Tibetan Headlines
Jul 7: Four Arrested
Four Tibetans were arrested two days ago in Serthar county in Tibet after local officials conducted widespread searches of mobile phones looking for banned material. They are believed to have had pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on their phones, which is illegal under the Chinese occupation of Tibet. This news has been reported by Tibet Watch, British-based Free Tibet’s partner organisation.
Jul 6: Arrested!
Rajeev Sharma, 61, a freelance journalist who was paid by China to write fake and detrimental reports about HH the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in 2018, has been rearrested. Sharma was jailed in Delhi in under the country’s Official Secrets Act for passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence. He is now back in jail for money laundering, again his illegal actions are connected to China.
Jul 6: Happy Birthday Your Holiness!
HH the Dalai Lama’s 86th birthday today is not being celebrated with the usual local and worldwide gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many virtual events are being held and the official Trungkar celebration is being broadcast on Tibet TV. The Tibetan Government-in-Exile has asked everyone to celebrate at home and to recite the Chenrezig mantra, Om Mani Padme Hung, at least 1,000 times.
Jul 5: Tibet Heritage Month
July is Tibet Heritage Month in Ontario, Canada. This new project, which became law last year, was championed by Bhutila Karpoche, the first Tibetan to be elected to public office in North America. It is a world first, and will be celebrated by promoting Tibetan identity and cultural heritage. It takes place in July in recognition of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday.
Jul 5: Tibet: Independence?
United States House Representative Scott Perry reintroduced a bill for Tibet on the Chinese Communist Party centenary, tweeting, “I’m proud to introduce a resolution calling on President Biden to declare Tibet an independent country". The bill states, “It would benefit the national security of the US to recognise Tibet [...] as a separate, independent country”, and asks for sanctions against people who have supported the “illegal occupation” of Tibet.
Jul 2: Increased Surveillance
Pema Tso, an award winning Tibetan writer and teacher of the Tibetan language from Rebking in Qinghai, is reported to be under close surveillance for owning sensitive political documents and books, and for contacting people outside Tibet, reports Radio Free Asia. For some years she has been unable to live a normal life or to meet other people and is now barred from attending any schools or lectures.
Jul 1: Insult to Tibet
The Chinese Communist Party has celebrated its 100th anniversary by projecting a giant image onto HH the Dalai Lama’s former home in Lhasa showing wording which translates as “Celebrate the CCP's 100th founding anniversary”. A video of the projection was taken and sent out by a woman, clearly distressed by the image, and at great risk to her personal safety: similar actions have often resulted in imprisonment.
Jun 30: Ongoing Concerns
Rinchen Tsultrim, the Tibetan monk held in detention for the last two years and recently sentenced to four years and six months for sharing information online, is now known to be held at Minayang Prison near Chengdu. The secrecy surrounding Rinchen’s imprisonment raises serious concerns about due process applied to the case and a fair trial being denied, and Amnesty International has raised concerns about him.
Jun 29: Border Tensions
India is moving at least 50,000 troops to the border with Tibet, apparently in readiness for potential conflict with China who regularly make incursions into India. Until now India has used its military as a purely defensive strategy, there is press speculation that this latest move is an offensive posture.
Jun 29: Environment Conference
The third Tibet Environment Conference, held in Dharamshala to highlight the global ecological importance of the Tibetan Plateau and the current environmental situation in Tibet, has concluded. International experts discussed strategies for safeguarding Tibet’s environment and looked at the implications for human rights in environmental conservation. The Conference is organised by the Tibet Policy Institute, a branch of the Central Tibetan Administration.
Jun 28: Ahead of Schedule
The latest link in China’s new high-speed railway line in Tibet, linking Lhasa with Nyingtri [Ch:Nyingchi] on the Tibet-India border, opened on Jun 25. The 435 km track, which reaches a record 5,100 metres above sea level, has a design speed of 160 km per hour. Chinese President Xi Jinping has said it would play a key role in safeguarding border stability.
Jun 25: Prison Sentence
Rinchen Tsultrim, 29, a Tibetan monk who was arrested in August 2019 on suspicion of “separatism”, was given a prison sentence of four years and six months earlier this year by a court in Chengdu, Sichuan capital. News has only now emerged; he was accused of publishing articles on Tibet issues on his WeChat account. His family have been told they may visit, until now he has been held incommunicado.
Jun 24: China Ups the Ante
China’s new “Three Shift Campaign”, launched ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary, aims at: 1)Raising political standards; 2) Stricter Party spirit requirements and 3)Stronger organisational discipline. Events held in Tibet demanded, “Tibetan Buddhism must adapt to the socialist society, give full respect to the role of CCP-appointed monks, and take a clear-cut stand to eliminate the negative impact of the Dalai Lama’s use of religion.”
Jun 24: Boycott Beijing
A Global Day of Action calling for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics next year was led by Tibetan, Uyghur, Taiwanese, Hong Kong South Mongolian and Chinese activists. Australia, Japan, several European countries and America participated in the live demonstrations, while many took action digitally. The day was held in protest at China’s human rights abuses, India’s focus of interest is China’s ongoing incursions across the Tibet-India border.
Jun 23: Support at the UNHRC
44 Countries, led by Canada, have issued a joint statement at the ongoing 47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council expressing grave concerns over the human rights violations in Tibet, East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang] and Hong Kong. They called on China to abide by its human rights obligations and to allow United Nations access to East Turkestan.