(TibetanReview.net, Aug12’25) – Emboldened by Thailand’s forced repatriation earlier this year of 40 Uyghur human rights fugitives under its pressure – and in the face of strong opposition from international human rights groups and UN rights experts – China has on Aug 11 accused organizers of an exhibition in the country of distorting its policies on Tibet, Xinjiang (East Turkestan) and Hong Kong after the show’s co-curator said artworks were removed or altered at its “requests”.
It claimed that the exhibition, which opened on Jul 24, “promoted the fallacies of so-called ‘Tibetan independence’, ‘the East Turkestan Islamic Movement’ and ‘Hong Kong independence’,” distorted China’s policies and “undermined China’s core interests and political dignity”, reported Reuters Aug 11, citing China’s foreign ministry.
The exhibition, which was – by the way – on authoritarian governments, was held under the theme of “Constellation of Complicity: Visualizing the Global Machinery of Authoritarian Solidarity,” It featured multiple works by artists in exile, including a Tibetan.
Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre, one of Thailand’s top galleries, removed or altered artworks on Hong Kong as well as the Chinese government’s treatment of ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang at the request of the Chinese embassy, the report said.
China has been building its influence in Southeast Asia, where governments tread cautiously as they balance cooperation with the regional economic giant against concerns over political sovereignty, the report noted.
China has expressed gratification from the fact that its pressure worked. “The fact that the relevant country took timely measures precisely shows that the promotion of the fallacies of ‘Tibetan independence’, ‘East Turkestan Islamic Movement’ and ‘Hong Kong independence’ has no market internationally and is unpopular,” the report quoted the ministry as saying.
Mr Sai, co-founder of the Myanmar Peace Museum, the organization that put together the exhibition, had to flee the country amid suggestion that Thai police were looking for him.
Chinese Foreign Ministry has accused the organizers of using cultural and artistic exchange as what it calls “a cover for political interference in China’s internal affairs”.