“The situation in Tibet is very desperate. It is urgent that the international community sends fact-finding delegations to the Tibetan area to investigate the situation on the ground. This will have a restraining influence on the Chinese authorities,” he said in written remarks sent to EUobserver during his visit to Prague on Monday (12 December).
“Should the Chinese side reject the request, the EU could issue a strong statement of deep concern and raise the issue at international fora, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council.”
He noted that China cares about its international reputation and is not immune from Arab-Spring-type events.
Ashton’s diplomats say they have already made formal requests to visit the disputed region.
But China’s man in charge of Tibet, vice-minister Zhu Weiqun, at a rare meeting with press in Brussels also on Monday, ruled out the possibility.
“China is an independent country and we have the full capacity to handle problems on our territory. So under no circumstances will we allow foreign fact-finding missions into the Tibetan autonomous region … I don’t believe that the interference of any foreign force could achieve anything constructive. Indeed it could very well lead to an escalation of the crisis and to wars,” he told this website.
He also said a “Dalai Lama group” in Taiwan recently published an article saying monks who kill themselves will be reincarnated as Buddhas.
When asked by EUobserver to show it a copy of the pro-self-immolation article mentioned by Zhu, the spokesman for the Chinese EU mission, Wang Xining, said: “The … article is difficult to locate on internet. Sorry.”