European parliamentary group calls on EU leaders to raise Tibet during 18th EU-China Summit
July 11, 2016
Office of Tibet, Brussels, July 8, 2016 – In a letter addressed to the EU leaders, Mr. Thomas Mann, a German MEP and Chair of the cross-party Tibet Interest Group (TIG) in the European Parliament, thanked the EU for raising the issue of Tibet with her Chinese counter-part during the previous EU-China Summit on 29 June 2015 in Brussels.
“We are writing to draw the attention of the EU leaders on two important issues that are of immediate concern to us, which we would hope the EU leaders can address during the forthcoming 18th EU-China Summit on 12-13 July in Beijing, China”, said Mr. Mann on behalf of his group.
He highlighted the ongoing mining activities at Gong-ngon Lari, a Tibetan holy mountain site in Amchok in Eastern Tibet where local Tibetans have staged numerous peaceful protests calling for the cessation of the mining that were brutally suppressed by the Chinese authorities.
The second point raised in the letter was the demolition of Larung Gar Academy, the world’s largest monastic institution which consists of a population of at least 10,000 monks and laypeople, that the Chinese government plans to eliminate quarters for all but 5000 monks, nuns and laypeople by September 2017.
He requested the EU leaders’ immediate action to resolve the unsettling situation in the region and to raise these issues with the Chinese counter-part during the summit. And urged them to call on the Chinese leaders to observe it’s environmental laws, universal human rights and respect Tibetan people’s religious and cultural considerations in undertaking development projects in Tibet.
The EU-China Summit is held on an annual basis, alternating between Brussels and Beijing. The EU is represented by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and China is represented by her Premier.