Dharamshala, 21st January: President of the French Senate Tibet Support Group, Jacqueline Eustache-Brino, agreed that the Tibetan struggle is significantly more deeply established, complex, and historically resilient than other challenges confronting China and that France should lead the EU on the subject of Tibet.
According to canindia, on Tuesday, Jacqueline met with Tashi Phuntsok, a representative of the Bureau du Tibet in Brussels, and expressed her belief that as the diaspora Tibetan communities in the West grow in size, there is a need to develop and support them. She assured that the group would work on all of the issues raised by Phuntsok in his speech. Senators Annick Billon, Bernard Fournier, Olivier Rietmann, Loic Herve, and Andre Gattolin joined Eustache-Brino during the meeting.
Given that France has assumed the EU Presidency, Phuntsok believes that France should lead the EU in promoting European culture and protecting democracy, as stated in President Macron’s goals. Chinese encroachment on key areas in Europe is substantial and aggressive, putting the EU’s very fabric in jeopardy.
According to a statement on tibet.net, Phuntsok demanded that Tibet concerns be prominently discussed at EU-China yearly summits and in China’s human rights talks. Because of the epidemic, President Eustache-Brino indicated the conference would have to be postponed for a while. She did, however, mention a number of the group’s actions, such as meetings with Michel van Walt, Tibetan Parliamentarian Thupten Gyatso, and former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen, among others.
Phuntsok compared Tibet’s position to that of a large jail, calling it the world’s least free country. Tibetans’ enslavement in Tibet under Chinese rule is best summed up when Tibetans say that it is easier to go to heaven than to obtain a passport to travel outside Tibet. As a result, he asked the group to campaign for reciprocal access and travel in Tibet in exchange for the freedom enjoyed by Chinese diplomats, tourists, students, and others in the West.
Because His Holiness is the most respected leader in the world, particularly in the Buddhist world, and because the Dalai Lama’s institution is important for the protection of his legacies, he asked the group to ask France, like Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States, to announce its position on the succession of the Dalai Lamas.