Tibetans and Tibet supporters in the UK prepare to stage a protest as Chinese Communist Party’s senior political advisor, Mr Jai Qinglin, makes a good will visit to London.
There has been worldwide condemnation at the killing of defenceless and innocent Tibetan escapees at Tibet/Nepal border by Chinese army border patrols on 30 September. The British Government must now take this opportunity to ask high-ranking Chinese official Mr Jia Qinglin to account for this abhorrent and unlawful act.
Mr Jia Qinglin, member of China’s Communist party’s top decision-making body, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, arrived in the Birmingham yesterday, meeting city council members before coming on to London at the invitation of the British government.
Philippa Carrick of the Tibet Society expressed strong disappointment that the British government has yet to publicly condemn the Nangpa La killings saying “I am embarrassed by the lack of any public statements from our government that question China’s commitment to human rights or ask the Chinese government to account for what is an appalling and shocking act. This must be condemned in the strongest terms and the Chinese government must be asked to explain how two young people, one a nun, both unarmed, came to be shot dead by members of the Chinese army. The act was witnessed by western climbers and is on video. The Chinese government cannot and should not be allowed to whitewash this incident by saying the nun died from altitude sickness. This is an extremely serious matter and one our government must not ignore.”
The killings have shocked Tibetans living in the UK and they, along with Tibet supporters, will be holding a peaceful protest outside the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London where the China-Britain Business Council is hosting a lunch for Mr Qinglin on Tuesday, 24 October.
Tenzin Samphel, Chair of Tibetan Community in Britain, said, “We are enormously concerned about the Chinese policy in Tibet. The situation in Tibet is serious and desperate. People continue to be imprisoned by just having His Holiness Dalai Lama’s photos. Defenceless Tibetan escapees from Tibet, including nuns, are killed and Tibetans live under constant surveillance and strict censorship. We appeal to British Ministers and businessmen attending the lunch to demand an explanation from Mr Qinglin about the situation and ask his government to improve the lives of Tibetans and respect their human rights”
Karma ChuraTsang, Chair of Tibetan Youth in United Kingdom said, “Again and again, over and over, report after report and from every angle, Beijing’s brutal regime has been found guilty of human rights abuses in China and in Tibet. Why world still silent. Is it oil? Are these powerful western countries afraid of China? Are they testing Tibetans’ patience? It is time to speak out and stand up for millions of suffering Tibetans under Beijing’s regime and be on side of people who believe in peace, non violence and the truth”
Tibetan campaigner Dalha added, “British businesses have to think twice before signing anything to dotted line. China cannot keep its own words, let alone keep an agreement. Britain must retain its policy of great respect for human rights and sound and moral ethical business policy. Close ties with China means accepting regime’s censorship and its gross negligence of human rights. China is testing His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s peaceful means of solving Sino-Tibet conflict. “
