Strengthen Efforts To Reach Out to
Chinese People: Top Chinese Scholar[Friday,
7 January 2011, 2:09 p.m.]

Mr Yuan Hongbing (left) during his visit to the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India, in 2009. Also seen in the picture is Mr Sangay Kyap, head of the Chinese Desk at the Department of Information and International Relations

DHARAMSHALA: A prominent former scholar of
Beijing University has commended the Central Tibetan Administration for
adopting a “correct policy of reaching out to the Chinese people”.“In
addition to liaising with overseas Chinese, the Tibetan side should
strengthen its efforts in reaching out to the educated and influential
Chinese people living in the Mainland,” Mr Yuan Hongbing said during his
meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Representative in New York.During
the meeting, Representative Kasur Lobsang Nyandak Zayul sought from Mr
Yuan information about the prevailing social condition and political
situation inside China. They also exchanged their work experiences.“Mr
Yuan, who is living in Sydney, has expressed his interest in meeting
with Tibetan community in New York and accordingly the Office of Tibet
in Canberra organised this visit,” said Mr Kunga Tashi, Chinese liaison
officer at the Office of Tibet in New York, who also attended the
meeting.“Mr Yuan gives due importance to the courage of Tibetan
youths in leading their struggle,” Mr Kunga said about the Chinese
scholar’s meeting with Tibetans in New York.Recounting his visit
to Dharamsala last year, Mr Yuan said he was highly impressed by way
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gives equal respect to all sections of
people despite his reputed status. He remembered how he saw tears coming
out of a young Chinese man’s eyes after looking at a picture of his
audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. During the audience His
Holiness extended both his hands and bow in front of that young Chinese
man.He participated in the Sino-Tibetan
conference held in Geneva in 2009 towards finding a common
ground on the issue of Tibet.Mr Yuan is one of the many Chinese
who supports the Tibetan people’s struggle for truth and justice. He is
known for his good contacts with the mainland China and carefully
studies the happenings inside the country. He graduated from
Beijing University with a master’s degree in criminal procedure in 1986
and went on to head the School of Criminal Procedural Law at Beijing
University. Mr Yuan’s outspoken views against the Chinese government on
the Tiananmen protests in 1989 and his involvement in peace initiatives
for which he was detained in 1994 forced him to flee into exile. In 2004
he sought political asylum in Australia.’Winds on the Plain’
and ‘Taiwan Disaster’ are the two critically acclaimed books authored by
Mr Yuan.