7th World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet, 7-10 May 2019, Riga, Latvia
important foreign policy issue of the day in USA, in Canada, in Australia and in the UK and that is the issue of rising Chinese power. Although Tibet is very popular with the liberal and conservative people in all of their countries, the governments take into consideration much more Chinese economic and military power and there is a �ight on so many issues in New Zealand as well as Australia with the Chinese sharp power. The use of propaganda, agitation, newspapers, Confucius Institutes all coordinated by this United Front Department in Beijing.
Gareth Hughes
I will give you very brief New Zealand perspective on those three questions in terms of the Tibetan issue; I think New Zealand has a very warm and popular feeling towards the cause of Tibetan autonomy. I think we have a very able representative in New Zealand for many years, Thupten Kalsang and a very good representative in Canberra. At the parliamentary level we have seen huge turnout when His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to New Zealand in places like Australia, in places line up to meet him. But we have not seen formal response from government and no New Zealand Prime Minister or foreign minister has met him for 15 years as well. We can see this sort of impromptu in formal meeting at the airport but no formal meetings.
However, when I had the honour to host Sikyong two years ago in New Zealand Parliament, it was wonderful that 15% of New Zealand Parliament came out to meet him. At the governmental level I was proud go to see our govt. last year at the Geneva Human Rights Council meeting raise the issue
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