MARCH 10, 2022 | BY DR. SUBROTO ROY

Presently, Tibet is under the illegal occupation of the People’s Republic of China and is without any United Nations’ representation. A full-fledged embassy status would help to take their peaceful freedom struggle to the next level.

London-based Founder and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM), Tsering Passang has urged leading democracies including India, the UK, and the USA to recognise Dharamsala-based Central Tibetan Administration as the “Tibetan Government-in-Exile” and its overseas agencies (Offices of Tibet) as full-fledged Embassies. This, according to him, will give the Tibetan people the much needed footing to participate in “international platforms like the UN Human Rights Council and the WHO”.

Presently, Tibet is under the illegal occupation of the People’s Republic of China and is without any United Nations’ representation.  The Department of Information & International Relations (DIIR) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), has representative offices in 13 countries. These offices act as de facto embassies of the CTA and are based in New Delhi, India; Kathmandu, Nepal; Washington DC, USA; Geneva, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; London, UK; Brussels, Belgium; Canberra, Australia; Paris, France; Moscow, Russia; Pretoria, South Africa; Taipei, Taiwan and Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

“A full-fledged embassy status would help us to take our peaceful freedom struggle to the next level,” Passang stressed.

Passang was speaking to this journalist as a curtain raiser to the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day that will be observed world over on March 10. The GATPM and Tibetans in the UK will demonstrate in front of the Chinese Embassy and its consulates. “But due to the Covid pandemic and fear of Chinese backlash on families back in Tibet, the participation has been unfortunately dwindling,” he lamented. 

On this day in 1959, tens of thousands of Tibetans had banded together around the Norbulingka (the summer palace of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in Lhasa) to revolt, in defiance of the Chinese invasion that took place in 1949 and to protect their spiritual leader. This peaceful protest was violently crushed by China’s PLA troops soon after the H.H Dalai Lama fled Tibet into exile, to India.

I must note here that while India has boldly demonstrated its practical assistance on the ground by way of inviting Tibetans to live in Dharamsala of Himachal Pradesh and set up their government in exile, whilst facilitating towards the education of young children as well as the preservation of their unique culture, the international powers that be, need to do much more than what has already been done. The minimum one can do in helping Tibet regain its past glory is to facilitate and declare its overseas representative offices (Offices of Tibet) as full-fledged embassies.

Although it might seem a long time in one’s lifetime that Tibet has not been freed for over six decades, Passang thinks the time is not too long considering it to be a freedom struggle of a nation. “After H.H the Dalai Lama was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, the Tibetan issue gained a greater attention from the international community. European countries and the US recognised our just and peaceful freedom struggle,” he pointed out.

However, he agreed that a lot needs to be achieved “peacefully without the loss of a single life on either the Chinese, Indian, or Tibetan sides,” considering that Tibetans believe in a peaceful resolution as advocated by their spiritual leader H.H Dalai Lama, a champion of peace and non-violence. “We know that there are tens of thousands of armed troops with military hardware installations on the borders of China’s occupied Tibet and India. A small misunderstanding on either side can lead to something that Tibetans don’t want for all sides,” he cautioned. 

In fact, Passang is of the view that the Chinese, the Indian, and the Tibetan sides should all sit down and chalk out a peace plan in everyone’s interest. “Re-establishing Tibet as a buffer zone between the two big countries can de-escalate the tension whilst respecting and fulfilling the interests of all parties concerned. This is exactly what His Holiness the Dalai Lama has proposed in his ‘Middle-Way’ approach,” he said.

Notwithstanding this suggestion, Passang was suspicious of the Chinese regime. “It is also high time that Tibetans should be able to participate in major international bodies, at human level, say, the UN Human Rights Council and the WHO,” he added.

“China has been weakened due to the Covid-19 pandemic which originated in its lab in Wuhan. Nearly 6 million people have died as a direct result of COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the unprecedented levels of disruptions worldwide.  The good thing that came out from this pandemic is that the international community has woken up to what China is capable of.” Passang argued with reference to the global Covid pandemic.

China grew with the support of the West and today the USA recognises the Frankenstine they and Europe have created. According to Passang, “It is clear that the western democratic and liberal values are in direct conflict with the Chinese regime’s closed society and its brutal repressions. The earlier hopes of certain western political and business leaders on China becoming a more liberal society after gaining a certain level of economic development has proved completely wrong. Leading democracies led by the US are now reversing what was done over the past four decades and allocating a huge sum of funds to counter China’s growing expansionism as it threatens their very basic democratic principles and liberal values.”

It is time for all those persecuted communities by the Chinese regime to come together and fight with unity. “Uighurs, Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, Hong Kong and perhaps Taiwan must join hands in the freedom struggle against China,” Passang said.

China’s expansionism into Tibet has been for strategic and economic reasons. “China is taking away all the natural resources available in Tibet, including the unpolluted waters which would have otherwise flowed down into countries to its south,” he revealed.

The major rivers that flow down from Tibet are Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra in India), Machu (Yellow River in China), Drichu (Yangtse in China), Senge Khabab (Indus in India), Phungchu (Arun in India), Gyalmo Ngulchu (Salween in Burma) and Zachu (Mekong in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos), which makes the country a water source for many countries. But if China violates the right to natural resource like water to other countries, “they must protest jointly”, according to Passang,

Passang also argued that diverting the natural course of Tibet’s rivers into China’s hinterlands was against human rights and a “selfish act”, by China and must be addressed by countries lying to its south. It must be noted that India’s most sacred lake ‘Manasarovar’ and the most important pilgrimage site ‘Kailash’ are both located in China’s occupied Tibet.

Tibet is situated 4,000 metres or 13,000 feet above sea level and is 2.5 million square kilometres in size, which includes U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo provinces. The “Tibet Autonomous Region”, consisting of U-Tsang and a small portion of Kham, consists of 1.2 million square kilometres. The bulk of Tibet lies outside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The total Tibetan population in Tibet is 6 million. Of them, 2.09 million live in the TAR and the rest in the Tibetan areas outside.

If China is allowed to do as it wishes with Tibet’s natural resources, one can imagine what might happen to Manasarovar and Kailash. The fear of cultural genocide is real. It was reported on February 11 that China recently destroyed monasteries, learning centres for Tibetan Buddhists. It violently obliterated Buddhist statues and monastic schools in Kham Drango, eastern Tibet. Sikyong Penpa Tsering and the 16th Kashag had thanked the Super Samgha, an Association of Japanese monks for their solidarity in condemning China.

“Under H.H the Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle-Way’ approach, Tibetans are not seeking independence. Keeping Tibetan Buddhist culture and its civilisation alive is the main goal,” Passang said for which a conducive atmosphere of “peace is necessary”. Following the footsteps of H.H the Dalai Lama, Passang and his fellow Tibetans are avoiding a violent confrontationist approach. “But the world has to take a serious note and reward the peace champions,” he added.

“History shows that great empires collapse. We know that the Roman, British, American and European empires have all collapsed,” observed Passang insinuating that China was not an exception. He was responding to a query whether Balkanisation of China was imminent or not.

This interview was first published by Center for Indic Studies.

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As a show of solidarity and support to the people of Tibet, Cllr. Denise Hyland, the Mayor, on Thursday 10th March raised the Tibet Flag at the Town Hall, Woolwich with HE Sonam Tsering Frasi, London-based Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Woolwich is the headquarters of the London Royal Borough of Greenwich. This ceremony was attended by Cllr. Danny Thorpe, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and a small contingent of local Tibetan Community.

Tibetans recited Buddhist prayers for World Peace and the Long Life of the Dalai Lama. They also sang the Tibetan National Anthem whilst the Mayor and the Dalai Lama’s Representative hoisted the Tibet Flag.

This annual Tibet Flag raising was organised by the Mayor’s Office, Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) and the local 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 the UK.

Tsering Passang, Founder and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, who is also a former Chairman of the Tibetan Community UK, coordinated the Tibet Flag raising ceremony on behalf of the Greenwich Tibetan Association. At the reception, whilst thanking the Leaders of the Royal Borough of Greenwich for their continued support and solidarity, Passang urged them to confer “Champion of Peace” Award to the Dalai Lama to increase the Council’s support for the Tibetan people’s non-violent freedom struggle.

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.

On 10th March, Tibetans worldwide observed the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising of 1959, when tens of thousands of Tibetans rose up against the invading Chinese forces in Lhasa. 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?

After the Tibet Flag raising ceremony, Tibetans joined the annual march and protest in central London, organised by the Tibetan Community UK and Free Tibet.

Bharat Ratna for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is an appeal initiated by the students of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, in India.

We believe that Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, is an icon of all that is good in the world, and strives everyday to reinforce the human values that can make sentient beings happy. Values of brotherhood, ahimsa, karuna and compassion, kindness and forgiveness.

Through this initiative we are making a formal appeal to the Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi ji to nominate, and the President of India, Sri. Ram Nath Kovind ji, to confer the next Bharat Ratna on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

The initiative is steered under the guidance of Dr. Anita Kamath Dudhane and Dr. (Prof) Renuka Singh. The initiative is supported by students and followers around the world of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama who have taken small and big tasks to make this program a success.

This initiative calls all citizens of India to participate in a voting process that supports the appeal for the nomination and conferring of the next Bharat Ratna on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

Voting Process

The voting process is both online and offline. Please follow the website for further details.

An Appeal

We the people of India earnestly request and appeal to the honourable Prime Minister to please confer the highest award, the Bharat Ratna, to His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the Great 14th Dalai Lama, an Ocean of Wisdom, who was born in 1935 at Taktsar, Northeastern Tibet. His Holiness is the spiritual leader of Tibet and was formerly the temporal head as well. He took refuge in India and arrived as a guest of the Indian Government in 1959. In exile ever since, he calls himself a son of India — his body sustained by Indian food, and mind by ancient Indian philosophical wisdom. The intellectual and emotional lineage of Lord Buddha is alive and flourishing under his guidance. He has made an exceptional contribution to the preservation and promotion of Buddhist thought, principles, and values. A true ‘Chela’ of Aryabhumi (Mark of respect for India by the Tibetans as the land of Enlightened Beings since millennium ago), indeed, who has brought back the complete form of Buddhism to the land of its origin!

His Holiness is the embodiment of Avalokiteshwara, the Buddha of Compassion and is known the world over as a man of peace. Throughout his life, His Holiness has faced religious and political/cultural conflict with great poise, patience, non-violence and a kind heart. His is an enduring voice for universal brotherhood and responsibility that draws our attention to resolving exigent challenges such as Covid-19, the catastrophic effects of climate change, and divisive forces splitting our communities and humanity itself. Behind his intense compassion is the penetrating vision of a scientific mind.

His Holiness has been intensely engaged in dialogue with scientists around the world regarding emotional balance, the development of global compassion, and the roots of love, anger, and hatred. He has fostered inter-religious harmony through inter-faith meetings; his educational projects promote and preserve the ancient Indian knowledge and culture of the Buddhist Nalanda tradition. Each time you meet His Holiness, the freshness and fullness of his whole being touches your heart directly. His Holiness’s humility, simplicity, serenity and scholarship are equally captivating. He is a refuge for millions belonging to different religions, regions, classes and ethnicities, both within India and around the world. In response to the depressing and discouraging scenarios wrought by hyper-consumerism and by cultural and political strife, His Holiness has constantly advocated for people of all ages the Middle Way’s approach of love, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance.

His Holiness has openly, inclusively, and anonymously helped and supported many social, cultural and educational projects. He helps even those who wish to hurt him. Through His Holiness’s skill and goodness of heart, the harsh become gentle, the miserly munificent, and the cruel tender. Beautiful yet tranquil, brilliant yet not dazzling, powerful yet still, His Holiness is naturally inclined toward solitude, but his compassion has inspired him to meet and collaborate with countless multitudes of people. The wind cannot blow out the light of his flame. Blazing forth, he illuminates the world!

His Holiness emphasizes universal interdependence and the need for developing a pure mind that brings harmony and compassion to bear on human suffering. In his person he has embraced the wisdom of broadly diverse cultures, bridging multiple globalities with multiple modernities and creating a democratic liberal order, and yet always speaking truth to power. Besides authoring, co-authoring and contributing to over 160 books, and receiving countless international/national awards, His Holiness was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet, and his deep concern for global environmental problems. Even in the face of aggression, His Holiness has consistently advocated the policies of non-violence and the Gandhian notion of Satyagraha, bringing international repute and recognition to inspirational and aspirational India and its ancient wisdom culture. His kindness and compassion roar! We the people of India are indebted to His Holiness for his constant guidance, spiritual presence and deep investigation into the workings of the mind, pointing to the fact that material development has to go hand in hand with one’s inner development.

Renuka Singh

7th September 2021

New Delhi.

For full details, please visit: https://www.bharatratnafordalailama.in

Ahead of the 63rd Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, Tsering Passang, Founder and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, spoke to Dr. Subroto Roy, who is the Founder and Chairman of OneAsia.

They discussed a range of issues pertaining to Tibet, China and India. Passang urges the Government of India to appoint a Special Coordinator for the Tibetan Affairs to up its support whilst calling on foreign governments to recognise Offices of Tibet as embassies of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

A popular Tibetan singer named Tsewang Norbu has died after the February 25th self-immolation attempt. According to sources, Norbu shouted slogans and set himself on fire last week in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. The Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) broke the news on 4th March.

“Tsewang Norbu tried to protest the Chinese government by attempting to self-immolate and according to few of my reliable sources from inside Tibet, (he) has died,” a Tibetan living in exile told RFA. The date and place of his death could not be verified immediately. RFA also could not reach Norbu’s family and relatives in Lhasa.

Learning about this tragic news, Tenzin Bhagen, founder and tour leader of Tashi Delek Travel based in Washington DC, posted on his facebook page: “Another sad news. His mother, who I personally know, is the first China’s version of Tibetan Idol who won national music contest in Beijing and since then became one of the most well-known Tibetan singers. Her brother, or his uncle is the longest serving Tibetan political prisoner, Sogkhar Lodoe Gyatso, who is still in prison.”

Bhagen also wrote that Tsewang Norbu had “won many prestigious China’s national music awards. His father is said to be a well-known composer in Nagchu Prefecture.” He further added, “Tsewang Norbu constantly had to struggle with the Chinese authorities who were not happy about his name [being] written in Tibetan language and his songs titled in Tibetan and English, instead all in Chinese.”

According to Bhagen, Tsewang Norbu’s mother’s hometown is Sog, neighbor to Driru, which is the most restricted area within Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and communication in these areas has been completely blocked at least after 2013 protests.

This latest self-immolation by Tsewang Norbu, which took place in front of the iconic Potala Palace, the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 until 1959, when the current 14th Dalai Lama was forced into exile to India, is a stark reminder of China’s continued repression in Tibet. Tibetans continue to resist Chinese rule even after seven decades of illegal occupation of their country by Communist China.

As the Chinese authorities do not allow any conventional form of protests in China’s occupied-Tibet, Norbu’s self-immolation is a desperate act to defy Chinese rule. Since 2009, over 158 Tibetans in Tibet have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule in Tibetan areas, and another eight have taken their lives in Nepal and India.

The timing of Norbu’s drastic protest comes ahead of a sensitive time for the Chinese government when its security forces in Tibetan areas are under high alert. On Thursday, 10 March, Tibetans worldwide will commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day when tens of thousands of Tibetans in Lhasa rose up on this day in 1959 against the invading Chinese forces. [ Read this piece by Tsering Passang Why Tibetans worldwide Commemorate March 10th? ]

The comment section on Norbu’s social media accounts have been deactivated due to an abundant inflow of condolence messages, while many of his songs are now removed from many Chinese music apps, the source said.

A singer and composer of modern, ethnic, popular, traditional songs, Norbu released the songs “Tsampa”, “Dress Up” and “Except You” among many that were popular among the Tibet community at home and abroad.

The previous report of a self-immolation was that of a 26-year-old man named Shurmo, who set himself ablaze in September 2015 in the Tibet Autonomous Region’s Nagchu (Chinese, Naqu) county. His death was confirmed only in January of last year.

The dragonian grip in Tibet by the Chinese government means that the flow of information to the outside world continues to be much more difficult. The authorities deploy sensitive surveillance measures on mobile phones and online communication tools to stop the flow of information out of Tibet.

Within days of learning this tragic news of Tsewang Norbu’s self-immolation, the exiled Tibetan community has been engaging in Buddhist prayer as well as public protests around the world. Many share the story through their social media networks to help with educating others.

On her LinkedIn page, Tenzin W from London, wrote, “He was protesting against the brutal Chinese oppression in Tibet where there’s no freedom of speech, religion or action. Not since they invaded Tibet in 1959.”

She further added, “That’s why His Holiness the Dalai Lama had to escape to India that year, followed by hundreds of thousands of Tibetans over the years, including my parents. They were just kids when they fled and walked across the Himalayas at night, hiding from Chinese troops during the day. We were refugees in India.

“Since 2009, there have been 158 Tibetans who died by self-immolation. 𝟏𝟓𝟖 tragic lives lost in the most horrific way, because the world’s media and journalists aren’t allowed to see the real Tibet. 

“As a nation of peace loving people, this is their desperate cry to remind the world about China’s brutality and the dire situation Tibetans are in.”

Tenzin W concludes by stating, “I’m sharing this photo of Tsewang Norbu because although the world’s media will not report about his death, I don’t want his untimely passing to be in vain.

“I want to help spread his message that Tibetans in Tibet have been suffering for 63 years, and despite China’s brainwashing and attempts at ethnic cleansing, we will always remain proud Tibetans, not Chinese.”

When the world witnesses the ongoing unprovoked aggression on Ukraine by Russia under Putin, for Tibetans this is clearly reminiscent of Communist China’s illegal occupation of Tibet under Mao Tsetung. Since China’s invasion of Tibet over 1 million Tibetans have died.

(On this day 63 years ago – 9th March 1959)

March 9, 1959. At 8.00 am two Chinese officers visited the commander of His Holiness the Dalai Lama bodyguards’ house and asked him to accompany them to see Brigadier Fu at the Chinese military headquarters in Lhasa. Brigadier Fu told him that on the following day there was to be no customary ceremony as His Holiness the Dalai Lama moved from the Norbulinka summer palace to the army headquarters, two miles beyond. No armed bodyguard was to escort him and no Tibetan soldiers would be allowed beyond the Stone Bridge – a landmark on the perimeter of the sprawling army camp.

By custom, an escort of twenty-five armed guards always accompanied His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the entire city of Lhasa would line up whenever he went. Brigadier Fu told the commander of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s bodyguards that under no circumstances should the Tibetan army cross the Stone bridge and the entire procedure must be kept strictly secret.

The Chinese camp had always been an eyesore for the Tibetans and the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was now to visit it would surely create greater anxiety amongst the Tibetans.

https://tsamtruk.wordpress.com/2022/03/07/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)

The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities wishes to acknowledge and thank MPs and UK ministers for paying their attention to the deteriorating situation of Tibet under Communist China’s illegal occupation.

We thank our friends, supporters and partners including Free Tibet and Tibetan Community UK for raising the unresolved issue of Tibet directly with the MPs and government ministers.

Navendu Mishra Opposition Whip (Commons)  1:47 pm, 24th February 2022

“I am grateful to Bob Seely for securing this important debate. The eyes of the world may be focused elsewhere at present, but it is vital that we do not lose sight of other nations where people face abuses. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine today as they face aggression. Military aggression in Ukraine is not acceptable, and the House stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

I thank the Office of Tibet, Tibet Action and Free Tibet for their briefings ahead of this debate. I thank, too, the all-party group for Tibet for all the work that it does. I declare an interest as the vice-chair of the said all-party group. I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet the Office of Tibet in London last year at the Labour party conference where I heard about the experiences of the Tibetan people.

Since it was annexed more than 70 years ago, occupied Tibet has been closed off to much of the rest of the world, preventing us from witnessing the repression against the people that live in the region. According to the Free Tibet campaign, the Chinese Government have been orchestrating a deliberate and systematic elimination of Tibet’s distinct and unique cultural, religious and linguistic identity through a sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism, its culture and its language.

Worryingly, those sinicization measures are reported to have increased in intensity over the past decade, reflecting the Chinese Government’s further attempts to subdue the Tibetans, who continue to resist the occupation. This process includes the Chinese Government’s bilingual education policy of replacing the Tibetan language—the common language of all Tibetans—with Mandarin. In the words of the Free Tibet campaign, this “strikes at the very root of the Tibetan identity”.

It was reported late last year that two teenage Tibetan students were detained for opposing Chinese-only instruction in their school. A Tibetan teacher was also arrested after her Tibetan-language school was forced to close. According to research by the Tibet Action Institute, as many as 900,000 Tibetan children are estimated to have been separated from their families, while the teaching of the Tibetan language has faced further restrictions, with limitations on monasteries that wish to provide language classes.

Last month, I asked our Government whether they had raised that exact issue, specifically regarding Chinese-run boarding schools in Tibet, with their counterparts in China. I must say that the response to my written parliamentary question was disappointing. Although I am encouraged to hear that measures are being taken to urge the Chinese Government to respect the rights of all its citizens, including those in Tibet, I appeal to the Minister today to push specifically on this issue to ensure that families do not continue to be coerced into sending their children to residential boarding schools.

Nor has religion emerged unscathed from this process, with the Chinese Government imposing a raft of restrictions that are almost certainly designed to make Tibetan Buddhism compatible with President Xi’s vision of “religion with Chinese characteristics”, as he has described it. In reality, that has meant limitations on the influence of Tibetan Buddhism in community life and monasteries repeatedly being placed under Government control and surveillance. In practice, that means all monasteries being forced to fly Chinese flags and hang portraits of political figures on their premises.

The Government are also accused of proactively coercing Tibetans into renouncing any allegiance to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a process that also extends to outlawing the portraits of His Holiness and arresting Tibetans who carry out seemingly small acts of resistance such as calling for his return to Tibet or singing songs that wish him a happy birthday. In the past three years alone, authorities have ordered Tibetans to place shrines to President Xi and other Government leaders inside their homes in place of religious figures. The Free Tibet campaign also reports that in some counties, authorities have gone to such lengths as physically inspecting households to ensure that that order has been carried out.

Finally, I will focus briefly on Drago county in eastern Tibet. Since last October the county, which is in Sichuan province, has been the site of a series of demolitions of sites of religious and cultural significance, accompanied by arbitrary arrests and alleged torture. One such example is reports of Government officials tearing down a Tibetan Buddhist monastic school that once housed more than 100 young Tibetan students. That was followed soon afterwards by the destruction of two Lord Buddha statues, including one that stood almost 100 feet tall, the construction of which was only completed in 2015 with funds donated by Tibetans and Buddhist disciples.

Further evidence of Government aggression and destruction includes the demolition of several monks’ residences, in addition to monastery prayer flags being removed and burned. It is clear to those who witnessed those incidents that, as well as lacking any free or informed consultation with the locals, the demolitions were carried out very deliberately to cause maximum distress, with members of the community in some cases ordered to assist in tearing down schools and statues, and others forced to watch. I hope the Minister will make a note of those ongoing events, given that the forced inspections continue to take place on an almost daily basis, which has led to the lives of all those involved rapidly deteriorating.

I want to highlight that 10 March is observed annually as Tibet Uprising Day. In 1959, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans banded together to revolt, in defiance of the Chinese invasion a decade earlier. That peaceful protest was violently crushed by the Chinese Government.

In closing, I urge the Minister to heed the concerns of hon. Members on both sides and push the Governments of China and Russia to ensure that all rights are respected, and that a way of life is not imposed on people that leads to the destruction and desecration of everything from the heritage to the culture, language and even the very identity of the Tibetan people. Their voices must continue to be heard.”

(Source: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2022-02-24a.511.1)

Tibet and Xinjiang: Politics and Government

A Written Question tabled (UIN 113722) on 28th January 2022 by Andrew Percy Conservative, Brigg and Goole

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the political situation in (a) Tibet and (b) Xinjiang.

Amanda Milling MP, Minister for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, replied on 4th February 2022: 

“The FCDO monitors closely the situations in Tibet and Xinjiang. We are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Tibet, including reports of severe restrictions on freedom of religion of belief, Tibetans dying in custody, coercive control, and labour transfer schemes.

We also have serious concerns about the human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in “political re-education camps” since 2017, systematic restrictions on Uyghur culture and the practice of Islam, and extensive and invasive surveillance targeting minorities.

The UK Government continues to raise concerns about the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. Most recently, the Prime Minister did so in a telephone call with President Xi on 29 October, as did the Foreign Secretary in her introductory call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 22 October. I personally raised the situation with the Chinese Ambassador to London in our meeting on 15 December.”

Tibet: Boarding Schools

Tabled (UIN 114963) on 31 January 2022, Navendu Mishra, a Labour MP for Stockport asked the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Chinese Government on Chinese boarding schools in Tibet.

In her Ministerial Written Answer, Amanda Milling, who is the Conservative MP for Cannock Chase, replied on 8 February 2022:

“We have serious concerns about the situation in Tibet, including reports that Tibetan parents are being coerced into sending their children to residential schools. We continue to urge China to respect all fundamental rights across the People’s Republic of China, including in Tibet, in line with both its own constitution and the international frameworks to which it is a party. In June 2021, the UK and 43 other countries joined a statement at the UN Human Rights Council expressing deep concern about the human rights situation in Tibet, and calling on the Chinese authorities to abide by their human rights obligations.”

(Source: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-01-31/114963)

Tibet was also mentioned 6 times during a debate titled “UK-Taiwan Friendship and Cooperation” on 10 February 2022. For more please click the link below.

UK-Taiwan Friendship and Co-operation

Thank you John Billington for your continued support. Letters written by our amazing supporters directly to the key policymakers and decisionmakers are very effective. Please keep writing!

On the occasion of the traditional Tibetan New Year- Losar 2149 – the year of the Water-Tiger, which begins on 3rd March 2022, the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities extends Tibetan greeting of Tashi Deleg!

Tibetans celebrate at least three days of Losar now-a-days. In the past, they celebrate up to 15 days!

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Tibetan New Year’s Greeting 2022 from His Holiness the Dalai Lama from Dharamsala, northern India

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Greetings for the Tibetan New Year (Losar) on March 3, 2022.

Venue: His Holiness’s Residence, Dharamsala, HP, India
Date: March 2, 2022
Duration: 4 minutes and 41 seconds
Languages: English

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Losar 2149 – Tibetan New Year 2022 Message from Sikyong Penpa Tsering, Elected Leader of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Watch the greeting video on Tibet TV

Sikyong’s Message:

“As the newly elected 16th Kashag observes its first celebration of the joyous occasion of Tibetan New Year, the 2149th Water-Tiger Losar, I, on behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration, extend warm greetings to all the Tibetan brothers and sisters in Tibet and throughout the world celebrating Tibetan new year.

Wishing you a year loaded with good health and may all your aspirations, hopes, and wishes are fulfilled.

As the world’s most successful refugee community, we owe our success story principally to the sacrifices, guidance and visionary leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and secondly to the sacrifices being made by the Tibetans inside Tibet facing the persecution. We also owe our gratitude to the older generation of Tibetans whose lifelong hard work and contributions set forth the path of development in achieving the international recognition and acknowledgement that we enjoy today. Once again I would like to reassure you all that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in excellent health.

As for my responsibility as the Sikyong since assuming the office on 27th May 2021, the 16th Kashag has as per the commitments outlined in my manifesto, performed and continued to perform the tasks diligently and lawfully while taking into account the strategies to swiftly achieve our long term vision. I urge the collective effort and cooperation of the Tibetan people in resolving the collective goal.

To hinder our remarkable progress, China has repeatedly penetrated its tentacles in our community often by planting spies to sabotage our cause. Keeping this in view, we have to be mindful not to indulge in the pettiness of regionalism and parochialism, and instead deviate all our focus and effort to speak out against the human rights crimes committed by China against Tibetans and other ethnic minorities. Likewise, the administration assures transparency, credibility and efficiency in its activities.

To uphold the smooth running of our democracy in exile, I strongly urge each of us to diligently perform our fundamental responsibilities in accordance with the noble wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Once again I wish you all peace, prosperity and happiness and pray for the longevity of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I also hope that the issue of Tibet is swiftly resolved and the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet reunite soon.”

Further information:

Office of the Dalai Lama: www.dalailama.com

Central Tibetan Administration: www.tibet.net

By Wangpo Tethong, Executive Director, International Campaign for Tibet-Europe

6000 kilometers away from the actual scene, one person is currently sitting in front of the TV, watching the events in Europe with thoughts spinning in his head.

Will the U.S. led coalition have the strength to stand firm against Putin’s invasion and the violation of international law? The man in Beijing will watch closely and wait for the first European country to pull out of the alliance, which has demonstrated astonishing unity in recent weeks.

Xi Jinping hopes to get some answers to his questions. Has now the moment come to satisfy his lust for Taiwan? Can he tighten the screw in Hong Kong one more time? How long will it be before he can act unhindered in East Turkestan again? Will the illegal occupation of Tibet soon be forgotten? He will already be rubbing his hands and wanting to present the world with a fait accompli with the eradication of Tibetan identity – which is nothing more than another word for cultural genocide. When will his nightmarish vision of a Chinese empire will become real?

The liberal and democratic values have led to incredible prosperity in Europe over the last seven decades. But also to a weakening of the will to fight for freedom. For the first time since World War II, the European countries, conditioned in short term and selfish statesmanship, are faced with the fundamental question of what they are willing to sacrifice for a secure future. For now, we are talking about higher energy prices. But this may change soon.

In the face of the revolt of the autocrats in Moscow and Beijing, we democrats need to unite.

Together with all freedom-loving people all over the world, I am in my thoughts with the soldiers and their families, with the women, men and children in Ukraine.

Wangpo Tethong* was born in Switzerland. He is the owner and managing director of Tethong Kommunikation. A former party secretary of the Green Party Canton of Zurich, Wangpo was spokesperson of Greenpeace Switzerland and also worked as a senior consultant for a Swiss consultancy company. He is also known as a Swiss–Tibetan activist, writer and member of the 15th Tibetan Parliament in Exile. Wangpo Tethong joined the International Campaign for Tibet-Europe in 2021.

Further information:

International Campaign for Tibet-Europe: www.savetibet.nl

International Campaign for Tibet, Washington: www.savetibet.org

International Campaign for Tibet, Berlin: www.savetibet.de

International Campaign for Tibet, Brussels: www.savetibet.eu

Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1949/50 there was no peace and the political situation was deteriorating.

“Don’t come back until you are helpful to others”.  With these words of his master in his mind, a teenage monk left Tibet in 1958 with the dream of soon returning to his homeland.

‘Getza – Helping Others’ recounts this incredible Odyssey – from monastery to guerrilla, of diplomacy and politics – that led to the creation of Tibet Foundation, a British charity supporting the Tibetan people. Including interviews with people from all over the world and rare archive footage, some never seen before, this documentary film tells a story of the Foundation and a tribute to all those who have participated, contributed and helped the work to become a great success story. 

In 2021, Tibet Foundation came to an end. And after living in exile for more than six decades, the young monk’s dream of returning to his homeland is still to be realised. In the hearts of the Tibetan people the dream of freedom lives on. 

Dr Phuntsog Wangyal, Founding Trustee of Tibet Foundation, is a former Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama based at The Office of Tibet in London and a former Member of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies in India (Tibetan Parliament in Exile). In July 2009 he was awarded the ‘Friendship Medal’ by the Mongolian government, in recognition of efforts to restore the traditional culture and heritage of Mongolia.

In 2014, Phuntsog Wangyal was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree by the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London where he is a Honorary Fellow.

Further information:

https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/fellows/mr-phuntsog-wangyal

Tibet Getza Film: www. tibetgetza.com

Tibet Foundation – www.tibet-foundation.org

By Phuntsog Wangyal*

Tibetans are now celebrating Tibetan New Year  (3^rd March). End of one year and the beginning of another is a good time to reflect on questions once again raised on what Tibetans could or could not do for their ’cause’ and how China managed to overcome their adversaries. To understand what I am referring to, I suggest you view two outstanding documentaries, one made by the BBC, referring to the United Front Works Department (UFWD) as “China’s Magic Weapon” (available on BBC Iplayer). The UFWD was first created during the Chinese Civil War. Later “United Front” became an important policy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to co-opt and neutralise sources of potential opposition to the Party.

And other film is “The Sun Behind the Clouds”, a White Crane Films production. This is a film about Tibet’s struggle for freedom. You may view it on the link: https://nobeijing2022.org/iwillnotwatch/?

This Tibetan New Year is the Year of the Tiger. I would like to share with you a slogan “PAPER TIGER” that I first heard in the early 1950s in Lhasa when I was a student in a Chinese school. During one of my visits to Lhasa University some 30 years later I discovered that the school was a “Chinese Cadres’ School”. I don’t remember how I got admitted into it. 

The story is about a slogan, “America is a Paper Tiger”. We students had to march often in streets waving red flags and shouting slogans like “We support the people of Chaoxian, Imperialist America is a paper tiger, Victory to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)”, etc. At that time, we had no idea what ‘Chaozian’ (Korea in Chinese) meant and where America was in the world either. But we knew tiger, one of the symbols of power we often see in Tibetan prayer flags. What the Chinese meant was that America is like a Tiger drawn on a piece of Paper. It looks fearful – but it is just an image that has no real strength. 

Looking at the victory by the PLA in the Korean War, America’s defeat in Vietnam and Afghan wars, America’s inability to defend the People of Hong Kong in its recent turbulent history, all raised once again the question if America is truly as powerful as we like to believe in a situation the people within the countries in question lack sufficient confidence and determination to defend their positions. Can anybody, including Tibetans, really rely on America for its support without people standing up with a clear objective and determination?

The Year of the Tiger is an ideal time for the West to prove that they are real Tigers that could stand up against the Chinese Dragon or the Russian Bear to defend freedom and democracy, and for the Tibetan people and their leadership to stand up united with a clear objective.

 Another question is, do we really realise how the CCP works effectively through its “Magic Weapon”. We should remember how China’s Magic Weapon succeeded in making the Chinese Nationalists join the Communist Party fighting against Japan. That in the end led the Nationalists losing power to the Communists. How the Magic Weapon succeeded in making Americans choose the People’s Republic of China and offering them a seat in the Security Council. That in the end facilitated China to be able to grow in power posing a great threat to Western Democracy. How the Magic Weapon misled the Tibetan Administration choosing not to fight for independence. That in the end consolidated the Chinese claim over Tibet as a part of China, thus making any matter related to Tibet an internal issue. And similarly, no matter how hard Tibetans individually and personally struggle as so many are already doing even sacrificing their lives, the Magic Weapon continues to be able to create confusion in the minds of Tibetans on what they are to focus on fighting their adversaries. 

“The Sun Behind the Clouds” clearly illustrated that until Tibetans and their leaders together are able to unite to fight for one objective, resolutely and united they are just playing in to the hands of the CCP who are waiting for the Tibetan Sun to set, while clouds of doubt and confusion over the whole Tibetan issue continue covering the Light of the Truth.

Phuntsog Wangyal is a former Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London based at The Office of Tibet; and a former Member of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies in India (Tibetan Parliament in Exile). Wangyal founded Tibet Foundation in 1985 and was closed down in 2021. In July 2009 he was awarded the ‘Friendship Medal’ by the Mongolian government, in recognition of efforts to restore the traditional culture and heritage of Mongolia.

In 2014, Phuntsog Wangyal was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree by the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London where he is a Honorary Fellow.

སྟག་ལོའི་ནང་གི་བོད།

བོད་པས་བོད་ཀྱི་ལོ་གསར་ (ཕྱི་ཟླ་གསུམ་པའི་ཚེས་གསུམ་) གྱི་རྟེན་འབྲེལ་བྱེད་བཞིན་པ་རེད།

ལོ་གསར་རྙིང་བརྗེ་བའི་སྐབས་འདིར་སྔོན་བྱུང་གི་གནས་སྟངས། བོད་མིས་རང་གི་རྩ་དོན་སྐོར་ག་རེ་བྱེད་ཐུབ་པ་དང་མི་ཐུབ་པ། རྒྱ་མིས་ཁོ་ཚོའི་དགྲ་བོ་ལ་ཇི་ལྟར་དབང་དུ་བསྡུད་པ་བཅས་ལ་ཕྱིར་མིག་ཞིག་ལྟ་རྒྱུའི་དུས་སྐབས་བཟང་པོ་ཞིག་རེད། ངས་ག་རེ་ཞུས་པ་དེ་མཁྱེན་ཐབས་སུ་ར་སྤྲོད་ཀྱི་གློག་བརྙན་ཁྱད་དུ་འཕགས་པ་གཉིས་ལ་བལྟ་དགོས། དང་པོ་དེ་བི་བི་སིས་ཐབས་ཕྱོགས་གཅིག་སྒྱུར་གྱི་ལས་ཁུངས་(UFWD)ཞེས་པ་དེ་ “རྒྱ་ཡི་མིག་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་གོ་ཚོན་” རེད་ཅེས་བརྗོད་ཡོད་རེད། (BBC iPlayer ནང་ཡོད་པའི་གློག་བརྙན་ ) UFWD ནི་རྒྱ་ནག་ནང་འཁྲུག་གི་དུས་སྐབས་སུ་གསར་བཙུགས་བྱས་པ་དང། དེ་ནས་བཟུང་ཐབས་ཕྱོགས་གཅིག་སྒྱུར་ནི་དམར་ཕྱོགས་ཚོགས་པར་ཁ་གཏད་བྱེད་མཁན་རང་ཕྱོགས་སུ་འགུག་ཐབས་དང་གདོང་ལེན་བྱེད་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་སྲིད་བྱུས་གལ་ཆེ་ཞིག་ཆགས་པ་རེད།

གློག་བརྙན་གཞན་དེ་ནི་ “ཉི་མ་སྤྲིན་པའི་འོག་” ཞེས་པ་”ཁྲུང་ཁྲུང་དཀར་པོའི་གློག་བརྙན་འདོན་སྤེལ་ཁང་” ནས་བཟོས་པ་ཞིག་རེད། དེ་ནི་བོད་མིས་རང་དབང་གི་དོན་འཐབ་རྩོད་ཀྱི་སྐོར་རེད། གཤམ་གསལ་ཐོག་གཟིགས་ཐུབ། https://nobeijing2022.org/iwillnotwatch/?

ད་ལོའི་ལོ་གསར་དེ་ནི་སྟག་ལོ་རེད། ལོ་ ༥༠ གོང་ང་ལྷ་སར་རྒྱ་མིའི་སློབ་གྲྭ་ཞིག་ཏུ་ཡོད་སྐབས་ “ཤོག་གུའི་སྟག་” ཞེས་ལྷ་སའི་བར་སྐོར་ནང་འབོད་ཚིག་བསྒྲགས་པའི་སྐོར་གྱི་གནས་ཚུལ་དེ་ངས་རྣམ་པ་ཚོར་ཞུ་འདོད་བྱུང། ལོ་ ༣༠ རྗེས་སུ་ང་ཐེངས་གཅིག་བོད་དུ་ལྷ་སའི་མཐོ་རིམ་སློབ་གྲ་དེར་འགྲོ་སྐབས་ང་སྔོན་མར་འགྲོ་སའི་སློབ་གྲ་དེ་རྒྱ་མིའི་ལས་བྱེད་སློབ་གྲ་ཞིག་རེད་འདུག ང་དེའི་ནང་གང་འདྲ་ཞུགས་པ་དེ་ངས་དྲན་གྱི་མི་འདུག

ངས་ཞུ་རྒྱུའི་གནས་ཚུལ་དེ་ “ཤོག་གུའི་སྟག་” ཞེས་པ་དེ་རེད། ང་ཚོ་སློབ་ཕྲུག་ཚོས་“ཁྲོ་ཤན་མི་དམངས་ལ་རྒྱབ་སྐྱོར་ཡོད།” “བཙན་རྒྱལ་ཨ་མི་རི་ཀ་ཤོག་གུའི་སྟག་རེད།” “བཅིངས་གྲོལ་དམག་མི་རྒྱལ་ལོ་”ཞེས་དར་དམར་ལག་ཏུ་འཁྱེར་ཏེ་སྐད་འབོད་ཀྱི་ཁྲོམ་སྐོར་བྱས་པ་རེད། སྐབས་དེར་ཁྲོ་ཤན་ཟེར་བའི་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་དེ་སུ་ཡིན་པ་དང་། ཨ་མི་རི་ཀ་འཛམ་གླིང་ནང་ག་བར་ཡོད་མེད་ཀྱང་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ཡོད་མ་རེད། ཡིན་ན་ཡང་སྟག་ནི་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ཡོད། དེ་ནི་ང་ཚོས་ཡང་ཡང་མཐོང་བའི་བོད་ཀྱི་རླུང་རྟའི་རི་མོའི་ནང་གི་མཐུ་རྩལ་ཆེ་བའི་རྟགས་མཚོན་ཞིག་རེད། ཨ་མི་རི་ཀ་ནི་ཤོག་གུའི་ནང་བྲིས་པའི་རི་མོ་རྫིག་པོ་ཞིག་དང་འདྲ་བར་དོན་དུ་དངོས་ཡོད་ཀྱི་ནུས་པ་ཡོད་མ་རེད་ཞེས་རྒྱ་མིས་བརྗོད་པ་ཞིག་རེད།

ཕར་ཕྱི་བལྟས་ཤིག་སློག་སྟེ། སྔ་མོ་ཁྲོ་ཤན་དམག་འཐབ་སྐབས་བཅིངས་གྲོལ་དམག་གིས་རྒྱལ་ཁ་ཐོབ་པ། ཝིད་ནམ་དང་ཨཕ་གྷན་དམག་འཐབ་སྐབས་ཨ་རིས་ཕམ་ཁ་ལེན་དགོས་བྱུང་བ། ཧོང་ཀོང་དུ་བར་ལམ་རྐྱེན་ངན་བྱུང་སྐབས་ཨ་རིས་རོགས་སྐྱོར་མ་ཐུབ་པ་དེ་ཚང་མར་བལྟ་དུས། རྒྱལ་ཁབ་རང་ཉིད་ཀྱི་མི་ཚོས་རང་གི་གནས་སྟངས་སོ་སོས་སྲུང་རྒྱུའི་སྤོབས་པ་དང་སེམས་ཤུགས་མེད་ན་ང་ཚོས་ཡིད་ཆེས་བྱེད་འདོད་པ་ནང་བཞིན་ཨ་རི་སྟོབས་དང་ལྡན་པ་ཞིག་ཡོང་གི་རེད་པས། དེ་བཞིན་བོད་པ་ཐེ་བའི་གཞན་སུ་ཞིག་ལངས་ཕྱོགས་ཐག་གཅོད་དང་དམིགས་ཡུལ་གསལ་པོ་ཞིག་མེད་ན་ཨ་རིས་སྲུང་སྐྱོབ་ཐུབ་ཀྱི་རེད་པས་ཞེས་དྲི་བ་ཞིག་ཀྱང་ཡོང་སྲིད་པ་རེད།

སྟག་ལོ་འདིའི་སྐབས་ནུབ་ཕྱོགས་པའི་སྟག་དེ་སྟག་ངོ་མ་ཡིན་པ་དང་། དེས་རྒྱའི་འབྲུག་དང་ཨོ་རོ་སོའི་དོམ་ལ་ཁ་གཏོད་ཐུབ་པའི་ཁུངས་སྐྱེལ་ར་སྤྲོད་བྱེད་པ་དང། བོད་མི་དམངས་དང་སྒྲིག་འཛུགས་གཉིས་ཀའི་དམིགས་ཡུལ་གཅིག་གི་ཐོག་ནུས་ཤུགས་ཆིག་སྒྲིལ་གྱིས་ཡར་ལངས་ཐུབ་པའི་ར་སྤྲོད་ཁུངས་སྐྱེལ་བྱེད་རྒྱུའི་དུས་ཚོད་ཡག་པོ་ཞིག་རེད།

དྲི་བ་གཞན་པ་དེ་ནི། གུང་ཁྲན་ཏང་གིས་“མིག་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་གོ་ཚོན་”དེ་ནུས་པ་དང་ལྡན་པའི་ཐོག་ནས་གང་འདྲ་བེད་སྤྱོད་བཏང་ཐུབ་པ་དེ་ང་ཚོས་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ཨེ་ཡོད། རི་པན་དང་དམག་འཁྲུག་སྐབས་”མིག་འཕྲུལ་གི་གོ་ཚོན་”དེ་བེད་སྤྱོད་བཏང་སྟེ་རི་པན་ལ་ངོ་རྒོལ་བྱེད་ཆེད་གོ་མིང་ཏང་གུང་ཁྲན་དང་མཉམ་འབྲེལ་བྱས་པ་རེད། མཐའ་མར་གུང་ཁྲན་ཏང་ལ་དབང་ཐོབ་སྟེ་རྒྱལ་ཁ་ཐོབ་པ་རེད། ཨ་མི་རི་ཀས་རྒྱ་ནག་སྤྱི་མཐུན་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་འདམ་སྟེ་རྒྱ་ནག་མཉམ་འབྲེལ་རྒྱལ་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་སྲུང་སྐྱོབ་ལྷན་ཁང་དུ་ཞུགས་བཅུག་པ་རེད། མཐའ་མར་དེས་རྐྱེན་པས་རྒྱ་ནག་སྟོབས་ཤུགས་ཆེན་པོ་ཆགས་ཏེ་ནུབ་དམངས་གཅོའི་རིང་ལུགས་ཤོག་ཁག་ལ་ཉེན་ཚབས་བཟོ་མཁན་ཞིག་ཆགས་པ་རེད། “མིག་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་གོ་ཚོན་”དེ་བེད་སྤྱོད་བཏང་སྟེ་བོད་པའི་སྒྲིག་འཛུགས་ཀྱིས་རང་བཙན་གྱི་འཐབ་རྩོད་འཚམས་འཇོག་བྱས་བཅུག་པ་རེད། མཐའ་མར་བོད་དང་འབྲེལ་བའི་གནད་དོན་ཚང་མ་རྒྱ་ནག་ནང་ཁུལ་གྱི་གནས་ཚུལ་ཞིག་ལ་འགྱུར་སོང་བ་རེད། དེ་བཞིན་མི་སྒེར་རང་རང་སོ་སོས་གང་ནུས་ངོ་རྒོལ་དང་རང་སྲོག་བློས་གཏང་ན་ཡང་”མིག་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་གོ་ཚོན་”དེས་བོད་མིས་དགྲ་བོར་གདོང་ལེན་བྱེད་ཐབས་ཐོག་བོད་མིའི་སེམས་ལ་རྙོག་ཟིང་ཕོག་བཅུག་བཞིན་པ་རེད།

“ཉི་མ་སྤྲིན་པའི་འོག་”ཞེས་པ་དེའི་ནང་གསལ་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ཞིག་ལ་གལ་ཏེ་བོད་མི་དམངས་དང་སྒྲིག་འཛུགས་ཐུན་མོང་གིས་དམིགས་ཡུལ་གཅིག་གི་ཐོག་ཆིག་སྒྲིལ་གྱིས་འཐབ་རྩོད་མ་ཐུབ་པ་ཡིན་ན་རྒྱ་མིས་བོད་པའི་ཉི་མ་དེ་དོགས་པ་དང་ཐེ་ཚོམ་རྡུལ་གྱིས་བདེན་པའི་འོད་སྣང་སྒྲིབ་བསྡད་རྒྱུ་རང་རེད།

དཔར༔

༡ ཕུན་ཚོགས་དབང་རྒྱལ་བོད་ནང་དུ་སྐུ་ཚབ་ཐེངས་གཉིས་པ་ཕེབས་པའི་སྐབས་སུ་ལྷ་སར་བླངས་པའི་དཔར།

༢ དགའ་ལྡན་དུ་གྲ་བ་ཞིག་གིས་སྐད་འབོད་པའི་དཔར།་བོད་དགེ་རྩའོ་གློག་བརྙན། “་Getza – Helping Others” ལས་བཏུས།

Born in Germany, Tibetan sisters – Serlha and Youlha are both gifted singers who sing Tibetan and English songs. They are the daughters of a very well-known Tibetan singer, philanthropist and medical doctor by profession – Dr. Lobsang Palden Tawo. Sadly, this legend is no more with us but his legacy continues.

Like their father, the Tawo sisters are pursuing their careers in medicine in Germany and Switzerland. Popularly known as Tawo Palden la, their father was an amazing Tibetan story-teller. I listened to his story-telling and songs many times when I was growing up in a refugee camp in Nepal. Tawo Palden la often performed in Europe with his good friend and veteran Tibetan singer Nelung Tsering Topden la from Switzerland. I will dedicate a separate piece on Nelung Topden la.

SERLHA TAWO

Serlha was born in 1982 in Engelskirchen, Germany. Like her older sister, Serlha also studied medicine and is a practising physician in Switzerland.

Serlha learned piano when she was young. Just like her siblings Serlha’s first musical experience started at school. Her song, “You are on my mind” in Trinkhor V, which she sang together with the famous Tibetan singer, Sherten, became very popular. Sherten is highly-sought Tibetan singer who lives in China’s occupied Tibet.

YOULHA TAWO

Youlha was born in Heidelberg, Germany. After finishing her school in Lüdenscheid, Youlha studied medicine at the University of Bonn. Since 2005 Youlha has been working as a doctor in different German hospitals. Currently, she is a self-employed physician.

Youlha started playing piano since her childhood and later she learned guitar. Youlha’s first stage experience started at school, when she also performed some of her own songs in English. Her international breakthrough came in 2007 with her song, “Women’s Right“.

It’s Friday, so enjoy Tibetan Tawo sisters’ songs by clicking the links below!

Further information:

https://www.trinkhor.de/

Tadra Project USA

Tadra project is a non-profit organization established in 1995 by late Dr. L. Palden Tawo, his wife Chonyi Lhamo Tawo, friend Mr. Yeshi Gompo and few German friends in Germany.  So far we have served over 800 children and now have students in Universities. The children have achieved academic excellence and able to compete with other schools in the region and excel in academics and cultural activities. ​ Tadra project is run by volunteers and now has branch in Switzerland and in the USA.Tadra project USA is registered under Tadra Project USA Inc. under the 501 © (3) of Internal Revenue Service code. Contributions are deductible under section 170 of the code. EIN: 35-2276805 Approved by IRS: January 19th 2007 It is based in New Mexico, USA

https://www.tadraprojectus.org/

Losar 2149 – the Tibetan New Year 2022 falls on 3rd March this year. Tibetans follow lunar calendar and it is 127 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. Since this is the most important festival of the year for the Tibetans, they pay special visits to Buddhist monasteries, temples and holy sites where they pray and pledge to be a better person in the year ahead. It is also a good opportunity to greet with other Tibetans who visit the holy sites.

“Tashi Deleg” is the traditional Tibetan greeting and during the festival season, Tibetans greet each other “Losar La Tashi Deleg”.

Whilst young children are excited to wear their new dresses adults have many preparations to do for the festive season. Tibetans wear their best traditional attire (chubas).

In the UK, the small Tibetan Community are also getting ready for the festive season! Tibetan parents living in the London Royal Borough of Greenwich are organising a special Losar – Tibetan Cultural Event this year as an educational session for young children. This will take place at the Woolwich Centre Library on Saturday, 26th February from 2pm to 4pm.

Samten Chodon, a parent and a Senior Nurse, who works for the National Health Service (NHS), initiated this cultural event in the Royal Borough of Greenwich where she is a resident. This children-focus cultural event is open to all. Samten and her co-organisers hope that all attendees would benefit from this cultural event – learning more about the importance of Tibetan festival. Children and guests are invited to speak on the festive season. Everyone who attends the afternoon will also enjoy traditional Tibetan songs and dance by young children.

Losar is traditionally celebrated by Tibetans all over the world. About six million Tibetans in China’s occupied Tibet celebrate the Losar but they are banned from showing devotion to their Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who was forced into exile in India since March 1959. Tibetans are still persecuted in their homelands after Tibet was invaded by the Communist China. Of the 140,000 Tibetans living in exile, the UK is home to about 800 Tibetans where they can freely practise their beliefs.

Some important Tibetan Losar events taking place in the UK between 26th February and 5th March 2022:

Saturday, 26th February from 2pm to 4pm | Losar 2149: Tibetan Cultural Event |Venue: Woolwich Centre Library | Organisers: Samten Chodon et. al.

Thursday, 3rd March from 8 am to 11 am | Losar Prayer & Sangsol | Venue: Jamyang Buddhist Centre | Organiser: Tibetan Community UK

Thursday, 3rd March from 4pm | Tibetan Losar Party 2022 | Venue: Asian Community Centre | Organiser: Greenwich Tibetan Association (GTA)

Saturday, 5th March from 5pm to 1 am | TCB Losar Celebration | Venue: Old Town Hall, Stratford | Organiser: Tibetan Community UK

Enjoy Tibetan Losar Songs!

By Tsering Passang, Founder and Chairman, Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities

From time to time, Tibet was invaded by foreign powers.

After the Communist Party of China (CCP) came to power and with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Mao Tsetung declared the so-called “peaceful liberation” of Tibet from foreign imperialists, on 1st October 1949.

Soon, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) marched into Tibet. For Tibetans, this was the beginning of modern China’s invasion of Tibet in the post Second World War era.

“Seventeen-Point Agreement”

On 23rd May 1951, the “Seventeen-Point Agreement” was signed between the representatives of the independent Tibetan Government in Lhasa and the Chinese Communist Government in Peking.  Tibetans have always maintained that the agreement was signed by the Tibetan representatives “under duress”.

His Excellency Lukhangwa, the lay Tibetan Prime Minister, plainly told Chinese Representative Zhang Jingwu in 1952 that the Tibetan “people did not accept the agreement”. Nevertheless, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, who was a young teenager at the time, decided to work with the Chinese “in order to save my people and country from total destruction”, as he wrote in his memoir, ‘My Land and My People’.

For eight years, the Dalai Lama tried to abide by the terms of that document. The Tibetan Leader even relieved his Prime Minister Lukhangwa from his post, who had made no secret of his staunch opposition to the Chinese aggression.

Foreign trips & meetings with Chinese, Indian leaders

In 1954, the young Dalai Lama visited Peking. During his nearly 6 months’ stay the Dalai Lama had meetings with many Chinese leaders including Chairman Mao Tsetung and Premier Chou En-lai on a few occasions. Both of them gave assurances to him on Tibet’s good future.

In 1956, at the invitation of the Mahabodhi Society of India, the Dalai Lama travelled to India to join the 2500th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Lord Buddha.  During his India trip, the Dalai Lama had meetings with the Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and discussed Tibet.

The Dalai Lama later expressed his intention to seek asylum in India but Nehru advised the Tibetan Leader to return and work within Tibet.

At the same time, the Chinese Premier Chou En-lai travelled to Delhi where he met both Nehru and the Dalai Lama and urged the young Tibetan leader to return to Tibet. Finally, the Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa.

Tension rising in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital

By early 1959, a large number of the PLA troops entered central Tibet – about 20,000 were stationed in Lhasa alone. The tension was now rising in the Tibetan capital. Tens of thousands of Tibetans from east Tibet were retreating towards Lhasa while fighting continued in the east.

In early March 1959, the PLA invited the Dalai Lama to attend a planned cultural show at its headquarters without any Tibetan bodyguards.

The date for the theatrical show was set for 10th March.

The general public in Lhasa became suspicious and over 30,000 Tibetans gathered at the Norbu Lingkha, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, for his security and requested him not to attend the show.

The Dalai Lama, who was then 24, faced a difficult dilemma.  In his autobiography, ‘My Land and My People’ the Dalai Lama wrote, “…as if I was standing between two volcanoes, each likely to erupt at any moment. On one side, there was the vehement, unequivocal, unanimous protest of my people against the Chinese regime; on the other hand, there was the armed might of a powerful and aggressive occupying force.”

With the huge crowd surrounding the Norbu Lingkha palace, it was almost impossible for the Dalai Lama to leave.

The PLA generals were enraged when three of the Dalai Lama’s ministers told them that he would not be attending. A couple of days later, the Chinese army fired two mortars at the summer palace.

With the situation at boiling point, on the night of 17th March, the Dalai Lama decided to leave Lhasa immediately. According to his autobiography, the Dalai Lama, disguised as an ordinary soldier, rode out of his palace on horseback “unchallenged [and moved] towards the dark road beyond”.

Tibet in Exile

After nearly two weeks of a treacherous journey, with protection provided by the volunteer Tibetan resistance forces, the Dalai Lama reached safety in India, on 31st March 1959.

Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed him into India, Nepal and Bhutan.

The young and charismatic Dalai Lama re-established the Tibetan Government-in-exile (officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration) currently based in Dharamsala, northern India.

A staunch believer in democracy, the Dalai Lama has introduced this western democratic system into Tibetan society, little by little since 1960.

In 2011, the Dalai Lama decided to fully relinquish his previously inherited political leadership, which had been sustained for nearly 400 years, by passing the historic seal to the directly elected Sikyong (otherwise known as the President) Dr. Lobsang Sangay (a legal scholar from Harvard University), of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Under his amazing leadership, the Dalai Lama established a network of Tibetan settlements, schools, hospitals, monasteries, nunneries as well as cultural institutions to provide vital education, healthcare, welfare needs and cultural preservation in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Internally, his visionary leadership in exile for the Tibetan society has kept its identity and culture alive. Externally, especially after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, the Dalai Lama gained new celebrity status on the global stage which helped to promote the Tibetan issue.

His message of peace and non-violence for resolving conflicts, promotion of religious harmony and human values got greater recognition.

The present 14th Dalai Lama, who turns 86 in July, is not only a Tibetan spiritual leader but a highly respected moral leader on the world stage.

Since coming into exile, Tibetans in India and around the world observe this poignant 10th March anniversary every year to condemn China’s repression in Tibet whilst remembering those who died in their struggle for freedom.

In Dharamsala as well as in major Tibetan settlements across India, the official functions include recitation of Buddhist prayers and singing of political Tibetan songs.

Every year, the President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in exile issue official political statements on this day.

These are available on the CTA website www.tibet.net. The TibetTV – www.TibetOnline.tv also live webcast the official proceeding on this day.

Non-governmental Tibetan organisations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), which call for Rangzen (Independence of Tibet), often organise political demonstrations worldwide around this historic date.

This can include demonstrations outside the Chinese Embassy in Delhi or engaging in hunger strikes in front of the United Nations in New York to draw their attention to the Tibetan plight.

This year, a Tibetan Youth leader and writer, Tenzin Tsundue, launched his latest campaign “Repeal One-China Policy” with a month-long march #WalkAMileForTibet from Dharamsala to Delhi, covering 500 kilometres distance on foot.

He is due to reach Delhi on 10th March. Tsundue started his march on Losar – Tibetan New Year, 12th February.

The One-China Policy is a diktat laid down by the CCP which denies any area currently under Chinese control the right ever to differentiate itself from China.

Thus Tibet, Southern Mongolia, East Turkestan [Xinjiang], Manchuria and Hong Kong must — according to this diktat – accept that they are forever an integral part of China and can never break free of communist control.  Taiwan – a democracy – is included in this diktat.

Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, in London, Tibetans and activists are engaging in political activism this year.

A group of Tibetans and their supporters are taking part in the #WalkAMileForTibet in support of the “Repeal One-China Policy” campaign on this day.

The 14-mile march starts from Woolwich, headquarters of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. With a stopover at the Indian High Commission, the group will march to the Chinese Embassy, passing through Whitehall, the heart of the British Government.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is going to hoist the Tibetan National Flag on 10th March once again this year in a show of solidarity and support to Tibet and the Tibetan people.

*Tsering Passang, a human rights advocate and political activist, is the founder of Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM). He was the Director of London-based Tibet Foundation from 2019 to 2021. Elected as Chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain, Tsering led the community organisation from 2014 to 2016.

(The above piece was first published in Taiwan Times on 10th March 2021.)

Tibet Protest March 2022 in London

Tibetans are observing 10^th March 2022 as the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day. The Tibetan Community UK and Free Tibet are urging their members and supporters to join the annual protest and commemoration events.

Protest – Tibetan Freedom March

• Venue – 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA
• Date/Time – 10th March 2022, Thursday / Gathering from 09:30 am
• Speeches and protest march towards Chinese Embassy start at 11:00 am.
• Protest and demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy from 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm.

Commemoration – Tibetan Cultural Event

• Venue – YMCA Indian Student Hostel, 41 Fitzroy Square W1T 6AQ
• Time – 01:30 pm – 04:00 pm
• Events – Speeches, Commemoration Songs, Momo and Tea on sale.

Tibetans are observing 10^th March 2022 as the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.

Read the article by Tsering Passang Why Tibetans Commemorate 10th March Anniversary each year.

The Tibetan Community UK and Free Tibet are urging their members and supporters to join the protest and commemoration events. Details of this year’s commemoration events as below:

Protest – Tibetan Freedom March

• Venue – 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA
• Date/Time – 10th March 2022, Thursday / Gathering from 09:30 am
• Speeches and protest march towards Chinese Embassy start at 11:00 am.
• Protest and demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy from 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm.

Commemoration – Tibetan Cultural Event

• Venue – YMCA Indian Student Hostel, 41 Fitzroy Square W1T 6AQ
• Time – 01:30 pm – 04:00 pm
• Events – Speeches, Commemoration Songs, Momo and Tea on sale.

It is said that music has no boundaries. A person who enjoys his or her native, traditional music and art may also appreciates and adopts music from other cultures for entertainment. Those who turn to modern pop music, may prefer imported musical genre than their own native, traditional one. I suppose it’s quite natural for young people from all backgrounds.

Tibetans are no different from any other culture whether they are in China’s occupied Tibet or in exile. Dominant cultures are a big influence to the minorities. It is estimated that since the flight of the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959, some 140,000 Tibetan refugees have been living outside China’s occupied Tibet. Currently home to over 10,000 Tibetans, Nepal is frequently pressured by the Chinese government to ban Tibetan refugees engaging in any form of gatherings – political, cultural or human rights related. Nepal’s authorities have a fine balance to act – to please its northern communist neighbour whilst ensuring the Tibetan refugees enjoy the universal human rights in the landlocked country.

Today, I would like introduce a young Tibetan artist – a Thangka painter and musician, Kelsang Choedak, who was born and brought up in a refugee camp in Nepal. Kelsang received his full six-year training in the traditional Tibetan Thangka painting course from ‘Tsering Art School’ of Shechen Monastery in Boudhanath. This town in Kathmandu valley is a very well known pilgrimage site for Buddhists around the world.

Based in Kathmandu, Kelsang Kes (his stage name) spends his time between making music and managing his traditional Thangka painting studio, which he owns and also employs a number of artists. Kelsang Kes is a well sought after young Tibetan artist, whose latest release is ང་ཡི་སེམས་ཀྱི། or Ngayi Semkyi. His latest release on the Valentine’s Day, 14th February 2022 – a romantic Tibetan song is a treat for his fans.

In his social media posting on 12th February, Kelsang Kes wrote, “Hi guys, stay tuned for this Valentine’s song ‘ང་ཡི་སེམས་ཀྱི།/Ngayi semkyi’ by Pema Wangdi Lama creation, Featuring myself!”

Kelsang Kes also sings Nepalese, Bollywood and English songs beautifully. With no shortage of fans throughout the world Kelsang Kes has performed in many countries including in India, Bhutan and Nepal.

It’s Friday, enjoy Kelsang Kes music by clicking the Youtube links below!

Follow Kelsang Kes at: https://www.facebook.com/kelsang.kes

London, 8th February 2022

On the eve of the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games, UK-based Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Kong and Tigrayan communities hosted an Alternative Olympic Opening Ceremony in London (3rd February) to challenge Beijing’s #GenocideGames.

The Joint Statement from the coalition of rights groups and China’s persecuted communities in the UK, said, “Our demands for change and accountability are not just for Beijing. No, this is about every institution and individual that has put power and profit over human life – sponsors, broadcasters, and, of course, the IOC and Thomas Bach. To them, this is a game of money and influence and we should all be repulsed. We each have a responsibility to act when our fellow humans are enduring repression, torture and genocide. But these principles have been discarded, as soon as China was awarded the Winter Olympics. Those responsible wish we would stop holding them accountable. But for the past year we have refused them that luxury. And now, none can say that these Olympics have been pulled off with propagandist ease. It is thanks to our efforts that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be memorialised in history as the Genocide Games.”

Supportive parliamentarians from across British political parties, including Lord David Alton, Nusrat Ghani MP and Afzal Khan MP addressed the rally whilst Barbara Keely MP joined the crowd in show of their solidarity and support. Condemning the Chinese government for its continued gross violation of human rights and Uyghur genocide, the parliamentarians were unanimous in declaring the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as the “Genocide Games”.

Lord Alton explained about his visits to Tibet and Hong Kong. He exposed the Chinese government’s violation of human rights in Tibet and Hong Kong. He sternly criticised Uyghur genocide committed by the Chinese State and, acknowledged the wonderful work by the independent Uyghur Tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC. Lord Alton was addressing a crowd of several hundred people from the persecuted communities in the heart of London’s Piccadilly Circus. He said, “We won’t be silenced by anyone.” After his rally speech, Lord Alton tweeted: “Don’t let the moment pass. The true #Olympic spirit is about solidarity not indifference to tyranny #BoycottBeijing2022”

Nearly a year ago in March 2021, the Chinese government sanctioned a number of British parliamentarians who stood up for human rights, truth and freedom. They included Lord Alton and Nusrat Ghani MP, who have been strong critics of the Chinese government’s human rights abuses.

Nusrat Ghani MP, a former minister in the Conservative government, gave a very powerful speech to the crowd’s roar. She declared, “Tomorrow, we have the Beijing Winter Olympics. China will do its very best to paint the prettiest picture on what’s happening in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. But, we know the truth. We want the world to see the crackdown against Hong Kong. We want the world to see the persecution against the Tibetans. And, we want to see the ongoing wheel-time genocide of the Uyghur people. No to the Genocide Olympics.”

Ms Ghani further added, “The Chinese Communist Party is engaging in a most expensive PR campaign. But, let me tell you this. We will not let China off the hook. We will not forget Hong Kong. We will not forget Tibet. And, we will never forget, or forgive, the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people.”

Echoing the crowd’s chanting, Afzal Khan, Labour MP from Manchester, said that the message to China is clear and simple: “Free Tibet, Free East Turkistan and Free Hong Kong.” Lambasting the Beijing 2022 Olympics Games in the midst of genocide against the Uyghur Muslims, Mr Khan questioned, “How can you have those [games] when there is genocide taking place?” The Labour MP said that there is cross-party support for China’s persecuted communities and they would continue to press on the British government to take a tougher stance on China. After his address, Mr Khan tweeted, “Ahead of the #BeijingWinterOlympics, I joined colleagues & friends to remember those suffering under CCP rule”.

China’s persecuted communities condemned the decision by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to proceed with the event despite the crimes against humanity being carried out by the Chinese Communist regime.

Tsering Passang, former Chair of Tibetan Community in Britain, who is also the Founder and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, addressed the rally along with the parliamentarians and representatives from other China’s persecuted communities. Passang said, “The 2022 Olympics Games should not be held in today’s repressive China, where gross violation of human rights is taking place, on a daily basis. And certainly, the Olympics should not have been awarded to a regime which persecutes its own people, including the peaceful Falun Gong practitioners as well as those in China’s occupied Tibet and East Turkestan.”

Criticising the IOC’s decision to award the Olympics once again to the CCP regime in 2022, Passang questioned, “Why are the IOC and its Chiefs pandering to the Chinese regime? The question does raise whether the IOC and its Chiefs are getting in complicity with the Communist Chinese regime, in committing crimes against humanity including Uyghur genocide”. The Tibetan activist declared, “For the persecuted communities, whether we are Tibetans or Uyghurs, we recognise the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as the GenocidesGames of the 21st century.”

The Alternative Opening Ceremony in London was a part of the Global Day of Action in which groups from at least 20 countries voice their opposition to the Winter Games and urge the wider public to show solidarity with those living under CCP rule or affected by its foreign policy.

The remainder of the event saw colourful but determined activities including musical performances and poetry readings, a mock medal ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the lighting of an activist-made own Olympic torch.

Earlier a press release was issued by the organisers of the Alternative Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Tenzin Wangdu, Chair of Tibetan Community in Britain: “The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were preceded by brutal crackdowns in Tibet and the transformation of Tibet into a police state. In the past 14 years, things have only deteriorated. The IOC’s decision to award Beijing a second Olympics is a sick insult and an unforgivable error of judgement. It shows that the IOC has no concern for justice or human rights. We renew our call for everyone to boycott these bloodstained Winter Games. We call on everyone to turn their attention away from the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda event and to join us in our struggle for freedom.”

The Hongkonger community (Hong Kong Aid, Power to Hongkongers, Hong Kong Liberty, Hongkongers in Britain): “We Hongkongers are boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics because we do not believe the CCP, who has had a long history abusing human rights, conducting genocide, and destroying democracy, deserves to be “awarded” as an Olympic Games host. We further condemn the IOC for turning a blind eye to their horrible acts, betraying Olympism’s value to respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. We urge the international community to stand in solidarity with us. To boycott them by not watching it, by calling out CCP’s hypocrisy, and by spreading awareness about what is going on in Tibet, East Turkestan, Tigray and Hong Kong.”

The alternative opening ceremony is the culmination of a long-running campaign against the decision by the IOC to award Beijing a second Olympic event, despite a dramatic surge in human rights abuses by the Chinese government since the 2008 Summer Olympics. This includes:

• The detention of at least two million Uyghur, Kazakh, and Uzbek Muslims in “re-education camps”, where they are forced to endure systematic torture, rape, and political re-education.
• The finding that the CCP has separated at least 80% of Tibetan children from their parents and into colonial boarding schools, where they face intense political indoctrination.
• Draconian security measures in Hong Kong, including the National Security Bill, which have effectively criminalised protest and removed what civil liberties existed in Hong Kong.
• Attacks on the culture and language of Southern Mongolians.
• The scale of the human rights abuses perpetrated by Beijing, including the recognition by numerous governments that it is committing genocide against the Uyghur people, has led to the 2022 Winter Games being widely known as the “Genocide Games”.

Rahima Mahmut, UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide (SUG): “We are holding an alternative opening ceremony to remind the world – our leaders, corporations, the International Olympics Committee, and all of those watching – that a genocide is being perpetrated beyond the bounds of the Olympic Park. Whilst fireworks are set off for opening celebrations, millions of my fellow Uyghurs are tortured and violated in concentration camps. While the world watches media coverage of ski slaloms, my Uyghur brothers and sisters are subject to constant surveillance. Whilst athletes are presented with medals, Uyghur mothers mourn for children that have been stolen from them and indoctrinated in state-orphanages. This will prove to be an indelible moment of shame for everyone that remained complicit, particularly the IOC and Thomas Bach.”

The alternative opening ceremony and wider day of action are also being organised and attended by people affected by the CCP’s increasingly confrontational foreign policy. This includes the Tigray Youth Network, who oppose the Ethiopian government’s ongoing siege of Tigray, which has killed around 150 thousand people, and displaced a further 2.2. million Tigrayans, policies that have received material and diplomatic support from the Chinese government.

Rowena from the Tigray Youth Network: “Tigray Youth Network is boycotting the Winter Games because of China’s involvement in arming the Federal government of Ethiopia to continue the genocidal war on Tigray;  China voted against the UN Human Rights Council motion to set up a three-member investigate team citing the war is an internal matter and objected a statement by the U.N. Security Council calling for an end to the violence in Tigray and to spotlight the millions in need of humanitarian assistance.”

Date: Thursday 3 February 2022 Time: 18:20-20:30  Where: Piccadilly Circus, London  What: Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers and Tigrayans unite to protest the IOC’s complicity in the CCP’s crimes against humanity on the eve of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

In advance of the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers and Tigrayans will host an alternative opening ceremony in central London. Joined by campaign groups and supportive MPs, they will condemn the decision by the International Olympic Committee to proceed with the event despite the crimes against humanity being carried out by the Chinese Communist Party.

The alternative opening ceremony will take place hours before the official opening ceremony for the Winter Games on 4 February in Beijing. It will be part of a Global Day of Action in which groups from at least 20 countries will voice their opposition to the Winter Games and urge the wider public to show solidarity with those living under CCP rule or affected by its foreign policy.

Tenzin Wangdu, Chair of Tibetan Community in Britain said:

“The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were preceded by brutal crackdowns in Tibet and the transformation of Tibet into a police state. In the past 14 years, things have only deteriorated. The IOC’s decision to award Beijing a second Olympics is a sick insult and an unforgivable error of judgement. It shows that the IOC has no concern for justice or human rights. We renew our call for everyone to boycott these bloodstained Winter Games. We call on everyone to turn their attention away from the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda event and to join us in our struggle for freedom.”

The alternative opening ceremony will start at 18:20 on Thursday 3 February, with an opening statement from representatives from each community followed by speeches from Afzal Khan, Lord Alton and Nus Ghani, who have been supportive of the No Beijing 2022 campaign.

The remainder of the event will consist of colourful but determined activities including musical performances and poetry readings, a mock medal ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the lighting of our own Olympic torch.

The Hongkonger community said (Hong Kong Aid, Power to Hongkongers, Hong Kong Liberty, Hongkongers in Britain): 

“We Hongkongers are boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics because we do not believe the CCP, who has had a long history abusing human rights, conducting genocide, and destroying democracy, deserves to be “awarded” as an Olympic Games host. We further condemn the IOC for turning a blind eye to their horrible acts, betraying Olympism’s value to respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. We urge the international community to stand in solidarity with us. To boycott them by not watching it, by calling out CCP’s hypocrisy, and by spreading awareness about what is going on in Tibet, East Turkestan, Tigray and Hong Kong.”

The alternative opening ceremony is the culmination of a long-running campaign against the decision by the IOC to award Beijing a second Olympic event, despite a dramatic surge in human rights abuses by the Chinese government since the 2008 Summer Olympics. This includes:

• The detention of at least two  million Uyghur, Kazakh, and Uzbek Muslims in “re-education camps”, where they are forced to endure systematic torture, rape, and political re-education.
• The finding that the CCP has separated at least 80% of Tibetan children from their parents and into colonial boarding schools, where they face intense political indoctrination.
•  Draconian security measures in Hong Kong, including the National Security Bill, which have effectively criminalised protest and removed what civil liberties existed in Hong Kong.
• Attacks on the culture and language of Southern Mongolians.

The scale of the human rights abuses perpetrated by Beijing, including the recognition by numerous governments that it is committing genocide against the Uyghur people, has led to the 2022 Winter Games being widely known as the “Genocide Games”.

Rahima Mahmut, UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide (SUG), said:

“We are holding an alternative opening ceremony to remind the world – our leaders, corporations, the International Olympics Committee, and all of those watching – that a genocide is being perpetrated beyond the bounds of the Olympic Park. Whilst fireworks are set off for opening celebrations, millions of my fellow Uyghurs are tortured and violated in concentration camps. While the world watches media coverage of ski slaloms, my Uyghur brothers and sisters are subject to constant surveillance. Whilst athletes are presented with medals, Uyghur mothers mourn for children that have been stolen from them and indoctrinated in state-orphanages. This will prove to be an indelible moment of shame for everyone that remained complicit, particularly the IOC and Thomas Bach.”

The alternative opening ceremony and wider day of action are also being organised and attended by people affected by the CCP’s increasingly confrontational foreign policy. This includes the Tigray Youth Network, who oppose the Ethiopian government’s ongoing siege of Tigray, which has killed around 150 thousand people, and displaced a further 2.2. million Tigrayans, policies that have received material and diplomatic support from the Chinese government.

Rowena from the Tigray Youth Network said:

“Tigray Youth Network is boycotting the Winter Games because of China’s involvement in arming the Federal government of Ethiopia to continue the genocidal war on Tigray;  China voted against the UN Human Rights Council motion to set up a three-member investigate team citing the war is an internal matter and objected a statement by the U.N. Security Council calling for an end to the violence in Tigray and to spotlight the millions in need of humanitarian assistance.”

Organisers include:

Free Tibet

Stop Uyghur Genocide

Tibetan Community UK

Uyghur Community UK

Hong Kong Aid

Tigray Youth Network

Atlas Movement

Yet Again UK

World Uyghur Congress

Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities

For media inquiries, please contact: 

John Jones, Free Tibet, UK | +44 (0)777 068 1938 | john@freetibet.org 

Isabela Rodrigues, Stop Uyghur Genocide, UK | +44 (0)797 0414 6522 | I.Rodrigues@uyghurcongress.org

(By Tsering Passang, London)

Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker and former political prisoner, is currently travelling from Riga, capital of Latvia, to Vilnius in Lithuania, on a bus-ride. He is accompanied by Wangpo Tethong, a former Tibetan MP and the new Executive Director of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) Europe.

Starting on 17th November 2021 from France, Dhondup Wangchen will soon end his three-month Europe Tour for Tibet on 10th February 2022 in Switzerland. Wangchen has been meeting and interacting with so many parliamentarians, government officials, journalists, media houses as well as individuals during his campaign tour to advocate for the Tibetan people as well as other persecuted communities in China despite the rising COVID situations across Europe.

Wangchen’s Baltic trip is the last leg of his planned Europe Tour, ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games. As his Europe Tour is soon coming to an end, Wangchen calls for action: “Wear Tibetan “Rangzen Bracelets” during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games. The former Tibetan political prisoner is very clear in his message – “Don’t forget us Tibetans! Don’t forget Tibet!” 

Tibetans and rights groups label the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games as the #GenocideGames.

When Wangchen wraps up the 15-countries Europe Tour next month, organisers in Switzerland will screen his documentary ‘Leaving Fear Behind’ once again.

Dhondup Wangchen was arrested and imprisoned by the Chinese authorities for making his documentary film in 2008. In his documentary, Wangchen was simply seeking the views of Tibetans in China’s occupied Tibet about their love for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and what the 2008 Beijing Olympics meant for them. 

After serving over 6 years in Chinese prisons and further house arrest, Dhondup Wangchen escaped into exile in December 2017. He was granted political asylum in the US where he reunited with his family.

Wangpo Tethong, who is accompanying Dhondup Wangchen to the Baltics States, says that the former Tibetan political prisoner “is a tireless campaigner who inspires the folks around him.” Tethong further adds that Wangchen is “an authentic and talented storyteller” who “connects easily with all people” he comes across. 

Noting the change of the international community’s attitude towards China, Tethong said, “Media and governments are ready to listen”. According to the former Tibetan MP, some countries in Europe announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games after Dhondup Wangchen’s visit to the European countries. He said that the former Tibetan political prisoner’s “story may have well contributed to this success”.

At least 15 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Scotland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States have announced the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games.

Diplomatic boycott by these leading democracies is great news for Tibetans and rights groups around the world who have been campaigning for the boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games. It is already a success even before the #GenocidesGames started. Tibetans and rights groups worldwide are staging further protests on 3rd February, as part of the Global Day of Action, to highlight the Chinese regime’s ongoing violations of human rights and Uyghur genocide.

Initiated by Switzerland-based Filming for Tibet, Dhondup Wangchen’s Europe Tour was coordinated by the International Tibet Network. His tour received amazing support from many Tibetan communities in Europe and campaigning groups including, the ICT Europe, Tibetan Youth Association in Europe and Students for a Free Tibet.

(All photos taken from Wangpo Tethong’s Facebook.)

Dhondup Wangchen’s Appeal: “The promises made by China for the 2008 Olympics have all been broken and have taken many innocent lives. People had to go through all sorts of hardships, it is our responsibility to make sure that such mistakes aren’t repeated. It’s crystal clear that people under repressive Communist Chinese rule don’t even have the right to express their views. Doing so might cost their lives. I had to face much danger to reach safety and to be able to speak out. So, my dear friends, I request each one of you to support me and make an oath. Thank you.”

Useful links:

www.myolympicoath.org

www.nobeijing2022.org

www.tibetnetwork.org

www.savetibet.nl

 www.tibetanyouth.org

www.tibet.net

Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities

Albert Leroy Shelton (1875-1922) was an American doctor and a Protestant missionary in Batang, Kham region of eastern Tibet, from 1903 until 1922.

In 1908, The Sheltons and another missionary family, the Ogdens, established the first Christian mission in Batang, a town of 350 Tibetan families. Shelton took many photographs of Tibetans in Kham and collected artifacts which he later sold to Newark Museum, New Jersey.

Shelton’s objective was to establish missions deeper into Tibet and ultimately to travel to Lhasa. On February 16, 1922, en route to Markam, he was ambushed by brigands a few miles outside Batang. He died of a gunshot wound the next day and was buried in Batang. Shelton wrote about his experiences in Tibet in an article “Life among the People of Eastern Tibet,” which was published in National Geographic Magazine in 1921 and the same year, he authored a book, ‘Pioneering in Tibet’. Shelton’s eldest daughter, Dorris Evangeline Shelton Still (1904-1997) also wrote about growing up in Tibet in a book, ‘Sue in Tibet’. It was a rare book in its time, in that the main character and heroine of the adventures was a girl.

After Tibet’s annexation in 1959, Dorris Evangeline Shelton still continued her relationship with Tibet and supported Tibetan cause and also had the privilege of meeting His Holiness the 4th Dalai Lama.

These photographs were taken by Dr. Shelton during his time in Kham, Tibet

Photo: The Tibet Museum

sourced via Tibet.net’s Facebook posting