The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has urged US President Donald Trump to publicly raise the issue of Tibet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and seek the release of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
The appeal came ahead of Xi’s planned visit to Washington. ICT also called for the resumption of unconditional dialogue between Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama and elected Tibetan leaders, along with an end to policies it described as forced assimilation.
ICT President Tencho Gyatso said Trump should use his meeting with Xi to push for the revival of Sino-Tibetan dialogue, particularly amid concerns over China’s proposed “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law.”
The organisation also demanded the release of Tibetan political prisoners. If Beijing does not release the Panchen Lama, ICT urged Chinese authorities to allow US officials to independently meet him. According to ICT, Chinese authorities took Gedhun Choekyi Nyima into custody more than 31 years ago, and his whereabouts have remained unknown.
Separately, ICT raised concerns about alleged AI-assisted surveillance of Tibetan groups. Citing an Anthropic threat intelligence report covering misuse of its Claude AI models between December 2025 and August 2026, the organisation said China-based, government-aligned actors had targeted the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibetan Buddhist civil society, ICT and Students for a Free Tibet.
According to ICT, the operators allegedly used Claude to translate multilingual material into Chinese-language intelligence dossiers, organisational databases and daily reports. The organisation also alleged that personal information was collected, social media activity monitored and details of religious venues, including floor plans and structural information, gathered.
ICT said Anthropic identified instances where operators instructed Claude to adopt “China’s standpoint” and refer to the Tibetan administration in exile as an “illegal separatist administration.” It also cited another alleged operation in which AI was used to rework foreign reports critical of China into government intelligence briefings.
Gyatso called on governments and AI companies to prevent their technologies from being used for political, religious or ethnic profiling. ICT urged AI providers to shut down abusive accounts, share information about threats and notify affected individuals and organisations where it could be done safely.
The organisation also joined 28 other rights groups in a letter calling on Xi to release prisoners of conscience, end transnational repression and review laws used to criminalise peaceful expression, religious practices and dissent.
ICT further urged governments, including the US, to investigate the alleged operations and take steps to protect affected communities. Neither of the ICT statements included a response from the Chinese government to the allegations.
