Tibetan Headlines
Jun 13: Reaching New Audience
Sonam Tsering Frasi, Representative of HH the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet, London, United Kingdom, spoke at the monthly meeting of the Edmonton Conservative Association - a local organisation of Conservative Party members - to update them on the situation in Tibet and the activities of the Office of Tibet in the UK. His talk provided Mr Frasi with the opportunity to reach out to a new UK audience.
Jun 12: TYC General Meeting
The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has started their General Body Meeting at Dharamshala with its 150 delegates representing TYC’s 45 regional chapters. Their chapters in Ladakh, Pandoh, Kollegal, Hunsur, Dalhousie and Bangalore parted from the Central TYC over political differences and throughout this current meeting, Central TYC urged the chapters to return. The General Body Meeting is held every three years and will appoint new board members.
Jun 11: Gold Cup Winners!
This year’s Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup has been won by DYSA Mundgod, the defending champions, who beat Dhondupling FC from Clement Town at Upper TCV School ground in Dharamshala, playing to a packed crowd of thousands of Tibetans and supporters and friends. DYSA Mungod won 4-2 on penalties after a closely contested game. The GCMGC is the most popular sporting event in the exile Tibetan calendar.
Jun 11: Prayers
A prayer service was held in Dharmshala for Kasur Donga Tenzin who died last Friday in Madison, Wisconsin in the United States. He was born in 1940 and has served the tibetan exile community since 1962, becoming Justice Commissioner of Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission in 1997. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, paid tribute to Kasur Donga Tsering’s “priceless contribution”, along with other former leaders.
Jun 10: Expulsions Resumed
China has resumed the expulsions of monks and nuns from the Yachen Gar Tibetan Buddhist study centre in Kham - or Sichuan in Chinese, targeting people who have come from outside the area to study there, reports Radio Free Asia. Until the recent expulsions, Yachen Gar housed around 10,000 monks and nuns. No provision has been made for the expelled people, who are reported as experiencing hardship.
Jun 10: New App Launched
The first Tibetan Terminology App, Tibterm, has been launched along with the 12th volume of the Glossary of standard Tibetan terms. The App has been produced by the Terminology Desk of the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Education and aims to promote awareness and use of Tibetan terminology. The App was developed by Dachompa Tech LLP, Bangalore and funded by DANIDA, Denmark.
Jun 7: Sikyong Testifies
Dr Lobsang Sangay, President of the Central Tibetan Administration, testified to Canada’s Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on the topic; Update on the human rights situation in Tibet. He stressed that the Tibetan government in exile continues to support HH the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach and said that it is lack of trust from the Chinese government that is hindering the Sino-Tibetan dialogue.
Jun 7: Border Patrol
Nepalis living in Humla on the border with Tibet are being prevented from crossing the border into Chinese-occupied Tibet, prompting the Nepali Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise the issue with the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, reports the Kathmandu Post. Thousands of residents of this area rely on cross border trading but their papers are being confiscated at the border by the Chinese authorities.
Jun 7: Visa Denied?
Contradictory reports are emerging from various sources saying that Taiwan denied visas for HH the Dalai Lama and Uyghur activist and leader Rebiya Kadeer to attend a conference held last month in Taiwan, organised by the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Forum. Some reports say they were to be invited, others that they were not, and others again that their invitations were revoked.
Jun 6: Invitation to Bihar
Bihar state is to invite HH the Dalai Lama, along with Shri Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India, to be guests at an event marking the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa on the Ratnagiri hills in Rajgir. The famous Buddhist philanthropist and monk Nichidatsu Fujii Guruji initiated the building of the Stupa, also known as Peace Pagoda, which was inaugurated in 1969.
Jun 6: Lawsuit
The lawsuit filed by Pempa Tsering, former Speaker of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile (CTA) and Tibetan Representative of North America, against the Kashag [Cabinet] has come to court for the first hearing. Penpa Tsering has charged CTA President Sikyong Lobsang Sangay with false accusations regarding his (Pempa Tsering’s) termination from the Office of Tibet in Washington, USA. “I am not at fault”, Pempa Tsering told reporters.
Jun 5: Apple Censors Apps
Apple, the American multinational technology, is reported to have censored 29 apps in China - all are related to Tibet and HH the Dalai Lama and the censorship is to comply with China’s requirements. The Tibetan Computer Emergency Readiness Team (TibCERT) says Apple has censored the apps - which range from news, religion and tourism to games - without notifying their owners..
Jun 5: Tibet Way
A street in New York has been named Tibet Way - the street provides access to the new Tibetan Community Centre inaugurated on Sunday by Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of Central Tibetan Administration and Sakya Gongma Rinpoche. Jimmy Van Bramer, Council Member of the 26th District said that the street name change was due to the hard work of the local Tibetans.
Jun 4: Cash Incentive
Cash incentives of 6,000 yuan ($US 870 / £690) are being offered to Tibetan families living in Serchen county in Amdo if they will display pictures of Chinese President Xi Jinping in their homes. Radio Free Asia reports a local source as saying. “The families are choosing to do this because they need the money to survive, but they regret this immensely”.
Jun 4: Religious Freedom Forum
Ngodup Tsering, from the Office of Tibet, Washington DC and Dawa Tsering, the Dalai Lama’s representative at the Office of Tibet in Taipei have attended the international three-day Taiwan International Religious Freedom Forum in Hsinchu City in Taiwan. The Forum was jointly hosted by Freedom House, Centre for Religious Liberty, Victims of Communism and the International Religious Freedom Roundtable.