New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Penpa Tsering, on Friday alleged that the new Chinese ethnic law seeks to institutionalise policies of assimilation “under the guise of national unity”, and replace dialogue with compulsion and diversity with conformity.
In his address at an event held at the India International Centre (IIC) complex here, he also charged that through this legislation, China is “not creating a new system” in Tibet, but it is “giving an old system a legal mask”, adding that their “vocabulary has changed, the objective has not”.
The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, a fundamental law on ethnic affairs in China, was adopted by China’s Parliament on March 12. It will take effect on July 1.
Soon after the law was adopted, the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile in March in Dharamshala unanimously adopted a resolution and “we not only oppose, but reject this legislation as fundamentally illegitimate”.
“In the seven-point resolution, we condemned it as an instrument of forced assimilation, whose ultimate objective is gradual erosion of Tibetan language, religion, culture and identity,” Tsering, the head of Tibetan government-in-exile, said.
“We further affirmed that the legislation not only contradicts internationally recognised human rights standards but also undermines principles contained within China’s own constitution and its own laws concerning regional ethnic autonomy,” he alleged.
At an event held at the India Habitat Centre (IHC) here on June 9, Tsering had alleged that the idea behind the new Chinese ethnic law is to promote only Mandarin and ensure that the Tibetan identity is “destroyed”.
He had also said that protests would be held over this legislation in June in Delhi and other parts of India by Tibetans living in the country.
On Friday, he said that they would be “working internationally with governments on or before the 1st of July” on this issue and reaching out to as many governments as possible to create awareness on the law that China has adopted.
“We all have to fight this together. We cannot do it alone,” Tsering said.
He alleged that the new law “institutionalises policies of assimilation under the guise of national unity. It replaces dialogue with compulsion, and diversity with conformity”.
“Such an approach cannot produce lasting stability because peace built on fear is never durable. A unity achieved by erasing a people’s language, religion and culture is neither genuine nor just,” the Sikyong said.
Tsering asserted that the choice before China is clear — it can continue down the “path of coercion”, deepening mistrust and prolonging one of the world’s oldest unresolved conflicts or it can embrace the path of dialogue, reconciliation and mutual respect offered by the middle way policy of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration.
On the new law, he said, “We quickly realised something deeply troubling. There is very little in this law that is genuinely new.” “Nearly every assimilatory measure contained in the legislation has already been implemented in Tibet over many years through party directives, administrative regulations, educational reforms, religious restrictions, surveillance systems and security campaigns,” he alleged.
The significance of this legislation lies in not introducing new policies but providing an “existing system with a force… of law”. That distinction is critically important, the Sikyong said.
The law gives an “appearance of legitimacy” to policies that would otherwise be recognised for what they are, he charged, and said that “China is not creating a new system in Tibet, it is giving an old system a legal mask”.
Tsering underlined that at the heart of the Central Tibetan Administration’s vision for resolving the Sino-Tibetan conflict lies the middle way approach.
“It does not seek separation from the People’s Republic of China but genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution, enabling Tibetans to preserve their language, religion and culture, and way of life, while becoming… masters of its own affairs,” he said.
For more than four decades, the Dalai Lama has consistently demonstrated his commitment to dialogue and reconciliation, believing that lasting peace can only be achieved through mutual respect rather than coercion, Sikyong said.
“Unfortunately, the recently enacted ethnic unity law takes China in precisely the opposite direction, rather than creating conditions for trust and reconciliation,” he alleged.
The Central Tibetan Administration is based in Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh, where the 14th and the current Dalai Lama, who turned 90 last year, also lives.
At the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 12, China’s top legislature adopted a law to promote ethnic unity and progress, reinforcing the legal foundation for national cohesion and common prosperity among 56 ethnic groups as the country enters the final decade in its drive to basically achieve modernisation by 2035, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua had reported. PTI KND KSS KSS
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