Tibetan Headlines
Oct 24: New Study Opportunities
The Sera Jey Monastic University for Advanced Buddhist Studies and Practice in Bylakuppe town, Mysore in Karnataka state, is to offer BA Honours programmes in addition to its traditional Geshe degree programmes. The BA Honours programmes in Ancient Tibetan Language, Ancient Philosophy and Ancient Psychology have been awarded recognition and approval by the University of Mysore. There are currently around 3,500 monks at Sera Jey Monastery in Bylakuppe.
Oct 21: Boost for Sweater Sellers
Tibetans in Jaipur in Rajasthan have been offered a permanent market and self-financed housing to enable them to keep their businesses going through the year. Tibetans traditionally sell sweaters in Jaipur through the winter, in recent years they have faced problems with lack of space. The Tibetans have expressed gratitude; they will be allotted housing along with 266 shops in the permanent market.
Oct 20: Global Protests
Protests against China’s persecution of ethnic minorities and dissidents were carried out in cities around the world to mark the 73rd anniversary of the People's Republic of China (PRC) earlier this month, reports Radio Free Asia. Fifteen protests took place in the United Kingdom with demonstrators burning the Chinese flag and chanting "China lied! People died! Shame on the CCP!" and "say no to the CCP".
Oct 20: Six Arrested
Six Tibetan writers and activists have been sentenced to prison terms from four to 14 years, reports Radio Free Asia, whose sources say they are charged with “inciting separatism” and “endangering state security”, and that it “was all done in complete secrecy”. The six have been held incommunicado since their arrests over the last two years. They are: Gangkye Drupa Kyab, Seynam, Gangbu Yudrum, Tsering Dolma, Pema Rinchen and Samdup.
Oct 19: Campaigning for Justice
The family of well known Tibetan businessman Dorjee Tashi, currently imprisoned for "loan fraud", are campaigning for his release. The Rights Network Group has published an open letter to the authorities stating that the facts of his case were distorted, and his family have staged sit-ins in Lhasa. In what his family asserts was a clear miscarriage of Justice, he was given a life sentence; he has served 14 years.
Oct 19: Lockdown in Lhasa
Tibetans living in the Tibetan capital Lhasa have been ordered to stay home this week and watch China’s 20th Communist Party Congress on their televisions, reports Radio Free Asia, citing local sources. Many monasteries and schools across Tibet have also been instructed to watch the Congress. There is speculation that this is to prevent Tibetans from protesting against China’s rule during this time.
Oct 18: Eco-Tales Award
The Snow Leopard's New Friend:་Eco-Tales from Tibet, a new book, has been awarded in the 2022 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, in the environmental issues category. The book was written by Michael Buckley, a Canadian author, and illustrated by Tenzin Choekyi, a Thangka painter from Shillong, India. Michael Buckley is the author of Meltdown in Tibet, which highlights the environmental destruction faced by Tibet and its effect on climate change.
Oct 18: Cycle Protest Concludes
Tibetan-Canadian Activist Sangyal Kyap has arrived at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto, Ontario to complete his “Bicycle rally for Free Tibet across Canada” where he was welcomed by Tibetans and supporters, reports the Tibet Express. The veteran Tibet campaigner’s two month bike ride covered over 5,000 kilometres across ten Canadian provinces and three territories. He is calling on Canadians and the “international community” to support the Tibetan cause.
Oct 18: TYC Protest
The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest Tibetan non-government organisation, held a demonstration to protest against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s illegal occupation of Tibet, to coincide with the CCP Congress currently underway in Beijing. “Over the last ten years, repressions in Tibet intensified with Tibetans subjected to extensive restrictions and hardships”, said TYC President Gonpo Dhondup at the protest, which took place in Dharamshala.
Oct 17: Five Detained
Five Tibetan men were detained on October 13 after performing their song about His Holiness the Dalai Lama during an online musical contest in Golog [Ch: Guoluo] in Amdo [Ch: Qinghai], reports the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. They are singer Derab, the song’s composer and three others with them at the time; all except the composer, who is unidentified, have been released. Derab has been banned indefinitely from performing.
Oct 17: HR Prize
The first Snow Lion human rights prize, launched by the International Campaign for Tibet, was awarded to anthropologist and China researcher Adrian Zenz and to the Tibet Film Festiva at the Berlin Environmental Forum. The 3,000 Euro (US$2,900 / £2,600) prize honours individuals or organisations for their courage and special achievements in politics, society and culture in relation to Tibet and China, East Turkestan, southern Mongolia, Hong Kong or Taiwan.
Oct 14: Out of Bounds
Half of the Tibet Autonomous Region is now deemed to be off-limit for Tibetans, reports the Tibetan Review, citing chinadaily.com.cn’s report that the area is listed for “ecological protection”; a “red line” which cannot be crossed has been imposed, in order to protect “important ecological functions”. These functions include the relocation of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan nomads who have lived sustainably on these areas for generations.
Oct 13: Rodent Plague
Two Tibetans are reported to have died in Tibet from a pneumonic plague which is spread by rats and mice, reports Radio Free Asia, who say that the authorities have imposed a local lockdown. The two, who died last month, lived in Lhoka city Tsona [Ch: Cuona] county, but have not been publicly identified and RFA’s local source says that people are “not allowed to discuss it”.
Oct 13: Petitioning G7
A petition asking G7 leaders to demand that China end its policy of sending Tibetan children to boarding schools where they are indoctrinated in Chinese culture, and the closure of Tibetan-medium schools, has been launched by the International Tibet Network and National Democratic Party of Tibet. The petition will be presented in Germany next month. The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Oct 12: Tibet Film Festival
The annual Tibet Film Festival was held simultaneously in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala and in Zurich, Switzerland: it is dedicated to Tibetan filmmakers. The festival showcases films produced or directed by Tibetans. “One of the unique features of Tibet Film Festival is the short film competition segment, initiated in 2010, that has had a tremendous response from young Tibetan filmmakers across the world,” said the organisers.