Paris Museum Apologizes for Replacing ‘Tibet’ with ‘Xizang’ After Protests

By Yangchen Lhamu

DHARAMSALA, 26 Sept: In a diplomatic victory for Tibetans and Tibet supporters, the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris has formally apologised for sparking mass outrage and controversy by replacing the term ‘Tibet’ with ‘Xizang Autonomous Region’ in exhibit descriptions after campaigns and protests by Tibetans and Tibet supporters.

A press release issued by the Tibetan Community of France and its Friends read, “The Musée du Quai Branly has expressed its sincere apologies for the situation and fully acknowledges the oversight in its recent exhibit. The museum recognises the strong political implications of the issues currently unfolding in Tibet and deeply regrets any missteps that have occurred.”

Mr Tougeron, International Affairs advisor to the President of Musée du Quai Branly, has also given his verbal assurance that these issues would be rectified with immediate effect and that visitors could see the changes implemented in the museum within three weeks.

As the museum faced outrage from Tibetans and Tibet supporters over the labelling, as well as petitions and appeals for a move which was largely seen as appeasing China, the museum has assured that it values open dialogue with communities and will continue working closely with Tibetan associations to ensure respectful and accurate representation in all its exhibits.

The Museum’s decision to remove “Xizang” from its exhibition labels and catalogues was widely celebrated as a diplomatic victory by Tibetans and Tibet supporters.

On Saturday, 21st Sept, Tibetan activists convened outside the Musée Guimet in Paris to express their disdain and opposition to the museum’s decision to replace the term ‘Tibet’ with ‘Xizang Autonomous Region’ in exhibition labels and catalogues. This change, activists argued, tacitly endorsed China’s longstanding efforts to wipe out Tibetan cultural identity and historical narrative.

The mass protest, which saw around 800 demonstrators, was precipitated by a report published in the French newspaper Le Monde, revealing that two esteemed Parisian museums, Musée Guimet and Musée du Quai Branly, had altered their exhibition materials to reflect the Chinese Government’s preferred nomenclature. Specifically, Musée Guimet renamed its Tibetan art galleries as part of the ‘Himalayan world’, further fuelling concerns about cultural erasure as reported by ARTnews.

Tibetan advocacy groups in France sought meetings with Musée du Quai Branly and Musée Guimet to discuss terminology changes, which Musée du Quai Branly accepted.

Expressing disappointment that two reputed museums in Paris, the Musée du quai Branly and the Musée Guimet, have used “Xizang” or “Himalayan World”, respectively, in place of “Tibet” (which is widely used in French) in their collections of Tibetan artefacts as part of a France-China cultural exchange program, Central Tibetan Administration President Penpa Tsering criticised the changes in a letter to French officials on 14 Sept. In a letter addressed to French officials, he expressed “deep concern and disappointment in two museums in Paris, acquiescing to the disinformation campaign of the Chinese government by replacing Tibet with Xizang in their catalogue of Tibetan artefacts.”

Thubten Gyatso, a Member of Parliament in exile representing Tibetans across Europe, strongly condemned the renaming of Tibetan exhibits at Paris museums, alleging it was driven by a Chinese political agenda. He further emphasised that France, a nation that values liberty and equality, should respect Tibet’s distinct heritage and not cave to China’s influence. He wrote to French authorities, urging them to acknowledge and respect Tibet’s unique cultural identity.

However, as the Musee Guimet Museum is yet to “rectify its erroneous classification of Tibet under Himalaya World”, the six Tibetan organisations -Tibetan Community of France, SFT France, Tibetan Youth Congress France, Chushi Gangdruk France,  U-Tsang France Association, Domey France Association- have declared that they will continue their campaign.