Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stand in solidarity with the people of Tibet.
Our Prime Minister currently is on day two of a four day visit to the People's Republic of China. It is critical that while there he take a strong stand for human rights in China and in Tibet.
As many as 19 Tibetans, primarily Buddhist monks and nuns living under Chinese control, have set themselves on fire in the past year alone to protest the Chinese occupation of their land. It is important that the people of Tibet know that Canadians are with them in their struggle for freedom. Moreover, it is crucial that while in China, our Prime Minister treat the issue of human rights as the core commitment his government claims it to be and not as some kind of frill, secondary to trade.
As the NDP human rights critic, I say Tibetans should not be forced to live in circumstances so bad that they would rather set themselves on fire than to go on living under Chinese rule.