Letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer: Demand Closure of Residential Boarding Schools in Tibet on Visit to China

 

 

The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer, KCB KC MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London SW1A
United Kingdom

Dear Prime Minister,

On the eve of your first official visit to China, I am writing to urge you to uphold the UK’s moral and diplomatic principles as you navigate a crucial moment in UK-China relations. In particular, I respectfully ask that you raise with President Xi Jinping the Chinese government’s vast system of residential boarding schools in Tibet during your in-person talks.

Approximately one million Tibetan children are currently enrolled in state-run residential boarding schools, where they are stripped of their language, culture, and religion. These institutions are designed to sever children from their Tibetan identity—an identity the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views as a threat to its control over Tibet.

Continued and expanded British leadership in support of the Tibetan people directly serves the UK’s interests and sends a signal to your counterparts that the UK stands strong and consistent on important matters such as human rights. It is clear from the Labour manifesto and from the approval of the Chinese embassy site in London that your government chooses to positively engage with China. However, if the UK is to build a clear-eyed and long-term partnership with the PRC, it should be based on a position of strength and the values the country holds dear. You have repeatedly stated that the UK will not hesitate to challenge China – the UK therefore cannot stay silent on China’s human rights violations in Tibet.

The Chinese government is moving aggressively to consolidate control over Tibet to entrench the CCP’s political power and secure a long-term geostrategic advantage in Asia. This campaign includes the systematic indoctrination of an entire generation of Tibetan children through residential boarding schools, manipulation of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation process, and military installations along Tibet’s southern border.

In the absence of sustained opposition, these colonial policies will continue unchecked—emboldening China to take increasingly aggressive actions along volatile and contested borders with India and further destabilising the region. At the same time, Beijing is likely to intensify its exploitation of the Tibetan plateau’s strategic resources––including freshwater supplies vital to much of Asia, rare earth mineral deposits, and vast renewable power potential––to advance regional hegemony and global power.

The global order is shifting rapidly, and the UK is faced with serious economic and political challenges. But it is critical to recognize that the CCP is actively seeking to shape a new geopolitical reality that runs counter to the UK’s fundamental liberal values and strategic interests. A stable relationship with China cannot be built while ignoring CCP abuses or the instability its policies generate—both within China and internationally.

Your leadership at this moment can demonstrate that the UK can pursue engagement with China with clarity and without sacrificing its values, its security, or its moral responsibility to address grave human rights abuses. I urge you to raise serious concerns about the mass parent-child separation policy and forced assimilation of an entire generation of Tibetan children and to prioritise these children and their families in your engagement with China.

Sincerely,