Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 28: A joint conference bringing together representatives from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, East Turkistan (Xinjiang), Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia was held in Berlin, Germany, marking a unified stand against human rights violations by China in these countries on October 24.
The event, organized by Sino Euro Voice in collaboration with several pro-democracy organizations, highlighted the challenges faced by various communities under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule.
Dr. Jhy-Wey Shieh, Taiwan’s Representative to Germany, opened the conference with remarks emphasizing the crucial need for solidarity among affected communities. He specifically acknowledged the support from Tibetan, Mongolian, and Uyghur communities amid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
According to exile Tibetan government run Tibet.net, the conference featured address by Sangay Kyab, the Chinese Liaison Officer from the Tibet Bureau in Geneva, who provided a comprehensive analysis of what he described as 75 years of repression in Tibet. Kyab outlined four distinct phases of Chinese government actions in Tibet, beginning with political campaigns from 1949 to 1965, followed by the Cultural Revolution period.
He detailed how the third phase, from 1980 to 2012, saw increased Chinese immigration into Tibet and sinicisation programs, leading to widespread protests and self-immolations. The current phase under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, according to Kyab, is characterized by policies allegedly aimed at erasing Tibetan identity, including the controversial placement of over one million Tibetan children in boarding schools.
The Tibetan researcher also noted the absence of representatives from the White Paper Movement, while acknowledging the Dalai Lama’s role in fostering cooperation among groups affected by political repression. In a virtual session, Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Representative of the Office of Tibet in Taiwan, addressed recent developments including the U.S. Resolve Tibet Act, countering perceptions of declining international interest in Tibet’s situation.
The conference, co-organized by the UK Headquarters of China Democracy Party, the Federation for a Democratic China, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and the Democracy Party of China, brought together democracy advocates from various regions and culminated in a protest demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy in Berlin on October 25.
