Paris — More than four thousand Tibetans from ten European countries protested against the Chinese government's serious violations of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of education and freedom of movement of Tibetans inside Tibet, during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to France on May 5, 2024.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Paris on May 5, 2024, more than 4,000 Tibetans from ten European countries protested against Xi Jinping's cruel policies towards Tibetans and the Tibetan environment. They also protested against the serious violations of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of education and freedom of movement committed by the Chinese government against Tibetans inside Tibet, as well as against the placement of more than one million Tibetan children in Chinese colonial schools, which forcibly separate them from their families, language, traditions and religion and aim to eliminate Tibetan identity.
Tibetan activists from Students for a Free Tibet and other Tibetan NGOs, together with Tibetans from ten countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands, gathered in Place de la République in France on May 5, 2024 to protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Paris and other European countries. They highlighted the human rights violations committed by the Chinese government against Tibetans in Tibet, including violations of religious freedom through the arrest, torture and imprisonment of Tibetans who keep a photograph of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and violations of freedom of education through the forced placement of over one million Tibetans in Chinese colonial boarding schools. More than 160 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against the Chinese government's repressive policies towards Tibetans inside Tibet.
Tibetan protesters called on Xi Jinping to abolish Chinese colonial boarding schools for Tibetan children, and shouted slogans such as: "China lies, poeple dies", "Tibet is not part of China", "Xi Jinping, your time is up, shame on you, you have blood on your hands", " Free Tibet", "Tibet belongs to Tibetans".
Five Tibetan activists from Students for a Free Tibet and International Tibet Network unfurled a giant banner with the Tibetan national flag (the snow lion flag) on a flyover above the motorcade of Chinese President Xi Jinping and hundreds of his cronies as he arrived in Paris, France, on May 5, 2024. The banner reads: ‘Free Tibet! Dictator Xi Jinping, your time is up!. The Tibetan activists wrote, " In China, Dictator Xi may be able to ignore the plight of the Tibetan people, but in France we are going to expose his lies and guarantee that Xi cannot forget us."
Human Rights Watch calls on French President Macron to stand firm on human rights in China and use Xi Jinping's visit to address serious abuses by the Chinese government. Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch, said: "President Macron should make it clear to Xi Jinping that Beijing’s crimes against humanity come with consequences for China’s relations with France. France’s silence and inaction on human rights would only embolden the Chinese government’s sense of impunity for its abuses, further fueling repression at home and abroad."
