London: Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet in the United Kingdom felicitated Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, during a virtual meeting held on 24 May 2021 to discuss China’s new coercive strategies in Tibet, a new report from Tibet Advocacy Coalition.
The meeting was hosted and chaired by honourable RT. Tim Loughton, MP and Co-chair of APPGT UK and joined by Dr. Lobsang Sangay, President of Central Tibetan Administration, Chris Law, MP and Co-chair of APPGT, Navendu Mishra, MP, Lord Alton of Liverpool, Kerry McCarthy, MP, Wera Hobhouse, MP, Representative Mr. Sonam Tsering Frasi, John Jones –Free Tibet and APPGT Secretariat, Goria Montgomery, Human Rights Advocate at Tibet Justice Centre and Tsering Tsomo, Secretary of Office of Tibet.
Honourable RT. Tim Loughton started the meeting with a welcome note and informed the members of the meeting agendas including valedictory to outgoing Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, President of CTA.
The first speaker Gloria Montgomery from Tibet Justice Centre briefed the members on Assaulting Identity: China’s coercive strategies in Tibet, a new report from Tibet Advocacy Coalition. The report that came out at end of March 2021 covers three main areas pertaining to child rights, labour and concerns relating to freedom of religion.
She added the CCP’s objective is clearly set out last August at the seventh Tibet work forum which spoke about “breaking lineage, breaking roots, breaking connections, and breaking origins” which is really concerning language to be coming out from Chinese leadership. She focused on child section of the report by highlighting CCP targeting kindergartens and residential school for more political education in order to ensure loyalty of the younger generation. The number of kindergartens in Tibet has increased to hundreds more in the last few years. The idea is to remove children from their home so that they no longer have the culture reference and when they sent them away, certainly they cannot communicate with their grandparents on Buddhism or their experience as a Tibet before the occupation. The figures of residentials school are also chilling as political indoctrination is even more heightened in those areas and she calls for an action to protect Tibetan identity before CCP eradicate in a generation or two.
Members raised questions and shown great concern about the depressing report and assured their full support to raise this in the parliament. Member decided to invite Nigel Adam, MP, Minister of the State to the next APPGT meeting before the summer.
- Tim Loughton in his remarks appreciated Sikyong for his excellent 10 years and said you worked so well with your team and it is a great pleasure and privileged to be able to work so closely with you for the last few years and shared his experience visiting Dharamshala and Sikyong’s visiting UK parliament in two occasions. He then invited Sikyong to address the members.
Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay began by thanking Tim and Chris for hosting him to Westminster and Scotland and appreciate the warm hospitality during his visit to UK. He addressed the members on cultural assimilation in Tibet, making Tibet into Chinese province and Tibetans into Chinese. He said the blueprint of assimilating or indoctrinating adult, high school, middle school, primary school and now they are going kindergarten.
Cultural assimilation was the centuries-old policy of the Chinese government. Tibet is the patient zero and what is happening in Xinjiang, Mongolia is essentially what happened to Tibet and is replicated to these other places. So the situation is very serious in Tibet he said.
The challenge before the world is either you transform China or China will transform you. He also mentioned the recent sanctions to 6 UK MPs by the Chinese Government. So he warned the members saying “Chinese tentacles are in your capital and in your parliaments”.
In his concluding remarks, Sikyong thanked everyone for hosting him all these years and appreciated their support as he urged them to continue supporting the CTA. “I do believe we are getting there as the whole world is realising what the Chinese government is capable of and especially the pandemic has made more clear to the whole world. So it is time to use our wisdom to fight China and bring democracy in China and Freedom in Tibet. And His Holiness the Dalai Lama back in the capital city of Tibet. That’s our hope.”
Honourable Chris law commended Sikyong’s ten years campaign on Human Rights and Freedom of Tibet and its people. He extended his huge “thank you” to Sikyong, adding “feel free to come to Scotland anytime and assured his continuous support for Tibet”.
Rt. Tim Loughton in his final remarks once again thanked Sikyong on behalf of all the members of APPGT and himself. “I think we should not underestimate what has been achieved under your tenure over the last 10 years or so. You are the first leader of the Tibetans after the Dalai Lama devolved his political responsibility. I think that has been a huge success for you in raising the profile of Tibet working with other democrat and parliamentarians from around the world. Raising the profile not just Tibet but the impact of what the Chinese are doing within Tibet for the whole world”. Lastly, he wished Sikyong and his family well.
Representative Sonam Tsering Frasi, Office of Tibet, London on behalf of all the Tibetans in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Poland paid tribute to Sikyong for his dedicated service, and professionalism in promoting the case for Tibet and for being loyal and upholding the long-cherished wishes of His Holiness the great 14th Dalai Lama. He also thanked his wife and daughter for sacrificing their home life and allowing Sikyong the freedom to pursue his dream of serving the Tibetans and keeping alive their cherished dream for a Free Tibet.
He concluded by saying “we will have very soon Mr Penpa Tsering, former Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, as our new Sikyong and I look forward to your continued support and cooperation with the new administration.”
Finally, RT. Tim Loughton informed the members that he will formally congratulate the newly elect President of CTA, Mr. Penpa Tsering in writing.
– Filed by Office of Tibet, London