{"id":12450,"date":"2020-06-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/nieuws\/new-ict-report-documents-need-for-eu-reciprocal-access-to-tibet\/"},"modified":"2020-06-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T22:00:00","slug":"new-ict-report-documents-need-for-eu-reciprocal-access-to-tibet","status":"publish","type":"nieuws","link":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/news\/new-ict-report-documents-need-for-eu-reciprocal-access-to-tibet\/","title":{"rendered":"New ICT report documents need for EU reciprocal access to Tibet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amsterdam\/Brussels, 15 June 2020<\/em> \u2014 A report published today by the International Campaign for Tibet highlights the dangers posed by China\u2019s lack of reciprocity with the European Union in regard to access to Tibet. On this day in 1988, the Dalai Lama spoke before the European Parliament in Strasbourg outlining his vision for a future Tibet. His effort continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report, \u201cAccess Denied: New U.S. legislation, the Quest for Reciprocity in Europe and the Lockdown in Tibet,\u201d<\/em> provides an update on China\u2019s efforts to restrict access to Tibet in contravention of usual diplomatic practice between countries. These efforts were first documented in a previous report from ICT<\/a> released in May 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building on the United States\u2019 adoption of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act \u2014 which denies entry to the US for the Chinese officials directly responsible for keeping Americans out of Tibet \u2014 and on increasing awareness in Europe of the dangers of an asymmetrical relationship with China, the report argues the need for reciprocal and unfettered access to Tibet for European citizens, diplomats, parliamentarians and journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the report, 57 parliamentarians from 19 European countries published an op-ed today demanding reciprocal access to Tibet. The op-ed appears in the pan-European news network EURACTIV<\/a>, the French outlet l\u2019Obs<\/a>, the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique<\/a> and the Swedish magazine Dagens Arena<\/a>. Other outlets are also expected to publish the op-ed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mounting calls in Europe<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As the report shows, government officials, journalists and tourists who seek to enter Tibetan areas are routinely denied, and the few who do get in are forced to stay on strictly controlled official tours, where they are shown Potemkin villages that hide the truth about China\u2019s horrific repression of the Tibetan people. Denying unfettered access to Tibet, or threatening to do so, is used by China as a means of shutting down criticism of its atrocious human rights record in Tibet, which China has brutally occupied since 1949. An opening of Tibet would allow for transparency and accountability and therefore help prevent human rights violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent months, calls for greater reciprocity with China have been mounting in Europe \u2014 including EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell\u2019s statement<\/a> that the focus in the EU-China relationship should be on \u201ctrust, transparency, and reciprocity.\u201d In April 2019, his predecessor Federica Mogherini specifically called<\/a> on Chinese authorities \u201cto allow reciprocal access to Tibet for European journalists, diplomats, and families.\u201d Mogherini\u2019s call was recently echoed in an opinion piece published in several European newspapers by 57 Parliamentarians from 19 countries, who urged their governments to pass their own versions of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act in order to send Beijing a message that its unfair treatment of Europeans \u2014 as well as its isolation of the Tibetan people \u2014 is no longer acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsering Jampa, ICT Europe executive director, said: \u201cFollowing the passage of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act in the United States and based on the diplomatic principle of reciprocity, it is now incumbent upon European governments and the European Union to insist on reciprocity in their dealings with the People\u2019s Republic of China. This principle should not be limited to trade and investment but should also include fundamental freedoms in order to address the asymmetry of China\u2019s authoritarian influence not only in Tibet, which has been isolated from the rest of the world for the past six decades, but also on our own societies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the report says<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The new report highlights the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n