Tibetan Headlines
Dec 14: FIFA in Tibet
FIFA, the international football governing body, has launched a football initiative for women in Tibet. The Live Your Goals campaign is creating a platform for aspiring women footballers and encourages young women to take up the game. New football campuses will be created in 51 schools across Lhasa. To date, Live your Goals has engaged thousands of young women in 225 football projects across the world.
Dec 13: Demonstrators Arrested
Nine members Students for a Free Tibet (India) demonstrators have been arrested in Delhi for protesting against the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The nine were shouting slogans “Freedom in Tibet” and carrying banners which read “Tibet is Not A Part of China” and “China Free Tibet Now”. They were later released and Janpath Metro Station was closed and Janpath Road blocked to the public.
Dec 13: Support from Lithuania
A group of Lithuanian legislators is setting up a Tibet solidarity group in their parliament – despite not getting endorsement from the Lithuanian leadership who follow the official policy that Tibet is a part of China. However, an ad hoc group has been established which does not need official backing. A member of the group said they aspire to keep Tibet in the global conscience and political frontlines.
Dec 12: New Passport Option
The Indian government is reported to have announced that Tibetan refugees holding Indian passports can surrender them and revert to their refugee status. There will be no penalty incurred. Tibetans are reluctant to hold an Indian passport because it renders them ineligible for benefits and privileges handed out by the Tibetan Government-in-exile. People cannot hold a passport as well as an Identify Certificate (IC).
Dec 11: Human Rights Day
Human Rights day was celebrated by Tibetans worldwide to mark the 28th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. An official event was held in the courtyard of Tsuglakhang, the main temple in Dharamshala, while Students for a Free Tibet (SFT)- India staged an event at the entrance: with a photo action campaign and poetry reading.
Dec 8: HIV in Tibet
A growing number of people living in rural areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) are becoming infected with HIV, reports China’s state media globaltimes. Although the number is growing, it is still relatively small with 253 cases reported between 2004 and 2013. The TAR government has vowed to raise awareness and a spokesman said that intervention is needed to prevent high-risk behaviour, as well as education.
Dec 7: Richard Gere Testifies
Richard Gere has testified before the United States Congress, on “US Policy Towards Tibet: Access, Religious Freedom, and Human Rights”. The American actor and long-time supporter of Tibet, together with other experts and campaigners, was speaking at a Hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The Hearing comes following President Donald Trump’s failure to speak publicly about human rights and Tibet.
Dec 7: Tsering Speaks Out
Penpa Tsering, the former North America representative who was removed from his post last month after only a few months in office, has refuted all the allegations against him and stated that he had not breached any rules or regulations of the exile Tibetan administration. The Kashag made a statement last week giving their reasons for his removal.
Dec 6: India and Education
HH the Dalai Lama said that India is the only country with the potential to formulate a sound education system for global well-being by combining modern education techniques with its thousand-year-old knowledge on the workings of the mind and emotions. His Holiness, speaking in Dharamshala, urged India to take the lead and promote secular ethics through education and reinvigorate the country’s guiding principle of Ahimsa and tolerance.
Dec 5: Traders Row
A group of Indians confronted Tibetan traders in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, accusing them of failing to follow trading laws and being “anti-Indian”. The 25 Tibetan shops there sell ready-made garments during the winter. A spokesman for the Tibetans said the Indians do not understand that the Tibetans pay all required taxes. The authorities have said they will support the Tibetans.
Dec 2: Life Sentence
Three young Indians have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Tibetan youth in McLeod Ganj two years ago. Kailash Kumar, Mahesh Kumar and Rinku Kumar are all sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of INR 50,000 (US$775 / £575). Tsultrim Chokden, 29, was stabbed on October 30, 2015. Tibetan non-government organisations as well as the Settlement Officer attended the court hearing.
Dec 2: Gambling Addiction
Reports are emerging from the Qinghai province (Amdo) that young Tibetans are becoming addicted to gambling. Radio Free Asia has reported that young Tibetans are gambling the proceeds of harvesting caterpillar fungus and becoming addicted, meeting in secret to gamble sums of up to 100,000 yuan (US$15,000 / £11,000) in a night, causing family and social hardship. The report says that it is affecting Tibetans and not the Chinese.
Dec 1: Historic Presentation
Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche, the head of Tibetan Buddhist Drikung Kagyu lineage, presented a traditional Tibetan painting, the The Four Harmonious Friends, to the Honourable President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind after the All India Gandhian Constructive Workers Conference which was attended by 5,000 people from across India. Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, the Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, was guest of honour at the inaugural event.
Nov 28: Delegation to Europe
A delegation from the Tibetan government-in-exile is touring Europe to meet parliamentarians and think-tanks, and to raise awareness of the situation in Tibet and gain pledges of support. The four-member delegation is visiting Belgium, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands. They are meeting members of the Tibetan community in Europe as well as the various offices of Tibet and non-government Tibet support organisations.
Nov 27: Miss Social Media
Tenzin Dickey, 22, has been crowned Miss Social Media at Manappuram Miss Asia 2017, an international beauty pageant organised by the Pegasus Event Production Company and held in Kerala, India. She was the second runner-up and winner of Miss Photogenic at last year’s Miss Tibet 2016. She said, “The pageant focuses on changing the lives of hundreds of patients who suffer from various heart diseases.”