Govt urged to discuss Tibet on Chinese VP visit

New Zealand Tibet campaigners note with interest that Xi Jinping, the man widely tipped to succeed China's President Hu Jintao in 2012, is visiting New Zealand from 17th to 19th June 2010, when he will meet Prime Minister John Key.

Friends of Tibet (NZ) urges Prime Minister Key to raise concerns about the situation in Tibet during their meeting; specifically we call on him to ask Vice President Xi to help to urge Hu Jintao to meet the Dalai Lama in order to progress a genuine solution to the occupation of Tibet.

Vice President Xi Jinping is the most senior of the 5th generation of Chinese leaders. He is a "princeling", the son of Xi Zhongxun, a former Vice Premier who supported Hu Yaobang's progressive ideas, denounced the leadership's handling of the Tiananmen Square protests and was reportedly close to the 10th Panchen Lama of Tibet. Although Xi Jinping is currently thought to have relatively little involvement in determining China's policies in occupied Tibet, he attended the recent 5th Work Forum on Tibet, and has the opportunity if he becomes President to lead a complete transformation in China's approach to the Tibet issue.

"We call on Xi Jinping to demonstrate that the 5th generation of leadership in China will herald a new era for Tibet" said Thuten Kesang, the national chairman of Friends of Tibet (NZ). "We urge Mr Xi to show that he is his father's son, and to ensure his place in the history books, for the right reasons, by bringing China's occupation of Tibet to an end. We also call on Prime Minister Key to urge Mr Xi to pass a message to Hu Jintao that it is time for him to meet the Dalai Lama. A lasting solution for Tibet suitable to both sides will benefit China.”

Friends of Tibet (NZ) note that while little is known of Xi Jinping's opinions about Tibet and human rights issues, he was reported by British journalist John Gittings to have visited Xinjiang in June 2009, soon after the protests there, where he insisted that the local party should appoint officials who could do a better job of handling ethnic relations. He warned that they should solve the "real difficulties" that Uighurs suffer in housing, food, health, education and employment. The same could be said for Tibet.

ENDS

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