The leader of the Tibetan government in exile in India requested that the U.S. lawmakers pressure China to “reverse or change its current policies” in the Tibet area.
What Took Place: In his opening remarks to the Congress, Penpa Tsering, also known as the Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), claimed that Tibet is experiencing a “slow death” under the reign of Xi Jinping.
Penpa Tsering stated via video connection at a joint Congressional-Executive Commission on China meeting that “Tibet and Tibetans will definitely die a slow death if PRC (the People’s Republic of China) is not made to reverse or change its current policies.”
Tibetan activists contend that concerns in Western countries, particularly Washington, about Beijing’s military buildup, political pressure on Taiwan, and repression of minorities in China’s Xinjiang region and Hong Kong are increasingly overshadowing the issue of human rights violations in Tibet.
In the meantime, the Chinese government continued to “wage a campaign of repression that seeks to forcibly Sinicize” about 6 million Tibetans and eradicate their religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage, according to Uzra Zeya, the U.S. under secretary of state for democracy and human rights, who testified at the hearing.
