(TibetanReview.net, Sep11, 2014) – Four members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exiled led by Speaker Penpa Tsering visited Australia to speak about the exile Tibetan administration’s middle way approach of seeking autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule among Tibetans and the Australian public, government leaders, lawmakers, and others from Aug 23 to 30. The delegation arrived in Sydney on Aug 23 and later visited capital Canberra, as well as Melbourne and Victoria during its eight-day tour.
In Sydney, the delegation held a meeting in the city with Chinese scholars, Tibetans and groups supporting the Tibetan issue. Feng Chong Yi, a professor of political science at a university in Western Australia, chaired the meeting. Leng Mei, President of the Tibetan-Chinese Friendship Association, spoke about the historical ties between Tibet and China and expressed apology for the atrocities against the Tibetan people by the Chinese communists, according to a Tibet.net report by the exile Tibetan Administration Aug 27. He expressed support for the middle way approach and emphasized the imperative to raise awareness about it among the Chinese public.
In Canberra the delegation met with members of the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, including its Chairman Hon. Warren Entsch, on Aug 27. The Tibetan Speaker spoke to the six MPs and two Senators about the current political, environmental and human rights situation in Tibet, reported Tibet.net Aug 29.
The Speaker also briefed the Australian parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on the situation in Tibet. The Committee had only recently been briefed on the situation in Tibet by “Tibet experts” from China.
In Victoria over Aug 28-29, the delegation met and interacted with the Tibetan community there on a range of issues, including the Middle Way Approach, the current situation in Tibet and the Shugden worship controversy.
And on Aug 30 the delegation attended a meeting, presumably in Melbourne, with Chinese scholars, representatives from local Tibetan Women’s And Friends Association, said a Tibet.net report Sep 10.
The Dalai Lama’s Canberra-based Representative, Mr Lhakpa Tshoko, coordinated the visit which had Mr Thupten Lungrig, Geshe Namdak Tsukphue, and Mr Sonam Gyaltsen as the other delegation members.