Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 6: British parliamentarians have established a new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet (APPG Tibet), with Scottish National Party MP Chris Law elected as its Chair. The group was officially launched on Tuesday, during an inaugural meeting at Portcullis House in London.
According to the Tibetan state media, tibet.net, the cross-party initiative brings together seven parliamentarians from the Labour Party, Conservative Party, and Scottish National Party, demonstrating broad political support for Tibet-related issues. Notable members include Lord David Alton of Liverpool and Labour MPs Luke Akehurst, Blair McDougall, and Jessica Morden.
During the launch, Representative Tsering Yangkey of the Office of Tibet, London, addressed the gathering and expressed optimism about raising Tibet’s political profile through the group’s work. She also highlighted recent challenges facing Tibet, including the impact of a devastating earthquake in central Tibet in early January.
The meeting covered several pressing issues, including China’s environmental impact in Tibet through projects like the Khamtok Dam and the controversial colonial boarding school system affecting nearly one million Tibetan children. John Jones, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research at Free Tibet, provided a brief overview of the current situation in Tibet with special focus on Tibet’s environment, drawing attention to the role of Siemens Energy, Credit Agricole, and Schroders, as international investors and partners of China Huadian, the company behind Khamtok Dam in Tibet, and explaining the campaign of Tibet groups globally targeting the global companies in calling for them to end their support of China’s exploitation and mega development in Tibet.
Tibet Action Institute’s Dechen Pemba during the meeting mentioned the mandatory colonial boarding school system in Tibet, where almost 80% of school-age children, nearly a million Tibetan children, some as young as four, are assimilated into the majority Han culture.
The group also addressed concerns about China’s efforts to replace the term “Tibet” with “Xizang,” citing the British Museum’s use of the Chinese term in its Silk Route exhibition. Looking ahead, the APPG plans to commemorate significant events in 2025, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday in July and the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of Tibet’s Panchen Lama in May. The next meeting of the APPG Tibet is scheduled for early May 2025.
The newly elected Chair of APPGT, Chris Law MP, expressing his commitment to the cause on social media, stated, “It’s a real privilege & honour to be elected as chair of the all-party group on Tibet, a cause & its people I have been involved in since my youth.” He further wrote, “In this 90th birthday year of the Dalai Lama, we will be raising many issues of Tibetans in parliament & celebrating his leadership.”
