Just days ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to France, the democratically elected head of the Tibetan government-in-exile met with French President Emmanuel Macron during an award ceremony in Paris.
The visit marked the first meeting of a Tibetan elected leader with the head of a state of a major Western democratic nation.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering, head of Dharamsala, India-based Central Tibetan Administration, met Macron at a ceremony to award the Legion of Honour to former French senator and Tibet supporter André Gattolin on April 30 at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Macron is expected to host Xi next week for dinner at the palace during the Chinese president’s first visit to the European Union in five years.
In January, France was among the 21 United Nations member states that raised serious concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet, resulting in 23 recommendations for Beijing during China's fourth Universal Periodic Review. The comprehensive review of the country's human rights record took place at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, in January.
The Chinese government tightly controls the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan-populated areas of China's western provinces, restricting Tibetans' political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity.
During the meeting, Tsering presented Macron with a picture of his 2016 meeting with the Dalai Lama, autographed by the Tibetan spiritual leader, and urged him not to forget Tibet, Representative Rigzin Choedon Genkhang of the Office of Tibet in Brussels told Radio Free Asia.
“For me, the fact that he discussed, even if it is a short discussion, with the sikyong, is very important because President Xi Jinping will make an official visit in Paris at the beginning of next week,” Gattolin told RFA, while noting the meeting was held in the open before 300 people.
“Now [that] it is public [knowledge] that the French president has met the sikyong, I’m waiting for the reaction from China and to see what will be the consequences during his visit,” he said.
Xi is scheduled to visit France, Serbia and Hungary on May 5-10 in an effort to bolster China-EU ties.
His visit to France on May 6-7 takes place amidst the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and comes on the back of Macron's visit to Beijing in April 2023.
“Exchanges will focus on international crises, first and foremost the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, trade issues, scientific, cultural and sporting cooperation,” the French President's office said in a statement.
The French president met the Dalai Lama in September 2016 when Macron was a candidate for the 2017 presidential elections.
“Macron wanted to meet His Holiness who was in Paris at the time,” Gattolin said.
“Nowadays, very often, I ask the French president to take a stronger position on the Tibetan situation, but due to the global international relations and the weight of China, he is very careful and prudent,” Gattolin said.
Additional reporting by Tsering Yangdon for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Kalden Lodoe, Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.