Tibetan Headlines
Feb 23: Not Welcome
The Taiwanese authorities have told Tibetan Government-in-Exile leader Lobsang Sangay, and Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer, not to apply for visas to visit Taiwan “to avoid angering China”. They planned to attend a forum on religious freedom being held in Taipei and attended by 99 participants from 26 countries. This comes one month after new Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was elected because of her “independence from China” stance.
Feb 23: Monk Sentenced
Gomar Choephel, 47, a monk from Rongpo monastery in Malho in the Qinghai province, has been sentenced to two years in prison. He is accused of passing a photo HH the Dalai Lama to friends via social media. RFA reports that he was convicted of “undermining social stability and taking actions aimed at splitting the country”. Choepel and has been in detention since July last year.
Feb 22: TCHRD Report
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has released its Annual Report; it highlights China’s new laws on national security and counter-terrorism which legalise their repression in Tibet, as well as their failure to stop the environmental destruction they are causing there. In addition, the report condemns China’s continued violation of international law.
Feb 20: Writer Sentenced
Druklo, also known by his pen name Shokjang, a prominent Tibetan writer, has been sentenced to three years in prison in Rebgong in the Qinghai province. RFA reports that he is accused of writing material which would incite discord, maintaining secret contact with “splitists” and causing instability in the community. He has been detained since March last year. He was previously detained in March 2010 but later released.
Feb 19: Golug Jigme in Germany
Golog Jigme, the Tibetan human rights activist and former political prisoner is in Germany, meeting government representatives. He spoke to the Human Rights Committee of the German parliament, saying “The appalling Chinese policies in Tibet must be challenged.He also spoke at a public screening of the film Leaving Fear Behind he made with Dhondup Wangchen, for which they were both imprisoned and tortured.
Feb 18: Prayers
People in the Tibetan populated Sichuan and Qinghai provinces of western China have been conducting prayer services for the speedy recovery of HH the Dalai Lama, despite the Chinese authorities stepping up security to prevent such activities and restricting internet access. RFA has reported people are holding the services in their homes and also via social media on WeChat, the Chinese mobile text and voice messaging communication service.
Feb 17: Artificial Lakes
The Tsangpo River which runs through Lhasa is being turned into a series of artificial lakes. Chinese state media has reported that the Beijing Lhasa River Project aims to construct six dams along a 20km stretch of river alongside the city centre and is designed to promote tourism, improve water quality, prevent sandstorms and create a “green environment.” Critics say it will be detrimental to water quality downstream.
Feb 16: Sikyong in US
Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, the elected leader of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is in America. He spoke at a World Affairs Council programme, saying he is seeking world support for his administration’s Middle Way approach and hoping it will lead to an acceptable solution to the issue of autonomy for the Tibetan people living in Tibet under Chinese rule. “We don’t seek vengeance, but justice” he added.
Feb 15: Income Under Threat
Cordyceps, known as caterpillar fungus, which is a primary source of income for Tibetans living in the remote mountainous areas where it grows, has been deemed a danger to human health by China’s main food and drug regulator. The fungus is a rare and prized ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine and a loss of this market could jeopardise incomes and cause serious hardship for many Tibetans.
Feb 13: Poachers Confronted
Han Chinese and Tibetans fishing illegally in northwestern China’s Qinghai province have been confronted by Tibetan environmental activists. Volunteer activists who confronted poachers fishing in lakes at Chik Nga Chik and around Qinghai Lake were attacked by the poachers and sustained severe beatings. Some of the poachers were later identified as Tibetans despite wearing head coverings to conceal their identity.
Feb 13: Department Closed
Copenhagen University has shut down its Tibetology or Tibetan studies department. The University says the closure is due to funding cuts by the Danish government; Tibetan Studies will be susceptible to being axed as Tibet is “not referable to a country” and not among the countries with which Denmark is engaged in trade. “Scholars…have studied the conditions of suffering and relief from suffering [here] for 1,200 years” said a professor
Feb 12: College for Women
A new monastic college for women is to be created in the Karma Kagyu lineage. HH the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje said the college will be a means to empower and educate women practitioners from the Himalaya region. “Nuns are future holders of the Buddha dharma. This education will help prepare you to fulfil that great responsibility”, said His Holiness, adding, “I believe in you”.
Feb 11: Monks Detained
Ven Paga, 40, and Ven Ugyen, 50, both high-ranking monks at the Chogri Monastery in the Kham region of Tibet, have been detained by the Sichuan Province Public Security Bureau on suspicion of holding a mass prayer for the good health of HH the Dalai Lama. Ven Paga is abbot of the monastery. Since the prayer event there are reports of increased troop deployment and communications restrictions in the area.
Feb 10: Ratu Ngawang
Ratu Ngawang, 90, has died. Known as a “hero of Tibet”, he was a former soldier in the Chushi Gangdruk – the troops that accompanied the Dalai Lama on his flight to India, and one of the founding members of the Special Frontier Force, a troop of Tibetans in the Indian paramilitary. "I enrolled myself in the Special Frontier Force with an aim to fight the Chinese” said Ngawang in an interview.
Feb 9: Death Following Torture
A Tibetan man known as Trigyal has died at home in Mukhyim village in Driru in Tibet. He was recently released from prison where he was serving a 13-year prison sentence for refusing to fly a Chinese flag, and where he was tortured. His death was caused by the injuries he sustained under torture while in detention. Driru is under ongoing surveillance and repression and the scene of continued unrest.