That the conversation did not take place in the ministry reveals something about the relationship with the great power China.
This is the overriding issue that concerns the Tibet Commission, which has sent bids for Stig Møller.
The main theme of the commission, however, is to uncover the cause of a years-long tradition during official Chinese visits – that the police have made sure that demonstrations could not be seen by the guests. Thus, the right of citizens to express themselves may have been violated.
For many years, China has put pressure on the Danish authorities in connection with visits, it has emerged in connection with previous interrogations.
In particular, employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police are questioned by the commission, which, however, has also convened a number of former ministers.
Thursday’s program features both Per Stig Møller and the former Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (V).
The latter was regularly referred to as a value warrior during his long reign from 2001 to 2009, for example on the issue of freedom of expression.
Earlier this week, Fogh Rasmussen’s organization “Alliance of Democracies Foundation” was hit by Chinese sanctions. Employees and their families cannot travel into China.
– We do not bow to bullying methods from authoritarian states, he wrote in a comment on Twitter.
It was in 2002, that is, during the time of the two ministers, that critics of China’s policy were placed so that they were not visible to Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, police officers have explained to the commission. Some were chased about behind a hedge, it is reported.
Also in 2004, when the Speaker of the People’s Congress, Wu Bangguo, wanted to visit The Little Mermaid, there was distance. Protesters were to “be out of sight”, the police plan said.
How the police were inspired to intervene is one of several common threads in the work of the Tibet Commission. Among other things, it has found a memorandum, which was prepared in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2002, ie when Per Stig Møller was minister:
“A constructive cooperation has been initiated between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the police and the Chinese Embassy to ensure that legally notified demonstrations take place where they do not disturb the Chinese delegation,” it said.
The Commission has already spoken to two former heads of government.
In January, Helle Thorning-Schmidt (SocDem) said she believed police were cracking down hard on a state visit in 2012. Television footage showed officers tearing Tibetan flags out of the hands of peaceful citizens. But she did not go into the matter.
A few weeks ago, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (SocDem) was presented with police planning prior to a visit in 1998. It was “the strategic intention to limit any disturbance in the form of demonstrations.”
– This is the first time I see something like this. It is far beyond what a prime minister should be interested in, Nyrup said.
Source: The Nordic Page