Hon. Penpa Tsering, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, formally known as the Central Tibetan Administration, is in Sydney to commence an official visit to Australia from 17-25 June 2023.
This is his first visit to Australia since becoming the Sikyong, a Tibetan title for President, in 2021.
His visit takes place amid China’s increasing repression in Tibet and aggression overseas, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
Away from the gaze of the international community, China’s human rights violations in Tibet have reached an all-time high in recent years.
Reminiscent of Australia’s Stolen Generations, nearly one million Tibetan children have been separated from their families and forced into a vast network of Chinese colonial boarding schools, which UN rights experts have warned is an effort to assimilate Tibetans into the majority Han Chinese culture.
During his visit, he will call on the Australian Government to help end what he calls a “cultural genocide” that is taking place in Tibet at the hand of Australia’s key trading partner.
“If PRC (the People’s Republic of China) is not made to reverse or change its current policies, Tibet and Tibetans will definitely die a slow death,” says Penpa Tsering.
Sikyong Penpa will be meeting senior politicians including members of the Australian All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, human rights defenders and leading think tanks.
He is a strong proponent of the Middle Way Approach, a policy proposal initiated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and adopted by the Tibetan Government-Exile, which aims to achieve genuine and meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people under the framework of the People’s Republic of China.
