Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM)

Nomads had filed complaints with the Chinese government to no avail

By Sangyal Kunchok for RFA Tibetan
2023.06.27

The Chinese government has denied compensation for residents, including Tibetan nomads, affected by the construction of the world’s largest hydro-solar plant, residents living near the plant told Radio Free Asia.

Chinese state media reported Monday that the Kela mega hydro-photovoltaic complementary power station began full operation Sunday. The sprawling solar plant, which covers 16 million square meters, or more than 2,000 soccer fields, has a hydropower component that helps stabilize energy supply due to shifting weather conditions.

It is capable of generating 2 billion kilowatt-hours each year, and can fully charge 15,000 electric vehicles with a range of 550 kilometers (340 miles) in just one hour.

But nomadic Tibetans who once grazed their cattle in the area now covered by a sea of solar panels were forced away and offered nothing in return, a Tibetan resident living near Kela told RFA’s Tibetan Service.

“The Chinese government has begun operating the largest solar power station along with the hydropower dams in Nyakchu county in Kardze [in Chinese, Ganzi] beginning June 24,” the resident said, referring to a separate hydropower project.

“In order to build and facilitate these power plants, the Chinese government has displaced the local Tibetans in these regions in a land-grab and has not given any compensation yet.”

The resident said that the displaced Tibetans were never informed before the project started.

“Instead, police were stationed near these power plants and locals were not permitted near them,” the person said. “Though the authorities told the local Tibetans that these power plants would be beneficial to livestock and their pastures, but now the Tibetan nomads are being displaced and pushed away to other places.”

The nomads had filed complaints with the Chinese government to no avail, another Tibetan resident said.

“In April this year, the local Tibetans pleaded with the Chinese authorities to stop these projects,” the second person said. “However it is very clear that no opposition to displacement and resettlement is possible and that local Tibetans have no choice but to comply with the government’s orders.” 

The power plants pose a serious threat to Tibet’s fragile environment, Lobsang Yangtso, an environmental researcher at the San Francisco-based Tibet International Network.

“China’s policies and the expansion of infrastructure in Tibet are the cause of earthquakes, floods and various types of irreversible damage to the ecosystem,” she said.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

Tsering Passang, Human Rights Defender, is the Founder and Chair of Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities

Twenty-four hours ago, my good Tibetan friend called and told me about an event happening in Dover this weekend. He said that I could speak about Tibet and human rights issues at the event. He then gave me the organiser’s contact number. I sent a Whatsapp message to the organiser: “Pls send more details about your event and what is that you require… Tsering from London”. 

Cherrie’s reply came within minutes. “Hello! We have a Refugee Week concert/event on Saturday 7pm in Dover. It will be very good if you could come and give a talk about Tibet, refugees and how people can help. A song or two will be very very good too.” 

I am well aware of refugees coming by boat into the UK via Dover Port and the recent high profile visits by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary there as part of the border control inspection that became big news.

I responded to Cherrie: “Singing is not my talent but I have played the bamboo flute. Haven’t played for over a decade now…”[without making any promise] I introduced myself – “I’m Tsering Passang, founder and chair of Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities – www.Tsamtruk.com. I was born and grew up in a Tibetan refugee camp in Nepal.”

Her next reply was instant: “oh WOW you will be perfect for the event! If you could tell us your story on this, that will be so powerful. Absolutely perfect to mark Refugee Week.” She further added, “The main message is that we in the UK should welcome refugees, they are a valuable part of our UK society and we should all do what we can to help refugees thrive here in the UK. Also highlight injustices and raise awareness in the international community.”

I know the life of refugees because I was born in a refugee camp and the struggle I endured! As a child, I moved from one camp to another, for food, shelter and education. I had lined up for food supplies with other school children in front of a local distribution depot, donated through the UN Food Programme.

I came to the UK only because a charity and college gave me an opportunity to study. After my graduation, I started giving back to society and haven’t stopped ever since. I believe it is my responsibility to help each other at the time of need. My father became a refugee only after Communist China invaded Tibet and he fled to the neighbouring country, Nepal. Today, nearly a million Tibetan children, from the age of 4 to 18, are forcefully being admitted in colonial-style residential schools by the Chinese authorities with a core objective to annihilate Tibetan identity, language, culture and history.

In the next few days, I will be practising my flute and preparing my speech for the Dover event. I am expected to be on stage just after 7pm on Saturday, 24th June at St. Mary’s Church, Cannon Street, Dover, Kent CT16 1By. In addition to the UK artists, singers and musicians from Iraq and Cameroon will be featured.

Ooberfuse is a London-based band that is a critically acclaimed favourite on the Indie music scene. The band will give a free concert in Dover to celebrate Refugee Week on 24th June 2023 at 7 pm in Dover.

Ooberfuse was started by songwriter-vocalist Cherrie Anderson and multi-instrumentalist-producer Hal St John, who have now brought together a number of talented and innovative refugee musicians for this event to celebrate diverse contributions to the Artistic scene in Britain. Individual performers originate from countries such as Syria, Ukraine and Iraq, including the Kurdish exile, Newroz Oremari.

The band has played at many venues worldwide, both large – such as Wembley – and small. Their music has been described as ethereal, East-meets-West electronic pop with heartfelt vocals, often inspired by observations of injustice in today’s world.

Their latest release is ‘Show Me Love’, inspired by the teachings of Pope Francis on welcoming the stranger. Scenes in the accompanying video were filmed in Dover. 

The singers have decided to return to Dover, which features so strongly in many of today’s refugee tales.

From Refugee Council’s website:

Refugee

The definition of a refugee according to The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is:

“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”

In the UK, a person becomes a refugee when government agrees that an individual who has applied for asylum meets the definition in the Refugee Convention they will ‘recognise’ that person as a refugee and issue them with refugee status documentation. Usually refugees in the UK are given five years’ leave to remain as a refugee. They must then must apply for further leave, although their status as a refugee is not limited to five years. 

Refugees make a huge contribution to the UK

• About 1,200 medically qualified refugees are recorded on the British Medical Association’s database. It is estimated that it costs around £25,000 to support a refugee doctor to practise in the UK. Training a new doctor is estimated to cost between £200,000 and £250,000

• Children in the UK asylum system contribute very positively to schools across the country. This in turn enables more successful integration of families into local communities

From Refugee Week‘s website: Refugee Week 19-25 June 2023

Famous or not, refugees bring much more than their belongings with them to their new countries.

Here’s a list of public figures you might not know were refugees (or children of refugees).

If you know of someone who should be included in this list, get in touch.

Do also take a look at Traces Project, a timeline of artistic cultural contributions by people who have found sanctuary in the UK, produced by Counterpoints Arts and UNHCR.

Advertising

Lord Maurice Saatchi and Charles Saatchi – Founders of Saatchi and Saatchi advertising agency. Their father was an Iraqi Jewish refugee.

Architecture

Eva Jircicna – Designed the Faith Zone in the Millennium Dome. Refugee from Czechoslovakia.

Daniel Marot – Architect, furniture designer and engraver who designed Hampton Court Palace. Huguenot refugee.

Peter Moro – Born in Germany and moved to London, becoming one of the UK’s most prominent post-war architects. Designed the Royal Festival Hall and the Nottingham Playhouse.

Richard Rogers – Designer of the Centre Pompidou and the Millennium Dome. His mother was a refugee from Trieste.

Art

Frank Auerbach– German-born British painter, considered one of the world’s greatest living artists.

Marc Chagall – Russian-French artist of Belarusian Jewish origin.

Jacob Epstein – British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. Son of Polish-Jewish refugees.

Peter Carl Fabergé – Russian jeweller, fled Russia via Finland, Germany to Switzerland.

Lucien Freud – Well-known British painter, German-Jewish refugee.

Mona Hatoum – Well-known British painter, Palestinian-Lebanese refugee.

Anish Kapoor – Won the 1991 Turner Prize. His parents were refugees who fled Iraq.

Camille Pissarro – Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter, Danish-French-Jewish refugee.

Sir John Tenniel – Cartoonist and book illustrator, descended from Huguenot refugees.

Alfred Wolmark – Painter, Polish-Jewish refugee.

Business

Sir Montague Burton – Founded Burton retail, refugee from Lithuania.

Sir John Houblon – First Governor of the Bank of England, grandson of refugees.

Manubhai Madhvani – Expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin.

Michael Marks – One of the founders of Marks and Spencer, Russian refugee.

Sieng van Trang – Founder of the educational website http://www.iLearn.to, Vietnamese refugee.

George Weidenfeld – Publisher, Jewish refugee who fled the Nazis.

Fashion and Design

Sir Alec Issigonis – Designer of the Mini car, refugee.

Tanya Sarne – Fashion designer and creator of the Ghost label, father was a Russian refugee.

Lewis de Teissier – Founder of Tessier’s jewellers, and the grandson of refugee Jaqcues de Teissier.

Alek Wek – Supermodel, fled Sudan with her family.

Manufacturing

Lakshmibhai Pathak – Founder of Patak’s, was a Kenyan refugee.

Rashmi Thakrar – Founder of Tilda Rice, Ugandan refugee.

Music and Dance

Bob Marley – Famous musician, fled Jamaica to Miami after being shot during political violence.

Fritzi Massary – Austrian-Jewish operetta singer, refugee.

Norbert Brainin – Austrian-Jewish violinist, refugee.

Gloria Estefan – Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman, father was a Cuban refugee.

Justine Frischmann – Lead singer of Elastica, father was a Hungarian refugee.

Wyclef Jean – Musician, former member of Fugees, Haitian refugee

K’Naan – Hip-hop artist, refugee from Somalia now living in Toronto, Canada.

M.I.A. – English-born singer/ hip-hop artist, part of a Tamil Sri Lankan refugee family.

Mika – Famous singer, fled from Lebanon.

Freddie Mercury – Lead singer of the band Queen, fled to England from Zanzibar in 1964.

Olivia Newton-John – Singer and actress, granddaughter of refugee Max Born.

Rita Ora – Singer, came to the UK as a refugee from Kosovo as baby.

Regina Spektor – Singer, songwriter and pianist. Originally fled Soviet Russia at the age of nine, now based in New York.

Shingai Shoniwa – Lead singer of the Noisettes. British-born daughter of Zimbabwean refugees.

Claude-Michel Schonberg – Composer whose works include Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, son of refugees.

Arnold Schoenberg – Austrian Composer, one of the most important composers in history, fled Europe due to increasing Nazi terror.

Gene Simmons – Member of Kiss, mother was a Holocaust survivor.

Sir Georg Solti – Conductor, refugee.

Robert Stolz – Austrian composer/conductor, refugee.

Oscar Straus – Austrian-Jewish composer, refugee.

Richard Tauber – Austrian-Jewish singer, composer and refugee.

Georg Ritter von Trapp – Father of the Trapp family, whose story inspired The Sound of Music after fleeing Nazi occupied Austria.

Politics

Madeleine Albright – Former U. S. Secretary of State, refugee From Prague.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali – Dutch politician, fled from Somalia.

Sitting Bull – Sioux chief, left America for Canada.

Lord Alf Dubs – Politician, refugee from Prague.

Margaret Hodge – Former British MP and Minister for Children, parents were refugees from Germany.

Michaëlle Jean – A refugee from Haiti- Governor-General of Canada from 2005 to 2010.

Henry Kissinger – American diplomat and political scientist, former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, fled from Germany to USA in 1938.

Vladimir Lenin – Soviet leader, refugee who fled to Switzerland.

Friedrick Lessner – Founder member of the Independent Labour Party.

Karl Marx – Political theorist, German refugee.

David Miliband – British MP, son of a Belgian Jewish refugee.

Ed Miliband – Former leader of the Labour Party, son of a Belgian Jewish refugee.

Leon Trotsky – Marxist theorist.

Psychology and Philosophy

Michael Balint – Hungarian Jew, psychoanalyst, fled from Nazis.

Sigmund Freud – Austrian Jew, founded psychoanalysis, fled from Nazis in Austria.

Anna Freud – Psychoanalyst, daughter of Sigmund, fled with him.

Ernest Gellner – Czech-Jewish philosopher, fled from the Nazis.

Stephan Korner – Czech-Jewish philosopher, fled from the Nazis.

Claude Lévi-Strauss – French-Jewish philosopher and anthropologist, French refugee.

Karl Popper – Austrian-Jewish philosopher, fled from Nazis to New Zealand.

Religion

Isaac Abravanel – Rabbi and politician, fled from Portugal to Spain.

Rabbi Leo Baeck – Reform Rabbi, holocaust survivor.

Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits – Chief rabbi of Great Britain, fled from the Nazis to Britain.

Jesus – His family fled from the holy land because of King Herod.

Current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso – refugee, he fled Tibet when China invaded.

Rabbi Hugo Gryn – Reform rabbi and holocaust survivor.

Paul Kahle – Christian Hebraist, fled from the Nazis to Britain.

Mullah Krekar – Iraqi Kurdish mullah, lives in Norway.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) – Fled from Mecca to Medina in 622.

Science

Gustav Victor Rudolf Born – pharmacologist, German-Jewish refugee.

Max Born – Winner of Nobel prize for physics, German-Jewish refugee.

Edith Bulbring – Pharmacologist, German-Jewish refugee.

Carl Djerassi – The inventor of the first contraceptive pill, Austrian refugee.

John Dollond – Inventor of the achromatic lens, founder of Dollond and Aitchison, descended from Huguenot refugees.

Albert Einstein – One of the world’s most famous scientists, German-Jewish refugee.

Alexander Grothendieck – Mathematician, German-Jewish refugee.

Robert Fano – Physicist, Italian-Jewish refugee.

Ugo Fano – Physicist, Italian-Jewish refugee.

Bernard Katz – Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist, German-Jewish refugee.

Sir Hans Krebs – Nobel Prize-winning scientist, German-Jewish refugee.

Sir John Krebs – Zoologist, son of Sir Hans Krebs.

Sir Harold Kroto – Nobel-winning chemist, son of German-Jewish refugees.

Liviu Librescu – Physicist, fled from Romania to Israel.

Lord (Claus) Moser – British professor of statistics and head of the Government Statistical Service, Austrian-Jewish refugee.

Sport

Alexander Alekhine – Chess World Champion, moved from Communist Russia to France.

Ossip Bernstein – Chess grandmaster, escaped from Communist Ukraine to France.

Efim Bogoljubow – Chess grandmaster, moved from the Soviet Union to Germany.

Fedor Bohatirchuk – Chess grandmaster, moved from Ukraine to Canada.

Jelena Dokic – Tennis player, Serbian refugee.

Mebrahtom Keflezighi – Olympic marathon silver medallist, Eritrean refugee to US

Lomana LuaLua – Football player who has played for Colchester United, Newcastle United and Portsmouth, was a refugee.

Mario Stanic – Former footballer with Chelsea. He used to play for Sarajevo F.C. who were targeted during the Bosnian War.

Christopher Wreh – Former Arsenal footballer, Liberian refugee.

TV and Film

Jackie Chan – Fled to the US from Hong Kong after being threatened with death by the Triads.

Zohra Daoud – Former Afghani actress and model, now settled in Malibu, California.

Marlene Dietrich – Actress and refugee from Nazi Germany.

Omid Djalili – Comedian and actor, he and his family are Iranian refugees.

Ben Elton – Comedian, grandson of a Czechoslovakian refugee.

Baron Lew Grade – Television mogul and uncle of Michael Grade, was a Russian refugee.

Fritz Lang – Film director, and a half-Jewish refugee.

Jerry Springer – Talk show host, parents were German refugees.

Rachel Weisz – Actress, both parents are Jewish refugees.

Billy Wilder – Film director and writer, Jewish refugee.

Writing and Publishing

Reinaldo Arenas – Cuban novelist, became a refugee in the USA after years of persecution for his sexuality and political ideas. His autobiography, Before Night Falls, was on the New York Times list of the ten best books of the year 1993 and was made into a film in 2000.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown – Journalist and author, Ugandan refugee.

Isabel Allende – Author of The House of Spirits, Chilean refugee who fled after receiving death threats following the overthrow of her father’s cousin, Salvador Allende.

Hannah Arendt – one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century. Born into a German-Jewish family, she was forced to leave Germany in 1933.

Elias Canetti – Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981, Bulgarian refugee.

Joseph Conrad – Author of Heart of Darkness, refugee.

Anne Frank – German-born diarist, as a child she fled from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands.

Karen Gershon – A writer and poet, as a child she fled from Nazi Germany to Great Britain.

Michael Hamburger – A noted British Translator and Poet, as a child he fled from Nazi Germany to London.

Lord Paul Hamlyn CBE – The founder of Octopus Publishing Group, Jewish refugee from Germany.

Victor Hugo – Author of Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, due to his political beliefs, he was forced to flee France several times.

Ismail Kadare – A winner of the Booker prize who fled Albania in 1990 for political reasons.

Shaparak “Shappi” Khorsandi – A British comedian and author of Iranian origin. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family left Iran when she was a child following the Islamic Revolution.

Marina Lewycka– Author whose first book, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, sold over a million copies worldwide.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala – Novelist and film screenwriter, German-Jewish refugee.

Judith Kerr – Children’s writer, German-Jewish refugee.

Thomas Mann – Winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature, moved from Germany to Switzerland and from there to the US.

Rigoberta Menchú – An author and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, Guatemalan refugee.

Vladimir Nabokov – Russian author and lepidopterist, escaped to Europe from the Russian Civil War and then to the US from the advance of Nazi Germany.

Ursula Owen – Editor of Index on Censorship, was a German refugee as a baby.

John O’Donnell-Rosales – Cuban author, poet and journalist, escaped from Cuba with the remnants of his family after years of persecution for their political and religious views.

Felix Salten – Author of Bambi, Hungarian-born Jewish refugee from Nazis.

Loung Ung – A survivor of the Killing Fields of Cambodia, activist and author of the books First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child.

See our Literature section for a comprehensive list of refugee authors

Miscellaneous

Ossip Bernstein – Chess player, fled from Russia to France.

Alina Fernandez – Daughter of Fidel Castro, fled Cuba to Spain , now lives in the United States. Former model, now hosts a talkshow.

Otto Kahn-Freund – Lawyer, German Jew who fled Nazi Germany to the UK.

Dalai Lama – His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is the spiritual leader of Tibet. In 1959, following the Brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, he was forced to escape into exile and has since been living in Dharamsala, northern India.

Christoph Meili – Whistleblower, fled from Switzerland to the US because an arrest warrant was issued against him.

Merhan Karimi Nasseri – An Iranian refugee who lived in the departure lounge of Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006. Subject of the Steven Spielburg film ‘The Terminal’.

Useful links:

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Beijing on 18th June. This is his first visit as Secretary of State, and the first by a US Secretary of State since 2018.

Spearheaded by Human Rights Watch, a Joint Letter from 42 rights groups worldwide, urged the top US diplomat to put human rights concerns at the top of the agenda during his forthcoming visit to China.

Speaking to Radio Free Asia – Tibetan programme, Tsering Passang, founder and chair of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, a co-signatory, said: “The Biden Administration has taken a tough stance on human rights violations worldwide and it is vital that Secretary Antony Blinken carry that message to Beijing too. I remain hopeful that Secretary Blinken will raise the human rights abuses by China with his counterparts.”

Joint Letter to US Secretary of State on His Visit to China

14th June 2023

Dear Secretary Blinken,

We write on behalf of 42 nongovernmental organizations that report on and advocate for human rights in China, Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang regarding your forthcoming trip to Beijing starting on June 18. 

At a time when the Chinese government is committing widespread and grave human rights violations both inside and outside China, it is crucial for you to use the opportunity of your visit to inform your counterparts that the United States intends to work alongside other concerned governments to seek accountability for Chinese government abuses.   

In recent months, Chinese authorities have targeted many communities for repression, including ordinary citizens who participated in peaceful protests against draconian “zero-Covid” policies and Hui Muslims who try to practice their religion. Authorities sentenced prominent human rights lawyers and activists Xu Zhiyong to 14 years in prison and Ding Jiaxi to 12 years. The human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his partner, Xu Yan, were detained en route to meeting with European Union officials in Beijing.  Hong Kong police detained over 20 people for commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre after banning the annual Victoria Park candlelight vigil.

In Tibetan and Uyghur regions, the authorities harshly punish people who communicate with those abroad to further prevent the outside world from learning about these highly repressive and surveilled regions. Instances of Chinese government transnational repression continue to occur around the world.

Decades of human rights diplomacy by foreign governments have failed to deter Chinese authorities, particularly President Xi Jinping, from deepening repression. The US State Department has characterized Chinese government policies in the Uyghur region as genocide and crimes against humanity. We appreciate US efforts to prosecute cases of transnational repression perpetrated by Chinese state actors, yet the existence of these cases reflect Beijing’s determination to silence peaceful criticism globally. 

In this context we believe the standard approach of merely “raising” human rights issues, mostly behind closed doors, is unlikely to bring about positive change.  We therefore urge you to deliver different messages and to deliver them in different ways.

We ask you to:

• Inform your Chinese counterparts of the intent of the United States to join with a diverse coalition of states to support international investigations into atrocity crimes in Xinjiang. In October 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council fell two votes short of agreeing to a debate on the report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stating that alleged international crimes against Uyghurs and others “may constitute … crimes against humanity.” We are confident that determined international initiatives can prevail to challenge the Chinese government’s impunity and its efforts to undermine the international human rights system.
• Call on the Chinese authorities to immediately release all human rights defenders and end persecution of their families, including the economist and Sakharov Prize laureate Ilham Tohti, the human rights activists Zhang Zhan, Xu Zhiyong, Guo Feixiong, and Gao Zhisheng, the Tibetan monk and religious philosopher Go Sherab Gyatso, the Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, and democracy activists Joshua Wong and Chow Hang-tung. Be clear publicly after your visit about which cases you identified so that the families and supporters of people know of your concern and effort. We believe that such public identification can bring better treatment for those in detention.
• Urge the Chinese authorities to account for and release family members of US citizens or legal permanent residents who are wrongfully detained or are feared to have been forcibly disappeared in China. After the trip, meet with family members in the US to brief them on Chinese authorities’ responses.
• Urge your counterparts to follow the recommendations of UN experts and bodies to immediately abolish the coercive boarding school system imposed on Tibetan children.
• If circumstances allow, meet with members of the Tiananmen Mothers.  If this is not possible, privately and publicly communicate the continued commitment of the US to accountability for the killings of untold numbers of peaceful protesters and bystanders in June 1989.
• Inform your counterparts that the US authorities will vigorously investigate and appropriately prosecute acts of repression by Chinese officials and their proxies in the US that violate US and state law, including harassing, intimidating, and carrying out surveillance of critics of the Chinese government, and that the US government will work with allies to do the same in their countries.
• Demonstrate support for press freedom by having a media briefing while still in China, and do the same after you leave so that journalists barred from China and Hong Kong are able to participate.

We realize that your discussions in Beijing will concern a range of critical US-China issues, from the Taiwan Strait to the armed conflict in Ukraine.  We understand the US interest in establishing “guardrails” in this relationship and reaching basic agreement on global crises such as climate change.  But as you no doubt recognize, making progress on these pressing concerns may prove elusive so long as Beijing can continue to flout international human rights norms at home and abroad with impunity.

We hope you will put—and keep—the victims of Beijing’s repression and their families at the core of your approach.

Sincerely,

Young children from London-based Tibetan Community are gearing up for their Annual School Show, on Saturday 17th June from 2pm, at the Asian Community Centre (Plumstead), White Hart Road, London SE18 1DG.

The Tibetan children will be exhibiting what they had learned during the year in a two-hour public programme, which starts at 3pm. The programme will be conducted by the children themselves, after a brief introduction by a senior teacher. 

Children from four classes – Lhasa, Norbulingka, Potala and Yumbu Lhakhang, will give presentations on Tibetan history, language, grammar, songs, music and dances.

Special invited guests include the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his colleagues from the Office of Tibet and Tibet House Trust, as well as the Chairman of the Tibetan Community UK.

This Free Entry event is open to anyone and it is expected to attract a large number of people, especially those who love Tibetan culture and music. The venue is open to the public from 2pm onward with various fun games for kids and guests. (Please do bring some change!)

Delicious Tibetan dinner (£5 per head), freshly cooked by the parents, is expected to be served around 6.30pm, after the cultural show. Drinks, ice creams etc. can be purchased at a nominal price at the counter. There will be raffle draw with amazing prizes too!

Organisers of this year’s event have assured that there will be plenty of time for those who love Gorshey, the popular Tibetan circle dance, after the dinner! The event finishes at 11pm.

It is going to be a memorable day for everyone. So, come and have fun with your friends and family at the Asian Community Centre! 

About the London School of Tibetan Language & Culture (LSTLC)

The school has history dating back to the early 1990s, when a small number of Tibetan children initially attended Tibetan language class at the Tibet House, when Kasur Kesang Takla was the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet, London. Late Gan Tsering Dhundup Gonkatsang was the first Tibetan Language Teacher who taught the Tibetan children for many years. 

As the small London-based Tibetan Community grew over the past decade, the weekend Tibetan language class had to adapt to the changing situation. After a year-long rigorous efforts made by all concerned stakeholders to bring the small Tibetan Community together to a more centrally located Tibetan learning centre, the London School of Tibetan Language and Culture was formally inaugurated, on Sunday 11th September 2016, at John F Kennedy Special School in Stratford, east London. Currently, there are four teachers and 47 children who attend the LSTLC, which is now based at School 21. The children come from the Greater London region and neighourbouring counties, including Hertfordshire and Surrey. The school accepts admission from Year 1 students or 6 years-old and above.

Volunteer teachers from Tibetan Community UK facilitate the Teaching & Learning of Tibetan language (reading, writing and spoken), history, traditional music and dance to the children, most of whom are born in this country. These weekly sessions are held on Sundays from 10am to 1pm in Stratford, east London, during school term-time (an equivalent of 36 Sundays annually). Additional sessions are also held to prepare for special events. The school begins with Morning Assembly, when children recite Buddhist prayers and give presentations, followed by three 45-minutes sessions for Tibetan history, language and music. 

In addition to the Parents’ contributions, the Camellia Foundation provides vital funding in support of the LSTLC, administered by the Tibet House Trust. 

A Report: LSTLC’s Annual Show 2022

Written Ministerial Statement (UIN HCWS822) made on 6 June 2023

The Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat, Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling, currently holds the Government post of Minister of State (Home Office) (Security).

“Last November, I committed to update the House on the response to media reporting of unofficial Chinese ‘police service stations’. The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire reiterated this commitment in April.

Reports by the non-governmental organisation Safeguard Defenders claimed that there were three Chinese ‘police service stations’ in the UK – in Croydon, Glasgow, and Hendon. Further allegations have been made about an additional site in Belfast.

These reports alleged that, whilst these ‘police service stations’ are officially set up in countries across the world to conduct administrative tasks to support Chinese nationals residing abroad, they are also used to monitor and harass diaspora communities and, in some cases, to coerce people to return to China outside of legitimate channels.

The Police have visited each of the locations identified by Safeguard Defenders, and carefully looked into these allegations to consider whether any laws have been broken and whether any further action should be taken. I can confirm that they have not, to date, identified any evidence of illegal activity on behalf of the Chinese state across these sites. We assess that police and public scrutiny have had a suppressive impact on any administrative functions these sites may have had.

However, these ‘police service stations’ were established without our permission and their presence, regardless of whatever low level administrative activity they were performing, will have worried and intimidated those who have left China and sought safety and freedom here in the UK. This is unacceptable.

The Chinese authorities regularly criticise others for what they see as interference in their internal affairs. Yet, they felt able to open unattributed sites without consulting the UK Government. It is alleged that this was a pattern repeated around the world.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office have told the Chinese Embassy that any functions related to such ‘police service stations’ in the UK are unacceptable and that they must not operate in any form. The Chinese Embassy have subsequently responded that all such stations have closed permanently. Any further allegations will be swiftly investigated in line with UK law.

I hope that this clarifies what we know about these alleged ‘police service stations’ and the action that we have taken. The 2023 Integrated Review Refresh makes clear that we want to engage and partner with China on key issues where it is in our national interest to do so. However, the UK will always put national security first.

Let me be clear, any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. This is an insidious threat to our democracy and fundamental human rights. That is why I asked the Defending Democracy Taskforce to review the UK’s approach to transnational repression to ensure we have a robust and joined up response across government and law enforcement. Understanding and combatting this kind of interference is a key pillar of our Taskforce’s efforts.

The National Security Bill, now in its final stages, represents the biggest overhaul of state threats legislation in a generation, and will drastically improve our tools to deal with the full range of state threat activity, regardless of where it originates. The Bill contains provisions that will leave those seeking to coerce, including through threats of violence, for, or with the intention to benefit, a foreign state liable to prosecution in a way that they currently are not. Those convicted could face up to 14 years in prison. I urge Parliament to quickly pass the Bill so its powers can be used to clamp down on foreign interference and transnational repression.

I look forward to working closely with this House to further protect our democracy.”

Useful link:

UK Parliament

For a united workers campaign for the people of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet & the Uyghur Region.

A coalition of labour movement and human rights organisations are holding their first meeting for a new campaign which aims to bring together activists in the UK to develop solidarity with workers, oppressed nationalities and others whose democratic rights are threatened or being denied by the Chinese Communist Party and its regime. This important meeting will be held in London on 3rd June.

Introductory speakers include Vicky Blake, President (2020 – 2022) of the University and College Union (UCU), and other leading activists from Hong Kong and China. This will be followed by discussion and amendments on founding statement and other proposals on policies and actions.

The meeting will discuss and vote on proposals to establish a new campaign organisation, based on the draft platform that the meeting co-sponsors agreed, with a Steering Committee to lead on organising campaign activities.

This meeting is also expected to bring together solidarity campaigners to discuss creating a common labour movement campaign in the UK, to unite wherever possible in order to organising an active solidarity for the struggles of workers and oppressed and marginalised people in China for liberation, democracy and equality.

The organisers said, “Last year’s explosion of dissent in the Blank Paper Protests, originating in resistance and revolt against the abuse of Foxconn workers in Zhengzhou’s “iPhone City” and the murderous neglect of Uyghurs in Urumchi, reminds us of the struggles, and the enormous potential power, of China’s workers and oppressed people. The CCP dictatorship has been challenged by Chinese people in a way not seen for decades. Now is the time for a step change in our solidarity to them.”

They also added, “It is increasingly clear that the UK government cannot be trusted to give consistent and meaningful support to those fighting for democratic and workers’ rights in China, Hong Kong, Tibet and the Uyghur Region. Instead it uses these issues to promote nationalist paranoia and xenophobia; justify increased armaments expenditure; and advance Western big business interests. We must therefore base our efforts on the labour movement and grassroots international solidarity, independent from big business interests and the governments that serve those interests.”

The inaugural meeting, supported by a number of solidarity and labour movement organisations, will hear from leading campaigners and trade unionists, discuss the situation, and consider proposals to establish an ongoing joint campaign. All participants will discuss and decide the campaign’s programme and activities. They aim to initiate a joint campaign to build unity:

• For democratic and workers’ rights across China and its occupied territories: the rights to free speech, to organise and protest, to form opposition parties to the state and the CCP, to organise independent unions and for the right to strike, to practise any religion or none.
• For social justice and economic democracy for the Chinese, Hong Kong, Uyghur, Tibetan and Taiwanese people.
• For equality and liberation for women, LGBT people, disabled people, and racialised minorities, and the abolition of the hukou system that discriminates against working-class migrants.
• For freedom from repression, and the democratic right to self-determination, for Tibet, the Uyghurs, and Hong Kong.
• For environmental protections, including just transition to halt climate change.
• Against exploitation, oppression and environmental degradation in other countries affected by China’s economic imperialism and arms sales to tyrants.

None of these struggles benefit from superpower rivalries, xenophobia or threats of war. The campaign should therefore also:

• Support the right of threatened nations such as Taiwan to defend their self-determination and to receive arms necessary for that defence from whatever forces are willing to supply them, while opposing armament drives and sabre-rattling by the imperialist camps of China, Russia and the US and their military and security alliances.
• Fight racism against people of East & South-East Asian backgrounds.
• Oppose the UK government’s racist anti-migrant policies and demand safe routes, sanctuary and equality for refugees fleeing repression, violence and authoritarianism – whether at the hands of the Chinese state or anywhere else in the world. Defend the rights of migrants & refugees who have already come to the UK, and support their inclusion & integration into the local workers’ movement.

To these ends, the campaign’s activities would include:

• Organise and support protest and direct action against the Chinese state and its embassies and representatives, and against businesses complicit in repression and exploitation.
• Work to win the argument for solidarity within the labour movement and the left, and to engage our trade unions and political organisations in this solidarity.
• Encourage and support workers’ action in the global supply chains that connect the working classes here and in China and its occupied territories.
• Discussion, debate and education within the left and labour movement on all these issues.
• To carry out practical aid tailor made to the communities within the struggles in the UK.

Initial Campaign Sponsors:

• Labour Movement Solidarity with Hong Kong
• Power to Hongkongers
• Red Roots Collective
• Peter Tatchell Foundation
• Democracy for Hong Kong
• Left Chinese Student Association
• Uyghur Solidarity Campaign (UK)
• Alliance for Workers’ Liberty
• Wessex Solidarity
• Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM)
• June 4 Sparks

Twenty-four years ago, on 13th May 1999, His Holiness the Dalai Lama opened and consecrated the Tibetan Peace Garden. This only Tibetan monument in the heart of London, was commissioned by Tibet Foundation and built on land kindly provided by Southwark Council. It has been donated to the people of Britain for all to enjoy.

The Tibetan Peace Garden has a unique location. The park in which it is built houses the Imperial War Museum and so attracts large numbers of visitors from all over the UK and abroad. It is within walking distance of Waterloo Station and is close to the Houses of Parliament, Lambeth Palace, the London Eye, the South Bank Centre and Tate Modern.

The Tibetan Peace Garden honours one of the principal teachings of His Holiness – the need to create understanding between different cultures and to establish places of peace and harmony in the world. It is hoped that it will create a deepening awareness of His Holiness’s thoughts and words.

This Garden of Contemplation (Samten Kyil) is a place where anyone can come and enjoy a time of peace and tranquility. For the spiritually minded, this is no longer an ordinary place, because it has been both consecrated and blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to have a spiritual life of its own.

As part of the 24th anniversary of the Tibetan Peace Garden this year, the eight visiting monks from India-based Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, on Wednesday 24th May, prayed for World Peace and for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They also conducted Rabney – a Buddhist blessing. Friends from Southwark Council, local offices and Buddhist centres, including from Jamyang, Kagyu Samye Dzong and Lelung Dharma Centre joined the anniversary event. A small contingent of Tibetans from Belgium and Tibetan Community UK also attended the Buddhist prayer for World Peace.

HE Lelung Rinpoche, Founder and Spiritual Director of Lelung Dharma Trust, assigned Tsering Passang, a volunteer, who is also Founder and Chair of Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, to organise this year’s anniversary event. Passang said: “It’s so wonderful to support the good work of HE Lelung Rinpoche and the Lelung Dharma Trust ensuring His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message of Peace is continuously spread throughout the world. The monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery really made this year’s anniversary a special one with their presence at the Tibetan Peace Garden.”

Passang read out His Holiness the Dalai L ama’s Message, which is inscribed on the Stone Pillar in four different languages – Tibetan, English, Hindi and Chinese – in the Tibetan Peace Garden.  

“We human beings are passing through a crucial period in our development.

Conflicts and mistrust have plagued the past century, which has brought immeasurable human suffering and environmental destruction. It is in the interests of all of us on this planet that we make a joint effort to turn the next century into an era of peace and harmony.

May this peace garden become a monument to the courage of the Tibetan people and their commitment to peace.

May it remain as a symbol to remind us that human survival depends on living in harmony and always choosing the path of non-violence in resolving our differences.”

HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA

After the closing of the Tibet Foundation in 2021, the Lelung Dharma Trust agreed to and is committed to upkeep of the Tibetan Peace Garden in cooperation with the Southwark Council.

The visiting monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in south India are currently on their 50th anniversary of UK Tour 2023. The original Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse (Tibet) is the official seat of the Panchen Lamas. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who is the genuine reincarnation of the previous 10th Panchen Lama, recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has been missing since May 1995. For more, please read Tsering Passang’s piece – China Must Return the Stolen Tibetan Child – The 11th Panchen Lama

Location

The Tibetan Peace Garden

Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park

St George’s Road

London SE1 6ER

Mainline train: London Waterloo; the garden is around 10 minutes’ walk from the station

Underground: Elephant & Castle (Bakerloo/Northern Lines) / Lambeth North (Bakerloo Line)

Bus: 12,45,53,63,68,159,168, 171,176,188,344 & C10 pass outside

Useful Links:

Lelung Dharma Trust

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery UK Trust

Tashi Lhunpo Monks: 50th Anniversary Year Tour 2023

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Bylakuppe, south India

Thanks to the amazing work of the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC), scholars and legal experts around the world, as well as the independent China Tribunal have all established that the Chinese State has “sanctioned forced organ harvesting from prisoners and prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China”.

Watch this short video clip that explains the illegal organ harvesting taking place in PRC.

Extensive reports since 2006 have documented the scale and severity of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from prisoners and prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China. Independent reporting and pressure from international medical and governmental institutions have prompted the Chinese government to announce multiple reforms. Official statements claim that reforms are designed to bring China’s transplantation system into line with international standards and enable China’s transplantation system and professionals to gain international legitimacy and acceptance. Despite these claims and the gradual development (since 2010) of a voluntary organ donation system, evidence continues to emerge regarding largescale and severe human rights violations in the sourcing of organs for transplants in China.

The most recent and comprehensive assessment of the evidence about forced organ harvesting in China was conducted by the China Tribunal. This was an independent people’s tribunal established to investigate forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China and determine what criminal offences, if any, have been committed by state or state-approved bodies, organisations or individuals in China that may have engaged in forced organ harvesting. The Tribunal’s Final Judgment, delivered in June 2019, unanimously found that forced organ harvesting continues in China.

In August 2021, 12 UN Special Rapporteurs and human rights experts issued a correspondence to China regarding credible evidence of forced organ harvesting from ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. The correspondence was made public and the UNOHCHR issued a press release.

FINDINGS OF THE CHINA TRIBUNAL

“Forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale.”

“Falun Gong practitioners have been one—and probably the main—source of organ supply.”

“In regard to the Uyghurs, the Tribunal had evidence of medical testing on a scale that could allow them, amongst other uses, to become an ‘organ bank’.”

“Commission of Crimes Against Humanity against the Falun Gong and Uyghurs has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.”

“The Tribunal has no evidence that the significant infrastructure associated with China’s transplantation industry has been dismantled and absent a satisfactory explanation as to the source of readily available organs concludes that forced organ harvesting continues till today.”

International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC)

The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) is a coalition of lawyers, academics, ethicists, medical professionals, researchers and human rights advocates dedicated to ending forced organ harvesting in China.

The principal object for which the International Coalition To End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) has been established is to advance and promote the education of human rights and values with the goal of ending human rights violations associated with organ trafficking involving forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China and seeking justice for the victims of forced organ harvesting.

Useful Links:

The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC)

China Tribunal

Exactly 72 years ago, 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 their 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.

In 1954, the young Dalai Lama visited Peking. During his nearly 6 months of stay in mainland China 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.

However, the Chinese leaders did not keep their words. The situation across Tibet was getting worse as Tibetan resistance against the invading PLA forces led to fierce fighting. The young Dalai Lama finally escaped Tibet into exile in March 1959 in India, where he set up the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s first press conference in India, in Mussoorie in 1959, repudiating the 17 Point Agreement which was signed under duress in Beijing on May 23, 1951.

Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration, has been saying that the 17-point “Agreement” is “illegal” under the international law. On the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising, Sikyong Penpa Tsering delivered his administration’s Official March 10th 2022 Statement and said, “When the Chinese communist assumed power on 1 October 1949, it announced the so-called “peaceful liberation” of Tibet. Soon after in 1950, the overwhelming Chinese communist forces attacked Chamdo and defeated the Tibetan army. The whole of Tibet was brought for the first time under its occupation after coercing Tibetans to sign the 17-Point Agreement in 1951.

THE AGREEMENT OF THE CENTRAL PEOPLE’S GOVERNMENT AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF TIBET ON MEASURES FOR THE PEACEFUL LIBERATION OF TIBET

The Tibetan nationality is one of the nationalities with a long history within the boundaries of China and, like many other nationalities, it has done its glorious duty in the course of the creation and development of the great motherland. But over the last hundred years and more, imperialist forces penetrated into China, and in consequence, also penetrated into the Tibetan region and carried out all kinds of deceptions and provocations. Like previous reactionary Governments, the KMT [Kuomintang] reactionary government continued to carry out a policy of oppression and sowing dissension among the nationalities, causing division and disunity among the Tibetan people. The Local Government of Tibet did not oppose imperialist deception and provocations, but adopted an unpatriotic attitude towards the great motherland. Under such conditions, the Tibetan nationality and people were plunged into the depths of enslavement and suffering. 

In 1949, basic victory was achieved on a nation-wide scale in the Chinese people’s war of liberation; the common domestic enemy of all nationalities–the KMT reactionary government–was overthrown; and the common foreign enemy of all nationalities–the aggressive imperialist forces–was driven out. On this basis, the founding of the People’s Republic of China and of the Central People’s Government was announced. In accordance with the Common Programme passed by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Central People’s Government declared that all nationalities within the boundaries of the People’s Republic of China are equal, and that they shall establish unity and mutual aid and oppose imperialism and their own public enemies, so that the People’s Republic of China may become one big family of fraternity and cooperation, composed of all its nationalities. Within this big family of nationalities of the People’s Republic of China, national regional autonomy is to be exercised in areas where national minorities are concentrated, and all national minorities are to have freedom to develop their spoken and written languages and to preserve or reform their customs, habits, and religious beliefs, and the Central People’s Government will assist all national minorities to develop their political, economic, cultural, and educational construction work. Since then, all nationalities within the country, with the exception of those in the areas of Tibet and Taiwan, have gained liberation. Under the unified leadership of the Central People’s Government and the direct leadership of the higher levels of People’s Governments, all national minorities have fully enjoyed the right of national equality and have exercised, or are exercising, national regional autonomy. 

In order that the influences of aggressive imperialist forces in Tibet may be successfully eliminated, the unification of the territory and sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China accomplished, and national defence safeguarded; in order that the Tibetan nationality and people may be freed and return to the big family of the People’s Republic of China to enjoy the same rights of national equality as all other nationalities in the country and develop their political, economic, cultural, and educational work, the Central People’s Government, when it ordered the People’s Liberation Army to march into Tibet, notified the local government of Tibet to send delegates to the Central Authorities to hold talks for the conclusion of an agreement on measures for the peaceful liberation of Tibet. 

In the latter part of April 1951, the delegates with full powers from the Local Government of Tibet arrived in Peking. The Central People’s Government appointed representatives with full powers to conduct talks on a friendly basis with the delegates of the Local Government of Tibet. The result of the talks is that both parties have agreed to establish this agreement and ensure that it be carried into effect.

1. The Tibetan people shall be united and drive out the imperialist aggressive forces from Tibet; that the Tibetan people shall return to the big family of the motherland–the People’s Republic of China.
2. The Local Government of Tibet shall actively assist the People’s Liberation Army to enter Tibet and consolidate the national defences.
3. In accordance with the policy towards nationalities laid down in the Common Programme of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Tibetan people have the right of exercising national regional autonomy under the unified leadership of the Central People’s Government.
4. The Central Authorities will not alter the existing political system in Tibet. The Central Authorities also will not alter the established status, functions and powers of the Dalai Lama. Officials of various ranks shall hold office as usual.
5. The established status, functions, and powers of the Panchen Ngoerhtehni shall be maintained.
6. By the established status, functions and powers of the Dalai Lama and of the Panchen Ngoerhtehni is meant the status, functions and powers of the 13th Dalai Lama and of the 9th Panchen Ngoerhtehni when they were in friendly and amicable relations with each other.
7. The policy of freedom of religious belief laid down in the Common Programme of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference will be protected. The Central Authorities will not effect any change in the income of the monasteries.
8. The Tibetan troops will be reorganised step by step into the People’s Liberation Army, and become a part of the national defence forces of the Central People’s Government.
9. The spoken and written language and school education of the Tibetan nationality will be developed step by step in accordance with the actual conditions in Tibet.
10. Tibetan agriculture, livestock raising, industry and commerce will be developed step by step, and the people’s livelihood shall be improved step by step in accordance with the actual conditions in Tibet.
11. In matters related to various reforms in Tibet, there will be no compulsion on the part of the Central Authorities. The Local Government of Tibet should carry out reforms of its own accord, and when the people raise demands for reform, they must be settled through consultation with the leading personnel of Tibet.
12. In so far as former pro-imperialist and pro-KMT officials resolutely sever relations with imperialism and the KMT and do not engage in sabotage or resistance, they may continue to hold office irrespective of their past.
13. The People’s Liberation Army entering Tibet will abide by the above-mentioned policies and will also be fair in all buying and selling and will not arbitrarily take even a needle or a thread from the people.
14. The Central People’s Government will handle all external affairs of the area of Tibet; and there will be peaceful co-existence with neighboring countries and the establishment and development of fair commercial and trading relations with them on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territory and sovereignty.
15. In order to ensure the implementation of this agreement, the Central People’s Government will set up a military and administrative committee and a military area headquarters in Tibet, and apart from the personnel sent there by the Central People’s Government it will absorb as many local Tibetan personnel as possible to take part in the work. Local Tibetan personnel taking part in the military and administrative committee may include patriotic elements from the Local Government of Tibet, various district and various principal monasteries; the name list is to be prepared after consultation between the representatives designated by the Central People’s Government and various quarters concerned, and is to be submitted to the Central People’s Government for approval.
16. Funds needed by the military and administrative committee, the military area headquarters and the People’s Liberation Army entering Tibet will be provided by the Central People’s Government. The Local Government of Tibet should assist the People’s Liberation Army in the purchases and transportation of food, fodder, and other daily necessities.
17. This agreement shall come into force immediately after signatures and seals are affixed to it.

[Signed by the representatives of the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet on 23 May 1951]

Useful Links:

Facts about the 17-Point Agreement Between Tibet and China

Central Tibetan Administration

The Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) met in Hiroshima for their annual Summit, from 19th to 21st May 2023. The Group of Seven is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union is a “non-enumerated member.” It is organised around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government.

It is evident from this year’s G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué that the Leaders of these advanced economies are more united than ever before in their “determination to meet the global challenges of this moment and set the course for a better future.” The Communiqué states: “Our work is rooted in respect for the Charter of the United Nations (UN) and international partnership.”

The G7 Leaders’ Communiqué also highlighted China’s violations of human rights, including in Tibet, Xinjiang (East Turkistan) and Hong Kong, adding, “We will keep voicing our concerns about the human rights situation in China, including in Tibet and Xinjiang where forced labor is of major concern to us. We call on China to honor its commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, which enshrine rights, freedoms and a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong.”

In its comprehensive Communiqué, the G7 Leaders reiterated their “commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all, through taking a realistic, pragmatic, and responsible approach”. Tibetan spiritual leader and the 1989 Nobel Peace laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has been an avowed campaigner for “demilitarization throughout the world and the elimination of all nuclear weapons” for decades, issued a welcome statement.

His Holiness Welcomes G7 Leaders Call for ‘World Without Nuclear Weapons’

“I wholeheartedly welcome the recent statement from the G7 Leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, Japan, calling for a “world without nuclear weapons”. This joint statement reflects the reality that we live in an increasingly interdependent world, and represents an opportunity to make this 21st century an era of peace and cooperation.

As an avowed campaigner for demilitarization throughout the world and the elimination of all nuclear weapons, I firmly believe this to be a positive initiative. In January 2022, when the Five Nuclear-weapon States made a joint pledge affirming that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, I warmly commended their action.

In these times of uncertainty and upheaval across many parts of the globe, it is vitally important that all of us make earnest and concerted efforts to resolve problems through dialogue and diplomacy. Therefore, commitments like the one by the G7 countries represent a powerful message and recognition of the urgency of putting an end to the threat that these weapons pose to humanity.

A world without nuclear weapons is necessary and possible. In our interconnected world, violence brings suffering even to those far from the conflict. I sincerely hope that we can all remember the oneness of humanity, and recall that harming anyone with violence, including the use of nuclear weapons harms us all.

I pray that this 21st century becomes a more compassionate, peaceful and harmonious world.

Dalai Lama”

Useful Links:

G7 2023 Summit – Hiroshima, Japan

The White House

Office of the Dalai Lama

Charter of the United Nations (UN)

UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Questions China on Situation of Tibetan Women in Tibet

Geneva: A group of 23-member expert committee reviewed China on the implementation of the UN International Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, on 12 May 2023, in the ongoing 85^th session of the Committee commenced on 8 May 2023. In line with the review of China by the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in its 85th session, Tibet groups, namely the Tibet Bureau, Tibetan Women Associations and Tibet Advocacy Coalition group made submissions to the committee on Tibet, individually. Furthermore, an oral joint statement to draw the committee’s attention to the situation of Tibetan women was delivered on the first day of the session held on 8 May 2023.

Representative Thinlay Chukki and UN Advocacy Officer Kalden Tsomo of the Tibet Bureau along with President of Tibetan Women Association Tenzing Dolma and Tibet Advocacy Coalition’s coordinator Gloria Montgomery took part in the review session on China.

With reference to the situation of Tibetan women in Tibet, the experts questioned China on a wide range of pertinent issues, including the forcible removal of Tibetan nomads and herders; Tibetan women subjected to military-style vocational training, low-skilled and low-paid employment; participation of women in public and diplomatic service, including Tibetan women; legal grounds for confiscation of passports, including women in Tibet; access to education in Tibetan language and issues on mental health safeguard for Tibetan children in residential schools.

During the day-long review session, the UN experts raised numerous pressing questions to the Chinese delegations concerning the situation of women in China and regions under its control including Tibet, and in special administrative areas: Hong Kong and Macau. More than 40 members of Chinese delegations attended the session. However, the delegations, yet again, failed to give sufficient responses to the experts, resulting in repeated interventions from the chair and the country’s rapporteur reminding the delegations to provide “specific replies” to the questions raised by the experts.

Raising the issues of forcible removal of Tibetan nomads, farmers and herders from their ancestral land, the expert raised, “In the name of creating employment opportunities, Tibetans, including women are subjected to military-style vocational training in Tibet”. She further referred to the findings by the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery that an extensive labour transfer program has shifted mainly farmers, herders and other rural women workers into low-skilled and low-paid employment. In light of these issues, the expert asked China to a) provide concrete figures of Tibetan farmers, herders and nomads who have been forcibly removed from their lands within the last decades and provide gender aggregated data; b) Reasons for providing Tibetan rural women workers with low skilled and low paid employment training under labour transfer program; c) Indicate a number of Tibetan women subjected to forced labour transfer program across China. The large team Chinese delegation could not respond to the issue raised by the expert during the session.

In accordance with the state’s obligation to take necessary measures to eliminate discrimination against women in political and public life, the expert raised the issue of circumstances surrounding the limited participation of women in political and public spheres. The expert asked China to indicate efforts to increase women participation or candidates for political positions and in the diplomacy corps, including Tibetans. Responding to the Chinese delegation’s hazy replies to the question raised by an expert, the chair rapporteur had to point out the delegation’s response to explicitly raise “how many of these (Chinese women) in public life are Tibetans, Uyghur…”?

The expert asked Chinese delegations to clarify and provide information on issues related to the confiscation of passports and identity documents. While acknowledging the experts’ awareness of problems faced by women, including in Tibet, on restrictions of movement, the expert asked Chinese delegations on conditions under which individuals are restricted to travelling abroad; legal grounds that state agents confiscate the passports and identity documents of the individuals. Following the un-concise response by the Chinese delegation, the expert promptly flagged-up that the question raised by the expert had not been answered.

In light of ongoing large-scale assimilatory policy by China in Tibet through residential schools, the expert raised the issue of mental health and aggregated data of Tibetan children in “forced residential schools” in Tibet.

Furthermore, the experts questioned China over the situation of women subjected to state-led interethnic marriages, the situation of women human rights defenders, including protection from harassment, punishment and retaliation against their work and the state’s support to the work of civil society organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations.

This report, filed by the Tibet Bureau in Geneva, published on www.Tibet.Net on 15th May 2023.

Useful Links:

Central Tibetan Administration

Tibet Bureau, Geneva

Voice of Tibet

Geneva: The Tibet Bureau and the Tibetan Women’s Association delivered a joint statement on the situation of Tibetan Women in Tibet during a UN public briefing for the 85^th session of the Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CEDAW), held on 08 May 2023. The 23-member expert committee will review the status of the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women by China on Friday, 12 May 2023.

Representative Thinlay Chukki along with the UN Advocacy Officer Kalden Tsomo and the President of Tibetan Women’s Association (Central) Tenzing Dolma participated in the meeting and met with the UN committee’s members and apprised them of the situation of Tibetan women in Tibet under China’s control.

During the window of a two-min oral briefing opportunity, on behalf of the Tibet Bureau and Tibetan Women Association, UN Advocacy Officer of the Tibet Bureau Kalden Tsomo highlighted Chinese discriminatory policies and patterns impacting the Tibetan women in Tibet, disproportionately. Concerning the issues of residential schools in Tibet aimed at assimilation of Tibetan children into Han majority culture, she raised harassment and sexual abuses in residential schools in Tibet are “alarming”. Furthermore, she brought forward the UN experts’ attention to the situation of Tibetan rights defenders; the continued enforced disappearance of XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet Gedhun Choekyi Nyima along with his mother Dechen Choedon and the forced eviction of Tibetan nuns from Yachen Gar, one of the Tibetan Buddhist learning centres for female Buddhist practitioners.  She said, “Between 2017 and 2018, over thousands of Tibetan nuns from Yachen Gar were evicted, subjecting them to military drill training sessions”. Since 2009, 159 Tibetans, including girls and women, have self-immolated as a political protest against Chinese repression in Tibet, she added.

In conclusion, she urged the committee to press China: to stop persecution and discrimination against Tibetans, including women and girls; to allow Tibetan children to learn its culture, language and religious traditions and to reassess its discriminatory policies and suppression of Tibetan people, which have led to a cycle of protests and unrest in Tibet.

In view of the review session of the treaty body, the Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CEDAW), The Tibet Bureau and the Tibetan Women’s Association have made a detailed written submission on the situation of Tibetan women in Tibet under China’s rule. Click here for written submission of the Tibet Bureau Geneva and click here for report submission of TWA.

China signed and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1980. The treaty body’s experts held the last review of China in 2014. The ongoing 85^th session of the CEDAW commenced on 8^th May and will be concluded on 26^th May. The Tibet team will take part in the remaining China-related sessions in a public and private setting as well.

This report, filed by the Tibet Bureau (Geneva), was first published on Tibet.net

Useful Links:

Tibet Bureau, Geneva

Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala

Tibetan Women’s Association, Dharamsala

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has publicly expressed concerns about reports of China gathering DNA from Tibetans, making him the senior-most US official to raise the issue to date.

As the featured speaker at Freedom House’s annual Freedom Awards on May 9, 2023, Blinken stated: “We’re also concerned by reports of the spread of mass DNA collection to Tibet as an additional form of control and surveillance over the Tibetan population.”

In September 2022, Citizen Lab reported that China’s police may have gathered about 920,000 to 1.2 million DNA samples in the Tibet Autonomous Region—which spans around half of traditional Tibet—over the prior six years. Those figures represent one-quarter to one-third of the region’s total population.

That same month, Human Rights Watch said that China’s authorities were systematically collecting DNA from residents of the TAR, including by taking blood from children as young as 5 without their parents’ consent.

Blinken’s statement met with an accusatory response from China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson. However, the International Campaign for Tibet welcomed the Secretary’s remarks.

“Throughout its brutal occupation of Tibet, China has used Tibet as a laboratory for relentless methods of social control, including this horrific campaign of mass DNA collection,” said ICT, an advocacy group based in Washington, DC and Europe.

“The best way to protect Tibetans from China’s authoritarian rule is to push for a peaceful resolution to China’s illegal occupation of Tibet. The US can and must do that by passing the bipartisan Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act that is currently in both houses of Congress.”

Watch Blinken’s remarks on mass DNA collection in Tibet at the Freedom Awards.

Mass DNA collection in Tibet

According to Citizen Lab, China’s DNA collection program is unrelated to criminal justice. “[O]ur analysis indicates that for years police across Tibet have collected DNA samples from men, women, and children, none of whom appear to be criminal suspects,” Citizen Lab says in its report.

Police are also not targeting specific groups like activists or government critics. Instead, they are collecting DNA from entire communities.

Similarly, Human Rights Watch says in its report that, “There is no publicly available evidence suggesting people can decline to participate” in the DNA collection, “or that police have credible evidence of criminal conduct that might warrant such collection.”

Some of Human Rights Watch’s most disturbing findings involve blood collection from children. That includes the taking of blood from kindergarten students in Tibet’s capital of Lhasa, and the collection of DNA from all boys ages 5 and older in a Tibetan township of Qinghai province.

Learn more about China’s reported mass DNA collection in Tibet.

China’s response

At a press briefing today, May 10, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to a question about Blinken’s remarks by claiming they “mean nothing except manufacturing sensational news items.”

Wang then accused the US military of collecting genomic data of Chinese, Arabs and “European Aryans.”

While Wang dismissed the reports of mass DNA collection in Tibet during his press conference, China does not allow journalists to travel to Tibet to report freely on the Chinese government’s activities there and verify Wang’s claims.

Lack of freedom in Tibet

In September 2022, Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, who serves as the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, tweeted that she was “[d]eeply disturbed” by the reports.

“We call on the [People’s Republic of China] to stop these repressive policies and respect the fundamental freedoms of Tibetans,” Zeya tweeted.

Freedom House, the watchdog group that held the Freedom Awards, has also raised consistent alarms about China’s abuses in Tibet.

The organization previously honored the Dalai Lama at the awards. In 1991, it presented the Tibetan spiritual leader with the Advancing Human Liberty Award.

Earlier this year, Freedom House rated Tibet as the least-free country on Earth alongside South Sudan and Syria in its Global Freedom rankings.

This was the third year in a row that Tibet was at the bottom of the global freedom scores.

Resolving the Tibet-China conflict

China has illegally occupied Tibet for over 60 years, forcing the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959.

Earlier this year, Democrats and Republicans in both chambers of Congress reintroduced a bill that can help peacefully resolve the occupation.

The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act will pressure China to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s envoys for the first time since dialogue between the two sides stalled in 2010.

The legislation will recognize that Tibetans have the right to self-determination and that Tibet’s legal status is yet to be determined under international law.

Learn more about the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act.

This original report by International Campaign for Tibet is available here.

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International Campaign for Tibet