Tibetan Headlines
Oct 8: Farmers’ App Launched
Padma App, an App for Tibetan farmers, has been launched by the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Home. The App will enable farmers to have access to expert advice on farming issues including crop care, agronomy and problem solving as well as information on the latest government schemes, notifications, and surveys. It is funded by USAID.
Oct 7: Tenzin Tsundue Arrested
Tenzin Tsundu, the Tibetan writer and activist, has been arrested in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit next week for the summit with indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mahabalipuram. Tsundue was arrested in 2002 for staging a one-man protest, displaying a massive “Free Tibet” banner from a balcony on the Hotel Oberoi in Mumbai during Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's visit there.
Oct 5: Monk Detained
Sonam Palden, 22, a Tibetan monk from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, was detained on September 19 after posting comments critical of Chinese rule on WeChat. There has been no news of his whereabouts, or of whether he has been charged, since. His friend said Sonam’s posts expressed his concerns over Beijing’s policies, saying they are causing the eradication of the Tibetan language.
Oct 4: Special General Meeting
Over 300 Tibetan community leaders and representatives from around the world are gathered in Dharamshala for the third Special General Meeting held by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The agenda includes enabling full-scale participation of Tibetan civil society in discussion and decision-making relating to the key themes of Five Fifty Vision and the relationship between the lineage of HH the Dalai Lamas and Tibetan people.
Oct 4: Visit Possible?
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is quoted in Livemint, the Indian financial online newspaper, as saying that he could “visit China in a year or two” and continues, “I am always telling Tibetans, it is much better to keep Chinese as our brothers and sisters than consider Chinese as our enemy [...] things are changing [...] I think within one year or two years, there is possibility [of] my visit to China."
Oct 2: Demolitions Ongoing
The British Tibet support group Free Tibet has released satellite images of Yarchen Gar Monastery in eastern Tibet, showing the large-scale demolitions which have levelled almost half the site. Yarchen Gar is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist sites in the world; the Chinese authorities are evicting resident nuns and monks and deploying military security. It is understood that it will be turned into a tourist attraction.
Oct 1: Free Tibet!
French football fans showed their protest against the rescheduling of a game to a time that would be convenient for viewers in China to watch live - and not for French fans. Individual fans in the stands displayed colours which, when choreographed, showed the Tibetan flag, as well as displaying “Free Tibet”, to annoy China. Their protest is widely covered in the international press.
Sep 28: Indomitable Spirit
“The indomitable spirit of Tibetan people will grow and deepen and widen”, said Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar, President of Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet. He was speaking at an event to mark the 28th anniversary of the organisation’s founding and the 32nd anniversary of the uprising in Lhasa on September 27, 1987.
Sep 26: Digital Attack
Tibetan leaders have been targeted by phone hackers, say the digital rights group Citizen Lab in a new report. Hackers posing as activists from human rights organisations, eg Amnesty International, sent text messages that link to malicious codes with the capacity to install spyware on mobile phones. The threat has now been averted. There is press speculation that the origin of the attacks is linked to the Chinese government.
Sep 26: US Bill for Tibet
United States lawmakers have introduced a bill which will increase political and diplomatic support for the Tibetan people, particularly on the issue of the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama. The Tibet Policy and Support Act of 2019 is a legislation to update and strengthen the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, which was a pivotal legislation that was the start of US support for Tibet.
Sep 25: US Support
The United States Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, speaking at a side event Promoting International Religious Freedom at the United Nations General Assembly, has condemned China’s suppression of religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists and the Muslim minority Uyghurs living in East Turkestan in north western China. Mr Brownback said, “They are conducting a war on faith. It’s a war that they will not win,”
Sep 24: Key Appointments
Three key appointments have been made at the ongoing session of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile: Sonam Norbu Dagpo (formerly of the Information and International Relations department) is the new Chief Justice Commissioner of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission; Secretary Tenzin Lungtok (Department of Religion and Culture) is the new Justice Commissioner and Wangdu Tsering Pesur (Department of Home) is Chief Election Commissioner and Chairman of the Public Service Commission.
Sep 23: Chief Justice Commissioner
Sonam Norbu Dagpo - the incumbent Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA) was appointed as the new Chief Justice Commissioner in a vote held on the third day of the ongoing Tibetan Parliament session. Dagpo secured 30 votes against eight for Ngodup Dorjee, a retired CTA official who was the Representative of His Holiness in Brussels and Geneva.
Sep 23: Climate Action!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has approved the global climate strikes taking place, initiated and supported by young people who walked out of work and schools to take part in one of the largest mass protests in history, inspired by Swedish Climate activist, Greta Thunberg, aged 16. His Holiness said, “They are being very realistic about the future [...] We should encourage them”.
Sep 21: Tour of Tibet
The Chinese appointed Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, has concluded a three-month trip to Lhasa, Shigatse, Nagchu and Ngari. Chinese state media Xinhua, reported that he had studied the economic and social development in Tibet under recent Chinese rule. China abducted Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Panchen Lama recognised by HH the Dalai Lama, at the age of six in 1995; he has not been seen since.