Tibetan Headlines
Jun 13: US Condemns Dalai Lama Interference
The Chairman of the United Sates (US) Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Jim Risch, has condemned Chinese Communist Party attempts “to interfere in the succession of the next Dalai Lama”. Risch added that any interference would “undermine the religious freedoms of Buddhist practitioners around the world”.
Jun 13: HH Dalai Lama Advocates Female Leadership
His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama has stated his belief that if more world leaders were women there would be a more peaceful and “less violent” world. Speaking on Indian television HH said that if “world leaders eventually… more women, I think… less problem, less sort of… violence I feel”, adding that he believes females have “more sense of concern over other’s difficulty”.
Jun 13: Tibetans Cut-off from Family-Friends
Tibetans have been blocked from using the WeChat mobile application to contact friends and family living outside of Tibet. Monks and nuns living in India are reported to have been targeted “at the request of the Chinese government”, cutting them off from their connections inside the country. The move follows an earlier investigation into “between 4,000 and 5,000 households in Tibet with family ties to exiles in Nepal and India”.
Jun 13: Restrictions During Saga Dawa
Tibetans celebrating the holy month of Saga Dawa have been targeted by increased restrictions with one Lhasa resident stating that, “the huge presence of police and military personnel at these festivals has ruined the sacredness of the day”. Chinese security forces have been deployed around Jokhang Temple and other religious sites. Worshippers entering temples report being stopped and having their mobile phones checked by security personnel.
Jun 12: Dharamsala Restaurants to Remain Closed
Despite Indian lockdown restrictions easing restaurants in Dharamsala are likely to remain closed with one McLeod Ganj restaurant owner stating that “there is no point in opening our business till tourists are allowed to come to the state without restrictions”. COVID-19 restrictions allow eateries to operate at 60 per cent capacity, however, “local tourists do not comprise even one per cent of the total business of restaurants in McLeod Ganj”.
Jun 12: Tibetan Library Celebrates Jubilee
The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) in Dharamshala has marked its golden jubilee with a low key ceremony attended by translators, researchers, and faculty members. COVID-19 restrictions limited the scale of events, celebrating the establishment in 1970 of “one of the premier institutes in the world specialising in Buddhist and Tibetan studies”. Director, Geshe Lhakdor honoured the occasion by adding five new Tibetan publications to the LTWA collection.
Jun 12: One Thousand Tibetans Quarantined
The exiled Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has reported that 1,011 Tibetans have been forced to undergo COVID-19 quarantine. Tsering Tsamchoe, representative of the CTA COVID-19 Task Force, has briefed that there are currently eight active cases of the virus amongst the Tibetan community in India whilst advising “against making any unessential travels as the majority of the eight new Tibetan cases are linked to travel history from red zone Delhi”.
Jun 12: China Following Mao’s Policy
The President of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has described the current policy of China as dating back to regime of Chairman Mao. Speaking to Indian media Lobsang Sangay stated that China, having “taken over the palm [Tibet]” are now “penetrating into the five fingers [Ladakh, Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan and Arunachal]. This is part of their grand old strategy for 60 long years”.
Jun 12: Support for Sino-Tibet Dialogue
Canadian lawmaker Erin O’Toole has put his backing behind “a dialogue between the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government”. O’Toole has committed to “placing caveats [on Canada’s policy towards China] based on… respect and reconciliation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, and treatment of persecuted religious communities of Uighurs”.
Jun 12: Employment Discrimination in Tibet
Tibetans seeking to work as police officers are being barred from employment, with recruiters reportedly told not to employ anyone who has engaged in “separatist activities”. This follows previous reports of Tibetan university graduates struggling to find employment, particularly within the government sector, as Chinese candidates are encouraged to move to Tibet to fill roles. Chinese authorities often class any expression of Tibetan culture and religion as “separatist activity”.
Jun 11: Bill Influenced by Chinese Propaganda
The introduction of a United States’ (US) bill that would “recognize the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of the People’s Republic of China as a separate, independent country”, has been widely commended but issues have been raised with the scope of the legislation. Tibetan news outlet Phayul has suggested that the reduction of Tibet to the Chinese established TAR, “indicates how far the Chinese narrative and propaganda has advanced into Washington”.
Jun 11: Tibet’s Warning to the World
The President of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Lobsang Sangay, has stated that “India and the world should learn from Tibet’s experience with China”. Speaking amid increased border tensions between China and India, and in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, Sangay warned that “it is quite difficult to trust the Chinese regime” suggesting that, “China is now looking at diversion as well through this security and military adventurism”.
Jun 11: EU Discusses Tibet with China
The Vice President of the European Union (EU), Josep Borell, is reported to have raised human rights issues in Tibet during a recent meeting with China. During a more than three-hour long EU-China strategic dialogue with China’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Wang Yi, various topics were discussed including “a number of important human rights issues, including the situations in Xinjiang and Tibet”. Borell described the talks as “open and frank”.
Jun 10: Tibetan Receives Australian Award
Khensur Geshe Tashi Tsering, the former abbot of Gyudmey Monastery, has been awarded the Order of Australia medal “for services to Buddhism and to education”. Geshe Tashi Tsering, who resides in Queensland, Australia, is the second Tibetan to receive the honour which “recognises a group of outstanding Australians who have made a contribution to their community, to Australia globally or domestically”.
Jun 10: Three COVID-19 Cases in Ladakh
Three Tibetans are reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh. The Chief Representative officer of Sonamling Tibetan settlement, Tsetan Wangchuk, has confirmed that “the three Tibetans include a 68-year-old man from Jangthang Chushul, a 52-year-old man from Leh and 19-year-old male college student from Jangthang Samet”. All of the patients are reported to be “in good condition” and are receiving hospital treatment.