Contact is taking a holiday!

Contact is taking a break after 25 years of bringing you news of Tibet and Tibetan issues. We are celebrating our 25 years by bringing you the story of Contact and the people who have made it happen, and our archive is still there for you to access at any time, and below you can read the story of Contact, how it came into being and the wonderful reflections of the people who have made it happen over the years.

When and how Contact will re-emerge and evolve will be determined by those who become involved.

News From Other Sites

Travel restrictions tighten in Tibet ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics

Lobsang Gelek for Radio Free Asia. Chinese authorities are ramping up security in Tibet ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, deploying large numbers of police to regional capital Lhasa and imposing restrictions on Tibetans’ movements in other areas, sources say. The moves follow a Dec. 23 announcement by read more →

Human rights group slams inhumane Chinese secret detention system

WION-Dec 28, 2021 Although detaining a person without disclosing whereabouts or providing legal support should be illegal, it is approved by law in China. Since 2012, police, after changes to Chinese criminal law, have the right to detain anyone, whether foreign or Chinese, for up to six months at a read more →

China replaces Xinjiang Communist Party chief Chen

Reuters BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) – China has replaced Chen Quanguo, who as Communist Party chief in the Xinjiang region oversaw a security crackdown targeting ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims in the name of fighting religious extremism. Chen, in his post since 2016, will move to another role and Ma read more →

China sends Tibetan teens to camps for indoctrination, military training

Rezaul H Laskar for Hindustan Times Chinese authorities have begun sending Tibetan children to special camps to be indoctrinated in a Sinicised worldview and given basic military training in order to prepare them to be inducted into militias amid the standoff with India on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). read more →

South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Tutu dies aged 90

Reuters-26 December 2021 JOHANNESBURG, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule died on Sunday at the age of 90, the presidency said. In 1984 Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent opposition to apartheid. A read more →

Tibetan freedom activist completes 127-day Himalayan walk

Hindustan Times-24 December 2021 Tibetan freedom activist and writer Tenzin Tsundue said that during this journey, spanning 127 days and covering around 20,000km, he realised that the common people in the border regions have little to no awareness about China’s expansionist policies. Tibetan freedom activist and writer Tenzin Tsundue has read more →

Tibetan political prisoner unable to walk after torture in prison

Free Tibet-Information supplied by Tibet Watch Dolkar was sentenced to prison and subjected to forced labour for telling the truth of her nephew’s arrest. Dolkar, a former Tibetan political prisoner from Sershul County in Kardze, eastern Tibet,, is bedridden after being tortured in prison for over a year and not given read more →

Founder of chat group released in critical health after 10 months of detention

Free Tibet-Information supplied by Tibet Watch Arrested a week after Tibetan New Year, Sangay Tso’s family finds her in a hotel unable to walk. Sangay Tso, co-founder of a chat group, was released in a severe health condition after being arbitrarily detained for more than 10 months. University student Sangay Tso read more →

How India failed to read the tea leaves on China’s Tibet takeover

The Times of India (Nirupama Rao) In this extract from her new book, the former Indian foreign secretary and ambassador to China (2006-2009) examines why leaders at the time claimed not to know of Chinese plans to enter Tibet before October 1950 when they themselves had flagged concerns On August read more →

Tibetan political prisoners denied family visits over ‘COVID concerns’

Radio Free Asia-Reported by Sangyal Kunchok Restriction leaves relatives guessing as to condition of incarcerated relatives. Authorities in western China’s Sichuan and Qinghai provinces are barring family visits for Tibetan prisoners held in political cases, citing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Tibetan sources say. The restriction remains in force read more →

China’s latest crackdown on religion bans foreigners from spreading church and spiritual content online

By Amber Wang, South China Morning Post – 22 December 2021 All foreign organisations or individuals will be banned from spreading religious content online in China under new regulations released on Monday, in what Beijing says is another effort to safeguard its national security. No organisation or individual will be read more →

Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Dr. Her Rey Sheng & Dr. Mohammed Deen receives first Shravasti Awards

Published in Reach Ladakh Bulletin, Leh – 20 December 2021 LEH : First Shravasti award winners, Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Dr. Her Rey Sheng, and Dr. Mohammed Deen were awarded Shravasti Spiritual Leadership award, Shravasti Humanities award, and the Shravasti Environmental award respectively on December 20. Adhering to the principle of read more →

Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as India’s new envoy to China

The Indian Express – 20 December 2021 Senior Indian diplomat Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who is well-versed in negotiating with Chinese diplomats, was on Monday appointed as India’s next Ambassador to China. Rawat will succeed Vikram Misri. “He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the Ministry of External Affairs read more →

Buying Influence: How China Manipulates Facebook and Twitter

By Muyi Xiao, Paul Mozur and Gray Beltran – The New York Times December 20, 2021 Flood global social media with fake accounts used to advance an authoritarian agenda. Make them look real and grow their numbers of followers. Seek out online critics of the state – and find out read more →

Assam: Lecture highlights China’s dams on Brahmaputra, Tibetan culture

Northeast Now-21 December 2021 A lecture on ‘Brahmaputra valley and Tibetan Culture’ was organised on Monday by the Department of Anthropology, DHS Kanoi College in association with Free Tibet-A Voice from Assam at Srimanta Sankardev Sabhakakhya in DHS Kanoi College on Monday. While speaking on the topic, Soumyadeep Datta, regional convenor, Northeast read more →