DHARAMSHALA, January 29: The Tibetan minister for information and international relations, Diki Choyyang, has alleged that Chinese Embassy officials intimidate Tibetans in Australia applying for visa to travel to Tibet, reported The Australian.
Australia is home to some 1000 Tibetans, mostly former political prisoners and their families. Ms. Dicki Choyyang, made the allegation after meetings with members of the Tibetan and Chinese communities in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. “This is a development to which the Australian government and people have to be alerted,” Ms. Choyyang was quoted by The Australian as saying.
The Chinese authorities, she said, “monitor the Tibetan community here closely”.
Ms. Choyyang said people from Tibet were routinely asked whether they were members of the Australian Tibetan Association, whether they had participated in any demonstrations while in Australia, and whether they had made contributions to the Central Tibetan Administration based at Dharamsala in northern India.
“This is a blatant infringement of Australia’s sovereignty. For people involved, this is emotional blackmail,” Ms Choyyang said. “They are free as Australian citizens to participate in any lawful, peaceful activities.”
Michael Danby, the Labor MP for Melbourne Ports and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, said that the “intimidation of Australian citizens” is very concerning, and that it should not be put up with. “I’ll be writing to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to investigate these reports.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Chinese embassy had declined to comment when approached by the The Australian.
The Tibetan minister is in Australia as part of the Tibetan administration’s efforts to to reach out to the Chinese communities in Australia and to attend the Tibet Festival in Melbourne that concluded recently. She has appealed to Australians to help her administration engage in dialogue with the Chinese Government.
In an interview with the Australian News Network on Tuesday, she said, “We are not seeking independence, we are seeking a resolution to the issue of Tibet, through genuine autonomy or the ‘middle way’ approach, within the framework of China’s constitution, without challenging the political and territorial integrity of China.” She added that it is in the interest of China to address the issue of Tibet.
