Tibetan Headlines
Apr 24: Panchen Lama at 30
The BBC has unveiled a depiction of His Holiness the Panchen Lama as he looks now, as he approaches his 30th birthday. Computer imaging was used to create the picture of the Panchen Lama who was abducted by the Chinese aged six, soon after his recognition by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Apr 24: Nine Tibetans Sentenced
Nine Tibetans from Horgyal village in Rebgong in Qinghai have been sentenced to prison terms of between three and seven years for creating an informal organisation urging the authorities to return confiscated land, reports Radio Free Asia. They say the land had been confiscated by the authorities in 2011 and subsequently left unused. The arrests are believed to be an attempt to suppress a campaign to reclaim confiscated land.
Apr 23: “Totally Fine”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has shifted to his residential apartment in the Tibetan Youth Hostel in North-West Delhi’s Rohin district. He had been staying in a hotel to rest after being discharged from hospital last week. His Holiness told the Tibetans at the hostel not to worry about him. “Look at my face, do you find anything wrong? I am totally fine now. You do not need to worry,” he said.
Apr 22: Good News from USA
Congressman Jim McGovern and Senator Marco Rubio have been appointed Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) - news which has been welcomed by the Tibetan community as Mr McGovern is a long time friend of the Tibetan cause and the instigator of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act which was recently made into law. The Commission monitors China’s compliance with international human rights standards.
Apr 20: EU Resolution
The European Parliament has passed a resolution on the suppression of human rights in China, giving special mention to the plight of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Christians. The resolution calls on the EU and its member states to actively raise these issues internationally, including with the Human Rights Council. It also called for a resolution to the Tibetan crisis: eight of the 22 substantive recommendations were specific to Tibet.
Apr 20: Larung Gar Closes Doors
The Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, once the largest Buddhist learning centre in the world but now much reduced by China, has closed its doors to new residents and students. A government order has decreed that no further enrollments will be permitted, reports Radio Free Asia. RFA also reports that walls have been erected around much of the Academy preventing access to outsiders.
Apr 19: A Better Life?
China state media the Global Times has published a report claiming that “more than 50,000 Tibetan herdsmen have abandoned the nomadic life in order to preserve the fragile ecology in [...] Qinghai Province [Amdo]”, saying they now have better living conditions. There are many confirmed reports that the nomads were forced off their land and now live in poverty, not having received the compensation, retraining and support they were promised.
Apr 18: News Bureau Launched
The new Tibet News Bureau has been launched by the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR). DIIR is the CTA’s communication channel with international media and Tibet support groups globally; the new bureau will build on the existing tibet.net website and TibetTV. The bureau was part funded by the government of South Tyrol and the Office of Tibet Japan and Taiwan.
Apr 17: Tibetan Student Detained
Sonam, a Tibetan student at Northwest Minzu University in Lanzhou city in Gansu province, has been detained for writing an essay in which he lamented the decline in the number of government job opportunities for Tibetans. His essay is reported to have gone viral on social media and reflects the general feeling among Tibetans that jobs in Tibet go to Han Chinese, not Tibetans.
Apr 16: Honour for Dalai Lama
The Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has joined the campaign for the Bharat Ratna, the highest Indian civilian honour, to be awarded to HH the Dalai Lama. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former governor of West Bengal; Shanta Kumar, former CM of Himachal Pradesh; Nitish Kumar, CM of Bihar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist organisation associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have been campaigning since 2017.
Apr 14: Dr Yeshi Retires
Dr Yeshi Dhonden, the former personal physician to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and recipient of Padma Shri award, has retired aged 92. He fled Tibet in 1959 and became one of the founding members of Men Tsee Khang, the Tibetan Medical Institute, in Dharamshala. He was renowned for his treatment of cancer, practicing the Tibetan medicine Sowa-Rigpa, one of the oldest, living and well documented medical traditions of the world.
Apr 13: Tibetan Vice Chair
Tenzin Dargyal Khangsar has been elected as Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific Democrat Union (APDU) - the first Tibetan to represent in the Union. He is committed to advance and advocate on Human Rights for Tibetans inside Tibet. He has a long and distinguished international career in government, banking and the media. The APDU is an international association of centre-right parties close to the International Democratic Union.
Apr 12: New Houses
80 new houses for Tibetan refugees in India have been declared ready for occupancy at the Lugsung Samdupling (LugSam) Tibetan settlement in Bylakuppe, Karnataka. A ceremony to consecrate the houses was performed by monks from Tashi Lhunpo monastery. LugSam was the first settlement established in India in 1960, it is one of the biggest Tibetan settlements in India with a population of 4,900.
Apr 12: Former Prisoner Dies
Yeshe Thubten, a Tibetan monk from Phenpo Nalanda monastery who spent five years in jail in Tibet for opposing Chinese propaganda campaigns, has died in Tibet after suffering many years of ill health following his release from prison in 2000. Radio Free Asia reports that his family is under “close surveillance” and that further information is not available due to the communications clampdown in place in Tibet.
Apr 12: His Holiness Well
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been discharged from hospital in Delhi where he was staying while undergoing treatment for a minor chest infection. He has been pronounced well and has moved to a hotel in Delhi where he will stay and rest for a few days.His Holiness says that he feels “almost normal” and thanked well-wishers around the world.