Tibetan Headlines
May 17: Long Life Offering
His Holiness the Dalai Lama attended a Long Life Prayer offered to him by the people of the three provinces of Tibet and Tibetan spiritual traditions (cholsum choegyud) in Tsuglakhan, the main Temple in Dharamshala. The event was attended by thousands of devotees from many countries.
May 17: TCHRD Report
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has released its 2018 Annual Report which says that 2018 has been a “pivotal year for human rights in Tibet and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The introduction of new policies and regulations has led to an increased restriction on human rights and lives of the Tibetan people”. The report cites long-standing instances of human rights violations in Tibet.
May 17: Villagers Evicted
Around 40 families living in Chunga village in Tsolho in Amdo, Tibet have been evicted to free the land for building an airport, reports Radio Free Asia, saying the compensation offered to them is “inadequate”. The whole village is being relocated, everybody is losing their home and being moved to alternative housing nearby. Compensation offered varies from 12,000 yuan (US$1,700 / £1,300) to 200,000 yuan (US$29,000 / £22,000).
May 16: Meeting Xi Jinping?
A new book, Defining India by Sonia Singh claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to meet HH the Dalai Lama during Xi’s visit to Delhi in 2014 - but that India intervened and the meeting did not happen. Talks between China and His Holiness’s representatives have been stalled since 2010. Meanwhile the Task Force on Negotiations between China and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile is meeting in Dharamshala.
May 15: More US Support
32 United States Congressmen, led by Congressman Jim McGovern, have written to Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, urging the Trump Administration to fully implement the Tibet Policy Act of 2002 and the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018. The 32, a bipartisan group, have expressed their “deep concerns” about the wellbeing of the Tibetan people under Chinese rule.
May 14: US Support
In the United States, a group of senators have written to Sam Brownback, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom to ask “how the US can best support Tibetan Buddhists, to include collaboration with the international community to uphold religious freedom.” The letter says that “promoting religious freedom must remain a central pillar of US foreign policy.”
May 14: Journalists Investigated
Three journalists, Mohani Risal, Somnath Lamichhanne and Jivan Bhandari, with Nepal’s national news agency Rastriya Samachar Samiti are being investigated after publishing an article about HH the Dalai Lama’s recent short illness and recovery. The investigation follows a complaint by China and Nepal’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Baskota has made a statement, saying that Tibet is a “very sensitive issue” for China.
May 14: Allegations Denied
Dagri Rinpoche, 65, has denied the allegations that he molested two women - one, an Indian woman, while on board a recent flight from Delhi to Dharamshala airport; the second, a Spanish woman living as a nun alleged that he molested her, and others, ten years ago but she only came forward on hearing of this more recent incident. Rinpoche was detained by police and later released on bail.
May 10: His Holiness Teaching
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has begun the three day teachings on Tsongkhapa's The Three Principal Paths (lamtso namsum) and The Furthest Everlasting Continuum (Sanskrit: Uttaratantra , Tibetan: gyu lama) at the request of a group of Russians. Thousands of Russians, Tibetans and other foreigners from across the world gathered in the courtyard of Tsuglakhang, the main temple in Dharamshala, to listen to His Holiness. The teaching will conclude on May 12.
May 10: More State Surveillance
China is using the Chinese-owned social media platform WeChat to “crack down on gang crimes” in Tibet, reports Chinese state media the Global Times. The report continues, “Some gangs in the Tibetan region have colluded with the Dalai clique, serving as a base to help the clique spread separatism and create separatist incidents [...] The Dalai clique is very good at using modern communications channels [...] to spread separatism".
May 10: Warship Lhasa
China has named one of its new Type 055 destroyers Lhasa, after the capital of Tibet. China’s state media the Global Times reports that the ship is named after “the capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region”. China has a policy of naming warships after major Chinese cities, and, controversially, is naming another destroyer Tapei, after the capital of Taiwan, which China claims as Chinese territory.
May 9: Prison Term
Wangchen, 20, the Tibetan arrested on April 29 for calling for the release of the Panchen Lama, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison. His Aunt Acha Dolkar was given a one year and three month prison term for sharing news of Wangchen’s protest outside the region. Lobsang and Yonten, who were arrested with Wangchen, were each fined 15,000 yuan (US$2,200 / £1,700).
May 8: Cyclone Relief Fund
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has donated Rs 1,000,000 [$14,360 / £10,990 ] to the cyclone relief fund in Odisha. The state was hit by cyclone Fani last week. His Holiness also wrote to Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik praising the relief efforts and offering his condolences and prayers to the families who have lost their loved ones.
May 8: Parliamentarians’ Convention
The seventh World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet is underway in Riga, Latvia. The Convention’s aim is to reinvigorate and galvanise global support for Tibet. Former President of Botswana, Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama appealed for “united efforts to support the objectives of the Central Tibet Administration and the Tibetan people they represent”. The Convention runs from May 7 - 10.
May 7: New Railway
A new railway line between Kathmandu in Nepal, India and Tibet will start construction within two years, according to Asian News International, quoting Nepali President Ms Bidhya Devi Bhandari. The railway is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) but the European Foundation for South Asian Studies said the BRI in Nepal is in doubt as it would require Nepal to enter into prohibitive debt to China.