Tibetan Monk Detained Following Solo Protest

2014-07-11
Updated at 09:30 a.m. EST on 2014-07-14
A Tibetan monk was taken into custody this week by police in western China’s Sichuan province after launching a protest in which he called for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, sources said.
Sherkyab, 20, was detained on Wednesday only five minutes after shouting slogans and scattering leaflets in Serthar town in the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture’s Serthar (Seda) county, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
“A large group of police arrived and hauled him away to the local police station,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“His present condition is not known,” he said.
During his protest, Sherkyab—formerly a monk at the Nubzer monastery about 20 miles away from Serthar town, and more recently a student at the Serthar Buddhist Institute—shouted slogans calling for Tibetan freedom and the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the source said.
“He also threw leaflets into the air, though a witness to the protest could not discover what was written on them,” he said.
‘Failed to report’
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities in June detained a group of Tibetans who had worked to mediate disputes in Kashur village in Sichuan’s Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a Tibetan living in India told RFA.
“The main reason for their detention was that they had not reported these incidents to Chinese authorities and had tried to resolve them locally within the Tibetan community,” Tulku Jamyang Yonten said, citing contacts in the region.
“I heard that some of them were released, but further details are still unknown because of restrictions on communications to and from the area,” he said.
Authorities had cracked down on the same village last year when residents resisted a Chinese mining project in the area, Yonten said.
“Eight Tibetans were detained, and their condition is still unknown,” he said.
“No trial has been held yet, though it was announced they would be tried.”
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 131 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the Dalai Lama’s return.
Reported by Chakmo Tso and Pema Ngodup for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly placed Serthar county in Sichuan’s Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Wang Lixiong and Woeser Under House Arrest Again

The text below is translated from Woeser’s Facebook page; per TSG-L security precautions the photo attachment referred to in the 2nd paragraph is not included.
Wang Lixiong and I arrived in Beijing from Inner Mongolia and got to our door at around 6:00 in the evening. At 7:00 State Security arrived. They said they would be taking up their posts for the next two days and that we were forbidden to go out. I asked for the reason and they said that it was confidential. But I know that it’s because the day before yesterday an American Embassy official had called me on my mobile phone and invited me this evening to the embassy residence. Knowing that I was on the road and couldn’t participate, they’d set the date for the next day. I didn’t know whom I’d meet, but regardless of whom I would have met I was already prevented from doing so by State Security.
The photo shows State Security and students whom State Security had sent over from the Public Security University taking up posts at the elevator by our door. Wang Lixiong asked the Public Security University students if they knew that what they were doing was illegal. A student gave a very funny answer: “I have the right to not answer your question.” It was as if he were being questioned at trial.
The news says that U.S. Secretary of State Kerry has come to Beijing. In March of last year, when the U.S. Department of State gave me the “International Woman of Courage Award,” I was unable to go to Washington to accept it because I was confined to my home and had no passport. Afterwards Mr. Kerry especially wrote me a letter. If I were to see him on this occasion I would very much like to reply to his letter and express my thanks. But most regrettably I am at home under house arrest.

The Statement of the Kashag on the Auspicious Occasion of the Seventy-Ninth Birthday of His Holiness the Great Fourteenth Dalai Lama
On this joyous and special occasion of the 79th birthday of His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama, the Kashag would like to express our deepest reverence and respect for His Holiness the Dalai Lama on behalf of all Tibetans in and outside Tibet. We join millions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s admirers across the globe in wishing him good health and long life. The Kashag would also like to take this great opportunity to convey profound gratitude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s parents, the late Chokyong Tsering and the late Dekyi Tsering, who blessed us with their precious son, Lhamo Dhondup, born on 6 July 1935 to a peasant family in Taktser village in the Amdo region of Tibet.
The 14th Kashag is observing 2014 as the “Year of the Great 14th Dalai Lama” to express our boundless appreciation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s great accomplishments for the cause of Tibet and the promotion of peace, inter-faith harmony and humane values throughout the world. Under this year-long program, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) will organize 21 major events, which include some 300 smaller activities. Looking further ahead, the Kashag will mark His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday by the Tibetan calendar—the fifth day of the fifth Tibetan month, falling on the 21st of June 2015—with an elaborate long life offering to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has kindly agreed to grace the official 79th birthday celebration with his presence at the time that he confers the 33rd Kalachakra Initiation in Ladakh, a region with which Tibetans share deep religious and cultural ties.
64 years ago in 1950, during the critical period following the Chinese military invasion of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was called on to assume spiritual and political powers at the youthful age of sixteen. At the age of 25, during the subsequent Chinese occupation of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was forced to flee his country and live in exile. Despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles placed in his path, for nearly 60 years, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has led the Tibetan people with infinite compassion, wisdom and courage.
The fact that the Tibetan people today are united like an iron ball regardless of their regional or religious affiliations and in spite of the Chinese occupation is mainly due to the enlightened leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The power of Tibetan people’s unity today is far greater than the recent past and is comparable to those days when the three Dharma kings reigned over Tibet.
In exile, His Holiness the Dalai Lama envisioned a united Tibetan community firmly rooted in both tradition and modernity. He began by laying a strong foundation for the sustenance of Tibetan people as well as the preservation of the Tibetan identity by establishing Tibetan settlements across India, Nepal and Bhutan. At the same time, to ensure that future generations of Tibetans acquire modern education while remaining rooted in traditional values, from the very beginning, he initiated and established separate Tibetan schools. In fact, the present Tibetan leadership is a product of these institutions that have educated Tibetans in exile for the past fifty years.
By also introducing a series of structural and institutional reforms, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s guidance and wisdom has transformed the nature of exiled Tibetan polity into a genuine democracy. Years of these sustained democratic reforms have in fact transformed the entire exile Tibetan community into a society with deeply rooted democratic values and culture. As a result, even though today exiled Tibetans are scattered across six continents, we have continued to maintain an extremely vibrant, cohesive and organized community. The fact that the exile Tibetan polity and community is today considered a model worthy of emulation is largely because of the visionary leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the diligent perseverance of our senior generation.
Under His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s leadership, all major monasteries that were destroyed in occupied Tibet were rebuilt in exile to preserve and promote Tibetan religion. These monastic centres of teaching and practice, belonging to all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism as well as Tibet’s native Bon religion, were not only revived, but also thrived in exile. As these monastic scholars and masters have helped spread Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Dharma centres have mushroomed the world over.
Indeed, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has sparked a new awakening among the people of Himalayan regions about their cultural heritage and this has greatly contributed to the revival of local traditions and customs. His Holiness the Dalai Lama remains a fount of guidance and solace for the world’s Buddhists, instrumental in preserving and disseminating the teachings of the Buddha from their repository in Tibet to their origin in India and to 67 other countries across 6 continents.
As a tireless advocate of inter-religious harmony, His Holiness the Dalai Lama interacts with religious leaders of all faiths. He has also pioneered intensive dialogue between leading world scientists and Buddhist monks, and greatly enriched both science and religion. Furthermore, his global efforts to promote secular ethics have earned him the respect and admiration of world citizens regardless of their religious background. These multiple and enduring contributions are evident in over 150 major awards, prizes and honorary doctorates that have been conferred on him, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, United Nations Earth Prize in 1991, US Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 and the Templeton Award in 2012. Truly, the sustained international recognition and prestige of His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been the main driving force behind the rising global awareness of and support for the cause of Tibet.
Given His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s influence and prestige, perhaps it is sadly inevitable that some group of people would seek to malign him. In particular, the Dholgyal followers have launched a politically-driven smear campaign against His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the name of religious freedom and human rights. By advocating sectarianism and fanaticism, which would jeopardize the existing harmony and unity among all the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dholgyal followers have turned into a political tool for the Chinese Communist Party. Considering the larger interest of the Buddha Dharma, and in particular, the threat against the very existence of Tibetans as a people, Tibetans must wisely discern between true and untrue and right from wrong.
On the larger issue of Tibet, we wish to reiterate the Kashag’s belief that this will only be resolved through dialogue with the Chinese government. It is our hope that the new Chinese leadership will soon realize the fact that the Middle Way Approach is a mutually beneficial solution to the Tibet problem.
To this day, the Middle Way Approach continues to receive support from governments around the world and from the international community, including a growing number of Chinese citizens. The CTA has launched a massive international campaign to continue raising this awareness and support for the Middle Way Approach. In this campaign, a rich array of information and materials on the Middle Way Approach will be distributed in many languages through websites and social media. Closer to home, the Kalons and Secretaries of the CTA will visit Tibetan settlements and generate mass awareness about the Middle Way Approach, in the earnest hope that all Tibetans will actively participate in this crucial effort.
Despite the suffocating environment of fear and repression inside Tibet for the past 60 years, the Tibetan people have resolutely kept their hope and pride alive. They have placed their aspirations in His Holiness the Dalai Lama and anxiously await his return. This profound desire for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s return and for freedom in Tibet are the common rallying cries of the 130 people who have committed self-immolation as an act of protest against China’s oppressive rule. Despite our repeated appeal against drastic actions, the heart-wrenching series of self-immolations witnessed across Tibet has amplified the true aspirations of the Tibetan people not only to the Chinese government, but also to the world at large.
With unity, innovation and self-reliance as our guiding principles, we pledge to fulfill the vision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the aspirations of the Tibetans inside Tibet and all the Tibetans who left us, i.e. to restore freedom for Tibet.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to convey our heartfelt gratitude to the people and Government of India and Himachal Pradesh, as well as of the world, who have in any way, shape or form supported the cause of Tibet and contributed to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan religion and culture.
In conclusion, we pray that His Holiness the Dalai Lama may live long and all his wishes be fulfilled. May the cause of Tibet soon prevail!
The Kashag
6th July 2014
Tsering Wangchuk
TSG Liaison
+91 8679208465
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Four Tibetans Held as ‘Ringleaders’ in Chinese Mine Protest
2014-07-03
Residents of Karsel village in Chabcha county are fighting Chinese mining of white marble in their area.
RFA
Authorities in northwestern China’s Qinghai province have released all but four of 27 Tibetans detained for opposing a Chinese mining operation that had run beyond its leasing contract and had begun to encroach on sacred sites, sources said.
The 27 residents of Karsel village in Chabcha (in Chinese, Gonghe) county in the Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture were taken into custody on June 6 and 7 after vowing to block the mining of white marble in their area.
Four were quickly released, with 23 held in custody for investigation, local sources said.
Of those 23, 19 were later freed “in different groups and at different times,” a Tibetan living in Europe told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Thursday, citing sources in the region.
“Now, four Tibetans are still in custody and are accused of being ringleaders in the protest,” the source, named Dorje, said.
“Family members could not learn at first where they were detained, but after making enquiries they learned that all four are being held in a prison close to [the provincial capital] Xining,” he said.
Tibetan areas of China have become an important source of minerals needed for China’s economic growth, and mining operations have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms of disrupting sites of spiritual significance and polluting the environment as they extract local wealth.
Earlier this week, police in China’s southwestern Yunnan province attacked and beat a group of Tibetan women who had gathered to protest copper mining on land considered sacred by residents living near the site.
The protest came after Chinese authorities dismissed repeated appeals by Tibetans living in Dechen (in Chinese, Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture’s Dechen (Deqin) county to halt the excavations.
Family kept away
Relatives of the four still in custody for protesting against the mining of white marble in Qinghai have not been told the exact location of the prison where they are being held, and are not allowed to meet with them, Dorje said.
“Tibetans living in the Chabcha area are really worried, as they have heard that the detained protesters may now face trial and could be sentenced to a number of years in prison.”
“They are demanding that if the four are tried, they must be tried in their home county,” he said.
Chinese miners have been digging for white marble in the Karsel village area since about 1989, and continued to excavate even after the end of a contract that allowed them to work, a local source told RFA in June.
“The contract expired this year,” he said. “So the Tibetans resisted the extension of the mining work after the excavations began to adversely affect the local environment.”
“There is a sacred place near the mining site where the local Tibetans worship and make offerings, fly prayer flags, and burn incense to please the local deities,” the source added.
“A cemetery is also located in this area. The mining work is being done right behind this cemetery and has now almost reached it.”
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 131 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Tibetan altitude gene inherited ‘from extinct species’
By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website
A gene that allows present-day people to cope with life at high altitude was inherited from an extinct species of human, Nature journal has reported.
The variant of the EPAS-1 gene, which affects blood oxygen, is common in Tibetans – many of whom live at altitudes of 4,000m all year round.
But the DNA sequence matches one found in the extinct Denisovan people.
Many of us carry DNA from extinct humans who interbred with our ancestors as the latter expanded out of Africa.
Both the Neanderthals – who emerged around 400,000 years ago and lived in Europe and western Asia until 35,000 years ago – and the enigmatic Denisovans contributed DNA to present-day people.
The Denisovans are known only from DNA extracted from the finger bone of a girl unearthed at a cave in central Siberia. This 40,000-50,000-year-old bone fragment, as well as a rather large tooth from another individual, are all that is known of this species.
The tiny “pinky” bone yielded an entire genome sequence, allowing scientists to compare it to the DNA of modern people in order to better understand the legacy of ancient interbreeding.
Now, researchers have linked an unusual variant of the EPAS1 gene, which is involved in regulating the body’s production of haemoglobin – the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood – to the Denisovans. When the body is exposed to the low oxygen levels encountered at high elevations, EPAS1 tells other genes in the body to become active, stimulating a response that includes the production of extra red blood cells.
The unusual variant common among Tibetans probably spread through natural selection after their ancestors moved onto the high-altitude plateau in Asia several thousand years ago.
“We have very clear evidence that this version of the gene came from Denisovans,” said principal author co-author Rasmus Nielsen, from the University of California, Berkeley.
Denisovan finger bone A tiny finger bone provided a high-quality DNA sequence for a new species – the Denisovans
He told BBC News: “If you and I go up to high altitude, we’ll immediately have various negative physiological effects. We’ll be out of breath, we might suffer from altitude sickness.
“After a little while, we’ll try to compensate for this by producing more red blood cells. But because we’re not adapted to the high altitude environment, our response would be maladaptive – we would produce too many red blood cells.
“The blood becomes too thick and raises our blood pressure, placing us at risk of stroke and pre-eclampsia (in pregnant women).”
But Tibetans are protected against these risks by producing fewer red blood cells at high altitude. This keeps their blood from thickening.
The Tibetan variant of EPAS1 was discovered by Prof Nielsen’s team in 2010. But the researchers couldn’t explain why it was so different from the DNA sequences found in all other humans today, so they looked to more ancient genome sequences for an answer.
“We compared it to Neanderthals, but we couldn’t find a match. Then we compared it to Denisovans and to our surprise there was an almost exact match,” he explained.
He says the interbreeding event with Denisovans probably happened very long ago.
“After the Denisovan DNA came into modern humans, it lingered in different Asian populations at low frequencies for a long time,” Prof Nielsen said.
“Then, when the ancestors of Tibetans moved to high altitudes, it favoured this genetic variant which then spread to the point where most Tibetans carry it today.”
He says it remains unclear whether the Denisovans were also adapted to life at high altitudes. Denisova Cave lies at an elevation of 760m – not particularly high. But it is close to the Altai Mountains which rise above 3,000m.
Prof Nielsen said it was a “clear and direct” example of humans adapting to new environments through genes acquired via interbreeding with other human species.
Previous research has shown that ancient humans introduced genes that may help us cope with viruses outside Africa.
And a study of Eurasian populations showed that Neanderthal DNA is over-represented in parts of the genome involved in making skin, hair and nails – hinting, perhaps, at something advantageous that allowed Homo sapiens to adapt to conditions in Eurasia.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28127785

Spain court scraps probe of ex-Chinese leaders over Tibet under new universal jurisdiction law
June 24, 2014 2:48 pm
[Associated Press]
MADRID – Spain’s National Court has scrapped an investigation into several former Chinese leaders for alleged genocide in Tibet, a probe that had angered Beijing.
A court statement late Monday said the court dismissed the investigation because it did not comply with a new law that curbs Spanish courts’ use of universal jurisdiction to pursue crimes against humanity committed abroad.
The law was drawn up after China expressed anger over the probe and hinted it could damage relations. The officials under investigation included two former presidents.
Under the new law, Spanish judges can prosecute crimes against humanity committed abroad only if the suspect is Spanish, a foreign resident in Spain or a foreigner who happens to be in Spain and whom the Spanish authorities have refused to extradite.

Telegraph.co.uk
Thursday 19 June 2014
US professors urge Western universities to end ties to China’s Confucius Institutes
In a serious blow to China’s soft-power outreach, a leading association of American professors warns that Confucius Institutes break basic standards on academic freedom
By Peter Foster, Washington 6:22AM BST 18 Jun 2014
Chinese soft-power diplomacy has suffered a major rebuke after the leading association of American university professors accused China’s network of Confucius Institutes of flouting basic rules of academic freedom and integrity.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called for agreements between Confucius Institutes and nearly 100 universities to be either cancelled or renegotiated so that they properly reflected Western values of free speech.
“Confucius Institutes function as an arm of the Chinese state and are allowed to ignore academic freedom,” the AAUP said in a statement, urging US universities to “cease their involvement” with the institutes unless major reforms are instituted.
China’s network of 300 Confucius Institutes – including 11 branches in on British university campuses – can be a lucrative source of funds for universities but are exempt from many of the basic rules government academic discourse.
They are designed to project a favourable image of China’s ruling Communist Party around the world through language and cultural programmes, but are allowed to restrict discussions of topics unpalatable to China’s ruling Communist Party such as the occupation of Tibet.
“Most agreements establishing Confucius Institutes feature nondisclosure clauses and unacceptable concessions to the political aims and practices of the government of China,” the AAUP statement added.
“Specifically, North American universities permit Confucius Institutes to advance a state agenda in the recruitment and control of academic staff, in the choice of curriculum, and in the restriction of debate.” Concerns over
how China is uses its vast cash resources to buy influence in academia have been mounting in recent years.
Earlier this month The Telegraph revealed that Cambridge University had allowed a charitable foundation linked to China’s former prime minister Wen Jiabao to endow a chair of Chinese development studies.
One academic accused Cambridge of allowing the Chinese government to “purchase a professorship” at one of Britain’s most prestigious universities.
The AAUP is a 47,000-member association which was founded in 1915 to guard academic freedom. It’s call to cancel Confucius Institute agreements is a huge blow for China’s premiere soft-power project which Beijing says is equivalent to the UK’s British Council or Frances’s Alliance Français.
However the AAUP drew a clear distinction between the British and French organisations, which existed off-campus and openly fulfilled their mandates, with the on-campus Confucius Institutes that are allowed to bypass basic tenets of academic freedom in exchange for money.
The Confucius Institute website says the Institutes are intended for “the promotion and dissemination of Chinese language and culture” more generally, however critics have accused them merely of being the propaganda arm of the
ruling Communist Party of China.
According to the AAUP statement, the academic activities “are under the supervision of Hanban, a Chinese state agency which is chaired by a member of the Politburo and the vice-premier of the People’s Republic of China”.
The universities of Edinburgh, Manchester, Cardiff, Central Wales, Nottingham, Sheffield, Soas, the London School of Economics, London South Bank University, Liverpool and Central Lancashire are all listed as having Confucius Institutes.
In the past, China has batted away criticism of its Institutes, with the Chinese ambassador to London accusing critics of submitting to “Cold War thinking” in 2012 after Christopher Hughes, a China expert at the London School of Economics, raised concerns about hosting such centres in the wake of a scandal over the LSE’s taking funding from the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Similar concerns were raised earlier this month in Toronto, Canada, after trustees of the Toronto District School Board’s newly minted Confucius Institute recommended suspending its partnership with the Chinese government because of concerns over censorship.
They are due to vote on whether to end the partnership on Wednesday.

Rise of Narendra Modi — and Tibetan hopes?

By Lobsang Yeshi
DHARAMSHALA, India, 7 June 2014
The widespread Indian euphoria and the global interest in the stunning victory of Mr Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India is followed not only with routine greetings from world leaders, but also the historic conglomeration of the SAARC leaders in Delhi, release of Indian prisoners by Pakistan and Sri Lanka as a goodwill gesture, and most importantly, a rise in the Indian Sensex.
Amid exhilarations and apprehensions, many strategists foresee resurgence of a powerful India under the Modi leadership. Indian democracy too was at its best when political opponents buried the hatchets and wished Mr Modi success. In an absolute surprise, Modi even received tributes from the unexpected quarters of senior Pakistani diplomats as well as from Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. International financial experts like British economist Jim O’Neill and Chris Wood also joined the bandwagon in endorsing Mr Modi as saviour of Indian economy.
Meanwhile, as India and the world debate over the prospects and implications of the rise of Mr Narendra Modi, his historic victory has also generated a great deal of interest and scrutiny among exile Tibetans. And many debate its implications for the Tibetan cause.
Modi, Tibet, and China
Tibetans wonder if Mr Narendra Modi would be good for the Tibetan cause. Will he speak in the interest of Tibetans, and raise the Tibetan issue with his Chinese counterpart more effectively? Will he mediate for the resumption of dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama? And at best, will Mr Modi review India’s policy on Tibet after the long political hiatus?
Some even hope for Mr Modi to emulate his cherished icon Sardar Vallabhbai Patel in dealing favorably with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan issue.
For, after a long while, the Indian electorate has gifted Mr Narendra Modi with a powerful mandate that privileges him the freedom to be imaginative, bold, and pragmatic in dealing with China and the Tibetan issue.
Nonetheless, some Tibetans fear that Mr Modi’s decade-long business association with China would only mean nasty repercussions for Tibet. In 2011, when Mr Modi visited China for the fourth time, Beijing accorded him a reception typically reserved only for heads of state. Even Mr Modi himself acknowledged that he has good rapport with China and that China listens to him and is polite with him. And rightly so, when Mr. Modi sought the release of Gujarati traders from the Shenzhen prison in China, Beijing promptly obliged.
Observers further noted Beijing’s unusually mild response to Modi’s strong warning from Arunachal Pradesh during the election campaign, signalling the return of the Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai days.
Many economists also refer to China’s contribution to Modi’s success in Gujarat. China’s SEZ model implementation in Gujarat, massive trade exchanges and investments, and the supply of mammoth Ultra High Voltage Transformer and Reactors plant are reckoned as major development boosters for Gujarat.
However, while promoting bilateral trade during his China visit, Mr. Modi did raise issues of political importance with Chinese officials, including China’s cartographic aggression in Arunachal Pradesh, presence of Chinese forces in POK, border issues, etc. Professor MD Nalapat, a geo-strategist from Manipal University, in a recent interview with Gateway House, argued “The perception that he (Modi) leans towards China is completely wrong. In China he was very firm on Indian interests – especially the Chinese assistance to the Pakistani nuclear and missile program and the Pakistani army. He was very firm that the border issue needs to be settled in a way that creates overall tranquillity.”
In the numerous foreign policy analyses that followed the rise of Mr. Narendra Modi, a majority of the strategic experts speculate on Mr Modi adopting a multi-lateral diplomacy in an effort to maintain a strict balance in the promotion of economic development and safeguarding India’s core strategic interests. Former Foreign Secretary, Mr Shyam Saran, in his recent article titled, “Modi must re-establish India’s global clout”, suggested that “There will be continuities in the challenges confronting India. Managing an essentially adversarial relationship with China will require a mix of expanded engagement and robust deterrence.”
Dr Ashok Sharma, Honorary Research Fellow, Politics and International Relations at University of Auckland, in his article, “Foreign policy will be a crucial challenge for the incoming Modi government” aptly summed up Mr. Modi’s likely foreign policy by stating that “Modi comes with a reputation as an economic performer and a hardline nationalist and he will try to live up to both the expectations. Under the BJP, both economic interdependence and realism will be hallmarks of Indian foreign policy.”
Modi and Tibetans in India

Despite all these facts, many Tibetans are optimistic that Mr. Modi’s concerns for the Tibetan cause and his personal acquaintance with the Dalai Lama would definitely bring better days for Dharamshala. Especially the BJP Party being popular among the Tibetan exiles as a party that overtly extends its support and solidarity to the CTA as well as the Tibetan political campaigners.
Likewise Mr Narendra Modi, while serving as the Gujarat CM and also as BJP State coordinator in Himachal, had met the Dalai Lama as well as CTA leaders in Dharamshala on several occasions. Mr. Modi even felicitated Dalai Lama during a state event in Gujarat in 2010.
Last fall, a week before Mr. Modi was to be announced as BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, a Tibetan Parliamentary delegation including this writer was accorded a warm reception at his CM Office in Gujarat. The delegates were allowed to call on Mr Modi despite his frenzied engagements. Mr. Modi not only expressed his sincere support and solidarity with the Tibetan cause, but also shared some touching anecdotes of his pilgrimage to Mt Kailash in Tibet.
Incidentally, a fortnight before the Modi Meeting, when the same Tibetan delegation called on the renowned British economist and MP, Lord Meghnad Desai in Goa, Mr. Desai assured that the victory of the strong and decisive BJP leader would be a boon not just for India but also for the Tibetans.
These backgrounds clearly demonstrate that Mr Modi is not naive or indifferent on Tibetan matters.
Expectations
Other optimists also refer to Modi’s strong warning against China in Arunachal Pradesh during the election campaign, and his criticism of Delhi’s failure to protect the Indian borders against China during his Chennai address. During the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture in Chennai last October, deemed his first exclusive foreign policy speech, Mr. Modi strongly criticized India’s foreign policy and ridiculed the Central Government’s weak response to Chinese border transgressions. He also questioned how India allowed China to dominate it across an International platform.
In his speech, Mr. Modi quoted author Arun Shourie’s reference to the Dalai Lama’s reaction to the title of Shourie’s book, “Self Deception: India, China policies; Origins, premises, lessons” released on the occasion, as a fitting title indicating India’s foreign policy. And experts point out how Mr. Modi singled out China as the only “neighboring country” along with Myanmar (not member of SAARC) away from his Swearing in Ceremony in Delhi.
Still there are others who fear that Mr. Modi’s sheer pragmatism and ‘India First’ nationalism and the staunch development mantra would mean more economic engagement and strategic partnership with Beijing, spelling doom for the political Tibet.
Already few Indian and Chinese strategic experts suspect that Mr. Modi is emerging as India’s Nixon; cozying up to China to achieve a breakthrough in the Sino-India border deadlocks through package deal and revive Indian economy through multi-lateral partnership with China, development being Mr. Modi’s sole election mantra. There are also others who equate him as India’s Deng Xiaoping, while others expect him to emerge as India’s Mikhail Gorbachev.
Brookings expert William J Antholis, who interviewed Mr Modi last month, noted that Mr. Modi avoided discussing China as a direct threat and that he did not demonstrate a deep suspicion toward China. Mr. Modi also assured Mr. Antholis of the possibility of resolving the differences between the two countries and taking the Sino-Indian relationship “to another level.”
And lo! even before he took charge of the PM office, Mr. Modi laid everyone’s doubt to rest, when he tweeted a warm response to the Dalai Lama by stating that he is “Extremely grateful to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his wishes and words of appreciation” and followed it up by honoring the Tibetan Political leader Dr Lobsang Sangay with an invitation to his swearing-in ceremony. This invitation is believed to be India’s first major formal recognition to the Tibetan exile leader in a long while. No wonder the Chinese government sent a demarche to India protesting against the invitation to Dr Lobsang Sangay.
For Tibetans, the recognition was a huge relief after a protracted political drought. By inviting the Tibetan leaders (including Home Minister Ms. Gyari Dolma) at the August gathering, PM Narendra Modi has reinforced the Tibetan peoples’ trust in him.
Influence of history
Yet, more cautious observers interpret even these Tibetan treatments as a mere sign of Modi’s willingness to engage CTA in his future dealings with China on bilateral border issues. And some hardliners suspect even this as diplomacy before an impending “sell-out”. They recall the former NDA Government’s downsizing Tibet into “Tibet Autonomous Region” as a quid pro quo for Sikkim in 2003.
Former TYC President Mr. Tsewang Rinzin shrugged off the new-found Tibetan optimism as premature and noted the limitations of our Indian political friends when in power.
It’s another matter that since arrival in India, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans have enjoyed unparallel humanitarian support from the Government and people of India, irrespective of which political party is in power in Delhi. And the Tibetans in exile are overwhelmingly indebted to the Government, people, and all political parties for their unstinted support and solidarity for the Tibetans and their struggle.
On the political front, successive Indian Governments have virtually followed the same policies adopted by its foremost foreign policy architect, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Prof. Sreeram S Chaulia of University of Syracuse, New York, referring to Pandit Nehru’s influence in Indian Foreign policy stated, “Nowhere was the influence of this architect of modern India more monumental, singular and enduring than in foreign policy and external relations.” Former Indian President KR Narayanan once succinctly declared, “Nehru is not dead as far as the country’s foreign policy was concerned.”
Meanwhile PM Narendra Modi, in his recent telephone conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, assured that China is a priority in India’s foreign policy and that he is keen to work with the Chinese leadership to deal with any outstanding issues between the two countries. He also extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit India later this year.
The Chinese Premier in response conveyed his government’s desire to “establish robust partnership with the new government in India for further development of relations between the two nations.”
With the Modi Government just weeks into office, China is sending its Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India on 8th June for an early “damage control” bilateral talk with Indian counterpart Ms Swaraj. Analysts view this as Beijing’s unprecedented diplomatically-perturbed overture.
Conclusion: Watch, wait, hope
Despite some veiled allegations against the exile Tibetans for creating or exaggerating the antagonism between India and China, the Tibetan leadership in Dharamshala has repeatedly clarified that improved Sino-India relations is a welcome proposition for Tibetans, for it would enhance India’s scopes for effective intervention in resolving the Tibetan issue with Beijing.
Finally, as Tibetans speculate on the future turn of events under the new Indian leadership, they can only wait and observe how the charismatic Prime Minister Narendra Modi realizes his quest for a strong and developed India through multilateral diplomacy and the “web of allies” based on traditional “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” and “Shakti and Shanti” stratagems. And most importantly, observe how Mr Modi balances India’s national interest with her moral and humanitarian obligations, including for Tibetans. Until then, Tibetans can only hope that while the new Government deals with China, Tibetan interests are not compromised in the realpolitik.
About the author
Lobsang Yeshi is an Independent researcher and a member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, Dharamshala

“On April 7, 217 Tibetans out of the 14,000 living in Dharamshala…So what is the legal status of Tibetans here? Are the voters citizens now? Will the voters lose their RCs? Can we avail of government jobs? Own a house after 55 years of exile?”
Are Tibetans who voted in LS polls Indian citizens?

Tenzin Tsundue HINDUSTAN TIMES, 16 MAY 2014
http://www.hindustantimes.com/elections2014/opinion/tibetans-in-india-voted–can–they-be-called-its-citizens/article1-1219593.aspx
On April 7, as Himachal Pradesh went to polls, I watched my friend Tashi vote in an Indian general election for the first time in his life. Brushing shoulders with the local Gaddis, Ranas and Chaudhrys he emerged from the booth triumphantly showing me his Tibetan index finger with an ink mark. Suddenly he seemed to have been washed of all his sins; the identity crisis of being born in India, but to a Tibetan refugee family, which made him a foreigner by birth. Tashi had made history for Tibetans in India. How did he become a citizen overnight?
Since the Election Commission (EC) made the announcement on February 7 that Tibetans in India could vote, debates have been raging in Tibetan community meetings and on social media sites.
While the pragmatists argued for the benefits of citizenship until we return to Tibet, idealists like me vehemently opposed it, reasoning that it would undermine Tibetan nationality, and our legal, historical and basic moral claims over Tibet.
The debate started with a young girl, Namgyal Dolkar. She took the Delhi passport office to the high court for not issuing her a passport, quoting the Section 3 (1) (a) of the Citizenship Act 1955 — ‘anyone born in India between January 26, 1950 to July 1, 1987 are natural citizens of India’. After battling for a passport for five years she won the case on December 22, 2010, thereby establishing a precedent.
At the height of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the Himachal police arrested and charged me as a foreigner for being absent from Dharamshala for over 14 days without registering my departure. They jailed me for 11 days, confiscated my ID card and charged me under Section 14 (c) of the Foreigners Registration Act, 1946. By applying this regulation — applicable to foreign tourists — to Tibetans born in India, like me, it renders every second Tibetan a potential criminal. It took two years and 22 trips to the Mandi district court before I was found innocent and acquitted.
Tibetans feared that if they voted in this election their Registration Card (RC) would be revoked. This annually renewable document, which establishes Tibetan identity, has been procedurally issued by India, for individual applications, making a Tibetan a foreigner. But the Dharamshala collector did not demand RCs; he checked the certificates showing they were born before July 1, 1987. On April 7, 217 Tibetans out of the 14,000 living in Dharamshala trailed to the polling booths, hiding their faces in apparent guilt at surrendering their Tibetan identity. Tashi went in a foreigner and came out a citizen, his RC still safe in his chest pocket. The foreigner became a citizen. The stateless found a country.
So what is the legal status of Tibetans here? Are the voters citizens now? Will the voters lose their RCs? Can we avail of government jobs? Own a house after 55 years of exile? Will the 7,000 ‘Special Frontier Force’ Tibetans in the army, heroes of the Bangladesh and Kargil wars, now have equal promotions and pensions as Indians? Since the EC’s announcement has been challenged by the home ministry, Tibetans are dazed at the ‘hum aapke hain kaun’ moment?
Since India is not a signatory to the 1951 international refugee law, the 100,000 Tibetans living here are technically foreigners though sentimentally we call ourselves refugees. Never in 55 years has India pressured or coerced Tibetans to integrate. The visionary work of the Dalai Lama, supported by India, helped Tibetans preserve their identity by nurturing a deep sense of culture, history and heritage in the young. For this, Tibetans remain ever grateful to India.
It is magnanimous on the part of India to now offer citizenship to Tibetans. Whether anyone takes this consthttps://www.friends-of-tibet.org.nz/?p=1687&preview=trueitutional right and to be or not to be an Indian citizen is an individual choice.
Tenzin Tsundue is Tibetan writer and activist
The views expressed by the author are personal