Tibetan Parliament in Exile expresses concern over changes in Tibetan representation in French museums

The Tibetan Parliament in Exile has expressed deep concern and disappointment at the recent decision by France’s Musée du quai Branly and Musée Guimet to replace the term “Tibet” with the Chinese name “Xizang Autonomous Region” in their catalogues and exhibitions.

According to reports, Musee Guimet has renamed its Tibetan exhibition spaces to “Himalayan World.”

Tibetan MPs described the adoption of the Chinese term “Xizang” by French museums as an attempt to rewrite Tibetan history and accused them of joining an ongoing propaganda campaign to legitimise China’s claim to Tibet.

he/she further alleged that the decision was taken under pressure from the Chinese state, which is a “dangerous distortion” of history and a denial of Tibet’s cultural and historical identity.

The issue was raised and discussed in the Tibetan Parliament in Exile in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.

Lha Gyari Namgyal Dolkar, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said, “Chinese propaganda exhibitions have been set up in two very famous museums in Paris. I personally raised this issue in Parliament because the number of CCP propaganda exhibitions is increasing around the world.”

Lha Gyari Namgyal Dolkar called it a “serious threat” that must be countered, saying China is investing in various forms of propaganda to ensure that its way of rebranding everything spreads across the world, including Xizang.

“They are trying to replace the word Tibet with the word Xizang and the danger that I want to talk about here is not only in Paris, I see that some Indian press is also referring to Xizang instead of Tibet and I think this is very dangerous. India has to be very careful because India is also facing a lot of challenges from the Chinese Communist Party, especially when we consider renaming areas in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the same thing so India has to be careful and counter this move that the CCP is taking right now,” said Lha Gyari Namgyal Dolkar.

Thubten Gyatso, an exiled MP representing Tibetans across Europe, also alleged that there was a “Chinese political agenda” behind the name change.

Thubten Gyatso while speaking to ANI said, “There is a Chinese political agenda behind this kind of mood, so as a Tibetan, as well as intellectuals, scholars and Tibetans living in France, we are shocked because the French people don’t need to design Tibet, they should call us through their western word Tibet. Why are they using the Chinese word? Because the Chinese political agenda is to Sinicize Tibet and erase Tibetan identity, Tibetan language and Tibetan culture under a systematic framework and political agenda, so there has really been a huge wave of controversy.”

Thubten Gyatso said he/she has written to the relevant French authorities, requesting them to “respect the identity of the Tibetan people”.

“The Messe Quai Branly expressed its readiness to rectify the situation. The Musée Guimet renamed the Tibetan section in its museum to Himalayan World, which sounds like nothing. Because it used to call us the Tibet section. The Musée Guimet always called us Tibet, so why did they rename it Himalayan World, which doesn’t exist, which is not reality? The Himalayan range is a range of mountains; there is no such world or culture and the Himalayan language does not exist,” Thubten Gyatso said.

“So there has been some compromise. We have called the relevant French officials and the French government. We have written a letter and asked their appointees to actually listen to the Tibetan voice and respect the identity of the Tibetan people. We even raised the issue in the parliament session,” Thubten Gyatso said.