Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the 28th meeting of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights.
Today, this meeting is taking place in a hybrid format.
I want to welcome Arif Virani, MP, to our committee. The regular members are all here, but I believe you're subbing in, so welcome.
I wanted to make a few comments about how the meeting is run. I'll recognize you by name and then you will have the floor. I wanted to note that there is simultaneous translation. You can access that by using the little globe at the bottom of your screen where it says interpretation, and by clicking on the language of your choice. Remember to speak clearly and slowly so that translation can indeed happen.
This is just a reminder, as well, to address your comments to the chair. We have already gone through our sound checks for this meeting.
This study is taking place pursuant to Standing Order 108(2). We will resume our study on the Chinese government's residential boarding schools and preschools in the Tibet Autonomous Region and all Tibetan autonomous prefectures and counties.
It's our pleasure to welcome you all to our committee hearing today.
With us today, we have Canada Tibet Committee, Tibet Action Institute, Tibet Watch and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.
We're going to hear from each of these organizations and groups today. There will be five minutes given to each group for opening statements.
Interestingly, today, we have a witness from an organization who will be speaking to us in a language that is not English or French. Therefore, we will be giving five minutes to the monastery witness to speak in Tibetan, and then there will be five minutes for that to be translated into English by an interpreter who is sitting in the room with us. It will be a little different from normal, perhaps, but I'm sure we will be able to manage that.
Without further ado, I'd like to turn it over to the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and their representatives for five minutes. Then we'll have five minutes for translation of their statement, and we'll go to the next witnesses for five minutes each after that.
To the witness with the monastery, the floor is yours.