News & Resources

On the occasion of the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY), which was launched in January in Venice, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) have written to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and to the European Union High Representative, Federica Mogherini, to express a number of concerns in relation to the promotion of tourism in Tibet.

On 25 January, Members of the Latvian Parliaments, including members of the Latvian Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, adopted a statement on the case of Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk.

In this edition: Tibetan film-maker and former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen finds freedom in exile; European Parliament adopts urgency resolution on Tashi Wangchuk and Choekyi; French President Macron’s first state visit to China; U.S. Committee on Foreign Affairs calls for reciprocal access, religious freedom and human rights in Tibet; Two further self-immolations at the end of 2017; Ban on access to nature reserves in Tibet raises concern about Tibetan nomads at UNESCO site (…)

Two members of the German Parliament (The Bundestag), have called for the release of detained Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk, who currently awaits the outcome of his trial in Yulshul (Chinese: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (the Tibetan area of Kham in Qinghai Province).

Following the European Parliament’s urgency resolution on Chinese and Tibetan Human rights defenders, the International Information Tibet Group of the French Senate (Groupe d’information internationale sur le Tibet) has released a statement on Tashi Wangchuk.

On 18 January, 2018, the European Parliament adopted a new urgency resolution on China, expressing deep concern regarding the cases of two Tibetan political prisoners, the language advocate Tashi Wangchuk and the monk Choekyi.

Ahead of President Macron’s first official visit to the People’s Republic of China from 8-10 January, ICT has released a statement urging him to use this opportunity to raise the issue of Tibet with his Chinese interlocutors, including President Xi Jinping.

In this edition: Major religious festival cancelled at Larung Gar amid further tightening of religious freedom; 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress confirm Xi Jinping’s grip on power and indicates likely continued hardline position on Tibet; Delegation of Tibetan Parliamentarians visits Europe; Germany political parties committed to support Dalai Lama and Tibet; Central Tibetan Administration holds international conference on the future of the Tibetan movement; U.S. lawmakers call on President Trump to support Tibet; Australia Tibet Council’s new report highlights Chinese influence on Australian Tibet policy (…)

China’s 19th Party Congress came to a close last week, revealing a new leadership committee and breaking with tradition by not including a clear successor to Party Secretary and President Xi Jinping. The new configuration cements Xi Jinping’s grip on power for the next five years and potentially beyond, with Xi’s ideology approved for incorporation into the Party Constitution as ‘Xi Jinping thought’

This International Campaign for Tibet overview, based on analysis of numerous official and unofficial sources, seeks to track the latest developments in Tibet at the time of the Party Congress. This is in the context of the Chinese authorities’ sweeping political and strategic objectives in Tibet and the rise of a ‘control state’, in which the Party has an increasingly intrusive role in people’s everyday lives and beliefs.