Her Excellency Fu Ying

Ambassador, People's Republic of China

Chinese Embassy

49-51 Portland Place

London W1N 3AH

 

7 March 2009

Your Excellency

Open Letter to the Chinese Ambassador

We are writing to you as a coalition of UK-based Tibet support groups on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising and one year on from the protests which swept across Tibet.

The protests which began in March 2008 and which continue, demonstrate unbroken and growing rejection of Chinese rule of Tibet.  Most recent confirmed protests took place at Sey Monastery in Ngaba County, Amdo (Ch: Sichuan province) on 1 March 2009 involving several hundred Tibetans.

Last spring, there were over 125 protests reported across Tibet, in which more than 200 Tibetans were killed and evidence suggests more than 6,000 Tibetans were arrested. The whereabouts and fate of at least 1,000 individuals still remains unknown. The disproportionate response by the Chinese government to the protests, including in some cases the use of lethal force, was widely condemned by the international community, including the British government. Voices from within the People’s Republic of China also condemned the violence. A petition from leading Chinese intellectuals and writers (23 March 2008) claimed that Chinese government policies in Tibet had failed.

Today Tibet is closed off from the outside world and is effectively under de facto martial law. Freedom of movement is restricted and communications are severely curtailed. In recent months, we have also witnessed an alarming increase of 'show trials' of Tibetans, who are being prosecuted and charged with a range of offences and facing lengthy sentences disproportionate to the charges. Such trials are taking place without the legal safeguards provided for in the Chinese constitution or in Chinese criminal law. There has been a significant increase in overt military presence in many Tibetan towns, including in Lhasa where snipers have been stationed at several roof top locations.

According to official Chinese government media sources, in January 2009, its ‘Strike Hard’ Campaign resulted in more than 3,000 homes being searched in dawn raids, almost 6,000 individuals questioned and 81 arrested; some for as little as downloading the Tibetan national anthem onto their mobile telephones.

There has also been an intensification of the government’s patriotic re-education campaign across Tibet. Patriotic Re-education creates the conditions where torture is likely to take place. In addition, by forcing individual Tibetans to renounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama, such policies violate fundamental freedoms of religion and thought. Evidence, including the recent protest (15-16 February 2009) in Lithang county, Kandze Tibetan Autnomous Prefecture, Kham (Chinese province: Sichuan), demonstrates that patriotic re-education campaigns are directly resulting in protests.

The recent crackdown in Tibet “has deepened a climate of fear and further inhibits accountability” (UN Committee against Torture, November 2008). We are now witnessing levels of repression arguably unseen since the Cultural Revolution.

According to a poll commissioned by the BBC World Service, which solicited the views of people in more than 21 countries, global attitudes towards China are worsening. Before the recent brutal crackdown in Tibet, people were beginning to believe that China could have a positive influence on the world, yet despite the Beijing Olympic Games, more people now think that China has a negative influence.

The Chinese government’s occupation of Tibet, its policies and practices, including the “routine and widespread” use of torture (UN Committee Against Torture, November 2008) negate all the efforts and any gains the Chinese government’s efforts may have had in their efforts to be accepted onto the world stage as a respected member of the international community.

China will only be truly accepted onto the international stage when the people of Tibet are free to govern themselves. 

In view of the ongoing crisis in Tibet, we urge the Chinese government to;

·     Resume, without conditions, talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama in order to secure a lasting and just political solution to the crisis in Tibet. This is supported by the British government who have repeatedly urged your government to find a political solution for Tibet. It is also noted that at the Special General Meeting (Dharamsala, November 2008) the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration were re-affirmed as “the sole and legitimate representative of the Tibetan people in and outside Tibet”.

·     Respect and protect the rights and dignity of the Tibetan people and their unique culture and way of life.

·     To invite an independent and impartial body to conduct a thorough and independent inquiry into the excessive use of force, including against peaceful demonstrators in Tibet during 2008, the use of physical torture in detention, and the continuing patriotic re-education campaigns. 

·     Provide a full list of names and locations of all Tibetans still in detention after last year's protests.

·     Allow immediate and unrestricted access to journalists and tourists to all parts of Tibet including the Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures.

Yours sincerely
 

Stephanie Brigden, Director Free Tibet              
Philippa Carrick, CEO, Tibet Society
Karma Chura-Tsang, Director, Tibetan Youth UK
Peter Speller, National Co-ordinator, Students for a Free Tibet
Pempa Lobsang, Chair, Tibetan Community in Britain

Free Tibet  28 Charles Square, London N1 6HT

Tibet Society  Unit 9, 139 Fonthill Road, London N4 3HF

Tibetan Youth UK  70 West Street, Harrow, Middx HA1 3ER

Students for a Free Tibet UK  c/o Unit 9, 139 Fonthill Road, London N4 3HF

Tibetan Community in Britain  c/o Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street, London NW8 7AF