(TibetanReview.net, Jan03’25) –Tibetan Sikyong Mr Penpa Tsering has accused China of targeting Tibetan voices in free societies following its announcement of sanctions on Dec 24 against Canadian entities and individuals that included the Canada Tibet Committee (CTC) and five of its members, including the group’s chair Samphe Lhalungpa.
The executive head of the Central Tibetan Administration has called China’s move an escalation of its transnational repression of overseas Tibetan activists.
“China’s sanctions against the CTC constitute a blatant and alarming escalation of its transnational repression, targeting Tibetan voices in free societies. Such coercive measures against a Tibetan advocacy group exemplify a broader and more aggressive pattern of intimidation aimed at threatening fundamental freedoms and democratic principles beyond its borders,” Penpa Tsering stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Dec 31.
He hoped the sanctions will only strengthen the group’s campaign works, saying: “As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has consistently asserted, standing with Tibet is standing up for universal values of justice and freedom. May these sanctions serve only to strengthen the CTC’s resolve to persist in their vital work defending human rights and truth.”
Earlier, China strongly condemned Canada for having imposed sanctions on eight of its former and serving officials on Dec 10, the international Human Rights Day, for gross and systematic human rights violations in the Xinjiang region, Tibet and against Falun Gong followers.
China made it clear that its Dec 22 announcement of sanctions against the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, the Canada Tibet Committee, and 20 people from these two organisations was a countermeasure against Canada for the latter’s above decision.
China has previously sanctioned government officials and lawmakers in such tit-for-tat moves.
China’s transnational repression of overseas opponents of its Communist Party policy and repression has seen Beijing using their families in the home country as hostages, setting up secret or disguised police stations in other countries to go after them, infiltrating their groups, and spying on their activities. These have been exposed in a series of recent investigation reports, police and intelligence actions, as well as judicial convictions from Spain, Sweden and the USA.