Tokyo: Representative Dr. Tsewang Gyalpo Arya of the Liaison Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama met with lawmakers Eriko Yamatani and Akimasa Ishikawa, Chairperson and the former General Secretary, respectively, of the Japan Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, today at the Japan Parliament building in Nagatacho, Tokyo.

Representative Arya updated the two lawmakers about the recent Chinese law on “Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress”, which is scheduled to be effective from 1 July. He submitted a summary of the law and explained that the motive behind the CCP’s law is to legitimise the regime’s policy to destroy and assimilate the minority nationals’ identity, language, and culture, and the criminalisation of activities resisting this assimilationist drive.

Presenting a copy of the resolution passed by the Japan Tibet Support Group on 28 February, Dr. Arya requested the lawmakers to follow up on the three points mentioned in the resolution with the government and the parliament. The three points are the issuance of a strong statement condemning the CCP regime for human rights violations in Tibet; establishing a human rights monitoring desk; and urging the CCP regime to stop interfering in the Tibetan religious matter, including the selection of reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Representative Arya informed the lawmakers of the International Tibet Support Group conference in Dharamshala, where six members from Japan and two from South Korea participated. He updated them on the celebration of the Year of Compassion and the photo exhibitions on the life and four missions of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Lawmakers Yamatani Eriko and Ishikawa Akimasa appreciated the updates and lamented the continued Chinese repression and expressed shock at the Chinese Ethnic Unity law and the colonial boarding schools. The Japanese version of the latest report on the colonial boarding schools was presented, and the two lawmakers promised to share the updates with their fellow parliamentarians at the earliest.

Tashi Yangzom, Secretary of the Tibet House Japan, accompanied Representative Arya at the meeting.

– Report filed by Office Of Tibet, Japan