(TibetanReview.net, Jan09’24) – Ahead of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib’s visit China this week, marking the first high-level mission since 2019, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has called for the issue of Tibet to be included in the discussions, reported brusselstimes.com Jan 8.
De Croo is scheduled to travel to Beijing over Jan 11 to 12 in a trip to renew high-level ties. Lahbib, who touches down in Shanghai on Jan 10 for fostering economic connections, will join De Croo in Beijing on Jan 11 for official engagements with President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang, and Zhao Leji, the Chairman of the National People’s Congress, which is China’s parliament. Key to discussions will be all aspects of Sino-Belgian relationships.
The report noted that in Dec 2023, De Croo confirmed that he would discuss China’s political interference with Belgian officials following the revelation that honorary Flemish MP Frank Creyelman (Vlaams Belang) was working as a Chinese spy.
Drawing on that remark, Vincent Metten, EU Policy Director of the ICT, has said, “Chinese interference in national politics runs parallel with the repression of Tibetan and Uyghur diasporas.”
He has said that in Belgium, as in other European nations, members of these communities had reported receiving threatening phone calls directed at themselves or family back home in a bid to dissuade them from campaigning. “The Belgian State has an obligation to protect its citizens,” Metten had maintained.
Belgium is home to a sizeable number of Tibetans who had been given asylum in recent decades.
On Tibet, ICT has said, “Recent reports clearly demonstrate China’s determination to erase Tibetan identity. ICT is deeply concerned about the ongoing cultural genocide against the Tibetan people.”
The Washington-headquartered ICT has concluded, “Belgium, currently holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, has the responsibility to hold China accountable for these violations of international law. Prime Minister De Croo should urge Chinese authorities to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama to resolve the conflict in Tibet.”
Mirroring EU policy, De Croo had explained last month, “Our relationship with China hinges on three components, much like the European Union. China is simultaneously a partner, competitor, and a rival. Means we must navigate areas of collaboration and maintain vigilance.”