Slovene Tibet Support Group reacted with a public letter to the propagandistic exhibition, organized in the heart of the Slovene democracy, with which the Chinese authorities tried to cover the cruel truth on daily life in China (this happened a good month before the visit of the XIVth Dalai Lama in Slovenia).

Photographs from the opening of the exhibition: http://www.dz-rs.si/index.php?id=390&no_cache=1&show_sporocilo=2661&cHash=af106ace27, http://www.sta.si/foto.php?id=169835, some of the photographs that were actually exhibited (choose “2010 Kalejdoskop Kitajske, 1. 3. 2010″ http://www.dz-rs.si/index.php?id=119&no_cache=1#).

***

Subject: Opening of the exhibition “A Kaleidoscope of China: Reflections of the Modern Chinese Lifestyle”

Dear president of the parliament dr. Gantar,

We noticed on the website of the Parliament that this Monday You will open an exhibition: A Kaleidoscope of China: Reflections of the Modern Chinese Lifestyle. It follows from the official biography that You were active in “social movements” prior to the fall of Communism and a founding member of the Committee for Human Rights. Based on these information we assume that you are sensitive to the issue of human rights. Probably also aware of what “Modern Chinese Lifestyle” encompasses, as well as the efforts of the Chinese authorities to hide the dark side of it and mask it with fake propaganda.

Since the occupation of Tibet started 60 years ago the Chinese have killed over a million people, destroyed more than 6,000 monasteries, thousands of people have been put in jails. After all, we shouldn’t forget the violent repression of protests during the Olympic games in Beijing. The freedom of expression and association and freedom of religion have been systematically restricted to the Tibetans. Just carrying a picture of the national Tibetan flag is enough that someone disappears in Chinese prisons, where there are plenty of political prisoners. (Political) prisoners are being tortured, not only by kicking and beating, but also with more “sophisticated” methods, for example with electric shocks applied to sensitive areas (genitals, mouth), by causing burns, exposure to extreme temperatures, forcing monks and nuns to have sexual intercourse and thereby breaching their vows, Tibetan women are prevented from giving birth to children with various medical measures (unhygienic forced sterilization, abortion), the sole utter of name of the XIVth Dalai Lama (the Tibetan religious and political leader) in public suffices to have a tongue torn out etc. Finally, Chinese authorities have been consistently destroying the rich Tibetan cultural heritage, they have been systematically inhabiting Han population in Tibet and systematic stealing Tibetan natural resources (ores etc.)

And this is not all: how the Chinese are treating the Uyghur minority, how many dead penalties do they execute (often in order to get hold of the body organs), how do they respect the rule of law, the democratic principles, how they are limiting access to information to all Chinese, how they are stealing intellectual property, how our workers are losing jobs on the globalised market due to the fact that Chinese work force is inhumanely treated and underpaid etc.

Somehow it seems that the exhibition will avoid showing all these “unpleasant” aspects of “the Chinese modern lifestyle”…

Will the representatives of Slovene state bow down to China, “diplomatically” avoid the “unpleasant” topics and facts like those mentioned above and eventually open a fake propaganda exhibition as organized by the authoritarian Chinese state in the very core of Slovene democracy? The XIVth Dalai Lama will come to Slovenia in a month and a half. Will the Slovene politicians meet Him with the same smiling faces as they met the Chinese?

Tibet Support Group Slovenia