It is no coincidence that the visit by the delegation from China overlapped with the visit to Latvia<\/a> and Estonia by a group of Tibetan parliamentarians from Dharamsala to these countries. Tibetan Parliamentarians Geshe Lharampa Gowo Lobsang Phende and Wangdue Dorjee were in Latvia<\/a> during which they met the Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Daiga Mieri\u0146a, as well as MPs on 13 November 2024. Currently, several Tibetan parliamentarians are visiting different countries in Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chinese government is likely perturbed by the continuing support for Tibet among the Baltic countries. Political scientist Anne-Marie Brady, who specializes in Chinese domestic and foreign politics, contends that the State Council Information Office is just another name for the Chinese Office of Foreign<\/a> Propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SCIO has remained consistently engaged in propagating the Chinese narrative on Tibet. It orchestrated a series of \u2018Forums on the Development of Tibet,\u2019 with the first event in the series held in the Austrian capital of Vienna in 2007. The second was held in the Italian capital Rome in 2009, and the third was held in the Greek capital of Athens in 2011. Since the fourth forum, which was held in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 2014 (the fifth and sixth were also in Lhasa in 2016 and 2019, the seventh in Beijing in 2023), the Tibet Autonomous Region has also been named as a co-organizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China would have been concerned that in January 2024, a hearing titled the \u201cThe Legal Status of Tibet\u201d was held in the Estonian Parliament and attended by 35 Estonian MPs. During the hearing, Tibetan political leader Sikyong (Political leader in exile) Penpa Tsering testified<\/a> in order to \u201cgive historical context to the Tibetan narrative, Middle-Way Approach and the importance of correcting historical facts of Tibet\u2019s independence before its invasion by the People Republic of China.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Two other people who testified at the hearing were<\/a> Professor Hon-Shiang Lau, a research scholar of Chinese history who retired from the City University of Hong Kong; and Dr Michael van Walt van Praag, expert in intrastate conflict resolution and international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Lau explained that \u2013 contrary to Chinese Communist Party claims on Tibet \u2013 Chinese imperial records, whether from the Chinese Ming dynasty or the Manchu Qing dynasty, never recorded Tibet as part of China. Dr. Michael van Walt van Praag informed the parliamentarians why \u201cChina has been looking to buy the legitimacy of its occupation of Tibet by insisting on its trading partner governments to declare \u2018Tibet as an internal issue of China\u2019 as a justification for denying Tibetan people the right to self-determination,\u201d and explained how this position breaches international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dharamsala\u2019s official report<\/a> said the \u201cEstonian media gave the event excellent coverage\u2019 to the hearing and the Sikyong\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sikyong had also visited Latvia and on 29 January 2024<\/a> strategized with the Latvian Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet,while Estonian parliamentary delegations have also visited the Tibetan exiled leadership in Dharamsala as a visible symbol of their support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Juku-Kalle Raid, the Chair of Tibet Support Group in Estonian Parliament, led a delegation to Dharamsala to participate in the 64th anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day on 2 September 2024<\/a>, and also read a message for the day from the Speaker of the Estonian Parliament. Raid had also led an Estonian parliamentary delegation to Dharamsala on 25 April 2024<\/a>, and Tibet Support Group participating in the 35th birthday celebrations of the 11th Panchen Lama (under detention by China) during which he said, \u201cThe people of Estonia have consistently shown a deep admiration and affection for Tibet, and this enduring sentiment will continue to prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n China also sent similar \u201cTibetologists\u201d groups to France<\/a> and Norway at the end of September 2024. The visit to France by the Chinese officials was certainly connected to the meeting that Sikyong Penpa Tsering had with French President Emmanuel Macron on 1 May 2024<\/a>. Sikyong had presented an autographed photo from the Dalai Lama to President Macron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China\u2019s Tibet policy has been a subject of international scrutiny ever since its invasion and subsequent occupation of Tibet in 1959. The Chinese government knows that there is a political problem in Tibet. But rather than working to peacefully resolve it, one of its approaches is to falsify the situation and employ various methods to control the narrative around Tibet, aiming to reshape its portrayal in global discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xi Jinping emphasized early in his tenure<\/a> the importance of external propaganda in shaping China\u2019s global image and narrative. On 19 August 2013, during his address to the National Propaganda and Ideology Work Conference, Xi advocated for \u201cinnovation\u201d in China\u2019s external propaganda efforts, promoting the idea of effectively \u201ctelling China\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ICT expects further escalation by China in the future in an attempt to dominate the global conversation with China\u2019s propagandistic narrative and storytelling. A new propaganda center called the \u201cTibet International Communication Center\u201d was launched<\/a> in Lhasa on 2 September 2024, marking a significant step in China\u2019s ongoing campaign to reshape international public opinion on Tibet. TAR Party Secretary Wang Junzheng instructed resource integration<\/a> and optimization of the external propaganda system and mechanisms to \u201cbuild a foreign discourse system and narrative system related to Tibet\u201d in accordance with the CCP central leadership\u2019s order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tibetan parliamentarians have been busy in Europe this month, where they\u2019ve working to garner support for Tibet with visits to Latvia and Estonia, among other countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13074,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categorie":[664],"news_tag":[720],"class_list":["post-13073","nieuws","type-nieuws","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-newstibet-europe-news","news_tag-chinese-influence-and-propagandaeurope-and-tibet"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Latvian-Parliament-Speaker-1200-800x420.jpg\")
The two Tibetan parliamentarians with the Speaker of the Latvian Parliament. Also seen is Tenzin Kunga from the Office of Tibet in London. Photo: www.tibet.net<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nExpert testimony<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Sikyong-Estonia-1200-800x420.jpg\")
Sikyong Penpa Tsering testifying at an Estonian Parliamentary hearing on the status of Tibet on January 25, 2024. Photo: www.tibet.net<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Estonian-MPs-Dharamsala-1200-800x420.jpg\")
Estonian parliamentary delegation with the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala on 2 September 2024.
Photo: www.tibet.net<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nBattle over perception<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Sikyong-Macron-1200-800x420.jpg\")
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