CANBERRA: As the world leaders including China’s President Xi Jinping gathered in Australia for G20 Summit, Tibetans and supporters held a peaceful rally in front of the Parliament House in Canberra on 17 Nov. The rally was organised by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Tibetan Community, the New South Wales Tibetan Community and the Tibetan Community of Newcastle, along with over 500 members of other organisations.

They highlighted the ongoing repressive policies of the Chinese Communist Party, and called on the Chinese leadership to engage in substantive dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The secretary of the ACT Tibetan Community, Shenphen Ringpapontsang, met with senators from the Australian Greens Party. In his presentation to the Senators, he outlined the ongoing repressive policies of the Chinese Communist Party in Tibet, particularly highlighting the systematic attack on Tibetan culture through the forced resettlement of Tibetan nomads, the increasing restrictions on Buddhist monasteries and Tibetan language in schools.