London — At a meeting in Westminster, London, MP Jim Shannon asked Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Minister for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the UK would continue to call Tibet by its rightful name. Minister Trevelyan confirmed that the government would “absolutely” continue to use the term Tibet. She added that the UK must pay “close attention” to China’s attempts to rename the region and “counter it”.
The term ‘Xizang’ will not be used by the British Government to refer to Tibet, despite attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to rename the region.
During a meeting at Westminster in London on December 14, 2023, Jim Shannon of the Democratic Unionist Party and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet questioned a government minister over whether the UK would continue to call Tibet by its rightful name. He stated that, the government should “make it very clear that the word is Tibet—the same as the UK is the UK”.
In response to Mr Shannon’s question Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Minister for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, confirmed the government would “absolutely” continue to use the term Tibet. Ms Trevelyan went further, adding the UK must pay “close attention” to China’s attempts to rename the region and “counter it”.
China’s latest attempt to rename Tibet was seen in a white paper published in October. Throughout that paper the name Tibet is replaced with Xizang, a change that Sikyong Penpa Tsering called an attempt to “wipe out Tibet from the world map and subsequently hope that Tibet will fade away from the memories”.
When the British Members of Parliament (MPs), met in December they also discussed the persecution of Tibetan Buddhists as well as the wider oppression taking place across the Tibetan region.
While the British Government continues to call for Tibetan autonomy within the Chinese system, rather than independence, Ms Trevelyan explained long-term stability could only happen through respect for universal human rights.
“However, China is systematically violating Tibetans’ rights, including by restricting their freedom of religion or belief and, as colleagues have set out so starkly, their right to assemble and associate freely,” she continued.
“It is Chinese law that all senior religious appointments must be approved by the authorities. The UK views the Dalai Lama as a respected spiritual leader, and as such he has visited the UK on a number of occasions, and we will continue to do all that we can to encourage freedoms for religious and cultural expression in Tibet and across China.
“We view the appointment of the next Dalai Lama as a matter for the relevant religious authorities to decide in line with those freedoms of religion and belief.”
Labour Party MP Kerry McCarthy praised the Tibetan religion but questioned whether its peaceful nature is a barrier for receiving international attention. She said: “There have been at least 158 self-immolations in Tibet, with another 10 by people in exile. Those are the sheer lengths that they have to go to in order to get international eyes on their plight.”
Ms Trevelyan explained that the challenge in gaining international attention to the human rights abuses taking place within Tibet lies with the extreme restrictions placed on foreign nationals, including accredited diplomats and journalists.
“One of the beauties of this extraordinarily peaceful religion is that it does not cause some of the violence and aggression that one sees in other clashes between religions or beliefs across the world,” she said. “British diplomats visited Tibetan areas of Sichuan province in June 2023, and we will continue to push for access to Tibet, including for the UN special rapporteurs, which China either has not responded to or indeed has refused.”
