Dhondub Wangchen was sentenced to six years in prison for a film about the 2008 Chinese Olympics ( ▶️ https://bit.ly/3KK1U3p). When he left the Chinese prison system in 2014, he was under the close watch of the authorities. Yet he managed to escape to the US.

It makes sense that we welcomed him to the Senate and a day later he visited the Chamber of Deputies. Just look at your own history. When the Czechoslovak Communists imprisoned their critics and political opponents, they were quite uneasy when letters began to arrive from all over the world asking them to release the unjustly imprisoned. And a few times it really worked.

In the shadow of China's last Olympics, the regime there set in motion the genocide of the Uighurs and made Tibet an inaccessible place whose traditions must be destroyed. I do not understand why the festival of sport is being held here again.

China is exploiting the idea of Olympism for its own propaganda, to improve its tarnished image. I think that as a democratic country with a Masaryk and Havel tradition and with lived experience of totalitarianism, we should speak up when we need to.

I am glad that the time of embarrassing kowtowing to totalitarian powers, as demonstrated by the previous government, is over. Once again we are showing that we are a confident country for which freedom and humanity are important. Well, we have room for improvement, but we are on the right track again. ✌️

Přemysl Rabas, chairman of the group

PS: Thanks to Czechs Support Tibet / Cesi Tibet Support and Potala - Himalayan Centre for inviting the Tibetan delegation to the Czech Republic.