22 October 2013
UN criticises China’s rights record at Geneva meeting
The UN human rights council has criticised China during an official review of its human rights record.
Many members of the council expressed concern at the arrest of dissidents, the continued use of the death penalty and the use of torture in prison.
But Chinese officials said major progress had been made in improving social and economic rights.
They said people had better access to healthcare and education, and incomes had risen across the country.
But Julie de Rivero, of Human Rights Watch, told the BBC that China’s focus on economic progress was a way of avoiding the real issues.
“The question is why does does China continue to torture people in prisons and why is it systematic? Why do they not allow human rights defenders to raise questions that party members are even raising, about corruption? When it comes from the mouth of a human rights defender it earns them a place in prison,” she said.
Students for a Free Tibet banner Activists from Students for a Free Tibet defied security to display a banner on scaffolding in front of the of the European headquarters of the United Nations
All UN member states undergo the review by the UN once every four years.
In 2009 it was recommended that China make improvements in reducing poverty and support the rights of ethnic minorities.
Human rights groups say China has failed to address these and other issues.
Ahead of proceedings on Tuesday, at least three Tibet activists scaled scaffolding at the UN headquarters in Geneva, with a banner saying: “China human rights – UN stand up on Tibet”.
A Chinese government white paper released on Tuesday said that Beijing had no intention of altering its “correct” policies in Tibet as they had brought “unprecedented achievements”.
Activists missing
Members of the UN panel also expressed concern about the treatment of a number of Chinese human rights activists in recent weeks.
A BBC correspondent says several have been arrested or banned from travelling in a bid to prevent them testifying in Geneva.
On Monday, a wealthy Chinese businessman, Wang Gongquan, was formally arrested on suspicion of “gathering crowds to disturb public order”.
Mr Wang is considered a key supporter of a group of activists pushing for more official transparency, New Citizens Movement, which has been targeted in a crackdown this year.
Human Rights Watch has also expressed concern about a well-known legal rights activist who recently disappeared after being questioned by Beijing airport police.
The group says Cao Shunli has not been seen since 14 September, when she was barred from boarding a flight to Switzerland to attend a UN human rights training course.
A number of bloggers and journalists have also been detained over alleged “rumour-mongering”, and high-profile micro-bloggers targeted.
The UN panel – with a rotating membership of 47 states that does not currently include China – has no binding powers.
The UN is expected to deliver a report on China later this week.

Statement by the Tibetan National Congress on Hu Jintao’s indictment
October 16th, 2013
In a rare moment of sunshine in these dark days, with Tibet deeply immersed in the heart-wrenching images of the self-immolations spurred on by the brutal Chinese occupation, and the exile Tibetans anguished in our inability to assist them, the Spanish National Court provided a great moment of triumph and indicted Hu Jintao for the crime of Genocide against the people and the country of Tibet.
There was tremendous pressure asserted on the small group of people working on this lawsuit, from both within the country of Spain and from international forces to either abandon this venture altogether or to throw the case out of court on technicalities. But they persisted against overwhelming odds and pulled off one of the biggest triumphs in recent international legal history. This victory in the Spanish National Court proves that there are some courts in the civilized world which refuse to be intimidated or stand aside while innocents are oppressed.
This victory did not come overnight. This has been a lonely fight for almost twenty years carried on by CAT (Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet). One staunch advocate for this lawsuit, Claude B. Levenson has even passed away, sadly unable to witness this tremendous legal victory. In the words of Professor José Elías Esteve Moltó of CAT, “We wish to dedicate this judicial success not only to the victims, but also to the thousands of ‘freedom fighters’ and to the memory of all those who self-immolated in and outside Tibet, and those who risk their lives and their freedom in the face of the passivity of the international community whose silence is an accomplice to the genocide. Their sense of justice and their determination for truth is enshrined in this judicial battle that believes in these values in a nonviolent manner.”
And this is more than a symbolic victory by CAT and co-plaintiffs Ven. Thubten Wangchen and Fundacion Casa del Tíbet Barcelona. The judicial ruling recognizes that this genocide is against the “country” of Tibet. Hu Jintao and others indicted by the Spanish National Court can now be arrested and made to answer for their crimes if they set foot in Spain or the multitude of countries with extradition treaties with Spain. Even without their physical presence, the Spanish court can now try to preventively freeze their international assets. China is looking for validation and acceptance into the civilized world; it is a crushing blow to their pride when, because of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, their top officials are indicted for the worst crimes a human being can commit. Moreover, most leaders, however delusional they might be in reality, do care about their legacy and this sets a precedent where future strong-men in China will have to reconsider their actions. This is also etched in history, in legal terms, that they are international criminals and as such history will remember them in just and equitable terms.
The most imperative thing that came out of this victory is that this small group of dedicated citizens of Spain has taught us a lesson in courage and resilience; one must stand up and raise your voice against tyranny and oppression no matter the obstacles or the outcome. The victory is the simple act of standing up, refusing to accept crimes against humanity, and speaking out against those who perpetuate such horrendous crimes. It is also the act of seeking justice no matter the duration of the crime and acknowledging the pain and suffering of an entire people and nation. In the words of Alan Cantos of CAT, this success “proves that, even in the worst conditions, the truth surfaces. And the truth surfaces though a very meticulous and slow process of hammering with rigorous information, rigorous experts, rigorous witnesses, and just keep on feeding that truth into the courtroom, not just into the media and shelves.”
Tibetan National Congress wishes to thank all the amazing people involved in this project for their hard work and unrelenting pursuit of justice against all odds, and in particular Professor Esteve and Alan Cantos of CAT. We support their legal endeavor without any reservations.
Therefore, Tibetan National Congress hereby passes a resolution endorsing:
1.    the legal action against Hu Jintao and his cohorts in the Spanish National Court;
2.    the private member’s resolution in the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Agenda to be Considered:
Document 37, sponsored by MP Dhardon Sharling and MP Atuk Tsetan on September 25th, 2013; and
3.    the call by DIIR Kalon Dicki Chhoyang on September 25th, 2013 for all Tibet Support Groups to pursue similar legal actions against the self-same international criminals in any and all national or international courts which abide by principles of universal jurisdiction.
On behalf of the people of Tibet, whose voices still remained trapped within walls of brick and iron, we thank the Spanish legal team for their labor of love for all of humanity. May the sun shine brightly once again in the Land of Snows, and may we all live to welcome His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama back to his land and his people, in an independent Tibet.
Bhod Gyalo!
Jigme Ugen
President

Spanish court indicts China’s ex-president Hu Jintao on genocide charges
Friday, 11 October, 2013 [Updated: 4:23PM]
Patrick Boehler patrick.boehler@scmp.com
Spain’s National Court has agreed to hear charges of genocide against former Chinese President Hu Jintao.
On Thursday, the court’s criminal division ruled in favour of an appeal by Tibetan exile groups allowing the indictment of Hu, a request which had been dismissed in June by the same court.
The court, which handles crimes against humanity and genocide, argued that the earlier decision had to be overturned because one of the plaintiffs, Thubten Wangchen, is a Spanish citizen and because China had not carried out its own investigation into the allegations.
“There’ll be some sort of diplomatic reaction,” said Nina Jorgensen, an associate professor at the Chinese Univeristy of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law. “China has been very much against these proceedings.”
“But in all likelihood, not a lot will happen,” she cautioned. “The case brings attention to the issue and gives the victims at least an opportunity to bring attention to their claims.”
Spanish courts can hear cases of crimes against humanity wherever they occur outside its national territory on the legal principle of universal competence. In 2009, the universality was limited to cases in which Spanish citizens are victims of such crimes.
The court’s decision follows lengthy proceedings which started in 2008, when Tibetan activist groups, one of them headed by Wangchen, asked the court to hold seven Chinese state leaders, including former President Jiang Zemin and former Premier Li Peng, responsible for crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the Chinese government in Tibet. China denounced the trial proceedings.
Hu Jintao served as Communist Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region between 1988 and 1992, overseeing a crackdown on anti-Chinese riots in 1989.
The court “recognises that this genocide is against the country of Tibet and against the Tibetan nation, and the judges recognise that this indictment of Hu Jintao comes at the precise judicial moment ‘when his diplomatic immunity expires’”, the Madrid-based Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement.
 
 

Obituary: Robert Ford
http://www.tibetsociety.com/content/view/426
[27 September 2013] Robert Ford, Vice President of Tibet Society and former Council Member, died at the age of 90 on 20 September 2013. Robert’s connection with Tibet was unique – he happened to be in a remote spot in Tibet at a time of dramatic events – and no one can experience again what Robert experienced.
Known affectionately by Tibetans as Phodo Kusho (Honourable Gentleman Ford), Robert was the only British citizen to serve as an employee of the independent Tibetan government in the 1940s. He worked as a radio operator and was assigned the task of setting up Tibet’s first broadcasting station. When appointed he knew very little about Tibet except that it promised “adventure”. He certainly got more adventure than he bargained for!
In October 1950, the Chinese invaded Tibet and within days Robert was captured in Chamdo, near the border with China. The People’s Liberation Army was rabidly triumphalist, having recently defeated the Nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-Shek who withdrew to Formosa/Taiwan. Robert was everything the Chinese communists wanted – a westerner, an “imperialist” (so they thought), a spy – everything they needed to justify their invasion of Tibet which was ostensibly to rid Tibet of American and British imperialism.
Robert was paraded in public, subjected to intense interrogation, isolation and brain-washing – one of the earliest examples of this technique which was only just becoming familiar to the West. To terrify him more they accused him of having murdered Geda Lama – a “Living Buddha” who was actually a Chinese spy and stooge. He was the only European to suffer capture and imprisonment by the Chinese for his unswerving loyalty to Tibet. A loyalty and affection that was recognised and appreciated by Tibetans throughout his life.
When released from gaol in Chungking in 1955, he joined the British Diplomatic Service and in 1957 wrote about his extraordinary experience in Wind Between the Worlds. This was re-published in 1990 as Captured in Tibet. However, as a servant of HMG he was unable to comment on sensitive political matters such as the situation in Tibet, but when he retired from the diplomatic service in 1983 he openly and proudly supported the Tibetan cause. He became a Council Member of Tibet Society, the world’s first Tibet support group, where he brought great experience and wisdom to the meetings.
Earlier this year, he was presented with the Light of Truth Award by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Switzerland. In his acceptance speech on receiving the award, Robert said, “I am a member of a rather exclusive club of Westerners who have the privilege and good fortune to see, know and witness a free Tibet before 1950. I spent some of the happiest days of my life in Tibet. The Tibet that I found when I first went there in 1945 was vastly different to the Tibet of today. It was an independent country with its own government, its own language, culture, customs and way of life… To me as an outsider, the most remarkable feature of Tibetans was their devotion to their religion and their unswerving support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Another striking feature was their remarkable self-reliance both in the material and the spiritual sense. Tibet valued its self-imposed isolation and independence. Its simple wish was to be left alone to run its own affairs in the way that it thought best.”
In honour of his loyalty to Tibet, in March 2013, the Tibetan Community in the UK put on a special celebration for his 90th birthday at Tibet House in London. The Dalai Lama’s Representative, Thubten Samdup, presented Robert with the last of his Tibetan salary (which because he was captured he never received) – a 100 srang note of Tibetan currency. Robert was deeply touched and moved by this occasion.
Born in Staffordshire in 1923, he married his childhood friend, Monica Tebbett and had two sons, Giles and Martin. He was awarded a CBE for his diplomatic service in 1982 and continued to travel widely, giving lectures on many aspects of Tibetan and Chinese affairs to audiences in Europe, the United States and Australia. He remained physically active throughout his life. He enjoyed walking, skiing and dancing (even teaching the Tibetans in Lhasa how to do the samba!).
In his 90th year he said, “One of the advantages of living a long life like me is that you witness some extraordinary changes, some of which earlier in your life you would never imagine could have happened. This gives me great hope and I wish with all my heart that we will once again see a return to a free Tibet.”
Robert Ford (Phodo Kushu) was indeed an honourable gentleman, blessed with a fine intellect, a deep knowledge and love of Tibet, a sparkling dry wit and was a wonderful inspiration to many. He will be much missed and our thoughts at this time go out to his sons, Giles and Martin and their families.
Paul Golding
Campaigns Coordinator
paul@tibetsociety.com
020 7272 1414
___________________________________________
Tibet Society Unit 9, 139 Fonthill Road, London N4 3HF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7272 1414  Fax: +44 (0)20 7272 1410
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Lithuanian President meeting with Dalai Lama highlights importance of EU solidarity
http://www.euractiv.com/global-europe/lithuanian-president-meeting-dal-analysis-530417
Many leaders in the world have met the Dalai Lama in recent years but it is only the second time that the exiled Tibetan religious leader has met the head of the country holding the EU Presidency, writes Vincent Metten.
Vincent Metten is EU Policy Director at the International Campaign for Tibet.
On September 11, 2013 President Dalia Grybauskaite welcomed the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, to Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. In a moving video, President Grybauskaite told the Dalai Lama she was ‘honored’ to receive him. The Lithuanian leader’s actions were all the more significant as they followed a deep freeze in China’s relations with the UK after UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in London last year. The meeting was also an important signal as Lithuania currently holds the six-monthly rotating Presidency of the European Council.
Two years ago, President Grybauskaite’s Estonian counterpart, President Toomas Ilves, also met with the Dalai Lama. Many other leaders in the world have met the Dalai Lama in recent years such as US Presidents Bush and Obama, German Chancellor Merkel, the President of the European Commission Barroso, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofsadt, the late Czech President Vaclav Havel, and others. But it is only the second time that the exiled Tibetan religious leader has met the head of the country holding the EU Presidency.
In 2008, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who at that time was also heading the EU Presidency, met the Dalai Lama in Gdansk, Poland. It was an encounter with particular political resonance, as it occurred on the margins of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Peace Nobel Prize awarded to Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity movement, which played a crucial role in the fight against Communist rule. The Chinese authorities’ reaction was to cancel the EU-China Summit (as well as a Business summit) planned on December 1, 2008 in Lyon.
How will Beijing react this time? Will China once again decide to cancel the next EU-China Summit scheduled for the end of the year in China? Or will China decide to impose political, diplomatic and commercial retaliation measures « only » towards Lithuania, choosing to ignore its status as current head of the EU?
Over the past few years, Beijing has adopted a more aggressive diplomatic position, stepping up its pressure on EU Member states to block meetings between heads of government, ministers and members of Parliament with the Dalai Lama. No opportunity for leverage is too small, or too high-profile. Unfortunately, some European leaders have succumbed to the pressure. This undermines European values of dialogue and conciliation, and ultimately weakens EU leverage rather than contributing to the development of strong EU-¬‐China relations that encourage China to become a better global citizen.
Under Lithuania’s Presidency, it would be appropriate for the EU to issue a statement of solidarity in common response to the bullying of the Beijing leadership of European leaders like President Grybauskaite who show the moral integrity and courage in meeting with the Dalai Lama.
ICT submitted key recommendations to the EU during the Lithuanian Presidency, including the need to ensure the alignment of national positions, stating in an EU common position that it is the right of all EU Member States leaders to welcome and meet with the Dalai Lama and legitimate representatives of the Tibetan movement in whatever manner they deem appropriate and without interference or threats from the Chinese government.
Such a common position would demonstrate the solidarity that binds the 28 Member States on this issue and it would also provide a sort of political umbrella to protect individual Member States from Chinese pressure. It will also send a message that it is not up to the Beijing leadership to dictate a political agenda to democratic European countries.
At the same time, the EU also needs to define a more robust stand in promoting the resumption of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue and reinforcing international cooperation on Tibet with like-minded countries, in particular by using the upcoming Universal Periodic Review on China, in October this year at the UN Human Rights Council, to press the Chinese Government on the situation in Tibet.
The people of the Baltic States, once under Soviet rule, know what it is to face political persecution under an occupying power. In Lithuania self-immolations were also carried out as political protests against Communist rule. In Tibet, more than 120 Tibetans have self-immolated since 2009, asking for more freedoms, the respect of their identity and culture and the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. The Chinese government has responded to the self-‐immolations and unrest in Tibet by intensifying the military buildup and strengthening the very policies and approaches that are the root cause of the acts. The Chinese Communist Party’s erosion of authority and criminalization of self-¬‐immolation also leads to retributive actions against families, relatives, or monasteries associated with those who have self-¬‐immolated, which creates a vicious spiral in which more people are prepared to self-¬‐immolate because of the oppressive conditions.
The need for the Dalai Lama’s involvement in Tibet’s future has never been more urgent. It would be an appropriate moment, under a Lithuanian Presidency, for the EU to facilitate genuine engagement between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership on Tibet’s future. Like the Dalai Lama, the EU is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. This gives the EU even greater authority in its reconciliation and peace-building work and now is the time for this to be applied to the crisis in Tibet.

Tibetan Prisoner Released Early in ‘Poor Health’
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/released-09102013164154.html
Authorities in western China’s Sichuan province have released a Tibetan prisoner in poor health after he had served all but seven months of a three-year term for staging a protest against Chinese rule, according to Tibetan sources.
Sonam Choegyal, about 20 years old and a resident of Kaka village in the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was released last week, a Tibetan monk living in India told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Tuesday, citing sources in the region.
“He was released on Sept. 7,” the monk said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“His health is reported to be poor, but he suffered no major injuries during his time in jail,” he said, adding, “I have no idea why he was released early.”
Though Chinese authorities did not allow local Tibetans to arrange a convoy of vehicles to welcome Sonam Choegyal home, “relatives and community members received him warmly with [ceremonial] scarves when he returned home at around 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 9.”
“Sonam Choegyal is the son of Tamdrin Wangyal, his father, and Lhaga, his mother. Both are residents of Kaka village in Kardze,” he said.
Sonam Choegyal and a friend, Tenzin Nyima, had staged a protest in Kardze town in 2011 challenging Chinese rule, for which he was detained and sentenced to a three-year term by the Kardze prefectural court, RFA’s source said.
He was then confined in Miyang prison near Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu.
“His friend Tenzin Nyima was released about two months earlier, after serving a little over two years in jail for the same protest.”
Nun also released
In August, authorities in Sichuan released a Tibetan nun, also in poor health, after she had served a one-year jail sentence for protesting China’s rule in Tibetan areas.
Shedrub Lhamo, a 40-year-old nun of the Ganden Choeling nunnery in Kardze had been beaten and tortured in custody, a Tibetan living in Europe told RFA, citing contacts in the region.
During her solitary protest on Aug. 25, 2012, Shedrub Lhamo had called for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibet, the source said.
“She also threw leaflets in the air, though witnesses could not see what was written on them,” he said.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.
A total of 121 Tibetans in China have also set themselves ablaze in self-immolation protests calling for Tibetan freedom, with another six setting fire to themselves in India and Nepal.

China:   Nationwide Arrests of Activists, Critics Multiply
Drive to Strengthen One-Party Rule Unhindered by Upcoming UN Rights Council Election
(New York, August 30, 2013) – The Chinese government has undertaken a nationwide crackdown on dissent in an apparent campaign against perceived challenges to one-party rule, Human Rights Watch said today. Since February 2013 the government has arbitrarily detained at least 55 activists, taken into custody critics and online opinion leaders, and increased controls on social media, online expression, and public activism, rolling back the hard-won space China’s civil society has gained in recent years.
The crackdown is unfolding as China campaigns to be elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN’s preeminent human rights body, in November 2013, and prepares for the review of its human rights record before the council in October 2013.
“The Chinese government has embarked on a repressive drive at home that attacks the very freedoms that Human Rights Council members are supposed to protect,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Every arrest of a peaceful activist further undermines the Chinese government’s standing at home and abroad.”
Seventeen of those arrested in recent months had participated in the New Citizens’ Movement, a peaceful civil rights platform that rejects authoritarianism and promotes freedom, justice, equality, and the rule of law. The New Citizens’ Movement organizes a range of activities, including a nationwide campaign that advocates for the disclosure of assets of public officials as a way to curb corruption, and monthly gatherings over meals for activists around the country to exchange ideas and build solidarity.
On August 2, 2013, the State Prosecution approved the formal arrest of Xu Zhiyong, the most prominent activist detained so far and considered the intellectual force behind the New Citizens’ Movement. Xu has been held since July 16 for “gathering crowds to disturb public order,” even though he has been under house arrest since April. If convicted, Xu faces up to five years in prison. Xu, 40, is a law lecturer at Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, and was once distinguished by the state broadcaster CCTV as one of the “top ten rule of law people” in China. In 2009 he was forced to disband the legal aid center he helped set up, the Open Constitution Initiative, after police detained him and a co-worker for tax evasion.
“Xu Zhiyong is one of the most important activists behind the birth of China’s ‘rights-defense’ movement that emerged around 2003,” Richardson said. “While Xu’s cautious approach has helped keep him out of jail for the past 10 years, his recent arrest indicates that even safer strategies won’t spare activists from severe consequences.”
The 38 other activists recently detained were taken into custody for organizing and participating in other public, collective actions not directly related to the New Citizens Movement, including protests, Human Rights Watch said. Many were charged with crimes such as “gathering crowds to disturb order” and “creating disturbances” and of those, 16 have been released, some on bail. But a number of the activists detained have been charged with the more serious crimes of “inciting subversion” and “subversion.” Inciting subversion carries up to 15 years in prison, while subversion can result in life imprisonment.
Among those detained is prominent activist Guo Feixiong. Guo, a 47-year-old Guangzhou-based lawyer, who has been detained since August 8 for “gathering crowds to disturb public order.” Police have denied Guo access to lawyers on the grounds that his case involves national security. Beyond his right to legal counsel, Guo’s lawyers are concerned that denying him access to lawyers makes him more likely to be subjected to torture. Guo was tortured during his previous imprisonment between 2006 and 2011.
Government efforts to curb criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party have widened to individual critical voices on the Internet, Human Rights Watch said. Since August, the government has taken into custody hundreds of Internet users accused of “spreading rumors” online. Most have been released, but some remain detained under criminal charges. The campaign has targeted influential online opinion leaders, or what the state media call the “big Vs” (V for “verified users”).
According to state media, the State Internet Information Office held a meeting on August 10 with some of these bloggers, including liberal commentator Xue Manzi (also known as Charles Xue), “achieving a consensus” that these opinion leaders would not breach “seven bottom lines,” including China’s “socialist system,” the country’s “national interests,” and “public order.” On August 23, Xue, 60, who has 12 million followers on Sina weibo, one of China’s main social media networks similar to Twitter, was detained for “soliciting a prostitute,” an administrative offense under Chinese law. State-owned media harshly criticized Xue while explicitly warning other “big Vs” against becoming the “loudspeakers” for rumors. Since May, the government has closed down more than 100 “illegal” news web portals, citizen-run websites that have provided important channels for citizens to expose government misconduct.
The crackdown on dissent reflects the general hardline shift taken by the Xi Jinping leadership in recent months, Human Rights Watch said. It contrasts sharply with Xi’s rhetoric at the beginning of his presidency in March, when he promised to “uphold the constitution and the rule of law” and “always listen to the voice of the people.”
In April, the office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issued an internal directive stressing that the party must eliminate “seven subversive currents” in China today, including those who advocate for “Western constitutional democracy,” “universal values” such as human rights, civil society, and “Western press values.” In June, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a notice demanding that prosecutors at all levels “combat the crimes of endangering national security” by “resolutely combating crimes such as illegal assemblies, the gathering of crowds to disturb social and public order, and others, which aim to subvert state power.” Reflecting an apparent departure from a rule of law approach, the notice stressed that legal organs should “unify social, political, and legal results” in their work, rather than solely base their decisions on the law.
China is currently seeking a seat at the UN Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body charged with addressing human rights violations and promoting respect for human rights. In a pledge submitted in connection with its candidacy, the Chinese government said it “respects the principle of universality of human rights,” and that it “has made unremitting efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Chinese people.” The next elections for the council are slated for November.
Human Rights Watch called on the Chinese government to drop all charges against individuals for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and to ensure that they are not subject to torture or other ill-treatment in detention.
“The authorities’ abuse of the law to go after critics is counter-productive, as it closes one of the only effective channels for airing grievances about the government,” Richardson said. “The government’s only ‘unremitting efforts’ on display these days are the denial of universal rights.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on China, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/china
For more information, please contact:
In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile); or richars@hrw.org
In Hong Kong, Maya Wang (English, Mandarin): +852-8170-1076 (mobile); or wangm@hrw.org
In Hong Kong, Nicholas Bequelin (English, French, Mandarin): +852-8198-1040 (mobile); or bequeln@hrw.org
In Geneva, Juliette de Rivero (English, French, Spanish): +41-79-640-1649 (mobile); or derivej@hrw.org

Tibetan youth sentenced to two years for self-immolation links

August 23, 2013: A Chinese court has sentenced a Tibetan man to two years in prison in connection with a self-immolation protest by a 43 year old Tibetan named Gudrup in Nagchu on October 4 last year, sources said.
The Tibetan man named Dorjee is from Mopa village in Driru County, Nagchu. He is currently held at a prison in Toelung Dechen County, the source added. The date of the verdict is not known.
The Tibetan source said Dorjee was among several others including Tashi Chowang and Aphu Sonam who were arrested from Lhasa on October 6 last year, two days after Gudrub set himself on fire demanding freedom for Tibet and return of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.
Since 2009, as many as 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet calling for freedom in Tibet and return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.    WTN

Tibet ‘water grab’ puts Himalayan ecology in danger
August 12, 2013
By John Vidal
August 10, 2013 – The future of the world’s most famous mountain range could be endangered by a vast dam-building project, as a risky regional race for water resources takes place in Asia.
New academic research shows that India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan are engaged in a huge “water grab” in the Himalayas, as they seek new sources of electricity to power their economies. Taken together, the countries have plans for more than 400 hydro dams which, if built, could together provide more than 160,000MW of electricity – three times more than the UK uses.
In addition, China has plans for around 100 dams to generate a similar amount of power from major rivers rising in Tibet. A further 60 or more dams are being planned for the Mekong river which also rises in Tibet and flows south through south-east Asia.
Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world’s deepest valleys. Many of the proposed dams would be among the tallest in the world, able to generate more than 4,000MW, as much as the Hoover dam on the Colorado river in the US.
The result, over the next 20 years, “could be that the Himalayas become the most dammed region in the world”, said Ed Grumbine, visiting international scientist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kunming. “India aims to construct 292 dams … doubling current hydropower capacity and contributing 6% to projected national energy needs. If all dams are constructed as proposed, in 28 of 32 major river valleys, the Indian Himalayas would have one of the highest average dam densities in the world, with one dam for every 32km of river channel. Every neighbour of India with undeveloped hydropower sites is building or planning to build multiple dams, totalling at minimum 129 projects,” said Grumbine, author of a paper in Science.
China, which is building multiple dams on all the major rivers running off the Tibetan plateau, is likely to emerge as the ultimate controller of water for nearly 40% of the world’s population. “The plateau is the source of the single largest collection of international rivers in the world, including the Mekong, the Brahmaputra, the Yangtse and the Yellow rivers. It is the headwater of rivers on which nearly half the world depends. The net effect of the dam building could be disastrous. We just don’t know the consequences,” said Tashi Tsering, a water resource researcher at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
“China is engaged in the greatest water grab in history. Not only is it damming the rivers on the plateau, it is financing and building mega-dams in Pakistan, Laos, Burma and elsewhere and making agreements to take the power,” said Indian geopolitical analyst Brahma Chellaney. “China-India disputes have shifted from land to water. Water is the new divide and is going centre stage in politics. Only China has the capacity to build these mega-dams and the power to crush resistance. This is effectively war without a shot being fired.”
According to Chellaney, India is in the weakest position because half its water comes directly from China; however, Bangladesh is fearful of India’s plans for water diversions and hydropower. Bangladeshi government scientists say that even a 10% reduction in the water flow by India could dry out great areas of farmland for much of the year. More than 80% of Bangladesh’s 50 million small farmers depend on water that flows through India.
Engineers and environmentalists say that little work has been done on the human or ecological impact of the dams, which they fear could increase floods and be vulnerable to earthquakes. “We do not have credible environmental and social impact assessments, we have no environmental compliance system, no cumulative impact assessment and no carrying capacity studies. The Indian ministry of environment and forests, developers and consultants are responsible for this mess,” said Himanshu Thakkar, co-ordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.
China and India have both displaced tens of millions of people with giant dams such as the Narmada and Three Gorges over the last 30 years, but governments have not published estimates of how many people would have to be relocated or how much land would be drowned by the new dams. “This is being totally ignored. No one knows, either, about the impact of climate change on the rivers. The dams are all being built in rivers that are fed by glaciers and snowfields which are melting at a fast rate,” said Tsering.
Climate models suggest that major rivers running off the Himalayas, after increasing flows as glaciers melt, could lose 10-20% of their flow by 2050. This would not only reduce the rivers’ capacity to produce electricity, but would exacerbate regional political tensions.
The dams have already led to protest movements in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and other northern states of India and in Tibet. Protests in Uttarakhand, which was devastated by floods last month, were led by Indian professor GD Agarwal, who was taken to hospital after a 50-day fast but who was released this week.
“There is no other way but to continue because the state government is not keen to review the dam policy,” said Mallika Bhanot, a member of Ganga Avahan, a group opposing proposals for a series of dams on the Ganges.
Governments have tried to calm people by saying that many of the dams will not require large reservoirs, but will be “run of the river” constructions which channel water through tunnels to massive turbines. But critics say the damage done can be just as great. “[These] will complete shift the path of the river flow,” said Shripad Dharmadhikary, a leading opponent of the Narmada dams and author of a report into Himalyan dams. “Everyone will be affected because the rivers will dry up between points. The whole hydrology of the rivers will be changed. It is likely to aggravate floods.
“A dam may only need 500 people to move because of submergence, but because the dams stop the river flow it could impact on 20,000 people. They also disrupt the groundwater flows so many people will end up with water running dry. There will be devastation of livelihoods along all the rivers.”

Dalai Lama’s Chinese website hacked and infected
By Joe Miller BBC News
13th August 2013
The Chinese-language website of the Tibetan government-in-exile, whose spiritual head is the Dalai Lama, has been hacked and infected with viruses.
Experts at computer security company Kaspersky Lab warned that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) site had been compromised.
It is believed the malicious software could be used to spy on visitors.
Technical evidence suggests the hackers carried out previous cyber-attacks on human rights groups in Asia.
Tibet.net is the official website of the CTA, which is based in Dharamshala, northern India.
The organisation’s spiritual leader is the 14th Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed anti-Chinese uprising, and set up a government-in-exile. China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist threat.
Constant threat
Kaspersky says the CTA website has been under constant attack from the same group of hackers since 2011, but previous breaches have been quietly identified and repaired before attracting significant attention.
Other Tibetan organisations, such as the International Campaign for Tibet, have also been targeted.
Kaspersky Lab researcher Kurt Baumgartner says the hackers used a method known as a “watering-hole attack”.
A security bug in Oracle’s Java software might have been exploited, giving hackers a “back door” into browsers’ computers.
“This is the initial foothold,” Mr Baumgartner said. “From there they can download arbitrary files and execute them on the system.”
Kaspersky’s education manager Ram Herkanaidu said the discovery of the attack came after an “email account of a prominent Tibetan activist was hacked”.
Mr Herkanaidu added: “The likely actors behind the sustained campaign against Tibetan sites are Chinese speaking, as in many cases we have seen log files written in Chinese.”