(TibetanReview.net, May20’21) – Ahead of his scheduled inauguration on May 26 as the Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) at Dharamshala, India, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu has on May 17 congratulated Mr Penpa Tsering on his election to the post. The Tibet group in the Japanese parliament has also extended its congratulations.
The Sikyong is the executive head of the CTA and the popularly elected political leader of the Tibetan people.
“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your success in the recent Sikyong election. The result once again has shown the world the Tibetans’ unwavering commitment to building a free and democratic Tibet,” the minister has said in his congratulations letter.
He has called Taiwan and Tibet reliable partners that could work together to safeguard their shared values of democracy, freedom, and human rights.
“Under your leadership, I look forward to working with you and your Administration to advance the close and friendly ties between Taiwan and Tibet,” Wu has said.
Penpa Tsering, 53, is a former Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile as well as a Representative at the Office of Tibet, Washington, DC.
China views both Taiwan and Tibet as its core issues and vehemently opposes any official contact with their leaders by political figures of other countries. It considers Taiwan a renegade province and has threatened to use force to capture it should it veer towards declaring independence.
Neither Taiwan nor Tibet were party to the founding of the People’s Republic of China, established and ruled by the Communist party of China since 1949 with an iron fist. China annexed Tibet in 1951and took full control of it in 1959 after an uprising there.
Meanwhile, the All Party Japanese Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet has also congratulated Penpa Tsering on his election.
In his congratulatory message, Mr Shimomura Hakubun, Japan’s former education minister and the group’s current chairman, has said his group will work in close cooperation with the countries sharing the universal values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, adding, they will mobilize efforts towards the resolution of the issue of Tibet.
Also, Mr Makino Seishu, a former parliament member and Representative of Save Tibet Network Japan, has extended his heartfelt congratulations to Sikyong-elect Mr Penpa Tsering.
“You have taken the responsibility of the prime minister at this difficult time. We in Japan will be with you in full support,” he has written in his congratulations letter.
