US Advocacy Group Calls for Action on Tibetan Issues Ahead of Xi's Visit

Urgent Appeal to President Trump

Washington, September 17: The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has called on US President Donald Trump to publicly address Tibetan issues with Chinese President Xi Jinping, particularly focusing on the release of the Panchen Lama. This appeal comes amid concerns regarding the reported use of AI for surveillance on Tibetan communities.

The advocacy group made this request on Wednesday, just before Xi's anticipated visit to Washington. They emphasized the need for unconditional discussions with representatives of the Dalai Lama and elected Tibetan officials, urging an end to policies they label as forced assimilation.

ICT President Tencho Gyatso stated that Trump should leverage the upcoming meeting to promote dialogue.

“President Trump must uphold this policy and utilize his meeting with Xi to advocate for the resumption of Sino-Tibetan dialogue, especially at this crucial moment when China's new 'Ethnic Unity and Progress Law' poses a threat to Tibetan identity,” she remarked.

The organization is also advocating for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, along with other political detainees. If his release is not feasible, they are urging Beijing to permit US officials to meet him independently.

ICT highlighted that Chinese authorities have kept him missing for over 31 years.

In a different statement, ICT referenced an Anthropic threat intelligence report that discussed the misuse of AI models between December 2025 and August 2026.

They also called for the repeal of the Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, alleging political interference in Buddhist institutions, destruction of monastic residences, and the separation of Tibetan children from their families through state-run boarding schools.

ICT joined forces with 28 other human rights organizations in a letter urging Xi to release prisoners of conscience and halt transnational repression. The groups are also advocating for amendments to laws that criminalize peaceful expression, religious practices, and dissent.

According to ICT, government-aligned actors in China have targeted the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibetan Buddhist civil society, ICT, and Students for a Free Tibet.

These operators reportedly used AI to convert multilingual content into intelligence reports in Chinese, organizational datasets, and daily updates. They also gathered personal data, monitored social media, and collected architectural details of religious sites, as stated in the report.

ICT noted that Anthropic discovered operators instructing AI to adopt “China’s standpoint” and label the Tibetan administration in exile as an “illegal separatist administration.”

Another operation allegedly utilized AI to modify foreign reports critical of China for government intelligence purposes, according to the statement.

“Governments and AI companies must ensure that technologies designed to enhance human knowledge do not become tools for authoritarian regimes to surveil citizens, intimidate communities, and impose their narrative on the digital landscape,” Gyatso emphasized.

ICT urged AI providers to prevent political, religious, and ethnic profiling, shut down abusive accounts, and share information about potential threats. They also called for notifications to targeted individuals and organizations whenever it is safe to do so.

The organization has requested that governments, including the US, investigate these operations and safeguard affected communities. No response from the Chinese government regarding these allegations was included in either ICT statement.