Popular Tibetan Monk Serving Life Sentence Dies in Chinese Jail
2015-07-13
A popular Tibetan monk serving a life term in prison in China’s Sichuan province has died after being known to be in extremely poor health with a serious heart condition for which he allegedly received no treatment, according to sources and rights groups.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who had been imprisoned since 2002 after what rights groups and supporters described as a wrongful conviction on a bombing charge, died on Sunday, the sources said. He was 65 years old.
“Chinese police informed his relatives that he was seriously ill and when they rushed to visit him, they were told he was already dead,” one source inside Tibet told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Another source said Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s body has not been handed over to his family after his death at 4:00 p.m. local time
Two of his relatives had been in Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital, for more than a week hoping to visit the ailing monk in Mianyang jail but they were not allowed by the authorities to see him, the source said.
Death sentence
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who was highly respected by Tibetans, was charged with involvement in an April 3, 2002 bombing in the central square of Chengdu and initially sentenced to death in December that year along with an assistant, Lobsang Dondrub.
His death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, but Lobsang Dondrub was executed almost immediately, prompting an outcry from rights activists who questioned the fairness of the trial.
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) concluded in a report two years after the trial that the legal proceedings against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche had been “procedurally flawed” and that he was charged only in order to “curb his efforts to foster Tibetan Buddhism … and his work to develop Tibetan social and cultural institutions.”
Authorities had begun to perceive Tenzin Delek Rinpoche as a threat as his “local status rose and he successfully challenged official policies on a number of issues,” HRW said in its report.
‘Devastated’
Students for a Free Tibet, a global Tibetan group, said Sunday it was “devastated” by his death. “A Tibetan hero has died in Chinese prison,” it said.
“Over 13 years of unjust imprisonment and torture in prison left him with critical medical conditions for which he received no treatment,” the group said.
It charged that he “has died under suspicious circumstances,” calling him “a revered Tibetan Buddhist teacher and outspoken advocate for his people.”
“Tibetans inside Tibet are already demanding local authorities to release his body to arrange Buddhist religious rites,” the group said.
Recognized by Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as a reincarnated lama in the 1980s, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche had been a community leader and a staunch advocate for the protection and preservation of Tibetan culture, religion, and way of life for decades, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) had said.
He had been held in detention for over 13 years “for a crime that he did not commit,” ICT said.
Petition
More than 40,000 Tibetans had signed their names to a petition asking for his release, each attesting to their signature by adding a thumbprint in red ink, the ICT said. “Every single one of the 40,000 Tibetan signers knows that they risk their freedom and perhaps their lives by speaking out for the Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.”
Tibetans had also been protesting for his release since he was detained in 2002 and many were themselves jailed for the action.
Reported by Lhuboom and Kalden Lodoe for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Kalden Lodoe. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

Tibet Isn’t Free Yet; That Doesn’t Mean the Dalai Lama Has Failed
Freya Putt Human rights activist & Deputy Director at Tibet Action Institute
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/freya-putt/tibet-isnt-free-yet-that_b_7665720.html
In recent years, I’ve noticed an increasing trend of articles and commentaries examining the Dalai Lama’s life and legacy that conclude Tibetans, and he as their leader, have failed in their cause to restore freedom to Tibet. Having worked for this movement for 18 years, I can understand having doubts about what the future holds. But really? Failed? It’s a done deal?
Some voiced similar sentiments in the 1960s and 1970s, when most people had never heard of Tibet, and certainly no countries were bothering to advocate for Tibetan political prisoners or other rights. China had been “lost” by the west and Tibetans were unfortunate casualties.
But the gloom-and-doom analysis proved to be misguided then, as the mere handful of Tibetan refugees who had resettled globally built awareness and inspired activism. Huge protests in Lhasa in the late 1980s, as well as the Dalai Lama’s Nobel Peace Prize, Hollywood and the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, drove Tibet into international public consciousness. Likewise, this frame of analysis is misguided now.
Perhaps I’m just too invested to acknowledge that the cause is lost. But I don’t think so.
First of all, it’s human nature that where there’s injustice, there’s struggle. People don’t just give up trying to make their lives better because the odds are against them; the daily effort to resist indignities and oppose oppression continues regardless of what the endgame might be. Tibetans demonstrate this constantly, showing their opposition to China’s occupation by wearing traditional clothes, patronizing Tibetan-owned shops, holding onto their language and fighting for its use in schools, deploying art, music and poetry to express themselves and rally each other, using blockades and other direct action to protect lands, and even making the extreme choice to light themselves on fire in defiance of Chinese rule.
In fact, while state oppression has increased in recent years, resistance in Tibet has grown and deepened. A decade ago, opposition to Chinese rule seemed to manifest mainly through small, unplanned protests, which though symbolically powerful, are easily countered by China. Today, resistance is constant, sophisticated, and waged on many fronts.
And while our collective memory is short, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to remember that many — perhaps most — conflicts about rights, territory and self-governance have taken decades or centuries to resolve. Think slavery and civil rights in the U.S.A., Irish independence, the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, Indian independence and decolonization the world over.
The conditions affecting rights and freedom for Tibet are daunting, to say the least. China has steadily gained economic clout and countries increasingly react in fear when it flexes its economic muscle. Tibetans number roughly six million, Chinese 1.3 billion. Tibet’s high, mountainous plateau has kept it isolated and made it easier for China to severely limit both physical and virtual interaction between Tibetans and the outside world. And Tibet’s mineral and water resources and strategic location in the heart of Asia make it an economic and geopolitical prize.
Looking at these factors, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that the Tibetan struggle hasn’t yet been won.
But not having yet won a struggle is very different from having lost it. Bill Moyer, an American theorist and activist, developed a strategic model for explaining the progress of social movements and used case studies to illustrate eight distinct phases. He emphasized that after substantial gains, such as building a mass movement, achieving popular support and defining an issue as a problem on society’s agenda, movements often find themselves mired in a sense of despair and powerlessness based on a misperception of their progress. The Tibetan freedom movement has made significant strides toward its goals: establishing the legitimacy of Tibetans’ claims to freedom, building a mass base of popular global support, overpowering China’s propaganda factory in the media, and making Tibet a constant challenge to China’s reputation on the global stage. There is much more to be done, clearly, but the critical foundation has already been built.
In fact, amidst all the tragedy, suffering and daily hardship that Tibetans face, there is much to celebrate. Far from having failed, the Dalai Lama should be recognized as one of the global leaders of the 20th and 21st century who has made an indelible, positive impact on the world.
The Dalai Lama brought the issue of Tibet to the world and inspired tens if not hundreds of thousands of people to support the cause. He bridged the various religious, regional and other divides within the Tibetan community to unify Tibetans behind a strategic approach to the struggle that included making it visible internationally — despite China’s constant objections and best efforts — and emphasizing the moral power of using nonviolence.
Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes nonviolence, but the current Dalai Lama raised it to the level of global politics. It permeates the thinking of Tibetans, particularly the new generation raised in exile, and will influence Tibetan political leadership far into the future. Although some young Tibetans legitimately ask why they should remain nonviolent when the world seems to pay attention only to violence, and wonder if armed insurrection could bring a quicker end to the human rights violations and suffering they or their families face daily in Tibet, the overwhelming number are committed to the path of nonviolence now and in the future, for moral reasons or because they believe it is the most certain route to victory (a belief supported by recent research showing that nonviolent struggles succeed more often than violent ones).
The Dalai Lama’s legacy of nonviolence reaches far beyond the Tibetan community. He has been a moral beacon for decades and his nonviolent message has transcended the constant refrain of violent conflict and escalating responses that comes from our media and our politicians, giving people something we both need and crave: a vision of a peaceful and compassionate world. If even a few more global leaders emphasized the value of nonviolent struggle, our world could look very different.
Sadly, we are quick to overlook the impact of leaders such as the Dalai Lama and largely nonviolent movements like that of the Tibetans. Suggestions that either the Dalai Lama or the broader Tibetan struggle has failed ignore the importance of alternatives to violent conflict and also neglect to consider what real failure could look like: the death of Tibetan culture and religion, hopelessness, infighting, mob violence and self-defeating attacks on the overwhelmingly armed Chinese occupiers.
Commentators, activists, elected officials and the many others who support the Dalai Lama’s nonviolent path, rather than reinforcing a frame of failure, should acknowledge what gains have been made and think strategically about what can be done next. At age 80, the question is not whether the Dalai Lama has failed but if the world has failed this towering leader who has given so much to humanity. Let’s make sure the answer is no.

China tightens access to information in Tibetan monasteries
June 19, 2015
UCA news, 19 June 2015
Multi-year plan sees crackdown on unauthorized satellite access and installation of government-approved TVs
China has finished installing televisions in every one of Tibet’s nearly 1,800 Buddhist monasteries as Beijing steps up efforts to control information in the restive Himalayan region.
The scheme required monks and nuns to carry television sets on their backs or on horses across high mountain passes over the past three and half years to achieve complete coverage, the state-run Tibet Daily reported yesterday.
“By listening to the radio and watching television, monks and nuns have a more intuitive understanding of the party and the country’s policies, laws and regulations, ethnic and religious policies,” it added.
Completion of the scheme has coincided with a new “patriotic program” launched by Tibet’s Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo in April that requires all temples to fly China’s national flag.
Beijing began its latest information war in Tibet during 2009 — a year after an uprising led by monks — when authorities piloted a television and radio scheme at 44 temples in Lhasa.
The government has long been irritated by services including Voice of America, sponsored by the US State Department, which beams in Tibetan-language news on human rights and exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Authorities started posting notices in monasteries that had failed to replace old satellite televisions in 2013, threatening fines of 5,000 yuan (US$805) and “other consequences that should be borne by the monks themselves”.
Officials then destroyed “illegal” televisions in bonfires, said Tsering Tsomo, director of the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala, the Indian city where the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan exiles are based.
“The Chinese government is trying really hard to try to stop Tibetans from getting any information from outside,” she told ucanews.com. “It has gotten much worse and we are very concerned. Now what we see is the government punishing Tibetans just for sharing information.”
Police detained eight monks in March for allegedly sharing news on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat at their monastery in Sog County, according to the London-based campaign group Free Tibet.
In 2012, senior monk Yonten Gyatso was sentenced to seven years in prison for sharing images of nun Tenzin Wangmo, one of about 140 Tibetans who have self-immolated to protest against Chinese rule since the 2008 uprising.
As Beijing has cracked down on information sharing, Tibetans have devised new methods to get information in and out of the region, although these could not be revealed for security reasons, said Tsering Tsomo.
“This is like a cat and mouse game, they try to block something from outside and then Tibetans come up with something else so we share information, and then they crack down again,” she said. www.Tibet.net

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Visit to Australia Comes to an End
June 16, 2015
By Staff Writer
dalailama.com
His Holiness the Dalai Lama began the last day of his current visit to Australia in Perth by giving an interview to Monika Kos of Seven West Media. In a wide range of questions she asked about the negative effects of the internet on children. His Holiness told her that as long as children have some sense that inner values are the best source of happiness they’ll be able to exercise their own judgement. He remarked that he often encourages members of the media to exercise a broader sense of responsibility. They tend only to report negative stories, taking positive reports of instances of loving kindness for granted. He expressed the view that the media could do more to show that basic human nature is positive.
He also told her:
“Many of the troubles humanity faces today are because we see other people too often in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’, a division that contains within it the seeds of conflict, the possibility that weapons will be used. To think instead of the oneness of humanity is a basis on which we can work for peace.”
Meeting with approximately 50 Tibetans, he greeted and encouraged them.
“Buddhism is about transforming the mind,” he said, “not just about making prayers. It’s something you need to learn about. You should know that the Tibetan language is the best language for accurately explaining Buddhist ideas. It’s something to be proud of. Always remember you are Tibetans. Please don’t forget how important it is for our young ones to be able to speak Tibetan. If they lose that they will feel at a distance from our community. Meanwhile, let’s also remember the Tibetans in Tibet who have been living under oppression for 60 years and yet whose spirit remains amazingly strong.”
At the University of Western Australia His Holiness was invited to speak to 700 students, some from the University and others from local high schools, about the education and service. Before proceeding with the discussion, Dr Walli performed a welcome on country involving incantations and playing the didgeridoo. He expressed the wish, “May the good spirit be with us. May we gain knowledge here and pass it on to those who need it.”
His Holiness was introduced and invited to speak and he took his place at the lectern.
“Good morning everybody. I usually start by addressing everyone as ‘brothers and sisters’, because all 7 billion human beings alive today are brothers and sisters. It’s good to keep a sense of the oneness of all human beings in our minds, regardless of the secondary differences between us, such as nationality, colour, race, social background and so on. I always regard other people I meet, especially leaders, as fellow human beings.
“Many problems we face, including simple shyness, come about because we put too much stress on the differences between us. Actually, on a mental, physical and emotional level we are the same. The way we are born and the way we die is the same and in between we all want to live a happy life. As social animals, when we receive affection from others we feel happy.”
He noted that most of the 700 strong audience were students and told them that young people like them were the hope for the future.
“I feel very happy to meet you who belong to the 21st century. Older people like me belong to the 20th century, a period that has gone. We created a lot of problems, which you’ll have to deal with. You’ll have to find ways to reduce the corruption and killing that is going on in some places today. This isn’t something computers can do for you; you’ll have to use your own minds. Remember, our deepest emotions are love and compassion, and forgiveness and tolerance naturally arise from them.
“I feel it’s a great honour to speak students like you. When I encounter people my age, I just wonder, ‘Who’ll go first, me or you?’, but when I look at young faces like yours, I feel younger too. What I want to tell you is that warm-heartedness is the basis of better mental and physical health. It’s the basis for people to become more balanced, healthier individuals, families and communities. There are increasing numbers of people interested in how to foster warm-heartedness, because if we can do that, we can ensure a happier, more peaceful humanity.”
An indigenous Australian student said he was getting a modern education, while trying to preserve his people’s values and His Holiness told him that he had been in Uluru the day before. He repeated what he’d said there about his respect for indigenous people’s culture wherever they are in the world. They differ according to the environments in which they have evolved. All the indigenous people he’s met are concerned to preserve their culture and language, but some like the Samis and Maoris do so by embracing the modern world, while others seek further isolation. He said that as far as our brains are concerned we are all equal.
With regard to young people who have felt drawn to fight in Iraq and Syria, His Holiness suggested that some people are easily manipulated. They develop a strong sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ and think that the destruction of their enemies is their victory. This way of thinking is out of date. His Holiness pointed out that Muslims in India and Malaysia, who have grown up in multi-religious, multi-ethnic backgrounds tend not to have such divisive attitudes.
His Holiness remarked that across the world education systems seem inadequate. Teachers have to show their students the value of compassion, not only by talking about it, but also by exemplifying it themselves. When they are motivated by love and compassion, teachers are much more effective.
A student leader asked advice on making decisions and His Holiness told him first of all to think in terms of moral principles, then to investigate whether whatever it is is practical and finally to seek his friends views. After he’d made them laugh several times, the students showed their appreciation of meeting His Holiness with robust applause.
Invited to a lunch event by the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, His Holiness was introduced by Sue Clough who referred to him as a source of peace and happiness for the world. She prayed that he will one day be able to return to his homeland.
He greeted the gathering of 650 as brothers and sisters, telling them that it was almost the last engagement of his visit. He said he would like to report to them about his commitments to promoting human happiness, fostering inter-religious harmony and seeking to preserve Tibet’s culture of compassion and non-violence. He said being a happy person is ultimately related to warm-heartedness. He also expressed his admiration for Israel and its hardworking people. But also mentioned meeting group of Palestinians and Israelis who were getting together to create harmony among their communities. This sort of action is the seed of the future, he said.
An additional surprise guest was Scottish-Australian philanthropist Scott Neeson. He had worked in Hollywood and risen to be President of 20th Century Fox International. Then he went to Cambodia and among the scavengers on the huge rubbish heap outside Phnom Penh decided he wanted to devote his time to helping particularly the children he encountered there. He sold his house and goods and set up the Cambodian Children’s Fund. He now dedicates himself to rescuing, rehabilitating and educating Cambodian orphans.
It was put to His Holiness that he is an inspiration to millions, but the questioner wanted to know who inspired him. In his reply he mentioned the accomplished masters of Nalanda such as Nagarjuna and Shantideva. In modern times he mentioned Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle to employ non-violence. He spoke of the way Gandhi had a thorough education as a lawyer in England, but returned to his homeland to live the simple life of an ordinary Indian. He also recalled the genuine humility of the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad.
The meeting was movingly concluded with a video clip of children, and one or two older ladies, in Cambodia singing “Happy Birthday” to His Holiness.
Finally, for the first time, His Holiness met a group of about 700 Bhutanese, along with several Mongolians.
“We are all followers of the Buddhadharma,” he told them, “The tradition that flourished in Nalanda. Here in the 21st century, we should be 21st century Buddhists with a firm understanding of what the Buddha taught. Read the texts. Just praying to the Buddha or Guru Rinpoche is old fashioned and no longer enough. Once you have better knowledge, your faith will be based on reason. You have study centres; open them up to lay people too.”
Remarking that they had asked him to give some teaching, he explained the traditional verse that expresses taking refuge in the Three Jewels and generating the aspiration to attain enlightenment for all sentient beings. In addition, he gave transmissions of the Buddha’s mantra, the mantra of Chenresig, the mantra of Manjushri, including the way to count 100 syllables ‘dhi’ on one breath, ending with Tara’s and Guru Rinpoche’s mantras. He answered several of their questions before having to leave for the airport.

China Stops Tibetans Leaving The Country on Vacation
2015-05-22
The ruling Chinese Communist Party has implemented new regulations banning Tibetans in China from traveling overseas on package tours, sources in the region told RFA on Friday.
According to online reports, the Chengdu municipal tourism office has issued a directive ordering travel agents not to accept Chinese citizens from Tibetan areas, any ethnic Tibetans regardless of origin, onto package tours leaving China between May 20 and July 15.
The new regulations require travel agents and package tour operators to change their promotional literature to include a disclaimer stating that tour packages are subject to tourists holding effective travel documents which must be verified by the travel agency before signing up for a trip, unconfirmed tweets reported.
An employee who answered the phone at the Guangda International Travel Agency in Chengdu on Friday confirmed that the rules are in place, however.
“For the time being, we aren’t accepting Tibetans,” the employee said, when contacted by an RFA journalist posing as a potential customer traveling with a passport-holding Tibetan friend.
Asked when Tibetans would be able to travel, she said: “After July 15. They can’t right now.”
The employee said she was unaware of when the regulations started, and that she didn’t know the reason for them.
“I’m not really sure about that,” she said.
Overseas tour groups off limits
An employee who answered the phone at the Huanqiu International Travel Agency in Chengdu on Friday also said Tibetans were barred from joining overseas tour groups.
“No, they can’t … that’s correct,” the employee said.
Asked when the rules came into effect, the employee said: “You’d better take a look at the news. I really don’t know.”
An official who answered the phone at the Chengdu municipal government tourism bureau said she had heard unconfirmed reports of the rules.
But asked if they were issued by her office, she said: “I don’t think they were.”
“I have heard this, but I can’t say for sure whether it’s true or not,” the official said.
“But I know about it because we received a complaint about it, and the complaint was about not being able to leave [the country] in the period up to July 15,” she added. “I won’t know if it’s true until we have investigated this complaint.”
Employees at a number of travel agencies in Beijing, and in Urumqi, regional capital of the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang, said they had received similar orders regarding Tibetans, but that the mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs are still allowed to leave if they hold a valid passport.
Jamyang, a Chinese-language spokesman for the Tibetan government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, said Tibetans have found it hard to get passports since a serious of regional uprisings in 2008.
“Since 2008, Tibetans’ haven’t been able to get passports, and we have seen fewer and fewer people coming out of [protest hotspots] Ganzi and Ngaba since 2008, because it’s so hard to get a passport,” Jamyang said.
But he said he hadn’t heard about the latest restrictions, which come after a wave of self-immolations by Tibetans in protest over Chinese Communist Party rule.
“Tibetans have been subjected to tight state controls and persecution in recent years after frequent incidents of Tibetan self-immolations, and there has been a build-up of troops in all the Tibetan areas,” Jamyang said.
News of the apparent travel ban on Tibetans emerged a week after hotel employees across China confirmed to RFA that special security measures are triggered whenever Tibetans and Uyghurs check into hotels around the country.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 140 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Exile Tibetans have described Lhasa, capital of the Himalayan region, as a vast prison, where visitors can only stay in designated locations and are subject to ID checks and constant surveillance.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials frequently describe Turkic-speaking Muslims from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as separatists and terrorists following a series of violent incidents that have left hundreds dead in recent years.
They have restricted Uyghurs in some parts of the region from wearing burqas, head scarves, veils and beards, and subject worshippers in mosques to strict controls and surveillance.
Reported by Qiao Long for RFA’s Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Tibetan Mother of Two Burns to Death in Protest
2015-05-27
A Tibetan woman living in northwestern China’s Gansu province set herself ablaze and died on Wednesday in the second self-immolation protest this month challenging Beijing’s rule in Tibetan areas, sources said.
Sangye Tso, aged about 36, staged her protest in the early hours of May 27 outside Chinese police headquarters in Chone (in Chinese, Zhuoni) county in the Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, sources in exile said, citing local contacts.
“Chinese police and other officials then came to her house to conduct an investigation,” one source said.
Tso, whose charred body was quickly removed from the protest site by authorities, is survived by her husband Tamdrin Wangyal and by a son named Tsering Dondrub and a daughter named Khatso, sources said.
Tso’s burning brings to 141 the number of self-immolation protests in Tibetan areas of China since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, and was the second to occur this month.
On May 20, Tenzin Gyatso, aged 35 and a father of four, set himself on fire and died in the Khangsar township of Tawu (Daofu) county in Sichuan province’s Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, sources said in earlier reports.
Local Tibetans believe that Gyatso, who is survived by a wife and four children, had become upset when security forces were sent to Khangsar to prevent celebrations of the 80th birthday of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, one source said.
Speaking on Wednesday at a prayer service held in Dharamsala, India, Tibetan exile political leader Lobsang Sangay described Gyatso and Tso as members of a new generation of Tibetans now sacrificing their lives for Tibet.
“Over and over again, they send messages to us in the outside world that the Dalai Lama should return to Tibet and that Tibet should be free,” he said.
Reported by Lobe Socktsang for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

China urged to release Panchen Lama after 20 years
May 18, 2015
BBC, May 17, 2015 – Tibetan exiles are calling for China to release a high-ranking monk who disappeared 20 years ago when he was just six years old.
The boy was detained by the Chinese authorities just three days after the Dalai Lama declared him to be the reincarnated Panchen Lama.
The Panchen Lama is the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
Many consider him to be one of the world’s longest-serving political prisoners.
China has refused provide details of the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
In 1995 it anointed its own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who while popular among some Tibetans has been described by exiles as a “stooge of the atheist Chinese Communist Party government”.
Wangdue Tsering, press spokesman for the Office of Tibet in London, told the BBC that events were taking place on Sunday across the world to mark the 20th anniversary of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima’s disappearance, including a candle-lit vigil outside the Chinese embassy in London.

Tibet’s competing Panchen Lamas
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
· Named as the 11th Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995
· Detained by Chinese authorities within three days of his appointment
China has divulged little information about him or his whereabouts – it says this is necessary to protect him from being “kidnapped by separatists”
Banned from meeting foreign visitors, China says he has attended school and is now leading a normal life in China
His parents are both employed by the state, China says, and his brothers and sisters are either working or at university
Gyaltsen Norbu
Chosen by Beijing as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama when he was six
The son of two Communist Party members
Spent his early childhood in Beijing before moving back to Tibet to study Buddhism
He was selected by drawing lots from a golden urn – a custom introduced in 1792 and used to select previous Lamas – but which critics say has been manipulated by the Chinese authorities
Gave his first appearance outside of mainland China to address more than 1,000 monks in Hong Kong in April 2012
“We are appealing to the world community to help us find out where the Panchen Lama is,” Mr Tsering told the BBC’s Asia analyst Michael Bristow.
“It has been 20 years since he disappeared and we don’t know where he is, where his family is and how he is. We want the Chinese authorities to give some information.”
The Dalai Lama has in the past strongly criticised China for “brazen meddling in the system of reincarnation” – especially the reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas.
The Chinese government views the Dalai Lama as a separatist
Tibet is governed as an autonomous region of China. Beijing claims a centuries-old sovereignty over the region, but many Tibetans argue that Tibet was colonised.
China sent in thousands of troops to enforce its claim on the region in 1950. Some areas became the Tibetan Autonomous Region and others were incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces.
In 1959, after a failed anti-Chinese uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and set up a government in exile in India.
Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a separatist threat, although he has repeatedly stated that his goal is for Tibetan autonomy rather than independence. WTN – Canada

India’s cautious relationship with the Dalai Lama
May 11, 2015
India Today, May 11, 2015 – As he prepares for his visit to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is cutting the ground from beneath his own feet by distancing himself from the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, all the while promoting India as the founding Buddhist nation.
A scheduled meeting between BJP president Amit Shah and the Dalai Lama on May 2 in Dharamshala was cancelled by the BJP leader at the last minute because the PM did not want the Chinese to be upset with the senior BJP leadership meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader they deem to be “splittist,” BJP sources confirmed.
“The prime minister will surely meet His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, upon his return from China. In fact, the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday is soon coming up in July… The BJP president cancelled his meeting with the Dalai Lama because the government did not want the Chinese to be upset with the meeting on the eve of the PM’s visit to China,” BJP sources said.
The tension between the government and the Dalai Lama is believed to have reached such a stage that the Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in India for the past 55 years since he fled the Chinese takeover of his homeland in 1959, will be travelling to California in early July for his birthday celebrations.
But with the last-minute cancellation of the Amit Shah meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader, Tibetan leaders in India are wondering if something is changing.
The BJP sources pointed out that the Chinese leadership believes the Dalai Lama is “splittist,” meaning, he wants to split Tibet from China, and therefore fundamentally dangerous.
But the Dalai Lama has said publicly that he wishes the People’s Republic of China and its leadership well, and believes that Tibet is an integral part of that country.
Fact is, the mother of Chinese president Xi Jinping – Modi’s host in China next week – is a devout Buddhist. Interestingly, Tibetan leaders from Dharamshala confirm that the number of “Mainland Chinese believers in Buddhism” attending the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Dharamshala has significantly increased.
“His Holiness’ teachings are often translated in several languages, including Russia and Chinese. We have begun noticing that several Chinese from mainland China have begun to attend his teachings along with Taiwanese Buddhists,” a Tibetan leader said.
The Dalai Lama has always enjoyed the status of a “holy leader” in India since he came to India in 1959 and then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru welcomed him on the condition that he wouldn’t propagate any political activities. Every prime minister since has met the Dalai Lama soon after he becomes the PM and both sides have reiterated that position.
Certainly, each government holds the Dalai Lama in high esteem, and he is very careful not to breach the promise he first made to Nehru. Each foreign secretary as well as every joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs incharge of China is also seconded to look after Tibetan affairs in India, especially the Dalai Lama.
At the same time, prime minister Modi has come to realise that the officially atheist Chinese have begun to “use Buddhism as a tool in a big way to expand its own sphere of influence,” the BJP sources said, for example, in helping fund the building of a Buddha temple in Lumbini in the Nepal Terai and close to the border with India.
It is only after India protested with the Nepalis, the BJP sources confirmed, that Kathmandu seems to have backed off. “India was uncomfortable with a huge Chinese presence in the Terai so close to India,” an official said.
The officials admitted that India expected China to now rain money in Nepal, after the earthquake, helping them rebuild the country with soft loans that Kathmandu won’t be able to refuse and India won’t be able to match. “The Modi government may have got the first-mover advantage in Nepal when it sent search & rescue teams to help the Nepalis, but see how the Chinese now move in,” the official added.
Clearly, Modi has learnt fast that diplomacy can be seamless in these last months as prime minister, which is why he wanted to know why India, a country where Buddha was born – a country called Nepal did not exist at the time in approximately 480 BC – did not make use of this inherent advantage.
So Modi led the Buddha Purnima prayers on May 5, the first time a prime minister has done so, pointing out “It has been said that the 21st century will be Asia’s century… Without Buddha, this cannot be Asia’s century.”
During his recent visit to Germany, Modi told a journalist at a press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel that “Buddha was born in India.” Diplomats say they have been shy of making this assertion publicly as they don’t want to upset Nepal.
Modi’s new-found realisation that Buddhism can be used as an important tool to counter the Chinese will be in full display in Mongolia and South Korea, where he will travel after China. The visit to predominantly Buddhist Mongolia is the first-ever by an Indian prime minister, where he will address the country’s parliament on Sunday, May 17. In Korea, Modi is expected to plant a sapling from the Bodhi tree taken from the mother tree in Bodh Gaya.Certainly, Modi’s interest in Buddhism contradicts his determination to distance himself from the Dalai Lama, often described as a “living god” of Buddhism, certainly of its Gelugpa sect.
Certainly, too, it seems as if the Modi government hasn’t fully come to terms with the Dalai Lama’s presence in India. Health minister JP Nadda, who also hails from Himachal Pradesh, where the Dalai Lama also lives, is believed to promote the Tibetan cause but Modi himself isn’t so sure, the BJP sources conceded.

Tibetans Detained, Beaten For Protesting Construction Near Sacred Site
2015-05-01
Chinese authorities have cracked down on villagers protesting road work linked to plans for mining on a sacred mountain in Tibet’s Gonjo county, detaining an unknown number and leaving many badly injured, sources said.
Construction of the road leading to Mini mountain near Awong village in the Chamdo (in Chinese, Changdu) prefecture had resumed around April 2 after being blocked last year by local challenges to the project, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
“Tibetan residents objected to the plan to mine on a sacred site and appealed to the authorities not to go ahead with it,” RFA’s source, Tashi Lamsang, said, citing contacts in the Gonjo area.
“As a result, the plan was temporarily halted,” Lamsang said.
When local Tibetans approved a separate project to develop bathing facilities at a local hot springs, work on the road began again, and a group of 10 village representatives approached local officials to demand an explanation.
“They were told the work order had been given by Norbu Dondrub, the Gonjo county chief, and were advised to accept money in compensation and keep their mouths shut,” Lamsang said.
The Tibetans were then taken into custody when they threatened further protests, Lamsang said.
“This led to a clash between local Tibetans and the police, and many Tibetans were injured,” he said, adding, “The local government hospital refused to treat those who had been hurt, forcing them to go instead to a private clinic for help.”
Exact numbers for those who were detained or injured in the clash were not immediately available.
A group of Gonjo-area traders were then detained in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa when they went to the Chamdo Liaison office in the city to plead for an end to mining in their hometown, Lamsang said.
“They told the authorities that if the road work and mining are not stopped, they will appeal the case to central government authorities in Beijing,” 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.
Reported by Lobe Socktsang for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

We have Truth on our Side: Sikyong on China’s White Paper on Tibet
April 30, 2015
By Staff Writer
DHARAMSHALA: Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Tibet Museum’s inauguration, Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay made a brief remark on the White Paper on Tibet published recently by China’s State Council Information Office.
Explaining what he called the Chinese government’s nervousness over its grip on occupied Tibet, Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay said the latest White Paper on Tibet is another attempt by the Chinese government to mislead the world about the real situation inside Tibet.
“Since the early 1990s, China has issued 13 white papers on Tibet. This means Beijing has issued a white paper on Tibet for almost each of the two years within this intervening period,” Sikyong said.
“China has issued two white papers on Xinjiang, one on Hong Kong and none on Inner Mongolia so far. The fact that China has published not one, not two, but 13 White Papers on Tibet, is a testament to the fact that the information provided, principally by the Central Tibetan Administration, as well as by other leading international Tibet support groups, are the ones considered factual and authentic by the world,” he said.
“White papers by nature are authoritative guides on complex issues that need to be resolved or commercially as sales and marketing documents. For the Chinese government to issue 13 white papers on Tibet means that it is having great difficulty in convincing potential customers to buy its arguments on Tibet. These white papers are a dozen too many, too unconvincing and too late to arrest the worsening conditions in Tibet,” Sikyong reasoned.
Describing truth and justice as its guiding principle, Sikyong said that “the Chinese government is economically much more powerful and has a large resource of manpower and finance at their disposal. The resources available with the Tibetan people pales in comparison to those of China. However, our wholehearted efforts to create awareness on the Tibet issue has been much more significant as we have truth on our side,” Sikyong asserted.
The latest whitepaper on Tibet issued by the Chinese government has been heavily criticised by the Central Tibetan Administration and Tibet support groups worldwide as another attempt to whitewash the tragic reality in Tibet.
The CTA has issued a press release earlier, in response to the White Paper, urging the Chinese government to open up Tibet to both international rights groups and media instead of issuing White Papers on Tibet.
“Let the international media do an objective report on the issue of Tibet and let the world be the judge,” the CTA has said.