Tibetan Headlines
Mar 16: KFC in Lhasa
The giant fast food company KFC has opened its first branch in Lhasa, Tibet after years of speculation. Hundreds of customers swarmed to the opening to eat fried chicken. HH the Dalai Lama wrote a letter in 2004 to Yum Brands, who subsidies KFC, opposing the proposal and saying that chickens raised and killed to be eaten at KFC “violates Tibetan values.”
Mar 15: Water Theft
Students for a Free Tibet marked International Day of Action for Rivers by drawing attention to the plight of the many countries downstream of the Brahmaputra river which rises in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo. SFT India Campaigns Director Joytsna Sarah George spoke of “local Indians who are directly affected by China’s merciless mega-dam on the tsangpo” and called attention to “China’s blatant stealing of our collective natural resources.”
Mar 13: Welcome for His Holiness
His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to his home in Dharamshala after a month-long hospital rest in the United States. Hundreds of Tibetans and tourists lined the road to welcome him back. Speaking to press at Gaggal airport, His Holiness said that he had a restful stay during his treatment and thanked all his followers and friends for their well-wishes.
Mar 13: Another Detention
Tashi Wangchuk, 30, a Tibetan entrepreneur, has been reported in the New York Times as being illegally detained by the police since January 27. Wangchuk lives with his parents in Yushu. He wrote a blog highlighting the dearth of Tibetan language education and his concern that many Tibetan children are unable to become fluent in their native language. His family have been given no information or access to him.
Mar 12: Shugden Finished?
Shugden, also known as Dolgyal, the Buddhist group which has led a global campaign of harassment against the Dalai Lama, has announced on its website that it has disbanded and called off its demonstrations, according to Reuters. A Reuters investigation revealed in December that the Communist Party of China backs Shugden, using it as a key instrument in China’s campaign to discredit the Dalai Lama.
Mar 12: Women’s Uprising Day
The Tibetan Women’s Association rally to mark Tibetan Women’s Uprising Day was held at the martyr’s memorial near Tsuglakhang Temple in Dharamshala in torrential rain. TWA President Dolma Yangchen said the TWA “pays tribute to the brave Tibetan Women…who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet”, recalling the Tibetan women who died in Lhasa in 1959 at Lhasa, and others since who have died for Tibet.
Mar 11: 220 Arrested
220 Tibetans were arrested in New Delhi yesterday. They were Tibetan Youth Congress activists who were protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy on Tibetan Uprising Day. This year is the 57th anniversary of the first Tibetan Uprising Day in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, during the Chinese invasion in 1959.
Mar 10: Uprising Day
Tibetans across the world are gathering and demonstrating to mark the 57th Anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day. Uprising day commemorates the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising in Lhasa against the repression and occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China on March 10, 1959. The ceremony in Tsugla-Khang, the main temple in Dharamshala is being broadcast live on http://www.tibetonline.tv/live-webcast-from-cta-dharamsala/
Mar 9: China Complains
China has complained that Taiwan is considering inviting the Dalai Lama to visit. China regards Taiwan as part of China and released a statement to the media: “We strongly oppose anyone who is in power [in Taiwan] to invite the Dalai Lama to visit the island….The Dalai Lama must give up his secessionist stance and stop all activities to split the motherland.”
Mar 8: Kasur Dicki Chhoyang
Kasur Dicki Chhoyang, who resigned recently as Kalon of the Central Tibetan Administration, issued a statement on Voice of America, saying she resigned so she could express her personal opinions leading up to this month's election. She said she was under no external pressure and is fully committed to the Tibetan cause and the Central Tibetan Administration. She also outlined the qualities she feels people should look for in the new Sikyong.
Mar 7: Railway No 2
China has announced plans to construct a second railway line connecting the city of Chengdu in the south west of the country with the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. The first one, which opened in 2006, was met with very mixed reactions from Tibetans. In contrast, the mayor of Nyingchi, a city through which the line will pass, told Chinese news that he hoped it would be completed as early as possible.
Mar 6: Rinpoche Dies
The 10th abbot of the Dzongsar Tashi Lhatse Monastery, Khenchen Pema Dhamchoe Rinpoche, died on February 26 aged 83. He stayed in the Thuk-dam state - the final meditative stage before nirvana - for a week. Although clinically dead the body sustains warmth and does not decay during Thuk-dam. Mandala prayer and ceremonies will be held for the next 16 days. Rinpoche was born in Drakyap.
Mar 5: Appeal
His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, has appealed on facebook to Tibetans not to self-immolate in protest against Chinese rule, saying “This week, two young Tibetan children, one in Tibet and one in India, have burned themselves to death…I want to make a request of my fellow Tibetans at home and abroad.” He continued “Within Tibetan society, people will applaud them for a few days, saying, ‘He’s a hero,’ ‘She’s a heroine’…But that does not help."
Mar 5: Dorjee Tsering
The body of Dorjee Tsering, the teenage boy who self-immolated earlier this week, has arrived in Dharamshala for his funeral accompanied by members of the Tibetan community in a cavalcade of motor bikes and cars. Tibetans and supporters thronged the main square in McLeod Ganj to show respect and to welcome him and his family.
Mar 5: Campaign for Shokjang
Students for Free a Tibet held an impromptu mock trial of the Tibetan writer Shokjang who is currently behind bars in China. The “Malho People’s Court” was depicted as violently denying every aspect of the writer’s appeal and ended with the “Chinese judge” throwing him to jail and shouting “ You're a Tibetan, the law doesn't apply to you”. SFT invited onlookers to participate in their FreeShokjang campaign.