Jun 20, 2020 Shyamal Sinha BREAKING NEWS, TOP NEWS Comments Off on EU must raise human rights and reciprocal access to Tibet at China summit
File image of the hoisted flags of the EU and China/savetibet.org
Brussels – As the European Union prepares to hold its annual summit with China next week, the International Campaign for Tibet urges its leaders to use this opportunity to demand concrete improvements on human rights in Tibet and to reiterate at the highest level their call for reciprocal access to Tibet.
This year’s EU-China Summit, initially scheduled for March, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will take place June 22 via videoconference, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced Monday.
“This summit represents an opportunity for the EU to show it is serious about standing up to China, not only when it comes to defending its own interests but also when it comes to promoting the values on which it is founded,” ICT’s EU Policy Director Vincent Metten said. “During this meeting, it is crucial that EU leaders challenge China more forcefully on its human rights record, including by demanding an end to its repression against the Tibetan people and insisting on the EU’s previous call for China to allow free access to Tibet for European journalists, diplomats, parliamentarians and citizens, based on the principle of reciprocity.”
In the last few months, and in particular since the COVID-19 crisis started, the EU has shown a more confident attitude in pushing back against China’s disinformation and ‘divide and conquer attitude in Europe. On June 10, in a communication on “Tackling COVID-19 disinformation,” Borrell and European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová named and shamed China for its role in propagating coronavirus-related fake news.
In a recent contribution in several newspapers, Borrell also argued that EU-China relations were undergoing change, and that the focus of the relationship should be on “trust, transparency and reciprocity.” Germany, which is preparing to take up the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU from July 1, also reportedly signaled it will push for a tougher EU line toward China, adding language to a draft document that would see a stronger demand for “reciprocity” and a new emphasis on “values.” ICT hopes this will also apply to human rights and Tibet.
A week ahead of the summit, 21 members of the European Parliament and 36 members of National Parliaments from 19 European countries published an opinion piece in several European media outlets calling on EU member states and the EU to pass their own versions of the US Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act to send Beijing a message that its unfair treatment of Europeans—as well as its isolation of the Tibetan people—is no longer acceptable.
The human rights situation in Tibet remains deeply concerning as China has strengthened its repressive policies. Tibet has effectively been turned into a police state, with control and surveillance measures developed there now replicated in Xinjiang, the region where China has reportedly detained more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslims in mass internment camps. As Beijing has blocked access to Tibet, the situation on the ground in Tibet has become a muted crisis. At stake is the survival of Tibetan culture, language and religion
Apr 20, 2021 Comments Off on Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’
Apr 17, 2021 Comments Off on Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit
Apr 17, 2021 Comments Off on Penpa Tsering to lead Tibetans as new Sikyong
Apr 15, 2021 Comments Off on Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days
Apr 20, 2021 Comments Off on Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’
Apr 17, 2021 Comments Off on Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit
Apr 15, 2021 Comments Off on Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days
Apr 12, 2021 Comments Off on Nepal King reaches Haridwar to participate in Kumbh festival
Nov 27, 2019 Comments Off on Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, Former Personal Physician to the Dalai Lama, Dies
By Staff writer Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, 1927–2019....Aug 29, 2019 Comments Off on Former Rigpa Head Sogyal Rinpoche Passes Away in Thailand
By Staff Writer On behalf of all members of the...Feb 07, 2018 Comments Off on Passing of World-renowned Scholar Jao Tsung-I Mourned
By Staff Writer On behalf of all members of the...Feb 17, 2017 Comments Off on Respected Tibetan Teacher Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche Dies
Respected Tibetan Teacher Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche On behalf...Jun 27, 2016 Comments Off on Condolence message on the demise of Ven. Anamaduwe Sri Dhammadassi NayakeThero
Ven. Anamaduwe Sri Dhammadassi NayakeThero General...