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Tibetan Association of Canada press conference

Setting up astroturf “Tibetan Associations” in the West is China’s latest ploy to mislead the world on Tibet

on April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

In April 2018, when Sweden charged a Tibetan residing in that country with espionage for the Chinese government, the international community became aware of a new Chinese propaganda tactic meant to influence foreign countries from within and disrupt Tibetan communities in exile.

At that time, a Tibetan from Amdo living in Europe told ICT: “No Tibetan living in Europe or America will be surprised to hear about this sad situation. Everywhere that Tibetans are settled – Brussels, Britain, Zurich or New York—it is known that the Chinese authorities are working behind the scenes, making threats, spreading suspicion, and damaging the lives of families back in Tibet related to those in exile.”

One year later, the so-called “Tibetan Association of Canada” was established in Toronto. The nature of its inaugural event, featuring the obvious involvement of pro-Chinese Communist Party organizations and a small number of Tibetans, made it clear this association is a Chinese government front group. The Tibetans present, who formed a minority of the audience at the gala despite the sizeable Tibetan community in Toronto, were all individuals publicly known to be involved with China’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), as well as Chinese consulates in New York and Canada.

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Panchen Lama age progression

As Panchen Lama turns 30, China must release him and stop interfering in Tibetan religious freedom

on April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

In 1995, His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognized Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a six-year-old boy, as the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most well-known religious figure in Tibet.

Three days later, Chinese authorities abducted the Panchen Lama and his family, making him the world’s youngest political prisoner.

April 25, 2019 is the Panchen Lama’s 30th birthday. His whereabouts remain unknown, and he has not been seen in public since his kidnapping, although it is believed he is still alive.

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Meeting of the European Parliament [Plenary Chamber, Strasbourg, France, March 10, 2009]

New European Parliament resolution says China’s criminal law is being abused to persecute Tibetans and Buddhists

on April 18, 2019

April 18, 2019

In a resolution adopted at its plenary session today in Strasbourg, the European Parliament has singled out China for its persecution of Tibetans and other ethnic and religious groups and demanded that the Chinese authorities respect their fundamental rights and freedoms.

The resolution, adopted with a large majority of 505 voices (with only 18 against and 47 abstentions) expresses the European Parliament’s concerns about the increasing repression faced by many ethnic and religious “minorities” in China, in particular Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Christians. It calls amongst others on China to close the so-called “political reeducation camps” in Xinjiang (known to Uyghurs as East Turkestan) and to “uphold the linguistic, cultural, religious and other fundamental freedoms of Tibetans.”

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PAP in Tibet

Millions of Chinese students to be sent to “minority areas”; China doubles down on Tibet control during anniversary period

on April 15, 2019

April 15, 2019

In a March 22 document, the Chinese Communist Youth League said it was sending more than 10 million vocational school and university students to rural areas as volunteers by 2022 in order to “increase their skills, spread civilization and promote science and technology.” The document was made public by Chinese state media as well as by international news agencies.

For some the deployment of millions of students to “spread civilization” evokes the excesses and chaos of the Cultural Revolution in 1966-76, when millions of Chinese intellectuals and others were sent to live in the countryside. According to an AFP report, which monitored reaction to the campaign on China’s Twitter-like Weibo social media platform, a user, WangTingYu, posted “Has it started again?,” while another user with a Tibetan-sounding name, KalsangWangduTB, posted: “Sometimes history advances, sometimes it retreats.”

Xi Jinping, president of China and secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, spent seven years in a village in the northwestern province of Shaanxi starting at the age of 16. Xi has become known for reinvigorating Communist Party ideology to an extent unseen since the Cultural Revolution, and policy developments in Tibet indicate a doubling-down on strategies of control and securitization.

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After 20+ years in jail, Tibetan sentenced to 18 more years after demonstrating for world peace

on April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

A Tibetan man who carried out a solo protest for world peace shortly after being released from more than 20 years in prison has been sentenced to another 18 years in a case described as a “state secret.”

Lodoe Gyatso—also known as Sogkhar Lodoe Gyatso because of his home area of Sog (Chinese: Suo) county, Nagchu (Chinese: Naqu), the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)—is now in his mid-50s.

On the morning of Jan. 28, 2018, months after his release from a second two-year prison sentence, he published a video, broadcast by Voice of America, announcing his intention to hold a peaceful demonstration that would start his “campaign for world peace.”

Later that day, dressed in a white traditional Tibetan garment known as a chuba and a shirt, he was detained by police while marching around the Potala Palace carrying out his demonstration.

His wife, Gakyi, has also been sentenced to two years in jail, according to sources.

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Chairman Gardner

Congress will “never” recognize Chinese-appointed Dalai Lama, Senator says

on April 9, 2019

April 9, 2019

A US Senator today strongly rejected the Chinese government’s claim it will decide the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet.

“Let me be very clear: The United States Congress will never recognize a Dalai Lama that is selected by the Chinese,” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said at a Senate subcommittee hearing today, April 9, 2019.

Gardner added: “His Holiness has laid out [his] succession. Only then will the US follow that succession.”

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Bhuchung Tsering testifying

Make Tibet part of Indo-Pacific strategy, ICT vice president tells Senate hearing

on April 9, 2019

April 9, 2019

Tibet should be a key element in US strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, Bhuchung K. Tsering of the International Campaign for Tibet said at a Senate hearing today, April 9, 2019.

Tsering, ICT’s vice president, was testifying at “ARIA in Action, Part 1: Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law,” hosted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy. ARIA is the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, which ensures funds for Tibetan programs and highlights China’s human rights abuses against the Tibetan people.

Tsering delivered a written statement to the subcommittee and submitted three texts for the record: the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China’s March 2019 position paper on access to Tibet; an op-ed by more than 30 parliamentarians across Europe last month calling for access to Tibet; and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 2011 statement explaining Tibetan Buddhism’s reincarnation system and his plans for succession.

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Tibetans and Uyghurs to hold demonstration during EU-China Summit

on April 4, 2019

FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights its member organization International Campaign for Tibet and its partner organizations World Uyghur Congress and Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation Joint press release Tibetans and Uyghurs to hold demonstration during EU-China Summit Brussels, 4 April 2019 – On the occasion of the EU-China Summit on 9 April 2019 […]

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Dalai Lama addresses the European Parliament

EU: Make China’s Rights Crisis a Summit Priority

on April 4, 2019

April 4, 2019

Joint Press Release by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International Federation for Human Rights, International Campaign for Tibet, and the International Service for Human Rights

(Brussels, April 4, 2019) – European Union leaders should press their Chinese counterparts on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country during the EU-China Summit in Brussels on April 9, 2019, five human rights groups said today. They should amplify concerns raised during the EU-China human rights dialogue on April 1-2 and call on Chinese authorities to close “political education” camps in Xinjiang and free imprisoned dissidents.

In the weeks leading up to the summit, the EU and leaders of member states have had multiple opportunities to raise human rights concerns in meetings with their Chinese counterparts. Yet EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, and later French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, all failed to publicly reference or call for an end to growing human rights violations in China.

“The EU and its member states have publicly pledged to ‘throw their full weight’ behind human rights advocates, and that promise is being tested amid the ruthless crackdown and rapidly deteriorating human rights environment in China,” said Lotte Leicht, EU advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The EU-China Summit is an important opportunity for the EU to send strong public messages on rights to the Chinese leadership.”

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Boudhanath

Buddhists in Nepal unite in solidarity against a politician’s condemnation of traditional greeting scarves

on April 2, 2019

April 2, 2019

The Buddhist community in Nepal has reacted strongly to a politician’s attempt to cast aspersion on their tradition of offering scarves known as khata, a tradition they share with other Himalayan communities such as Ladakhis, Bhutanese, Sikkimese, and Tibetans, among others. A Member of Parliament from Nepal’s Communist Party, Khaga Raj Adhikari, asserted at a public event that the use of the khata in Nepal “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” connecting it to Tibet issue and giving political color to a fundamentally spiritual and cultural tradition. The comments made by Adhikari, who is a former Minister, echoes China’s position in Nepal that “pro-Tibet” activities “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”

In reaction, the Buddhist community, under the banner of the Nepal Buddhist Federation, held large demonstrations by people from different ethnic groups, including monks and laypeople, to challenge Adhikari and called for the protection of their tradition while wearing khatas.

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State Dept on RATA

State Dept. pushes back on China’s criticism of Tibet access report

on April 1, 2019

April 1, 2019

A State Department spokesperson pushed back against China’s criticism of the department’s new report, which says the Chinese government “systematically” prevents Americans from entering Tibet.

“This is a well-documented report,” Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said at a press briefing on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, adding “statistics were kept.”

The report, released on March 25, documents China’s outrageous attempts to keep Americans out of Tibet in 2018, including repeatedly denying requests to visit from the US ambassador and other officials; directly threatening to expel journalists; and cruelly preventing Tibetan-Americans from seeing their homeland, which China has brutally occupied for the past 60 years.

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Tibet Brief March 2019

Tibet Brief – March 2019 (ed. 68)

on March 28, 2019

Top Story: Tibetans around the world commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day

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TLD 2019

Momentum visible at Tibet Lobby Day 2019

on March 27, 2019

March 27, 2019

If there’s one thing Tibet Lobby Day 2019 showed, it’s that there’s new and undeniable momentum in the effort to bring human rights and democratic freedoms to Tibet.

After a year in which the most important Tibet-related legislation in more than 15 years was signed into law, a larger-than-usual number of participants took part in the lobby day, which brought nearly 150 Tibetan-Americans and Tibet supporters from 24 states to Washington, DC on March 25 and 26, 2019.

In the nation’s capital, the participants met with members of Congress and their staff to request their support for programs and policies that help the Tibetan people.

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Tibet’s continued isolation belies Chinese claims in new white paper on Tibet’s development

on March 27, 2019

March 27, 2019

China’s new white paper on Tibet, “Democratic Reform in Tibet – Sixty Years On,” is an acknowledgement that Chinese government policies have failed to win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people.

Released on March 27, 2019 and timed to appear one day before China’s ‘Serf Emancipation Day,’ the white paper clearly is an attempt to justify China’s continued control over Tibet and to seek legitimacy.

It is telling that the white paper with China’s claim about everything being fine in Tibet was released in Beijing even as Tibet remained closed to foreigners. If the situation of the Tibetan people is as good as the white paper claims, China should have nothing to fear in providing access to Tibet to independent observers, journalists and diplomats. If Beijing sincerely believes the people of Tibet have benefited greatly under its rule, it should allow them freedom of movement and expression so that they can travel and make this case themselves.

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New State Dept. report shows US is serious about ending isolation of Tibet for Americans

on March 25, 2019

March 25, 2019

A new State Department report denouncing China for “systematically” impeding Americans’ travel to Tibet shows the US government is serious about implementing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act. The report also clearly shows that the widespread discrimination, and in some cases amounting almost to harassment, perpetrated by Beijing against Americans to enforce the complete isolation of Tibet from the outside world, won’t be accepted any longer in Washington.

The report, released March 25, 2019, documents outrageous attempts by Chinese authorities to keep Americans out of Tibet in 2018, including repeatedly denying requests to visit from the US ambassador and other US officials, directly threatening to expel journalists and cruelly preventing Tibetan-Americans from seeing their homeland, which has been in the grips of a brutal Chinese occupation for the past 60 years.

The report is the first significant outcome of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, which was signed into law on Dec. 19, 2018 and takes aim at China’s double standard of denying US diplomats, reporters and tourists entry to the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas under Chinese control even though Chinese bureaucrats, state media and ordinary citizens are free to travel throughout the US.

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European Demonstration for Tibet

Germany: Human Rights Committee condemns repression in Tibet, calls for support of Tibetans

on March 25, 2019

Berlin, March 25, 2019

In a rare Joint Statement made public today, the Human Rights Committee of the German parliament called on the “Chinese Government to immediately stop the repression of the Tibetan people and resume dialogue with the legitimate representatives of the Tibetans”. The statement, passed on the anniversary of the “brutal suppression of the Tibetan people’s uprising” in March 1959, expressed concern that “culture, language, identity and religion of the Tibetans are threatened in their existence.” It declared the “peaceful resistance of the Tibetan people to the deprivation of rights through the Chinese authorities deserves more support,” adding the “despair of the people, over 150 self-immolations in recent years and the outcry of the monks must shake up the international community.” The committee expressed “its deep respect for the Tibetan culture and its sympathy for and solidarity with the peaceful, oppressed Tibetan people.”

The statement also acknowledges that “the secular and spiritual leadership of the Tibetans has repeatedly chosen the path of peace, during many decades of extensive oppression.” It views, “the third way of the Dalai Lama, with a broad autonomy of Tibet within China, as an opportunity to avoid possible conflicts for the future.” The statement was supported by the governing CDU/CSU and SPD, as well as by the liberal FDP and the Greens.

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Tibet Lobby Day 2016

Tibetan-Americans and Tibet supporters will take their cause to Capitol Hill next week

on March 22, 2019

March 22, 2019

As Tibetans mark 60 years since the Dalai Lama was forced into exile, Tibetan-Americans and Tibet supporters will gather in Washington, DC next week to lobby members of Congress to support their cause.

The 11th annual Tibet Lobby Day—organized by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), a DC-based advocacy group—will bring more than 130 Tibetan-Americans and Tibet supporters to the nation’s capital for meetings with elected leaders and their staff.

The lobbying will be spread over two full working days: Monday, March 25, and Tuesday, March 26.

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China’s response to Dalai Lama reincarnation statements shows Beijing’s insecurity and lack of legitimacy

on March 20, 2019

March 20, 2019

As the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is given sole authority by the ancient traditions of his faith to select the manner of his reincarnation.

But when His Holiness made this clear in a recent interview, a spokesman for the foreign ministry of China’s atheist, authoritarian government claimed that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must comply with Chinese law, specifically the “Regulations on Religious Affairs” and “Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas.”

Not only do the Chinese government’s claims completely disregard centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist religious tradition; they also obviously violate the universal principle of religious freedom.

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