Australia Tibet Council (ATC) has urged the Prime Minster and Foreign Minister to discuss the future of Tibet with visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. Specifically, ATC has argued that Xi Jinping, the man almost certain to succeed Hu Jintao as President of China, must be encouraged to use his influence to progress the currently stalled dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama.

While recently overshadowed in the Australian media by the Stern Hu case, the visit of Rebiya Kadeer, the failed Chinalco bid and Google’s challenges to China’s Internet censorship, Beijing itself has elevated Tibet to a “core issue”, according it equal importance to Taiwan. Read the full media release

Over 1,100 Australians, including federal politicians of all major political parties, have signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging he support a request from survivors of last week’s devastating earthquake for the Dalai Lama to be permitted to visit the stricken area.

Survivors of the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck at the heart of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Tibetan: Kyigudo) made the unprecedented request to China’s President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao for the Dalai Lama to be permitted to visit the overwhelmingly Tibetan region and provide comfort to those affected. The Dalai Lama, who was forced from Tibet into exile in India in 1959, told a press conference in Dharamsala on 17 April that he wished to fulfil their request. Read the full media release

MPs From All Parties to Join Tibetan Community in Commemorating 51st Anniversary of 1959 Tibetan Uprising

Parliament Lawn - Noon
Chinese Embassy, Yarralumla - 2pm

Members and Senators from all parties will be joining a large gathering of Tibetans from Sydney and Canberra on Parliament Lawn today to mark the 51st anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising.

Hon. Peter Slipper MP (Liberal) and Senator Scott Ludlam (Greens), both members of 2009’s Parliamentary Delegation to Dharamsala (seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile), and Kelvin Thompson MP (Labor) will address the crowd at around 12.15pm. Other MPs and Senators including Michael Danby MP (Labor), Convenor of the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, are expected to attend. Around one hundred Tibetans are travelling from Sydney for the occasion.

10 March is the most politically significant day in the Tibetan calendar, marking the day in 1959 that Tibetans first rose up against Chinese rule. The uprising was violently quashed, leaving tens of thousands dead and forcing His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile. 10 March 2010 is also the second anniversary of the beginning of unprecedented protests across Tibetan areas in 2008 following an intensifying of oppressive policies ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Over 1,000 Tibetans remain unaccounted for following the violent and continuing crackdown.

The presidents of the Tibetan communities of Sydney and Canberra will present a “Memorandum on the Tibetan Situation” to the parliamentarians, outlining the current situation in Tibet and the status of negotiations between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama, and requesting further support from the Australian Government, in particular on behalf of Tibet’s political prisoners.

After the hour-long event on Parliament Lawn the Tibetan community and supporters will march to the Chinese Embassy in Yarralumla for a protest beginning at 2pm.

For further information and comment:
Simon Bradshaw, Campaign Coordinator, Australia Tibet Council - (02) 9283 3466

Yesterday Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott appeared alongside His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a joint press conference following a lengthy private meeting with the Tibetan leader.

Mr. Abbott thanked His Holiness for his spiritual advice, said that Australia should continue to accept Tibetan refugees under its humanitarian program, and encouraged Prime Minister Rudd to take the opportunity to meet with the Dalai Lama. Read full press release

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang, the most senior Chinese official to visit Australia since 2007 and odds-on favourite to succeed Wen Jiabao as Premier in 2012, arrives in Sydney tonight. He is expected to meet with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard over the coming days.

“In efforts to mend ties with an increasingly assertive Beijing, Mr. Rudd has sold out both on Tibet and the cause of human-rights more generally,” said Paul Bourke, Executive Officer of the Australia Tibet Council. Read full press release

The 166 member organisations of the International Tibet Support Network condemn the government of China for the executions of a number of Tibetans; Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, Penkyi and reportedly a fourth unidentified Tibetan, in Lhasa on 20 October.

China’s decision to execute these Tibetans is an affront to international judicial standards. These executions are clearly politically motivated (see Notes 1 & 2), and concerns that those convicted did not have a fair trial are well-founded. Tuesday’s executions show that China will use all methods at its disposal to intimidate Tibetans and crush all perceived opposition to its occupation of Tibet. Read the full statement

The Australia Tibet Council today urged the Prime Minister to reconsider his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama during his Australian visit in December.

“The Prime Minister’s decision gives the impression that he is more concerned about China’s reaction to a meeting with the Dalai Lama than about the expectations of the Australian people” said ATC Executive Officer, Paul Bourke. Read full press release

As Federal politicians and influential Australians arrive for the Chinese Ambassador’s reception on Tuesday, they will be greeted by members of Canberra’s Tibetan community holding a ten-metre “Free Tibet” banner at the entrance. Read full press release

On 1 July 2009 a group of six Federal Parliamentarians will travel to Dharamsala, the Indian base of the Dalai Lama and the heart of the Tibetan community in exile. This is the first such visit by an Australian Parliamentary delegation. Ngodup Gyaltsen of the Canberra-based Tibet Information Office and Dr. Simon Bradshaw of the Australia Tibet Council will accompany the group. Read full press release

Melbourne Town Hall will today host a photo exhibition funded and organized by the Chinese Government purporting to show the “democratic reform and social and economic development of Tibet, China in the past 50 years”. Read full press release