(TibetanReview.net, Oct15’25) – Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the executive head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), has over Oct 13-14 met with senior European parliamentarians, former government leaders, representatives of civil society organisations and others, said the CTA o its Tibet.net website Oct 14 and 15. The Tibetan Sikyong is in Prague mainly to attend the 29th Forum 2000 Conference.
He has attended the Forum on its second day on Oct 13, which commenced with a plenary session at the Václav Havel Hall, presided over by Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, and Salomé Zourabichvili, the Fifth President of Georgia.
His Oct 14 meeting were stated to have included those with Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the German Bundestag; Iveta Radičová, former Prime Minister of Slovakia; and Czech Senators Jiří Růžička (who is Chairman of the Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions), and Přemysl Rabas, accompanied by Senate staff. He has also met with Thibaut Bruttin, Director General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and Pavol Szalai, Director of the RSF Prague Bureau.
Also on Oct 13, the Sikyong was stated to have attended a luncheon with politicians from the Global South, which served as an informal yet meaningful forum for exchanging views on global democratic resilience, the prevailing political situations in their respective countries, and the growing influence of the People’s Republic of China across their regions.
He has also met with Jiří Kozák, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, and Jakub Klepal, Executive Director at the Forum 2000 Foundation, on the same day.
His discussions have focused mainly on the ever worsening situation in Tibet under Chinese rule and especially on the current burning issue of China’s plan to meddle in the recognition of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Saša Neuman has presented to the Tibetan Sikyong his newly published book, Dalajláma – Havel – Praha 1990, a photographic tribute to the profound friendship between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and President Václav Havel.
Later in the day, on Oct 13 he was stated to be a keynote speaker in a panel discussion on “China: Where Will It Stop?”, held at the Václav Havel Hall. The panelists were stated to include Mark Lambert, former official of the US State Department; Da Chi Lao, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy; Shiori Yamao, Japan Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC); Emeka Lucky, visiting scholar; and Jamie Fly, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. The discussion was stated to have explored China’s expanding authoritarian reach and its implications for the global order.
Later in the evening, the Sikyong was stated to have attended a Global Networking Dinner, where global leaders, parliamentarians, and advocates for democracy convened to foster dialogue and cooperation in defence of shared democratic values.