Delhi: “The overall vision of Xi Jinping is to have one nation, one culture and one language at the expense of all other nationalities inside Tibet. There is no political space which is taken for granted in the free world”, remarked Sikyong Penpa Tsering at a seminar organised by the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy on Tuesday where he spoke for an hour-long on ‘China’s Tibet Policy Under Xi Jinping’.
The one-day conference in Delhi includes sessions on ‘China’s Recent Activities in Tibet’ and ‘Religion, Ethnic and Environment Policy in Tibet.’
The democratically elected leader of Tibetans in exile reiterated the recognition of the historical status of Tibet as an independent state in order for the Middle Way Approach proposed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and endorsed by the Tibetan administration as its core political stand to have some leverage. He further contended that a possible solution to the Sino-Tibet conflict through the MWA would have much more implications in South East Asia considering Tibet bordering many countries in this region.
“I find China very insecure today despite having all kinds of power at its disposal…China is the only nation that spends more on internal security than any other nations and that is also a reason why they are relentless in seeking persuasion of the international community to legitimise its illegal occupation of Tibet “, said Sikyong Penpa Tsering. He argued that the international community cannot support the Sino-Tibet negotiation so long they legitimise Tibet being part of the PRC and asserted that the history of Tibet cannot be defined by the whims and fancy of the international community. This legitimacy he said belongs only to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people.
He also added that the historical legacy of Tibet’s suzerainty and its economic and cultural ties with India is also deliberately changed by China through the vast network of colonial boarding schools run by the government to culturally uproot Tibetan children and assimilate them into accepting Chinese ideology and propaganda.
“Culturally Tibetans are dying a slow death as China strikes at the very root of Tibetan national identity which is the Tibetan language. China attempts to change the emotional equation of the Tibetans by sinicising the Tibetan language”, said Sikyong and mentioned the 157 self-immolations committed inside Tibet as the direct consequence of the lack of political space and extreme control. The self-immolations he noted were committed in hope against hope that the international community would pay some attention to their plight and consequently come to their rescue.
China continues to commit varying degrees of atrocities inside Tibet all the while blocking Tibet from an International view by refusing access to journalists, diplomats and human rights activists. He pointed out that China’s only concern was to ensure the sustainability and survival of the communist party. He further added that China’s belligerence on the Indian border and its repeated assertiveness on the South China Sea and Taiwan are an extension of their insecurity should the threat to the survival of the CCP erupts.
“We urge the global community to view Tibet as a partner and not a victim in countering China’s growing aggression. We urge the governments and policymakers to cease calling Tibet part of the PRC and thereby legitimising China’s occupation of Tibet. The international community and the free world need to stand up for their values”, said Sikyong in his concluding remarks.