Dalai Lama presented with book on China’s gross human rights violations

NEW DELHI: Human rights activist and author of “The China Nexus” Benedict Rogers, along with Dean Baxendale, writer and publisher, presented his recently launched book to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh on Friday, and expressed their happiness and gratitude on the occasion.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Rogers, who is also the co-chair of the British Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission, said that he was humbled and overwhelmed with the experience of meeting his Holiness The Dalai Lama in person.
“It was a momentous occasion that we would meet His Holiness in person in Dharamsala on 31 March—the same day that he crossed over from Tibet and sought refuge in India in 1959. I also thank India for being so gracious in hosting the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Tibetan people for the last 64 years.” Rogers told this newspaper in New Delhi.
Rogers also said that the Dalai Lama was ecstatic on seeing the Tibetan flag on the cover of the book, “The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party’s Tyranny”. “I remember how his face started glowing seeing the flag of his country on the cover of the book. It was a very overwhelming moment for us.” Rogers said.
The book extensively talks about the Chinese aggression in Tibet and has dedicated a long chapter on the topic in the book.
Apart from this, Rogers, who has been associated with China for 30 years, has extensively written about Chinese atrocities against the minority communities in China. The China Nexus includes an in-depth account of the Chinese Communist Party’s assault on religion throughout China, including violations of religious freedom against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and Christians. Religious persecution in China is at its most intense since the Cultural Revolution.
Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist and writer specialising in Asian policy and geopolitics. He is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Watch, an advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), the Stop Uyghur Genocide Campaign and several other charities, and Deputy Chair of the UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission.
The book is published by Optimum Publishing International and Dean Baxendale, also a human rights activist, is the chief of the publishing house. Baxendale relaunched the 40-year-old Optimum Publishing International in 2017 to further his lifelong interest in challenging democratic leaders and speaking out for those who have otherwise been oppressed, cancelled and in many cases murdered. Baxendale also leads a team of dedicated professionals at the China Democracy Fund, whose mission is to support the free speech rights of academics, journalists and dissidents.