Tibetan Headlines
Nov 27: Prize Fighter!
Su Mudaerji (Sonam Dhargye), 22, has become the first ever Tibetan fighter to be signed up for the biggest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion in the world, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), with his first fight taking place at the Fight Night 141 in Beijing where he represented China. Bantam-weight Sonam is known as “the Tibetan eagle” and is ranked 9th among 195 Chinese pro-bantamweights.e
Nov 26: Conference Postponed
The 13th Religious Conference of the Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition which was scheduled to take place from November 29 to December 1 in Dharamshala has been postponed indefinitely owing to the death of the supreme head of the Nyingma tradition, Kathok Getse Rinpoche. The meeting was to bring together leaders of the different sects of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, including HH the Dalai Lama.
Nov 23: China Complains
China has complained at Japan’s welcoming HH the Dalai Lama on a 10-day teaching tour of the country. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuan is reported as saying “I can tell you that the 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile and he is engaged in separatist activities” and that China hopes that “the relevant parties will not provide facilitation for his separatist activities”
Nov 22: Kathok Getse Rinpoche
Kathok Getse Rinpoche, the Head of Nyingma school, passed away after an accident in Nepal, reports Phayul. He was appointed Head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism for a three-year term in January this year at the 29th Nyingma Monlam in Bodh Gaya, succeeding Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche. Rinpoche was scheduled to bless the 50th Founding Anniversary of Kham Kathok Satuan Tibetan Settlement in Dehradun in February 2019.
Nov 21: No New Gate
Plans for a new gate at the entrance to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile complex at Gamru in Dharamshala have met with protests from locals. The gate was to be the final stage of the revamp of the Gangchen Kyishong compound but has been shelved due to unresolved issues around need, access, traffic, building construction and parking.
Nov 20: Help for Herders?
Chinese state media eng.tibet.cn has announced the launch of the new China Beidou Navigation Integrated Application Platform which, it says, is a navigation system that will enable herdsmen to locate their herds' exact position by fitting livestock with microchip collars. The announcement does not give the cost to herders of the technology nor details of whether there will be grants to enable them to buy it.
Nov 20: Tibet Museum of China
China has opened the second phase of the Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum, upgrading China's main museum of Tibetan medicine into a “comprehensive museum displaying all aspects of Tibetan culture” according to their state media eng.tibet.cn. The new displays include the 608 metre long painting known as “the Encyclopedia of Tibetan culture”, or Painting of China's Tibetan Culture – a former Guinness World Record holder.
Nov 20: Grant from Canada
An education grant of 5.4 million Canadian dollars has been announced by the government of Ottawa. It is being awarded for the education of young Tibetans in exile based in India, Nepal and Bhutan, and will be released over the course of the next five years through the Central Tibetan Administration. Canadian MP Arif Virani, a major supporter of Tibet, was instrumental in acquiring the funding.
Nov 19: Korea Uni Apologises
Korea University has apologised for assigning a shared booth at its international festival to India and Tibet. Chinese students complained and said that the Tibet display should have been in a Chinese booth; they also complained about the Tibetan national flag being displayed alongside the Indian flag. There were also complaints that Hong Kong and Taiwan were allocated independent booths rather than Chinese.
Nov 16: Thank You India
Tibetan people living in India are being encouraged to write to the Indian Government to express thanks to India for supporting and giving sanctuary to Tibetans and the Tibetan cause. HH the Dalai lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile are spearheading the letter writing campaign and all Tibetan schools in India are taking part.
Nov 16: Poor Health
Palden Gyatso, the 85 year old former Tibetan political prisoner, is reported by Phayul as being in very poor health. Gyatso spent 33 years in Chinese prison and concentration camps after his arrest in 1959 for his protests during the Chinese invasion of Tibet. On his release in 1992 he escaped from Tibet and has since been a vocal spokesperson about conditions there.
Nov 15: Imprisoned Writers’ Day
An event was held in Dharamshala to mark Imprisoned Writers’ Day, led by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy and the Tibetan Writers Abroad PEN Centre, with guest speakers from the Amnye Machen Institute and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. A new report Tibetan literature: In the Web of Censorship and Discrimination was launched, supported by representatives of many Tibetan non-government organisations.
Nov 15: China’s Buddhism Seminar
The 2018 Tibetan Buddhism Doctrine Interpretation Seminar has been held in Beijing with the theme “Tibetan Buddhism and Honest Thought”. Chinese media tibet.cn reported that Gyaltsen Norbu – the man appointed by China to fill the role of the 11th Panchen Lama in place of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima whom they abducted in 1995 – gave the opening speech, saying that the Tibetan Buddhist community “should serve the state, serve the people”.
Nov 15: Twitter Defies China
Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter, met HH the Dalai Lama in Delhi and tweeted a picture with the caption “You’re an amazing teacher”. Twitter is banned in China and by meeting His Holiness, Dorsey may well have jeopardised any chance of establishing Twitter there. Other social media apps are complying with China’s demands so they can trade in the country.
Nov 14: Monastery Submerged
The Drichu River in Chamdo in Tibet has flooded, submerging the Polu Monastery in the Jomda district and affecting around 30,000 people living along its shores. Local residents had worked hard to protect the monastery, known to be at risk of flooding following two major landslides which recently blocked the river. The monastery will need to be rebuilt and many of the artefacts are lost.