Tibetan Headlines
Apr 24: Visit to Japan
A team from the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile is visiting Japan. They are meeting members of the Tibetan community in Japan as well as giving public talks and liaising with the local Office of Tibet. The three delegates will meet members of the Japan and Tibet Parliamentary Group for Tibet, and long time Tibet supporter Ms Sakurai Yoshiko, President of the Japan Institute of National Fundamentals, a think-tank in Japan.
Apr 21: Released!
Lobsang Gyatso, 23, a Tibetan monk from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba who has spent the last three years in prison has been released after completing his full prison sentence. He was arrested in April 2014 following a lone protest in the street against Chinese rule in Tibet, and was charged with “separatist activities” and “plotting against the nation”.
Apr 21: Gaden Tripa
The 103rd Gaden Tripa Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche died in a Delhi hospital following an illness. He was appointed Gaden Tripa, the spiritual head of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism, by HH the Dalai Lama last October. He was born in Tibet in 1937 and followed His Holiness into exile in 1959. The Gelug school was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the first Ganden Tripa.
Apr 20: Football!
The winner of this year’s Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup (GCMGC) is Tashiling Himalaya Football Club Darjeeling, they defeated five-time champions Dhondupling FC (DFC) Clement Town 2-nil in the final at the Kollegal Tibetan Settlement. This was the 23rd GCMGC, it was broadcast live through YouTube and a dedicated application for android was also launched. The tournament is the biggest sporting event of exile Tibetan community.
Apr 19: Soccer Team to Canada
The Tibetan women’s soccer team who were denied United States visas to participate in Dallas Cup soccer tournament earlier in February are to travel to Canada in July to take part in the Vancouver International Soccer Festival. Their visas have come through and this will make the team the first Tibetan women’s team in any sport to compete internationally.
Apr 19: Border Dispute
China has given Chinese names to six places in the north eastern Indian state of Aranachal Pradesh, the region China claims as Southern Tibet: Wo'gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidêngarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bümo La and Namkapub Ri. China claims that naming the places “demonstrates China's territorial sovereignty, which to date remains a bone of contention between the two super powers of Asia despite having over 18 border talks”.
Apr 18: Exile Photo Journal
Exile - a 155 page photo journal documenting the story of the early Tibetan refugees, the gradual rebuilding of their lives in India and Nepal, and the reestablishment of their cultural and religious institutions in exile, was launched at Norbu House in Mcleod Ganj. Lobsang Gyatso, the Editor, hopes that the book will help the young generations to understand and appreciate the origins of the exile community.
Apr 15: Trip Postponed
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's forthcoming visit to Kullu-Manali, Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur has been postponed. The announcement was made on dalailama.com, the official website of HH the Dalai Lama, saying that the trip scheduled for May 11 to 25 2017 has been “indefinitely postponed. We regret the inconvenience caused by this decision”. No reason has been given for the postponement.
Apr 14: Discrimination?
The newly opened luxury Hilton Linzhi Resort hotel in the Tibet Autonomous Region is reported as employing only Han Chinese people. The hotel claims to be an equal opportunity employer but all 200 employees are Han Chinese with apparently no Tibetans employed despite the location in a Tibetan-populated area. A hotel spokesperson is reported as saying “Probably they don’t want to come to work”.
Apr 14: Yachen Gar
Pilgrims visiting the Yachen Gar Buddhist Centre in Sichuan, a major Buddhist teaching academy, have had their tents demolished, the Chinese authorities claiming this action was due to difficulties posed by the encampments to the orderly management of the complex, reports Radio Free Asia. At least 200 tents were taken down. The authorities are currently reducing the number of visitors, residents and activities at Yachen Gar.
Apr 14: Visit to China
Human Rights Watch (HRW), the human rights watchdog based in New York, is urging the French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to raise the issue of human rights during his two day visit to China. The Director of HRW in France, Bénédicte Jeannerod, said, “It’s an opportunity to…make it clear that France stands in solidarity with China’s courageous activists”.
Apr 13: Cash for Traders
Over 300 Tibetan sweater sellers attended the first conference of the All India Tibetan Refugee Trader’s Association in Ludhiana in the Punjab, representing all 164 recognised Sweater Sellers Associations. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, the Tibetan political leader, launched the Tibetan Hosiery Traders Loan- 2017, a 100 million ($1.550.000/ £1,230,000) loan scheme primarily funded by USAID.
Apr 12: Welcome back!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to his home in Dharamshala after the historic visit to Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Thousands of devotees and well-wishers lined up to welcome their spiritual leader. The head of Tibetan Government-in-exile Dr Lobsang Sangay and Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel and other officials welcomed His Holiness at Gaggal airport in Kangra.
Apr 12: Romania Visit
Two delegates representing the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, Tashi Phuntsok and European Union Advocat Rigzin Choedon Genkhang, are on a visit to Romania where they are campaigning on Tibetan issues at numerous events and meeting local leaders and parliamentarians as well as participating in the opening of an exhibition Ways of Wisdom on His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Covasna.
Apr 11: Evictions Complete
The evictions of 5,000 monks and nuns from Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Sichuan is now complete, reports Radio Free Asia, quoting a local source, saying the final group of 250 nuns left on April 6. Larung Gar is one of the world’s largest and most important centres for the study of Tibetan Buddhism and has been drastically reduced in size by the Chinese authorities despite an international outcry.