Tibetan and Uyghur activists displayed the Tibetan flag and called for justice regarding alleged human rights violations against Uyghurs as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s motorcade passed by.
Xi Jinping’s visit to France, followed by Hungary and Serbia, marks his first European visit in five years. After Xi’s arrival, advocates for Tibet and Uyghur took to the streets to demand justice for those reportedly oppressed by the Chinese government in those areas.
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), claiming responsibility for the banners, later reported that two activists from their group were detained shortly after the banners were displayed.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged French President Emmanuel Macron to publicly address issues concerning Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Hong Kongers during Xi’s visit to Paris, calling for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained individuals.
This demand was supported by Ilham Tohti, an Uyghur economist and recipient of the Sakharov Prize. Tibetan activists also called on Macron to raise concerns about Tibet and Hong Kong during his meeting with Xi, highlighting alleged repression faced by Tibetan children in boarding schools and the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in France on Sunday for a state visit hosted by Emmanuel Macron signifies 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and China.
The leader of the one-party Communist state, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, was greeted at a rainy Paris Orly airport by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. Xi is scheduled for talks in Paris on Monday, including discussions with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, followed by a state banquet hosted by Macron at the Elysee.
On Tuesday, Macron will accompany Xi to the Pyrenees mountains, where he used to go as a child, for a day of private discussions. In a published article for Le Figaro, Xi expressed his desire to collaborate with the global community in finding solutions to the conflict arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He emphasized that China is not directly involved in the conflict but is committed to working with France and the international community to bring peace and stability back to Europe.
