Penpa Tsering, who has become President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) for the second time, has said that the Tibetans living in India will continue with their movement till such time Tibetans living inside Tibet do not achieve freedom.
“We can never give up. As long as there’s no freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet, we will have to continue to carry our movement. There will be no stopping,” Penpa Tsering, also referred to as ‘Sikyong’ in Tibetan language, told The Gist for StratNews Global.
According to him, China is constantly “watching” what the exiled Tibetan community living in India is doing and that it has become their “best publicity agent” as Beijing continues to speak about them. He was referring to the recent statement made by the Chinese government where Beijing questioned the legal authority of the CTA, or the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
Penpa Tsering was sworn-in at the elections for the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. He will be serving as the President for another five-year term presiding over the CTA, which used to be earlier headed by His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama till he gave up administrative role in 2011.
According to Penpa Tsering, countries around the world, including India, need to “differentiate” between the ‘One China Principle’ and ‘One China Policy’ and that none of these concerns Tibet.
The One China Principle represents Beijing’s steadfast and non-negotiable position, which asserts that there exists only one China. This principle is rooted in the belief that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legitimate government representing all of China, including Taiwan, which is viewed by the PRC as an integral and inseparable part of its territory. The principle underscores China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasizing that any challenge to this claim is considered a threat to its unity.
