Tibetan Headlines
Feb 4: Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize by Rasmus Hansson, a member of the Green Party. Hansson stated that the filmmaker is “the memory of the Tibetans’ obvious demands for human rights.” Wangchen, 47, was detained by Chinese authorities in 2008 and imprisoned for six years for making a documentary featuring interviews of Tibetans speaking about living under China’s repressive regime.
Feb 4: Olympic Protests
Around the world alternative Olympics Opening Ceremonies are taking place as people spread the message “The People’s Republic of China doesn’t deserve to host the Olympics; and that the IOC is complicit with the Chinese government. All are raising their concern for Free Tibet. The Tibetan Youth Congress staged a protest in Delhi where some protesters were detained by the police.
Feb 4: Alternative Olympics
In London, United Kingdom, and around the world, alternative Olympics Opening Ceremonies are taking place as people spread the message “The People’s Republic of China doesn’t deserve to host the Olympics; and that the IOC is complicit with the Chinese government. All are raising their concern for Free Tibet.
Feb 4: Calls for Award
Former Indian Union minister Chanderesh Kumari has added her voice to the calls for HH the Dalai Lama to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest Indian civilian award which has only ever been conferred to two non-Indians. Chanderesh Kumari said, “The Dalai Lama has done so much to put Kangra and Himachal Pradesh on the world map. It is his right and I think he should get it.”
Feb 4: Three More Arrests
In Drago, in Kham [Ch: Sichuan] where very significant Buddhist statues and sacred symbols have been demolished by the authorities provoking unrest and arrests, three more Tibetans, Asang, Dodra and Nortso, have been arrested, reports Radio Free Asia. The three are alleged to have been “in possession of ‘politically sensitive information’ as they returned from a pilgrimage”, says RFA. They are currently being held at Chamdo Police Station.
Feb 4: Olympics
Today is the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics, Beijing 2022, focusing the attention of Tibet supporters and human rights activists worldwide on the oppression of people living under the Chinese régime. Today is the cumulation of years of campaigning against the award of the Games to China, as being against everything the Olympics stands for. India has added her voice to the many countries diplomatically boycotting the Games.
Feb 3: New Parliamentarian
The most recent member of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Tenzin Choezin, 29, has been sworn in. She said at her swearing-in, “I see Tibetan youth working hard to make our voices heard in the international realm”. Tenzin Choezin is the Executive Director of Active Nonviolence Education Centre, before that she was head consultant at the Tibetan Career Centre. She is the youngest member of the 17th Tibetan parliament.
Feb 2: Teenager’s Ordeal
Miram Taron, 17, an Indian boy who was abducted by China on the Tibet-Indian border in the north eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and held for nine days before being returned, has spoken of his ordeal. He was tied and blindfolded for most of the time, and was kicked and given electric shocks. He was abducted while hunting with a friend who managed to escape.
Feb 2: Constant Surveillance
Geshe Tsewang Namgyal, a monk from Drago monastery in Kham [Ch: Sichuan] who was released from jail in failing health four years ago is now in very poor health, reports Radio Free Asia. RFA says that despite his critical health - a result of being subjected to beatings and torture while in prison - he is subject to constant surveillance and has not been allowed to return to his monastery.
Jan 31: New Directive
China is telling Tibetans to renounce HH the Dalai Lama in order to get jobs, reports Radio Free Asia, quoting a local source. An official Chinese announcement sent to all areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region says that Tibetans must first renounce all ties to His Holiness as a condition of employment in the state sector, and that “‘Trustworthy and loyal’ citizens must also pledge allegiance to the Communist Party”.
Jan 31: Scottish Parliamentary Tibet Group
The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Tibet met virtually for their second quarterly meeting, chaired by Mercedes Villalba MSP and hosted by the group’s secretary Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren. The group received updates on the situation inside Tibet, including people being held in detention, on Tibetan children being given a Chinese education, and on the Olympics campaign. The members expressed deep concern and assured of their full support.
Jan 27: Olympic Tibetan
Yangjin Lhamo, 18, a Tibetan woman, is to compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics next month. She represented China at the 2021/22 FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup in Siberia earlier this year. She is from Chamdo and was selected as a snowboard cross athlete in 2018. She is reported to have said in an interview, “I will try my best [...] to win glory for my country.”
Jan 27: New Cultural Group
At the prestigious Harvard University in the United States, the Harvard Undergraduate Tibetan Cultural Association has been created to promote Tibetan culture and knowledge, and to bring Tibetan students on campus together in appreciation of their heritage. The group will promote Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism, and serve as a reminder of the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1950.
Jan 27: NZ Campaigns!
In New Zealand, Tibetans and supporters have joined the Amnesty International "Free the Five" campaign to highlight the Chinese government’s systematic violation of freedom of expression. The “Five” includes a Tibetan, Rinchen Tsultrim, 29, who was arrested with two other monks in August 2019 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Jan 26: More Religious Bans
In Amdo [Ch: Qinghai], Tibetan social media groups with any connection to religion are being banned from March 1 and group members warned that they will be investigated and jailed if they continue to use them. Social media groups in Tibet are used to share information about, and coordinate religions activities such as pilgrimages. The ban does not include religious activities conducted inside monasteries.