Representative Tsering Yangkyi Engages with Lawmakers, Highlights Existential Threat Posed to Tibetans by China’s New Ethnic Law During Advocacy Visit to DenmarkCopenhagen, 8 October 2026: Representative Tsering Yangkey met three Danish lawmakers from three different political parties during her two-day visit to Denmark to highlight the far-reaching impact of China’s so-called Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress on Tibet’s distinct linguistic, religious and cultural identity.Her visit comes just months after a new government led by Hon. Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats was formed in June, following the general elections in March 2026.The meetings with the three Danish lawmakers took place on 7 and 8 October in their offices at the Danish Parliament, the Folketing, during the first week of its state opening—the busiest period in the parliamentary calendar.Representative Yangkey held a comprehensive discussion with Hon. Karsten Hønge, Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee in the Danish Parliament, on 8 October. His party, the Socialist People’s Party (SF), is part of the ruling coalition. The Representative congratulated Hon. Karsten Hønge on his electoral victory and new role.Explaining that the primary purpose of her visit was to raise awareness among Danish lawmakers about China’s so-called Ethnic Unity Law, Representative Yangkey highlighted how the mandatory imposition of Mandarin as the primary language of instruction and the enforcement of a state-defined national identity pose an existential threat to the Tibetan language and identity. Expressing grave concern over the involuntary placement of Tibetan children as young as four in colonial-style boarding schools from kindergarten onwards, she noted that the children are deliberately separated from their language and culture and raised to become Chinese citizens loyal to the Chinese Communist Party and government. She described this as a planned project of social re-engineering.Referring to Article 63 of the new law, Representative Yangkey warned that a Danish citizen working to promote Tibet’s language and culture in Denmark could be accused of undermining China’s ethnic unity and face punishment under the law. She highlighted this provision as a clear example of transnational repression that threatens Denmark’s sovereignty.Hon. Karsten Hønge called for a broader coalition across the Danish political landscape to draw attention to the law’s far-reaching implications for all non-Han nationalities under Chinese control. He also underscored the need to raise greater awareness of its potential impact.Representative Yangkey extended an open invitation to Hon. Karsten Hønge to visit Dharamshala, which he accepted in principle.During the meeting, Secretary Tenzin Kunga focused his briefing on Denmark’s green partnership with China. He drew attention to China’s indiscriminate exploitation of Tibet’s rich natural resources to fuel its insatiable drive for global energy dominance. He highlighted the construction of multiple hydroelectric dams on the Tibetan Plateau to meet China’s energy needs, often without transparent disclosure of their impact on downstream countries that depend on the natural flow of these rivers. He warned that such projects are causing long-term damage to the Tibetan Plateau and its fragile ecology.He called for a holistic assessment of China’s environmental record and cautioned against uncritically accepting its narrative as a global leader in clean energy. He also echoed the innovative concept of Gross Domestic Regeneration(GDR), proposed by young Tibetan entrepreneur Tenzin Seldon, as an alternative to the outdated, universally accepted measure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).As the delegation was leaving the meeting, Representative Yangkey encountered two government ministers: Hon. Jacob Mark, Minister for Children, Senior Citizens and Housing, and Hon. Signe Munk, Minister for Urban and Rural Affairs and Transport. The Representative greeted both ministers, who warmly returned her greetings.Earlier that day, Representative Yangkey held a warm meeting with Hon. Trine Pertou Mach, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Red-Green Alliance. Following the presentations by the Representative and the Secretary, Mach expressed interest in learning more about the new law and assured the Representative of her full cooperation in raising the issue with her government through appropriate channels. She also suggested pursuing the matter through European Union mechanisms to broaden its reach and strengthen its impact.Regarding Denmark’s green partnership with China, Mach observed that the partnership offered another platform for Denmark to raise difficult issues with China in a clear and transparent manner. On the concept of GDR, she agreed that it represented a revolutionary rethinking of the long-established GDP model—an approach whose time had come and with which her party was fully aligned.A day earlier, on 7 October, Representative Yangkey met Hon. Anders Storgaard of the Conservative People’s Party, which sits in opposition. A newly elected MP and a staunch advocate of human rights, Storgaard also serves as his party’s spokesperson on climate and energy. He expressed alarm at the far-reaching implications of China’s new ethnic law and agreed to do his best to address the issue, within the constraints of party discipline.He also sought to learn whether mass labour camps existed in Tibet and whether Tibetans were subjected to forced labour, as reported in East Turkestan. He further shared his views candidly on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Denmark’s comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Representative Yangkey also extended an open invitation to him to visit Dharamshala.The Representative presented each lawmaker with a copy of Beyond Religion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s book on secular ethics, along with appeal letters from the Sikyong and the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile concerning the so-called Ethnic Unity Law. Besides Secretary Tenzin Kunga, she was accompanied during the meetings by Anders Andersen, Chairperson of the Tibet Support Committee in Denmark and a longtime Tibet supporter who helped coordinate the meetings, and Kirsten Silberbauer, a board member of the committee.On the first evening of the two-day visit, the Representative and the Secretary jointly delivered a talk in Copenhagen on China’s new law and the human rights situation in Tibet to a group of 20 Tibet supporters and interested members of the public.Following the talk, audience members engaged the speakers in a lively discussion, asking how individuals could help raise awareness of the law and whether more Tibetans might attempt to leave Tibet given its potentially devastating impact on the Tibetan language and identity. They also asked why the issue had received little coverage in the Danish media and whether calling on China to repeal the law was a realistic goal. The flurry of questions reflected the audience’s strong interest in Tibet and underscored the value of further outreach of this kind.During the short visit, the Representative and the Secretary also called on Ven. Lakha Lama at his residence to greet him and enquire about his health, a gesture he warmly appreciated. In his younger days, Ven. Lakha Lama had organised visits by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Denmark and supported humanitarian projects for Tibetans. The Representative thanked him for his longstanding contributions and wished him continued good health.The Representative also engaged with the Tibetan community in Denmark, encouraging its members to further strengthen the strong camaraderie and community spirit that unite them.Upon their arrival at Copenhagen Airport on the afternoon of 7 October, the Representative and the Secretary received a warm welcome from Tibetans in Denmark.Representative Yangkey said, “My visit to Denmark reaffirmed the importance of building wider international awareness of China’s new ethnic law and its existential threat to Tibet’s language, identity and cultural survival, while strengthening solidarity with Tibet through continued political engagement and public outreach.”The Representative and Secretary will travel to Oslo, Norway, on Friday, 9 October for the “Third Regional Meeting of Local Tibetan Civil Society Organisations in the British Isles, Poland, Nordic Countries and the Baltic States”, organised by the Office of Tibet, London, from 9-11 October 2026.– Report filed by Office of Tibet, London