British Town Hall to raise Tibet Flag on March 10th to show solidarity with the Tibetan people

Commemoration of the 63rd Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day in Lhasa

The London Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) will raise the Tibetan National Flag on March 10th once again this year to show solidarity with the people of Tibet.

Cllr. Denise Hyland, the Mayor, and Cllr. Danny Thorpe, the Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, will be joined by HE Sonam T Frasi, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, based at The Office of Tibet, and members of the local Tibetan Community on Thursday morning at the Town Hall, Woolwich, south east London, to raise the Tibet Flag.

This annual Tibet Flag raising is organised by the Mayor’s Office, Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) and the Greenwich Tibetan Association (GTA), of the Tibetan Community UK. The RBG is home to over 100 Tibetans, which is the single largest concentration of Tibetans in one borough in the whole of UK.

Tsering Passang, Founder and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, who is a former Chairman of the Tibetan Community UK, coordinated the Tibet Flag raising ceremony on behalf of the Greenwich Tibetan Association. The Tibet Flag was first raised at this English Town Hall in September 2015 to honour and welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama to The O2 Centre, which falls within the boundaries of the RBG. The Tibetan spiritual leader was giving public talks and Buddhist teachings to over 10,000 people at this big venue in 2015.

Tibetans worldwide are observing the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising of 1959 in Lhasa, when tens of thousands of Tibetans rose up against the illegal occupation of their country by Communist China. China’s invasion of Tibet forced the Dalai Lama into exile in India where he set up the Central Tibetan Administration (de facto Tibetan Government-in-exile).

Read more on Why Tibetans commemorate March 10th?

The Tibetan Community UK and Free Tibet have organised protests in central London including outside the Chinese Embassy to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day. For details, please see below:

9.30am – 11.00am

Protest – Tibetan Freedom March

Meeting Opposite: St Martin-In-The Fields Church (Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ) at 10:00. The vigil will begin at 10:30am, followed by a march to the Chinese Embassy at 31 Portland Place, Marylebone, arriving at around 12:00.

Speakers include: Tim Loughton MP and Sam Walton (Free Tibet)

11:00 am – 1.00pm

Protesters start marching to the Chinese Embassy

12:00pm to 1:00pm

Speeches and protest outside the Chinese Embassy

Speakers include: Cllr. Rabina Khan from London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Tenzin Sangmo (Tibetan activist)

Commemoration – Tibetan Cultural Event

Venue: YMCA Indian Student Hostel, 41 Fitzroy Square W1T 6AQ

Time – 1:30pm – 4:00pm

Speeches, Commemoration Songs, Momo and Tea

Speakers include HE Sonam T Frasi, Representative of the Dalai Lama and Tenzin Wangdu (Chair of Tibetan Community UK)