Brussels [Belgium] October 17 : At the 42nd EU-China Inter-Parliamentary Meeting (IPM), members of the European Parliament raised pointed concerns over China's worsening human rights record, with the situation in Tibet taking centre stage.
The meeting, held after a seven-year break, marked the first formal engagement between the European Parliament and China's National People's Congress since 2018, as reported by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).
According to CTA, European lawmakers strongly criticised China for its continued repression in Tibet and other regions under its control.
The MEPs reiterated their long-standing demand for information on the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, who was abducted by Chinese authorities in 1995 when he was just six years old.
They called for his unconditional release and also urged freedom for other political prisoners, including Ilham Tohti, Jimmy Lai, and Gui Minhai, all of whom remain unjustly detained under China's authoritarian regime.
The dialogue resumed only after China decided to lift sanctions imposed in 2021 on five MEPs and the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights. Those sanctions had triggered a diplomatic freeze that lasted nearly four years. Despite the resumption of talks, European officials emphasised that engagement with China would not come at the cost of human rights principles.
Ahead of the meeting, the Office of Tibet in Brussels and the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) coordinated efforts to ensure the human rights crisis in Tibet featured prominently in the agenda.
Their outreach prompted several MEPs to confront Chinese representatives over issues such as religious persecution, forced assimilation, and cultural suppression in the Tibetan plateau. During the IPM, Tibetan associations and the ICT held a peaceful protest outside the European Parliament in Brussels, demanding freedom for Tibet and the restoration of fundamental rights, as reported by CTA.