Evidence of meeting #21 for Subcommittee on International Human Rights in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chinese.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Fayçal El-Khoury
Thank you.
Mr. Brunelle‑Duceppe, you have the floor for five minutes.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Lhamo, you appeared before the committee in February 2023. One of the things you said at that time was that after the 2021 report came out, a lot of people asked you why the world didn't know about residential schools. People asked you how it could have gone unnoticed.
Do you feel the same thing's happening with the new report, or do you feel it's attracting more attention than the last one?
Tibetan-Canadian Human Rights Activist, As an Individual
First and foremost, the international community was not aware, but when these were exposed, I believe that the international community continued to stay silent. That's why the abuse and the neglect continues to worsen. The Chinese government feels so emboldened to not only do this inside of Tibet and occupied borders but also extend their repression here on Tibetan Canadians.
What has changed? From the international community's response, it has been positive. We've seen UN special rapporteurs, more than eight of them, speaking out. When Canada leads a side event at the UN, more than 17 countries show up to show solidarity. This is a response to the Chinese government. We want to see that leadership continue from Canada to be able to continue to show that Canada will stand on the right grounds of history.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I have a question for Mr. Lo or Ms. Tethong.
Internationally, people may be aware of the situation, but they remain silent about it. The average person isn't necessarily aware of this.
Are the Chinese living in Beijing or Shanghai aware of what's happening in Tibet? Do they have that information? That’s a question we often ask ourselves when it comes to the actions of their own government.
Tibet Specialist and Educational Sociologist, Tibet Action Institute
Understand that not all of them know the situation in Tibet, what their government has done in Tibet. People are aware about the Tibet issue. We see their nationalist idea. Some of them say, “Oh, we shouldn't act this way.” In 2017, before Xi Jinping took the second term of the position, during a dinner with Chinese scholars, some of the scholars said, “Oh, we can give general autonomy to TAR but if you give the entire Tibet general autonomy, it's going to be too big.” They can talk about that kind of topic.
In October 2018, when we were together, throughout our conversation, they could also say, “Hey, Gyal, if the Dalai Lama came to Beijing, would you like to go to Beijing to pay homage to him?” I said yes. If he were able to come to Beijing, that would mean that the political issue is being solved. Why not? One hundred per cent of the people would go there. We can talk about that kind of stuff. Other people, when you mention His Holiness, just immediately politicize and say, "You're a separatist.” That's the change. We think Chinese people are different.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
It was also said early on that these actions weren't just about Tibet and China, but also about the region itself, and even the world. To what extent is Tibet being used as a lab to see what could happen to Uyghurs and other cultural minorities on China's current official territory? To what extent is Tibet still the starting point for these experiences, pardon the expression?
Tibet Specialist and Educational Sociologist, Tibet Action Institute
Since 2018, Xi Jinping has stabilized his second term. He made a radical change. The first change was that, previously, they promoted cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity in China as a multi-flower garden. Since 2018, they say, “Now we have shifted to the monolingual, monocultural, mono-ethnic country.” They're clear that they start philosophically against cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity. Under that framework, China has produced multiple levels of the policy on the ground regarding that framework.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Fayçal El-Khoury
Thank you.
In the name of the chair, the subcommittee members, staff and interpreters, I would like to thank all our witnesses for their testimony at this meeting today about Tibetan children placed in schools administered by the People's Republic of China.
Thanks again for being with us.
We will suspend the meeting while we move in camera.
[Proceedings continue in camera]