Tibetan Headlines
Mar 9: Prayer Service
The annual prayer service remembering those who took part in the peaceful demonstrations in Lhasa, Tibet in 1989, protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet, was held in Dharamshala, organised by the Tibetan Government in Exile. In 1989 the Chinese authorities declared martial law and many Tibetan protestors were killed, injured and imprisoned, many have not been heard of since. The martial law remained in place for 13 months.
Mar 9: Taiwan Rally
A rally was held in Taiwan to observe the 62nd anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day: March 10, 1959 when many thousands of Tibetans were killed in Lhasa during the uprising against the Chinese occupation of their country. The rally was organised by the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association and Human Rights Network for Tibet, with support from over 34 non-government organisations from across Taiwan.
Mar 9: World Football!
The exile Tibetan Women’s team has qualified for the forthcoming CONIFA Women’s World Football Cup. The Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA) Executive Director, speaking to Phayul, said, “This Cup is absolutely crucial for the Tibetan cause”. The tournament will take place in June Csikszeredan (Miercurea Ciuc) in Romania. CONIFA Vice-President Dr Kristof Wenczel has written to TNSA to welcome the Tibetan women’s team’s participation.
Mar 6: HH Receives Covid Vaccine
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has received the first dose of Covishield vaccination at Zonal hospital, Dharamshala. The office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama has expressed gratitude to the government of India and Himachal government for facilitating the vaccination for His Holiness. His Holiness urged people to come forward in large numbers and get themselves vaccinated for the greater benefit.
Mar 5: Early Release
Gangbu Rikgye Nyima, aged around 30, a Tibetan political prisoner serving a 10 year prison sentence, has been released early with his health in a critical condition. He was arrested in 2012 during a peaceful protest against Chinese rule, along with ten others, including two monks who were imprisoned with him. There are reports that they continued to protest in prison and have been subjected to beatings and torture.
Mar 5: More Arrests
News is emerging of the arrests of two more Tibetan youngsters: Jampa Tsering, a student, was arrested on August 3 last year and sentenced to one year and six months. Another student, Dugor Tsering, was arrested on the same charges but later released without sentence. Jampa was accused of displaying an “illegal [football] team flag and logo”’ on social media of storing “illegal pictures” online - a separatist crime by China.
Mar 4: Teens Missing
Three Tibetan teenagers, Dadul, Sangye Tso and Kansi, all from Kyegudo in Yushu, have been arrested for failing to register a WeChat group with local authorities. One, Dadul, is in hospital with two broken legs after being beaten in custody; his family have been ordered to pay 40,000 yuan [US$6,000 / £4,500] for his hospital treatment. The other two remain in detention, reports British based Free Tibet.
Mar 4: Green Book Online
Tibetans living in North America can now register and pay their Tibetan Green Book contributions online using a Google form. The pilot scheme has been launched by the exile Tibetan administration (CTA). The CTA is encouraging North American Tibetans to send in their googlemail addresses. If successful, the project will be rolled out to other regions.
Mar 4: Least Free
The influential watchdog group Freedom House has ranked Tibet as the least-free country in the world, tying with Syria, in its Freedom in the World 2021 report. Tibet’s total score is 1 out of a possible 100 in the global freedom rankings. Its global freedom score for Tibet includes minus 2 out of a possible 40 for political rights and 3 out of a possible 60 for civil liberties.
Mar 3: News Dries Up
Radio Free Asia has reported that the flow of information out of Tibet’s Driru county has slowed since the death of Kunchok Jinpa last month. Jinpa had been active in getting news of protests against Chinese rule out of Tibet and had phoned RFA on more than one occasion earning him a 21-year prison sentence. He disappeared after his detention in 2013 and died following torture sustained in prison.
Mar 3: EU Supports Tibet
Support for Tibet was expressed at the United Nations Human Rights Council underway in Geneva. EU High Representative Josep Borrell called on China to comply with its obligations under national and international law to respect and to protect human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities in East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang], Tibet and Inner Mongolia. He also called for independent observers to have “meaningful access” to E Turkestan.
Mar 2: Tibetans Hacked
Tibetan organisations in exile are being targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, with cybersecurity firm Proofpoint’s new report stating that data is being stolen via a malicious new Firefox extension, gmail accounts accessed and malware downloaded. The Digital Security Programme at the Tibet Action Institute is working with Tibetan organisations to mitigate the threats, which are ongoing.
Mar 2: Covid in Gyuto
An outbreak of Covid-19 at Gyuto Monastery near Dharamshala has prompted Kangra Chief Medical Officer to declare a containment zone. 300 of the 500 resident monks have been tested; 156 found to be positive with one monk in a critical condition at Tanda Hospital while most of the remainder are said to be asymptomatic, but under quarantine in the monastery compound.
Feb 28: Full Moon Teaching
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a teaching for the full moon day of the Great Prayer Festival, broadcasting live from his residence in Dharmshala. His Holiness recited his own introductory prayer before the teaching, and finished by leading his virtual audience through the visualisation and repetition of prayers and verses for generating bodhichitta and taking the bodhisattva vow, saying that bodhichitta is the essence of the dharma.
Feb 26: Tibetans Too
Bitter Winter, the magazine for liberty and human rights, has reported that it has evidence that Tibetan women, including nuns, and young boys are raped and abused in Chinese education camps. Their article refers to the British BBC report earlier this month detailing the abuse of the ethnic minority Uygur women in labour camps in East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang] and says these camps exist in Tibet too.