TibetanReview.net, May06’24) —Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Paris on May 5 to discuss EU-China trade relations and to get an earful against his country’s mainly covert support for Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. However, the pomp and grandeur of his state visit suffered a bit of a dent at the hands of a crowd of Tibetan-dominated protesters who made sure that he did not miss banners bearing their headline slogans.
French President Emmanuel Macron also came under pressure to raise the issue of Tibet – including from a group of 14 Tibet group Senators – as well as Xinjiang and human rights in general in his meeting with Xi.
Following his arrival at airport, Xi’s motorcade passed under an overpass across which a large “Free Tibet” banner was hung, and a national flag of Tibet raised, with the incident being captured in a Twitter post of Students for a Free Tibet and covered in a News18.com report May 6.
Nearly 2,000 Tibetans converged upon Paris, a city of liberty and activism, to voice their dissent against the visit of the Chinese President. Against the backdrop of Place de la République, a symbol of democracy and protest, they stood united, their voices echoing through the streets, demanding recognition for their long-standing plight, reported he firstpost.com May 6.
It said the protesters held placards that read “Dictator Xi Jinping, your time is up,” “no to Chinese totalitarianism”, among others.
Also, an AFP report said hundreds of protesters unfurled a Tibetan flag at a demonstration in Paris, accusing Xi of being a “dictator” and wanting to erase local culture in the Tibet region.
A scmp.com report May 5 shows police officers looking on as activists for a free Tibet tried to unfurl a banner across two lampposts in front of the Paris landmark Arc de Triomphe on May 5 to protest against Xi’s visit. Two activists of Students for a Free Tibet, including one named Tsela Zoksang, were briefly detained by French police, reported the rfi.fr May 5.
The report said the campaigners vowed to protest throughout his two-day Paris visit to draw attention to government oppression in Tibet and the mass detention of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the northern region of Xinjiang.
Also, the report cited Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based NGO that monitors disappearances in China, as having told Le Monde newspaper that it had heard from Chinese activists based in France who said their relatives in China were visited by authorities this week in an apparent bid to discourage them from disrupting Xi’s visit.
Xi’s delegation is to spend two days in France, meeting with Mr Macron and the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on May 6, ahead of a state dinner.
Accompanying Xi on his first European tour in five years is his wife Peng Liyuan, chief of staff Cai Qi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The five-day trip – two in France – will also take Xi to Serbia and Hungary.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which also held rallies this weekend, have both urged Macron to broach the subject of human rights in his talks with Xi.