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Lack of access to Tibet

In recent years, and in particular since the 2008 protests brought unprecedented international attention on the repression of the Tibetan people, China has restricted access to Tibet in order to prevent the truth about its oppression from reaching the outside world.

Foreigners today still require a number of special authorizations and permits in addition to their Chinese visa to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and the region is systematically closed off to them around politically sensitive periods. Access is still harder for exiled Tibetans, who are often cruelly prevented from being able to see their families whom they have in many cases been separated from for a very long time. Journalists covering the issue have been threatened and expelled from the country; delegations of diplomats and even UN officials are almost always denied access, other than on carefully staged official tours; and Tibetans are punished for passing information abroad.

An intimidating military presence at one of the major Tibetan Buddhist festivals in Kumbum, Qinghai, on March 5, 2015.

This enforced isolation of Tibet, which allows the Chinese government to continue violating the fundamental rights of Tibetans without accountability, matters for human rights, but also reveals a strong asymmetry in our relationship with China. Chinese delegations of diplomats or journalists indeed face no such restrictions as those imposed on foreign citizens in Tibet, and enjoy free and open access to the entire territories of our Western countries all year round – an access they do not hesitate to use to influence perceptions of target audiences in our countries about Tibet. In recent months, EU leaders have increasingly invoked the principle of reciprocity in their relationship with China, but mainly in the field of trade and economic relations. However, reciprocity is considered an instrument for achieving the development of mutual trust and an incentive for compliance with international standards, and should therefore be extended to cover fundamental rights – including the freedom of movement and of information of foreign citizens in China and Tibet.

Related news and resources

ICT welcomes US ban of former CCP secretary in Tibet Autonomous Region

July 9, 2020News

ICT welcomes US ban of former CCP secretary in Tibet Autonomous Region

The International Campaign for Tibet welcomes the United States’ decision to bar Chen Quanguo, the architect of mass human rights violations in the Tibet Autonomous Region, from entering the US.

China vows to retaliate against US Tibet access law, while European legislators mobilize

July 8, 2020 ・ International Campaign for TibetNews

China vows to retaliate against US Tibet access law, while European legislators mobilize

As the US announced visa restrictions for Chinese officials under the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, and a British lawmaker introduced a similar bill in the UK, the Chinese government vowed to retaliate with restrictions of its own.

US bans Chinese officials under Tibet access law

July 7, 2020 ・ International Campaign for TibetNews

US bans Chinese officials under Tibet access law

In yet another action showing its intention to take China to task under the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, the State Department announced today that Chinese Communist Party and government officials responsible for keeping Americans out of Tibet will be denied entry to the US.

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The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) is an international NGO working to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights and protect the Tibetan culture and environment.

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