museums to reinstate “Tibet” in their exhibits to uphold historical accuracy.
Echoing these concerns, the Tibet Museum of the CTA released a statement, calling the museums’ decisions an alarming distortion of history and an attack on Tibet’s cultural identity. Tenzin Topdhen, the museum’s director, called on both the Musée Guimet and Musée du quai Branly to correct the terminology to ensure an accurate representation of Tibetan heritage.
Tibetans and their supporters in France have been actively protesting these changes, organising petitions, contacting museum officials, and raising awareness across social media platforms. Many view the museums’ actions as part of China’s broader effort to control the global narrative around Tibet and its cultural legacy.
2 Responses
These two museums are terrible, and hurt the sentiments of all cholkha sum people of Tibet.
This is great news for all those Tibetans who are extremely concerned about the name change by the vile communist regime of China! This regime is the most brutal and violent regime to rule China. They took over China by force like the backward Taliban took over Afghanistan when the western forces deserted the Afghan people at the mercy of the medieval regime. It is imperialistic and expansionist. It is the single greatest threat to all freedom loving people of the world. One of the greatest fear of the CCP is press freedom! It is terrified of what the people would do if they knew the truth about Communist leader’s corruption, brutality, history of lying about Tibet and other occupied territories! Ever since the illegal occupation of Tibet, the regime has spared no time to strip the Tibetan people of their monasteries, their religious beliefs, their customs, language and identity. Today, it is erasing the very name of our country-TIBET order to give the impression that it is no more than a Chinese province by using the Chinese nomenclature. By erasing TIBET’S historical name, it is trying to erase the whole history of Tibet as a nation and an empire. It is scrubbing clean any trace of our historical legacy and heritage of more than two thousand years. It forcibly occupied Tibet and now it is forcibly erasing Tibet once and for all so that all our history, culture, language will be no more than a curiosity item mired in Chinese propaganda, folklore and hearsay. The evil regime vacuum cleans history in order to avoid responsibility. The Tiananmien massacre of 1989 is whitewashed and suppressed. Nobody in China except those who are above 50 years of age are aware of the massacre because the regime has made it illegal to even speak about the horror of Tiananmien massacre. Major news outlets are all state owned! They are allowed to report only CCP sanctioned news so neither corruption nor such massacres of 1989 are allowed to be reported. All news out lets such as digital information from outside is banned so it is easier for the regime to manipulate news easily to suit the regimes goals and preponderances! Tibetans should have no illusions about the ultimate goal of the enemy. IT IS THE TOTAL EXTERMINATION OF THE TIBETANS AS A PEOPLE WITH A DISTINCT LANGUAGE, CULTURE, RELIGION AND IDENTITY! We don’t have the liberty of being idealistic about the prospect of living in harmony with communist China and being ourselves! The CCP wants every Tibetan to be a Chinese and NOT TIBETAN! They cannot accept us other than being photo copies of Han Chinese! The present dictator is a Han chauvinist! He tolerates nothing except all conquered people under their occupation must be Chinese by forcibly stripping them of their own national identity! He has called for one language, one people and one culture! The reason behind this is their attempt to create a homogenous population so there will be no danger of separatism. They strongly believe this is nation building and a duty to their blood soaked Chinese empire built with the blood, tears and wanton destruction of the people they conquered through violence! Tibetans must not be complacent in believing that communist China will somehow show some reasonableness in dealing with the Tibet issue! Learn lessons from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s blunders. Nehru was a gentleman and an idealist. He believed in the sugar coated words of the Chinese communists who have applied their tactic of deceiving the opponent with these belief: “deceive the heavens to cross the ocean”! The communist’s foremost tactic is deception at all levels to hoodwink their opponents! Many Tibetans in exile have been already hoodwinked and they tend to believe that communist China will see reason and find a solution. The fact is the CCP doesn’t even acknowledge their is a Tibet issue! They only talk is of the accomodation of the Dalai Lama. Owing to very poor political awareness and fickleness of Tibetans in general, some Tibetans are now cozying up to the enemy and enjoying the Chinese deceptive presents and hospitality they are offered when they visit occupied Tibet! There is danger that the Chinese communists will turn the tables on the Tibetans when the Dalai Lama is no more! Tibetans love money and if they are given stashes of money, they can’t resist the temptation. With this tactic our community is now hybrid. The Rangzen advocates resist the Chinese while the U-May Lam are embracing the Chinese! As the saying goes, a divided house cannot stand, we will all be losers in the end!
The museum’s change of heart is welcome and history is on your side. We thank you for your understanding. It is hoped the other museum will also follow suit! We have to admit that the Tibet experts and academics who wrote a joint letter to the museum would have carried a lot of weight. These are people who devoted their lives in pursuit of Tibet and its characteristics and are therefore part of the custodians of the knowledge about Tibet. It is very important to work with such people in future and get their support. Added to that the protests by our own people makes it difficult for the authorities running the show to turn a blind eye to their dastardly act to cave in to the dictates of a genocidal regime. Thank you once again to our Tibetan brothers and sisters in France for your wonderful effort! It is very much appreciated! The CCP will run such sham exhibitions around the world to promote their propaganda about Tibet to gain legitimacy for the illegal occupation of Tibet. We must stand firm at every nook and corner of the world to protest the illegal use of Chinese name for our country which is under communist Chinese illegal occupation. The occupier has NO RIGHT TO CHANGE anything of the occupied land. The CCP is using the Chinese name to legitimise their illegal occupation as well as legitimising the land grab of whole of Kham and Amdo by truncating them from Tibet!!! THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN ALLOW THIS- ONLY OVER OUR DEAD BODY!