Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Chairman Michael Levitt and members of the human rights subcommittee. It's a great honour to be back at the subcommittee today. I'll speak about the current human rights situation in Tibet. Historically, Tibet was an independent country. It's under occupation now and

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The Tibetan administration maintains that there are 6 million Tibetans. This figure is being disputed by the Chinese government, but even by their own data they estimate that anywhere from 5.5 million to 5.7 million are Tibetan nationals. Then again, because you can't do a demogr

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  In addition to the several requests that I have made, a report from your committee would go a long way. And if it's possible, the Parliament of Canada could join the United States Senate in passing a resolution or motion on the issue of Tibet. The European Parliament has done tha

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The treatment of Tibetans everywhere—in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and in Kham and Amdo, the traditional provinces of Tibet—is the same. If you look at the protest in 2008, it was in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet, all the way to Amdo, which is mainly in Qinghai and part of G

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Tibetans have representation in the local government of the Tibet Autonomous Region or in counties and prefectures, but their power, their authority, is very limited. For example, the governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region is a Tibetan, but the most powerful position, the party

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  One interpretation is that, as I said earlier, maybe they see people in Hong Kong and Macau as Chinese, Hun Chinese, and Tibetans as not Chinese. There lies the contradiction. On the one hand, the official policy and statements are that Tibetans are part of the family. We are bro

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  As we seek genuine autonomy within the People's Republic of China and within the framework of the Chinese constitution, it would mean that if the Chinese government implements their own laws we could take that as general autonomy. We are as reasonable and as moderate as one could

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  As you all might know, Panchen Lama is the second most popular or well-known lama or incarnate lama in Tibetan Buddhism. The 10th Panchen Lama passed away, and then his reincarnation was recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and mainly recommended by the Tashilhunpo monastery

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm sorry to say it, but I have much sad news to inform you of. As far as monasteries and nunneries are concerned, again the Chinese government has come out with a statement saying that they have established “democratic management committees” in 7,000 or so monasteries and nunn

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think it's very important that Canada as well as the international community send a clear message to China that we would welcome its rise economically, but that as it is a member of the United Nations and also a growing power, we would like to see it be a responsible member of

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  It is very difficult to say because of lack of access to the Tibetan population and the areas. After 2008 there were several reports that hundreds—some say thousands—were arrested and put behind bars. Many of them met with long-term imprisonment. As UN Human Rights Commissioner N

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Until recently, a dialogue between the Chinese government and representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama had been going back and forth since the late seventies. Between 2002 and January of 2010, there were nine meetings between envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Ch

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I really appreciate the question. Continuing along the line of what I said earlier, we believe that dialogue is the best way to solve the issue of Tibet. The Canadian government, including the honourable foreign minister, is on the record urging the Chinese government to enter i

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  As far as cultural assimilation is concerned, if you take the example of the Tibetan language, at the university level, let's say in Tibet University in Lhasa, the capital city, the medium of instruction is Chinese, not Tibetan. At the high school and middle school level, the med

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  From inside Tibet it's very difficult to know, because essentially Tibet has been shut down for foreign journalists, foreign tourists, and even Chinese tourism is discouraged. Having said that, you do get some hints and some information, where they say they understand the stance