By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 17: In an apparent response to recent Tibetan diplomatic initiatives, Chinese state-backed “Tibetologists” have launched a European tour to promote Beijing’s narrative on Tibet.
The delegation, organized by the Chinese State Council Information Office (SCIO), visited Latvia and Estonia between November 7-13, 2024, coinciding with visits by Tibetan parliamentarians to the same countries.
According to International Campaign for Tibet, the Chinese delegation’s tour appears strategically timed to counter growing support for Tibet in the Baltic region. Earlier this year, the Estonian Parliament hosted a hearing on “The Legal Status of Tibet,” attended by 35 MPs and featuring testimony from Tibetan political leader Penpa Tsering. Experts at the hearing challenged China’s historical claims over Tibet, with Professor Hon-Shiang Lau noting that Chinese imperial records never documented Tibet as part of China.
The propaganda push follows several diplomatic victories for the Tibetan exile government, including Penpa Tsering’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in May 2024. China has recently intensified its external propaganda efforts, launching the “Tibet International Communication Center” in Lhasa on September 2, 2024, as part of a broader strategy to reshape international perspectives on Tibet.
Political scientist Anne-Marie Brady characterizes the (SCIO) State Council Information Office as an extension of China’s foreign propaganda office, highlighting Beijing’s systematic approach to controlling the global narrative around Tibet rather than addressing underlying political issues.
SCIO has remained consistently engaged in propagating the Chinese narrative on Tibet. It orchestrated a series of ‘Forums on the Development of Tibet,’ with the first event in the series held in the Austrian capital of Vienna in 2007. The second was held in the Italian capital Rome in 2009, and the third was held in the Greek capital of Athens in 2011. Since the fourth forum, which was held in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 2014 (the fifth and sixth were also in Lhasa in 2016 and 2019, the seventh in Beijing in 2023), the Tibet Autonomous Region has also been named as a co-organizer.
