Key facts
- Tibetan political leader Penpa Tsering met with German lawmaker Thomas Rachel in Berlin.
- Tsering criticized China's policies in Tibet, citing intensified assimilation campaigns.
- He highlighted restrictions on Tibetan religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms.
- Concerns were raised about surveillance, including facial recognition and DNA collection.
- Tsering rejected China's interference in the Dalai Lama's reincarnation process.
- He called for cooperation among groups facing pressure from China at the International Uyghur Forum.
Penpa Tsering, the political leader of Tibet, has sharply criticized China's policies in Tibet during a series of high-level engagements in Berlin, Germany. He warned that Beijing's intensified assimilation campaign poses a threat not only to Tibetans but also to democratic values worldwide.
During a meeting with Bundestag member Thomas Rachel, Tsering briefed the lawmaker on the current conditions in Tibet, China's growing restrictions on Tibetan religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms, and the health of the Dalai Lama. Tsering affirmed the Dalai Lama's continued commitment to serving humanity and recounted Tibet's modern history, including China's 1950 military takeover and the Dalai Lama's subsequent exile in 1959.