Tibetan Headlines
Oct 12: Landslide
The Dri Chu river in Kham in Tibet has been blocked by a landslide There are no reports of the casualties, reports the Tibet Express, and an emergency rescue plan is in place. Bogong and Ningba villages have been evacuated and Boluo Township primary school closed with the pupils and teachers transferred elsewhere. Dri chu is the longest river in Asia, reaching the Pacific Ocean near Shanghai.
Oct 12: Healing the Rift
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorjee, the two claimants of the title of 17th Karmapa, have met in France and issued a joint statement saying they discussed ways “to heal the divisions that have unfortunately developed within our precious Karma Kagyu lineage in recent years. We view it as our duty and responsibility to do whatever we can to bring the lineage together.”
Oct 11: Universal Periodic Review
United Nations member states have met for the pre-session on China for the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Speakers from the Tibet Advocacy Coalition, World Uyghur Congress, World Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, Hong Kong UPR Coalition, PEN International and Scholars at Risk spoke on the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet and China’s unfulfilled promises made in the second cycle of their UPR.
Oct 10: Forum 2000
Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, has spoken at the plenary debate entitled The Global Challenge of China? at the Forum 2000 in the Czech Republic. Sikyong is in the Czech Republic attending the Forum 2000 Festival of Democracy. Forum 2000 supports the values of democracy and respect for human rights, the development of civil society and encourages religious, cultural and ethnic tolerance.
Oct 10: CECC Report
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) has released its Annual Report 2018 which says that United States lawmakers and the Trump Administration should push for reciprocal access to Tibet and renewed dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives. The report documents the deteriorating human rights situation inside China—including in Tibet, which the report says was a historically independent nation that China annexed in the 1950s.
Oct 10: Czech Tibet Group
The newly-formed Czech Parliamentary Group for Tibet has been launched at the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic with Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile as a guest speaker at the launch. The Group has over 50 representatives from both Chambers and is the largest Parliamentary Group for Tibet in Europe.
Oct 9: Winning Singer!
Tenzin Nyima from Malho Prefecture in Amdo was crowned winner of the popular Chinese reality talent show Sing! A teacher by profession, Nyima is the second Tibetan to win the contest which is only in its third season. Dukgyam Tsering, another Tibetan, was among the top five acts of the season. The grand finale was held at the Beijing National Stadium.
Oct 9: Basketball Tournament
The finale of the Martyrs Memorial Basketball Tournament was held in Dharamshala, attended by hundreds of Tibetans who gathered to see Munsel winning the women’s and Garuda the men’s tournaments. Six women’s and ten men’s teams took part in the 12-day tournament which was organised by the non-government organisation the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC). The finale was held on TYC’s 48th anniversary.
Oct 9: New Support Group
A new Tibet Support Group has been formed in the French Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly) – the lower house of the French Parliament. The cross-party group consists of 17 French legislators and is led by MP Élisabeth Toutut-Picard from the ruling La République En Marche party. There is a similar Tibet support group in the Senate – the upper house of the French Parliament.
Oct 8: US Vice President
United States Vice President Mike Pence says China’s crack down on religious freedom and minorities is a “new wave of persecution”. Speaking at the conservative Washington think tank, the Hudson Institute, he continued saying, “Beijing is also cracking down on Buddhism” and that China is fast becoming a “surveillance state”. He also spoke of the 150 self-immolations in Tibet and the persecution of the Uyghur Muslims in north western China.
Oct 6: Miss Himalaya
The finale of the sixth Miss Himalaya contest was held at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. Ratika Sharma, 22, and a medical student, was crowned Miss Himalaya 2017. The contest’s director and founder Lobsang Wangyal has announced a parallel event for next year, Miss Himalaya Pageant International to be held in New York City in the United States.
Oct 6: Appeal
The Central Tibetan Administration has put out an appeal for funds for the relief effort for Tibetans who have suffered losses in the recent floods. The Kulu Manali region was particularly badly hit and many Tibetans, especially elderly people, have suffered devastating loss of personal property as well as the infrastructure of the settlements. More information and details of where to send donations is on tibet.net
Oct 5: Dominican Passport
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, is said to have acquired citizenship of Dominica – a Caribbean country – to enable him to travel the world. He has been in the United States since last year and The Hindu has reported that he has refused to return to India because of travel restrictions imposed on him by India – citing India’s reported concerns about Chinese influence.
Oct 4: World Record
The Guinness Book of World Records has named a Tibetan vineyard as the “World’s highest vineyard.” The Pure Land and Super-high altitude vineyard in Chushul County in the south-west of the Tibetan capital Lhasa lies at an altitude of 3,563 metres above sea level, and that its record is the first ever set for “Highest Vineyard”. The only other contenders are in Argentina.
Oct 3: Gandhi Jayanti
The Central Tibetan Administration celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi with a ceremony which included raising the Indian flag and playing the Indian national anthem. The CTA also supported the nationwide Clean India movement with a door-to-door mass cleanup in McLeod Ganj. This day is also recognised as the International Non-Violence Day.