(TibetanReview.net, Nov02’26) – Even Communist China’s founding father Mao Zedong recognized the right of ethnic and cultural communities to maintain their identities, but now President Xi Jinping is out to destroy it under the recently implemented Ethnic Unity Progress Promotion law, Hollywood star and Tibet activist Richard Gere has said after visiting the Dalai Lama in Dharmashala, India, on Oct 31.
He has accused China of pursuing a policy of “ethnic erasure” aimed at destroying Tibetan culture, saying its actions threaten the distinct identities of several ethnic communities, timesofindia.com Nov 2 quoted Gere as saying, speaking after meeting with the Dalai Lama in the latter’s Thekchen Choling residence in McLeodganj, Dharamshala.
“It’s not ethnic unity, it’s ethnic erasure. It’s destroying the other ethnic communities,” Gere said, alleging that the Chinese government was attempting to erase Tibetan, Mongolian, and Uyghur cultures—communities he said were historically recognised as having the right to preserve their distinct identities.
Referring to China’s 1954 constitution, Gere has noted, “even Chairman Mao had acknowledged the right of ethnic and cultural communities to maintain their identities”.
“This was clear from the beginning of the Chinese Communist Revolution. What they’re trying to do now is completely erase and destroy Tibetan culture, Mongolian culture, Uyghur culture,” he has said.
To Tibetans living in Tibet, Gere has said: “We love you. We know you’re there. We are never going to forget you. We will be there doing everything we can for as long as we possibly can.”
He has reaffirmed his personal commitment to the cause, stating that supporting Tibetans had become his life’s work.
During the meeting, the Dalai Lama presented hm with a traditional Kinnauri hat as a gesture of affection and friendship, the report noted.
Gere, who is the board chair of Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, had earlier visited Dharamshala in March for a conference of Tibet Support Groups. In a video message played at the event in McLeodganj, he characterised the Tibetan movement as a “long game” requiring sustained commitment.
“We are playing a long game here and the long game is that everyone is liberated,” he had said, describing the Tibetan movement as political, social and cultural, but also universal in its significance. “It’s a long game and it’s the right game.”
Gere’s friendship with the Dalai Lama has spanned more than four decades. His commitment to the Tibetan cause has brought the halcyon days of his Hollywood career to an end, being avoided by films aiming for the lucrative China market where the party-state censors everything.