Tibetan Headlines
May 20: Boycott the Olympics!
China’s abuses in Tibet have been highlighted by United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues at a hearing on Beijing’s hosting of the Winter Olympic Games next year. Calling for a “diplomatic boycott” in the light of China’s human rights abuses, Pelosi talked about the situation in Tibet and quoted the International Campaign for Tibet’s testimony submitted for the hearing.
May 19: More Mining in Kham
A massive new gold mining operation is taking place in Cho-shungma, near Jhomda County in Kham in eastern Tibet, reports Tibet Watch. A privately owned Chinese company has started work after two years of preparatory work, much of which has been carried out in secret, and which has caused great concern to local people as the work is very damaging to the environment, and carried out without local consultation.
May 18: Parliamentary Session Postponed
The additional session of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, scheduled for May 20, will now take place on May 24; the current COVID-19 curfew and travel restrictions will limit attendance and some are questioning whether a quorum will be attained. Parliament will discuss ways to hold the swearing-in session for the new Sikyong and MPs in the absence of the Justice Commissioners who were sacked earlier this year.
May 17: The Panchen Lama
A new book, Tibet’s Stolen Child: 'Remembering the Story of the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has been launched to coincide with the abduction of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima 26 years ago, shortly after he was recognised by HH the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important spiritual leader of Tibet. The book is published by the Department of Information of the Central Tibetan Administration.
May 16: Congratulations!
United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price has congratulated Penpa Tsering, the newly elected Sikyong [President] of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, in a Twitter post saying, “The United States congratulates Penpa Tsering on his election as the Central Tibetan Administration’s [CTA] next Sikyong. We look forward to working with him and the CTA to support the global Tibetan diaspora.” Penpa Tsering will be sworn in at the end of this month.
May 14: New Sikyong
Former Speaker Penpa Tsering is officially declared the new President-elect of the Central Tibetan Administration also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, with 34,324 votes against Kalsang Dorjee Aukatsang who gained 28,907 votes. The Chief Tibetan Election Commissioner Wangdu Tsering Pesur announced the official election results at a press briefing online. The 45 members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile were also announced. Voter turnout for the final election was 63,991, out of the 83,090 people who registered to vote.
May 14: PM Cares Fund Donation
Tibetans living across the world have donated close to 50 million INR to India’s Relief efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic through the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s PM Cares Fund to show sympathy and solidarity to India as the country is home for Tibetans for over 60 years. Donations came from Tibetan communities in North America, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, India, Nepal and Bhutan. Dr Lobsang Sangay, the President of the Central Tibetan Administration thanked the Tibetans in diaspora for the contribution.
May 13: Saka Dawa Restrictions
Tibetans in Lhasa have been issued a notice by the authorities urging them to restrict their traditional religious practice during this holy month of Saka Dawa, usually a time for observing Buddhist practice and rituals. The reason given is to restrict the transmission of COVID-19, despite China’s claim that there has been only one case of COVID in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
May 13: More COVID Support
Dhasa COVID Assistance, a small collective of Tibetans, Paharis and non-Indian volunteers, is providing help with essential services, including food and medicines for people by COVID. They also offer online counselling sessions to support people’s mental health. A grassroots support system within the Tibetan community has emerged during the pandemic with individuals working with government and non-government organisations to provide care and assistance.
May 12: TYC Covid Care
The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has made its Rangzen Guest House in McLeod Ganj available as a dedicated COVID Care Centre for Tibetans. The guest house can accommodate up to 50 asymptomatic patients, while Students for a Free Tibet are providing thermometers and pulse oximeters for the unit. Dharamshala, Delhi and the Dekyiling Tibetan settlement in Dehradun, are the Tibetan areas worst hit by the pandemic .
May 11: No Prayer Wheels
China has issued a new edict in Tibet banning parents of Tibetan children from carrying any religious items, including the malas [rosaries] and prayer wheels commonly carried by lay people in Tibet, or from reciting mantras, inside school grounds, reports Radio Free Asia. This comes on top of existing restrictions on the use of the Tibetan language in Tibetan schools, where lessons are given in Mandarin.
May 8: China Singled Out
The G7 Meeting in London UK singled out China for its human rights abuses in East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang] and Tibet, and called on China to “to participate constructively in the rules-based international system”. Major global challenges discussed included human rights abuses, environmental issues and gender equality, with a particular focus on China, and vowed to confront the biggest current challenges: China, Russia and the Coronavirus pandemic.
May 7: Lockdown in Tibetan Settlements
The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has called for a seven day lockdown in the Tibetan community across India from May 10 in the face of India’s record number of cases of Covid19. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, head of CTA, urges “collective” effort in curbing the spread until the vaccine is available for all. He urged everyone to observe strict lockdown and take precautionary measures to break the chain of infection.
May 6: Dhasa Closed
A strict “ten-day Corona curfew” is in place in Himachal Pradesh, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, home to HH the Dalai Lama and to many exile Tibetans, in the face of a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases. Towns are deserted; Government offices and schools are closed but essential services will remain open. Anyone entering the state must show a negative test result.
May 5: Ex-Detainee Dies
Norsang, 35, a father of six from Geso village in Nagchu’s (Ch: Naqu) Tsalhi town, died two years ago, Radio Free Asia reports, saying that news of his death has only just emerged. He died following his release from a political re-education centre which he had been ordered to attend because of his opposition to China’s régime, and where, it is reported, he was severely tortured. The authorities said he had committed suicide.