Tibetan Headlines
Oct 24: TCV Celebrations
A three day celebration is underway to mark 57 years since Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) School was founded in 1960 with 51 children. The celebrations are taking place at Upper TCV in Dharamshala and include a march past, cultural performances and a calisthenics display as well as an inter-house athletics meet and a TCV alumni gathering. “Secular Ethics” is the central theme for celebration and for the TCV year.
Oct 24: On the Move
The Library of Tibetan Works and Archive (LTWA), currently housed in Dharamshala, is to move to the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education in Bengaluru in South India. There are currently risks to the priceless collection due to the high humidity in its current location, and the threat of destruction as Dharamshala is in a highest earthquake-risk zone. Funding for the move is being sought.
Oct 23: China Dictates to the World
Foreign leaders must not meet HH the Dalai Lama – officially or in a personal capacity – says top ranking Chinese official Zhang Yijiong, speaking at a news conference during the Chinese Communist Party National Congress taking place in Beijing. He said there are “no excuses”, and that governments around the world should “Give full consideration [to] their friendship with China and their respect for China’s sovereignty”.
Oct 20: Larung Gar Destruction
Two Tibet support groups – Free Tibet and Tibet Watch – have released a report detailing the destruction which has taken place at Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Sichuan. Larung Gar – one the most important Buddhist Academies in the world – has been reduced by half by the Chinese authorities with at least 4,725 homes destroyed and around 4,800 residents evicted. Satellite pictures have been released showing the destruction.
Oct 19: Protestors Arrested
Tibetan organisations organised global protests to coincide with the first day of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th Party Congress in Beijing at which Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech on his achievements since becoming President. In Delhi, 50 Tibetan Youth Congress activists were arrested during their protest outside the Chinese Embassy. All were later released.
Oct 16: Border Controls
Chinese authorities at the Nepal-Tibet border at Kylrong have been disrupting travel for Tibetans crossing over to Nepal on business by carrying out lengthy document checks. Some goods intended for trade and crossing from Nepal into Tibet including foodstuffs are being turned back - Radio Free Asia reports that the checks and blocks only apply to Tibetan people and goods.
Oct 16: Tibet Film Festival
The eighth Tibet Film Festival was held in Dharamshala and Zurich in Switzerland. The two-day festival (TFF) screens films made by Tibetan filmmakers or those with a major Tibetan involvement. It was first held in Zurich in 2009, inspired by the Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen who was imprisoned for his film Leaving Fear Behind. This year’s short film competition was won by Tibetan actor Shavo Dorjee’s Last Note.
Oct 14: Jamtse Lopon Award
HH the Dalai Lama has been given the Jamtse Lopon award by the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA), in recognition of his “compassionate and perfect” leadership. The TWA President said this had been a key decision made during their 12th Working Committee Meeting last year. His Holiness said that women are biologically more sensitive to others’ suffering and urged more women to take on roles in educating on compassion.
Oct 14: Photo Exhibition
A Photo exhibition The Life and Legacies of His Holiness the Dalai Lama took place in Tibet Open House in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. The exhibition featured His Holiness’s early life, meetings with world leaders, awards, honours received, books authored and co-authored and his three commitments in life - Promotion of Human Values, Promotion of Inter-religious Harmony and Preservation of Tibetan Buddhist Culture.
Oct 13: Mixed Heritage Tibetans Meet
Fourteen people of mixed Tibetan heritage have gathered in Dharamshala for a special audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama followed by the chance to meet and share experiences and to discuss issues around about identity, history, politics and culture. This is the third such meeting and the attendees, who are aged from 14 – 41, have come from India, Italy, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and America.
Oct 12: Market Explosion
An explosion has rocked the Nasik Tibetan market in Maharashtra, gutting five shops but injuring no one. The damaged shops were mainly Indian-owned. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad was called but they have not found any signs of explosives, they suspect it was caused by an LPG cylinder. The market was established in 2003, it has around 500 shops of which 102 are owned by Tibetans.
Oct 12: Singing Success
Tashi Phuntsok, 31, a Tibetan maths teacher from Shigatse city in southern Tibet, has won a hugely popular reality television show contest. He was crowned the winner of “Sing! China” in the grand finale of the show’s second season in Beijing. He sang Tibetan, Chinese and Indian folk songs and said, “The honour is especially prestigious as I was representing Tibet and Tibetan people”.
Oct 11: Gasoline Supplies
Five men and two women Tibetan villagers in Choeje and Oje townships in Tsolho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture have been detained in connection with the unauthorised resale of gasoline. Villagers travel 30 miles to buy gasoline needed for farm machinery and transport as none is available locally; some buy more than needed for their own requirements and resell small amounts to fellow villagers.
Oct 11: 30 Years On
Tibet Watch, the Tibetan advocacy group, has launched their report 30 years of Resistance: The Legacy of the 1987 Lhasa Protest which publishes information and pictures not previously seen of the uprising 30 years ago, China’s response to it, and explains the impact of the protests in the context of the wider Tibet movement. It also details HH the Dalai Lama’s peace plan, rejected by China in 1987.
Oct 10: 50 Years!
An event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Settlement Office in McLeod Ganj. The celebration took place in the courtyard of Tsuglagkhang, the main temple in Dharamshala, and included cultural performances as well as presentations to the former Dharamshala Settlement Officers of a citation and an idol of Buddha. His Holiness the Dalai Lama was unable to attend as his doctors have advised rest.