{"id":12126,"date":"2018-05-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/nieuws\/new-ict-report-reveals-chinas-strategies-of-weaponizing-access-to-tibet\/"},"modified":"2018-05-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T22:00:00","slug":"new-ict-report-reveals-chinas-strategies-of-weaponizing-access-to-tibet","status":"publish","type":"nieuws","link":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/news\/new-ict-report-reveals-chinas-strategies-of-weaponizing-access-to-tibet\/","title":{"rendered":"New ICT report reveals China\u2019s strategies of weaponizing access to Tibet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Access Denied: China\u2019s enforced isolation of Tibet, and the case for reciprocity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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A new report by the International Campaign for Tibet calls for a more robust international approach on Tibet, based on the principle of reciprocity and an emerging awareness that China\u2019s increasing authoritarian influence under Xi Jinping has extended beyond the borders of the PRC. This influence threatens to subvert and reshape our democracies in ways that pose a serious threat to our shared future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China promotes Tibet as being open to the world, and tells foreign governments and journalists that they should see the world\u2019s highest and largest plateau for themselves. But multiple requests by governments to visit Tibet have been refused in recent years, in contravention of usual diplomatic practice between countries and international organizations, and journalists reporting on Tibet have been threatened, detained, and expelled from the PRC. While Tibetans are \u201clocked in\u201d to Tibet and international observers are locked out, there has been an upsurge in the number of Chinese official delegations that have been sent abroad to \u201ctell the world the story of Tibet in China.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matteo Mecacci, President of the International Campaign for Tibet, said: \u201cChinese leaders are seeking to enforce complete isolation on Tibet, often described as being worse than in North Korea, where at least some foreign media are based. Independent international observers are shut out of Tibet, or allowed to visit only under strictly controlled circumstances, while numerous delegations of Party officials face no obstacles in travelling to Western democracies to spread their propaganda<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the United States and the international community grapple with China\u2019s economic and military ascension to the world stage, well beyond the Asian continent, there is a stronger case to be made than ever to push for the respect of human and civil rights within the PRC, in line with crucial US and international values and security interests.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bipartisan bill introduced in the US Congress, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, seeks reciprocity for US citizens in going to Tibet just as Chinese have free access to the United States. If US journalists, diplomats, journalists will continue to be denied access to Tibet, the Chinese officials responsible for implementing those policies would then be banned from entering the US. Meanwhile, European leaders and Parliamentarians have referred to reciprocity as a key principle in terms of their bilateral relations with China.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tibet\u2019s geopolitical significance is such that it deserves greater prominence in world affairs. It is incumbent upon our governments and the international community to begin insisting upon the diplomatic principle of reciprocity in their dealings with the PRC, in order to address the asymmetry of authoritarian influence not only in Tibet and across China, but also in our own societies.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Campaign for Tibet reports:<\/p>\n\n\n\n