Tibet

Martin Horwood Excerpts

Wednesday 10th December 2014 Westminster Hall

[Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)]

Thank you for allowing me to contribute to the debate, Mr Owen, albeit fairly briefly. The debate is timely and I applaud the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton) for securing it.

The situation in Tibet is very sad, given the impression we get in the west these days of China as a whole. China’s situation is one of enormous progress, with an incredible reduction in poverty and a scientific and intellectual flowering the like of which we do not often see in a country of its size. We ought to celebrate and welcome that.

Yet when it comes to Tibet, we still see what appears to be a throwback to a darker and harsher era in China’s history: the catalogue of human rights abuses that hon. Members have referred to, arbitrary and unjustified arrests, suppression of freedom of speech and the systematic undermining of Tibetan culture. We hear a language that harks back almost to Maoist terminology—reference to “correct views of art” or to “secessionist sabotage”, or the Xinhua news agency congratulating President Xi on

“emphasising the integration of ideology and artistic values”.

That post-Maoist language has a chilling tone with regard to Tibet in particular, because it suggests that the impression of progress and positive development in China as a whole masks some very negative developments.

If I had to say something about the Tibetan Government in exile—now with an elected leader in Lobsang Sangay, as the Dalai Lama has handed over political power—it is that the Chinese are astonishingly lucky that that Government in exile are campaigning for liberation and freedom in Tibet. There are so many more violent models for resistance—so many more disruptive, antisocial and potentially threatening ways in which various peoples around the world try to achieve self-determination and freedom of expression—yet the opposition in Tibet has consistently advocated peaceful change and dialogue with Beijing. It has even accepted that the sovereignty of Tibet is probably not going to be re-established and that it is really searching for some kind of accommodation with the Chinese state. Yet that opposition is met with incredibly aggressive language and a heavy-handed and oppressive response from the Chinese authorities.

As for the wider situation, I seem to take part in a lot of debates—whether on cybercrime, wildlife crime, militarisation in east Asia, China’s aggressive relations with some of its neighbours, including Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam, China’s indulgence of various dictatorships in Africa, or the situation in Hong Kong—during which, in each case, we say that China is not pursuing the responsible and statesmanlike approach we would expect of a new world power or superpower. Yet we never seem to join up the dots or sit back to look at the situation and ask, have we had a sophisticated enough policy towards China? Has that policy simply been too focused on trade, investment and the economic benefits of our relationships with China—not just as the UK, but as part of the European Union and the international community? Do we now need to wake up to some of the worrying developments: abuses of human rights, suppression of freedom of expression, and aggressive stances towards—in the case of the people of Tibet—some of the most vulnerable and disempowered people in the world? Do we need a more sophisticated and developed policy towards China?

At the end of his speech the hon. Member for Leeds North East read out a list of specific things he was asking for. If I had to pick out one as the most important, it would be to take a lead within the European Union on developing a new approach and asking the Chinese Government to address the issue of policies toward Tibet that threaten Tibetan culture. As the European Union, we are not so subject to the divide and rule approach. Other hon. Members referred to relations between this country and China, or between South Africa and China or Norway and China. When one country takes a stand, it is more vulnerable than we will be if we take a collective and collaborative approach across the international community.

There is much to celebrate in our relationship with China. I know the Minister has enormous expertise on the part of the world we are debating. However, the current situation, in which the international community appears to be showing a rather aimless indifference towards the plight of the people of Tibet, simply cannot go on.