Advocacy and Capacity Building to counter China’s Transnational Repression in Europe
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) conducted a seven-week long advocacy and capacity building activities aimed at countering China’s transnational repression in Europe. Part of TCHRD’s strategic actions to hold Chinese government accountable for spreading fear and disempowering exiled Tibetan activists and organisations, TCHRD’s executive director Ms Tenzin Dawa and manager Ms Phurbu Dolma held briefings and interactions with various stakeholders including parliamentarians, policy makers, public officials, human rights experts and other civil society members on the findings of TCHRD’s report on transnational repression and discussed possible solutions. Workshops on the ways to counter transnational repression were organised to build the capacity of Tibetan civil society members in six European countries.
During the three-day advocacy program at the European Parliament from 24 to 26 September, Ms. Dawa had the opportunity to brief and hand over a three-page summary of the abovementioned report’s key findings and its physical copies to 15 European Union policymakers and their parliamentary assistants in Brussels. Ms Dawa highlighted transnational repression as an urgent thematic issue and explained the harassment and intimidation faced by Tibetans in Europe, emphasising the need for government institutions and law enforcement agencies to raise awareness and establish dedicated mechanisms to protect those affected by transnational repression. While participating in the Tibetan Empowerment Program organised by the International Campaign for Tibet’s Europe office in Brussels from 23 to 26 September 2024, Ms. Dawa led an hour-long presentation on China’s transnational repression and shared findings from TCHRD’s report with workshop participants, which included Tibetan activists from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Ms. Dawa also shared the report’s findings with representatives from the World Uyghur Congress and Amnesty International during a meeting held at the latter’s office in Brussels.
On 9 October in France, the TCHRD team met with the French Senate Tibet Support Group at the French Senate and held discussions with key members, including Senator Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, president of the French Tibet Support group, and executive secretary Thierry Munier.
In Switzerland on 23 October, Ms. Dawa met with Mr. Nicolas Walder, a member of Switzerland’s National Council, to discuss the challenges faced by the Tibetan diaspora.
On 29 October, the TCHRD team along with Melanie Blondelle from the International Campaign for Tibet Europe held a closed-door meeting at Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brussels. The team advocated for increased protections for the Tibetan diaspora in Belgium. The team also engaged with Mr Stijn Willems and Mr Wannes Heirman, parliamentary assistants to MP Els Van Hoof, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, urging her office to organise hearings in the Belgian Parliament on Chinese transnational repression.
On 31 October, Ms. Dawa accompanied by Mr. Norbu Tsering, president of the Tibetan Community in the Netherlands, met with officers at the China Unit of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
In the UK, Ms. Dawa joined a virtual discussion organised by the ‘Tackling Transnational Repression in the UK Working Group’ on 5 November. The working group is currently working on joint policy paper submission to the UK government. Established in September 2024, the informal working group brings concerned parties together to research and monitor incidents and effects of transnational repression in the UK, support those affected by transnational repression, and identify and shape the development of a comprehensive institutional response to transnational repression in the UK.
Later that evening, MP Chris Law of the Scottish National Party hosted Ms. Dawa for a talk on China’s transnational repression in the UK Parliament, attended by students, journalists, and researchers. The Labour MP for Stockport Mr Navendu Mishra also took part in the discussion and shared his thoughts. The UK-based Free Tibet organisation helped organise the talk.
Other stakeholders the TCHRD team met include Ms. Selina Morell and Ms. Caroline from the Society for Threatened Peoples with whom the team discussed transnational repression faced by Tibetans in Switzerland on 21 October. Opportunities for collaboration for an upcoming report on the issue were also explored during the discussion. Ms. Morell noted that TCHRD’s capacity building workshops had enhanced awareness among Tibetans in Switzerland, many of whom were previously unaware of the extent of transnational repression.
In October, the team met with Mr. Thupten Tsering, Coordinator at the Office of Tibet in Paris and briefed him about transnational repression targeting Tibetans in France.
On 6 October, TCHRD’s first awareness-raising and capacity-building workshop in Europe was held in Paris. A total of 20 participants, including members of the Paris-based Tibetan Community Association, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, and Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group (V-TAG) attended the one-day workshop on ‘Countering China’s Transnational Repression of Tibetan Diaspora Communities’. Ms. Dawa led the first session on the scope and nature of China’s transnational repression, followed by Mr. Chabdak Lhamo Kyab who led a session on personal experience of China’s growing transnational repression-in-exile. Mr Kyab is a writer, poet, former Tibetan parliamentarian, and Tibetan language teacher at INALCO in Paris. Mr. Hapee De Groot, Digital Protection Coordinator for Europe at Frontline Defenders, led a session on digital protection.
The workshop in Zurich on 20 October saw the participation of 40 participants from various local Tibetan organisations. Mr Eric Hsu, a researcher at the Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, led a session on ‘Civil Society Best Practices for Countering Transnational Repression’. Ms. Selina Morell, China Program Manager at the Society for Threatened Peoples, discussed Switzerland’s stance on transnational repression. A virtual session on resilience, well-being, and preventing burnout was conducted by TCHRD Research Director Ms. Tsering Tsomo, followed by an hour-long digital security session led by Mr. Lobsang Tseten of the Tibet Action Institute.
The workshop in Berlin on 26 October had participants from the local V-TAG group and Tibetan community association. Mr. David Missal, deputy managing director of the Tibet Initiative Deutschland, spoke on Germany’s stance on transnational repression and strategies for effective engagement by local diaspora communities. Ms. Tsomo and Mr. Tseten led sessions on psychosocial well-being and digital security respectively.
On 3 November, the representatives of different Tibetan groups including executive members of the Tibetan community in Netherlands, V-TAG and International Campaign for Tibet Europe participated in the workshop. Mr. Michael Liu, a Ph.D. candidate at Leiden University, led a discussion on the United Front Work Department’s role in perpetrating transnational repression. Other sessions included digital hygiene and psychosocial well-being.
The final workshop was held in London on 10 November with members of the Tibetan community. Ms Laura Harth, campaign director and lead on transnational repression at the Safeguard Defenders discussed developing a counter response to transnational repression. Safeguard Defenders is a human rights NGO that undertakes and supports local activities for the protection of human rights, promotion of the rule of law and enhancement of local civil society capacity in some of Asia’s most hostile environments.
In September, with support from the Sydney-based Australia Tibet Council, TCHRD was able to brief and hand over a three-page summary on the major findings of the report on Chinese transnational repression to six parliamentarians: Dr Sophie Scamps (MP); Senator Jordon Steele-John, Senator Steph Hodgins-May, Senator David Shoebridge, Andrew Wallace (MP) and Senator Susan Mcdonald.
Ms Tsomo accompanied by the ATC’s executive officer Dr Zoe Bedford also held a meeting with representatives of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in Canberra during which they presented the major findings of the TCHRD’s report and answered questions. Each officer was handed with a copy of the three-page summary of the report. The AFP officers were made aware of TCHRD’s upcoming initiatives to educate and inform the Tibetan community in Australia on countering TNR or foreign interference and espionage as it referred to by Australian authorities. They were urged to increase outreach efforts to community organisations and members of new developments and trends regarding Chinese efforts to infiltrate and co-opt the Tibetan community in Australia. The AFP’s factsheet on countering foreign interference and espionage translated into Tibetan by TCHRD is now available on the AFP’s website.
