News / Asia
Dalai Lama: China Hardliners Hold Xi Back on Tibetan Autonomy

Shannon Van Sant
December 17, 2014 6:43 PM
BEIJING—
The Dalai Lama says Chinese President Xi Jingping may be willing to consider more autonomy for Tibet but is being held back by Communist Party’s hardliners.
The Tibetan spiritual leader told France 24 television in an interview Wednesday that change is difficult because the old thinking is still entrenched, although the Chinese leader is quite “active and realistic.”
“There is a lot of hardliner thinking still there,” so the president “sometimes finds it’s a difficult situation,” he said.
But China, which labels the Dalai Lama a separatist, denies there is a split within the government over the issue of Tibet. Indeed, the exiled leader’s remarks drew a sharp rebuke from China’s Foreign Ministry.
“The Dalai Lama must stop undermining the unity of China,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang was quoted as saying during a press conference, adding that the Dalai Lama needs to take concrete actions and create specific conditions to establish any contact between himself and the Chinese officials.
“Inside China’s party or the government there is no such thing as the hardliner or dove,” the official said. “China’s unity is one common aspiration shared by all Chinese people.”
The Dalai Lama has long denied Beijing’s charges of separatism, saying he only seeks true autonomy for his homeland, which he fled in 1959 when China’s Communist troops crushed a Tibetan uprising. Chinese troops had occupied the remote region as early as 1950.
Nine rounds of talks between representatives of the Nobel Peace laureate and ruling communist party officials between 2002 to 2010 stalled due to protests in Tibet and a subsequent crackdown by the Chinese government.
Isabel Hilton, head of Chinadialogue.net, an independent, non-profit organization based in London and Beijing, says the Dalai Lama’s recent comments may not reflect China’s willingness to grant Tibet autonomy, but they do signify a desire for renewed talks.
“He sends a signal that the Tibetans are still open to talks with the Chinese, talks that never got very far and have not really happened substantively for several years now,” she said.
According to Hilton, the Dalai Lama was encouraged when Buddhism was mentioned recently by President Xi, whose mother was a Buddhist. Hilton also says Xi’s family background, including the fact that his father was friendly with the Dalai Lama, has raised hopes for improved ties.
“I think he is signaling that the situation continues badly, and with a new leader there may be a hope to start again, more in hope rather than in expectation,” she said.
Protests in Tibet against Chinese rule continue. This week a Tibetan man set himself on fire and died in Gansu Province, becoming the 134th person to self-immolate as a form of protest of the Chinese government.

Vatican Denies Dalai Lama Papal Audience Over China Concern
Reuters
December 12, 2014 6:43 PM
VATICAN CITY —
Pope Francis has denied a private audience to the Dalai Lama because it could harm the Holy See’s already fraught relations with China, the Vatican said on Friday.
The request was declined “for obvious reasons concerning the delicate situation” with China, a Vatican spokesman said. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, understood the situation, he added.
The Dalai Lama, in Rome for a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize winners, told Italian media he had approached the Vatican about a meeting but was told it could create inconveniences.
The Catholic Church in China is divided into two communities – an official Church known as the Patriotic Association answerable to the Communist Party, and an underground Church that swears allegiance only to the pope in Rome.
A Vatican official, who asked not to be identified, said the decision was “not taken out of fear but to avoid any suffering by those who have already suffered” – a reference to Catholics in China who are loyal to the pope.
The Vatican said the pope would not meet any of the laureates and that the number two in the Vatican hierarchy, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, had sent them a message on the pope’s behalf.
The last meeting between a pope and the Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, was in 2006, when he met former Pope Benedict XVI.
The Rome gathering was set to take place in South Africa in October but the government denied the Dalai Lama a visa.
The Vatican, which has had no formal diplomatic ties to Beijing since shortly after the Communist Party took power in 1949, has been trying to improve relations with China.
While he was in South Korea in August, Francis urged China to pursue a formal dialogue to benefit both sides. While flying to South Korea, his plane was allowed to cross Chinese air space – a first for popes, who previously had to avoid it on Asian tours.
During his flight, Francis sent a message of goodwill to China, where the Catholic Church is keen to establish a greater presence.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said at the time that Beijing was sincere about wanting to improve relations with the Vatican.
The main point of contention between Beijing and the Vatican is which side should have the final say in the appointment of bishops. Another stumbling block is the Holy See’s recognition of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

New York Review of Books:
Pope Francis’s China Problem
Jonathan Mirsky
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/dec/15/pope-francis-china-dalai-lama/?utm
China-watchers, friends of Tibet, and admirers of Pope Francis were amazed and disappointed last week when the Pope announced he would not be meeting the Dalai Lama during the Tibetan leader’s visit to Rome. The Dalai Lama was there with other winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, who—ironically—had gathered in Rome after a planned meeting in South Africa did not take place because Pretoria refused to grant the Dalai Lama a visa. In the end, the pope declined to meet with any of the Laureates. In view of Francis’s extraordinary reputation for open-mindedness, how could this be?
The Dalai Lama has a long history of meeting with the head of the Catholic Church. He met with John Paul II on a number of different occasions and with Benedict XVI once, in a private meeting in 2006. But this time, the Vatican explained, there could be no such encounter because of the “delicate situation,” and because, the Dalai Lama was told, “it could cause problems.” It was plain that the statement referred to relations between the Holy See and Beijing. A spokesman for the Dalai Lama said he was “disappointed at not being able to call on His Holiness the Pope but he does not want to cause any inconvenience.”
Over the last few years, a growing number of world leaders, under pressure from China, have spurned or downgraded meetings with the Dalai Lama. In 2010, President Barack Obama received the Dalai Lama in the White House Map Room, making clear that he was meeting him not as a political leader but as a religious one—which the Dalai had already proclaimed was now his only role. That meeting, which ended with the Dalai Lama leaving the White House through a back entrance past a row of garbage cans, nevertheless infuriated the Chinese government, which condemned the White House for interfering in China’s internal affairs. In May 2012, after Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg met the Dalai Lama discreetly and briefly in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Chinese foreign Ministry stated:
We ask the British side to take the Chinese side’s solemn stance seriously, stop indulging and supporting “Tibet independence” anti-China forces, immediately take effective measures to undo the adverse effect, and take concrete action to safeguard the overall development of China-UK relations.
China’s reaction alarmed Cameron, who was planning a visit to Beijing with British business leaders, and the following year the trip took place only after officials in the Cameron government made clear that he had no plans for future meetings with the Dalai Lama.
What happened in Rome is wholly different. Unlike the US, Britain, Norway, and South Africa, among other countries, the Vatican has no economic ties with Beijing, nor does it hold security discussions with the Chinese. It is also usual for the Pope to meet the leaders of other world faiths on purely religious grounds.
What is plain is Francis’s anguish over the fate of the estimated twelve million Chinese who are Catholic and the more than three thousand Catholic priests active in China. About half of China’s Catholics are connected to one of the churches under the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), which means their bishops are appointed by employees of CPCA, which was created by the Religious Affairs Bureau of the People’s Republic; the other half are unofficial “House Christians,” who recognize the pope as their leader. Along with China’s Protestants, both groups have at best uneasy relations with the Communist leadership. Earlier this year, Catholic and Protestant churches in some regions of China were designated as “illegal structures” anddemolished; in other cases in recent months, Christian religious symbols, such as crosses, have sometimes been forcibly removed.
Evidently, the Vatican understood what could happen if the Pope met “the criminal, splittist Dalai,” as he is routinely condemned by Beijing. There is always the possibility of detentions of prominent Catholics and their priests, and more punishments for Tibetan Buddhists, well-tried forms of Communist persecution. There also could be more at stake now that Beijing has signaled that it might consider improving relations with Rome. The signal seems arcane but it was understood in the Vatican. During the Pope’s visit to South Korea, for the first time a plane carrying a pope was permitted to fly through Chinese air space. In response, as he passed over China, the Pope sent a message to President Xi Jinping: “I extend the best wishes to Your Excellency and your fellow citizens, and I invoke the divine blessings of peace and well-being upon the nation.”
Chinese Catholics who managed to tune in to foreign news would have taken heart from that blessing, but the situation remains uncertain. As Ian Johnson recently wrotein The New York Review,
The choice of a Jesuit to be the new pope has awakened some hope for better relations because of the Jesuits’ long ties with China, but there is no concrete sign of improvement, nor any realistic chance for change without some change of policy on Beijing’s part. Given the new Chinese leadership’s tendencies toward controlling dissent and any sort of social organization, this seems unlikely. That means that Catholics in China still face a conundrum of whether to worship in the official Catholic church, or to worship at unregistered churches that are loyal to the Vatican but illegal.
After the Pope’s snub of the Dalai Lama—for that is what it was—Chinese leaders must have congratulated themselves on yet another proof of their international power. It was, in fact, an example of what Perry Link terms “The anaconda in the chandelier.” The giant snake lies quietly until disturbed, and then, as it stirs, the chandelier’s slight tinkle is enough to warn those below of the serpent above their heads. But while it is understandable that Pope Francis should fear for the safety of Chinese Catholics, beyond that—unmistakably—is Beijing’s growing capacity for frightening and punishing those who might defy it.
December 15, 2014, 5:29 p.m.

Statement of the Kashag on the 25th Anniversary of Conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet

December 10, 2014 8:50 am
On behalf of 6 million Tibetans, the Kashag pays its most humble respects and deep reverence to His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama.
Kashag also extends its warmest greetings to fellow Tibetans, friends and well-wishers around the world.
Today is the Silver Jubilee of the momentous occasion of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Back in 1989, the Nobel Committee’s citation read: The Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama, in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet, has consistently opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and
cultural heritage of his people.
Over the past twenty-five years, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has unwaveringly continued to confirm and strengthen the ideals of the Nobel Peace Prize. His Holiness, who regards himself a simple Buddhist monk, continues to prove himself to be a shining beacon of peace, non-violence and compassion to millions of people across the world. Through the decades, His Holiness has relentlessly endeavoured to achieve his three commitments: promotion of basic human values, inter-religious harmony, and preservation of Tibet’s peaceful and non-violent Buddhist culture.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has travelled the five continents, meeting presidents, prime ministers, religious heads, kings, scientists, academics, youths, ordinary citizens, the poor and the underprivileged. He has been lauded with 151 major awards and honours. Even fellow Nobel Peace Laureates refer to him as a “Super Laureate”.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s unswerving pursuit of a non-violent resolution to the issue of Tibet, based on dialogue and mutual benefit, has dramatically advanced the cause. Global citizens of conscience for Tibet have grown from a handful of small groups to a strong international campaign for human rights for Tibetans, including support through the production of a multitude of Page 1 of 5 documentaries about the Tibetan struggle, and also Hollywood films, as well as
in books and worldwide media coverage.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama promotes a mutually beneficial solution for the problem of Tibet, which takes into account the prevailing international environment and China’s domestic position and with the full mandate of the Tibetan people. With the adoption of the Middle-Way Approach, more than 20 contacts and consultations were made with the Chinese government from 1979 till formal contacts came to an end in 1993. When talks resumed in 2002, nine formal rounds of dialogue and one informal consultation were held between the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the concerned PRC officials. The Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People sought genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese Constitution.
It is ironic that just recently, the Chinese government chose to designate December 4th as National Constitution Day to advance the Rule of Law and promote the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. If the Chinese government really deems the Constitution important, then it must put the document into practice and grant the Tibetan people the genuine autonomy it promises.
The Middle Way approach has enabled open support from governments and parliaments across the world. Many Chinese scholars and academics have also conveyed their support for the just cause of Tibet. Their interest in and understanding of the Tibetan cause increases by the day. The Central Tibetan Administration remains steadfastly committed to the Middle Way Approach. A meeting of Task Force on negotiation will be held shortly.
One of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s greatest contributions to and legacies for the Tibetan people has been in building the institution of democracy in exile. Even against the will of many of his people, he successfully implemented democratization of Tibetans-in-exile because of his conviction that ensuring Tibetans a say in their governance is in their best interest. Over the past 25 years, major milestones along this road have included the election of the Kalons
by the parliament in 1990, the adoption of the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile in 1991, the first direct election for Kalon Tripa in 2001, and most recently in 2011, the devolution of all political authority by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the directly elected leader. Under His Holiness’ visionary leadership, the Central Tibetan Administration has come to thrive and evolve into a self-sustaining institution with the democratic mandate of its people.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the life and soul of Tibet and the Tibetan people. The 14th Kashag therefore with joy announced the observation of 2014 the “Year of Gratitude to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.” It is an appeal to all elder Tibetans to engage with young Tibetans in retelling the story of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s life, so that the legacy, vision and mission of the Great 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will be etched in the hearts and minds of
Tibetans for generations to come.
To celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Central Tibetan Administration organized an event on October 2nd, 2014 in Dharamsala to coincide with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Fellow Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jodi Williams also graced this special event.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to individuals as well as organizations. The efforts of the following Laureates,
● Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams’ led to the Good Friday Agreement, and paved the way for cooperation between the British and Irish governments.
● Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk, have brought racial equality to South Africa.
● Aung Sang Suu Kyi was released from house arrest and freed to pursue democracy in her native Burma.
● Jose Ramos-Horta and Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of East Timor have actualized their aspiration for a free East Timor.
Other Peace Laureates have also been successful in turning their efforts and aspirations into actual achievements. It is now time for His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama’s vision to be realized. The Nobel Peace Laureates summit previously scheduled in South Africa was cancelled due to the boycott of the summit by other Laureates when visa was denied to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We appreciate and welcome the summit now being held in Rome which will be attended by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Today is also International Human Rights Day, commemorating the United Nations’ 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as the common standard to measure the freedoms by which all peoples and nations should live. Unfortunately, even 66 years after the proclamation, Tibetans have very little to celebrate. Instead, China consistently negates the provisions of the declaration, and human rights standards in Tibet continue to deteriorate. Tibet is still under occupation and the Tibetan people suffer political repression, economic marginalization, social discrimination, environmental destruction and cultural assimilation.
Countless demonstrations in Tibet since the Tibetan National Uprising of 1959 have called for human rights and basic freedoms for Tibetans. It is worth noting that, in 2008, the demonstrations spread to all regions where Tibetans reside in the three traditional Tibetan provinces, indicating that all Tibetans are united and share the same aspirations. It showed, too, the relevance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s aim to bring all the Tibetans under a single autonomous
administration.
The 132 self-immolations also include Tibetans of all ages and walks of life on the Tibetan plateau. On November 14th this year, an anonymous testimony by the survivor of a self-immolation protest reads: “Compared to other countries,
we don’t have freedom of religious belief, freedom of speech, and our spiritual leader cannot return home. The restrictions are ongoing. I was unable to bear the suffering of living under Chinese aggression, so I thought about a self-immolation protest.”
Today, we pray for those who have sacrificed their lives for basic freedom and human rights in Tibet. We remember the Tibetan political prisoners still suffering in Chinese prisons, including the 11th Kunzik Panchen Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, Chadrel Rinpoche, and many others.
We hope for their speedy release and stand alongside them in their aspirations. We also urge Chinese authorities to release the 2010 Nobel Peace Laureate, Liu Xiaobo, and to finally, also after 25 years, to meet the aspirations of the tragic events at Tiananmen Square.
A genuinely civilized democratic world cannot be achieved as long as injustice is inflicted in any corner of that world. The Kashag reiterates on this 66th Human Rights Day that the only way to end repression and the deteriorating situation of Tibet is for China to change its current hard line policy and respect the needs of the Tibetan people.
On this occasion, we deeply thank the citizens and Government of India. All the achievements of Tibetan refugees in reconstructing a cohesive and strong community would not have been possible without the constant support of India. We especially value and give thanks for the recently announced Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy 2014. We also wish to thank all Indian state governments, especially the beautiful state of Himachal Pradesh, for hosting the Central Tibetan Administration. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the two-day International Himalayan Festival to be held in Dharamsala in honor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Finally, we also express our deep gratitude to all friends of Tibet and well-wishers across the globe. We end today with fervent prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s long and healthy life. May all his wishes be fulfilled, including all the Tibetans be united together in our homeland.

2.5 Million-Year-Old Canyon Found Beneath Tibetan River
December 02, 2014 4:41 PM
Scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the China Earthquake Administration say they have discovered a deep, ancient canyon buried under the Yarlung River in the south of China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region.
The study found that about 2.5 million years ago, the Yarlung River had created a deep canyon at least 500 meters (more than 1,640 feet) below its current riverbed.
“The data tells us that the river had [cut] deeply into the margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and then at a later stage the tectonic uplift created the gorge and made this river so steep,” said Dirk Scherler, a geologist and one of two lead authors of the study.
The study, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, shows that as the collision of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate lifted the Tibetan Plateau, sediment from the tectonic activities filled the ancient canyon. Through drilling, the scientists determined that the ancient canyon was, in some areas, up to 1,000 meters deep.
“I was extremely surprised when my colleagues, Jing Liu-Zeng and Dirk Scherler, showed me the evidence,” said Jean-Philippe Avouac, the Earle C. Anthony Professor of Geology at Caltech. “That was a big discovery, in my opinion.”
According to Scherler, who now works at GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, the buried canyon extends for about 300 kilometers (186 miles) upstream from the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, a well-known gorge that is about as deep as the U.S. Grand Canyon.
This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Tibetan service.

Tibetan Groups Ask UN Envoy to Scrutinize Rights Charges Against Beijing
2014-11-25
New U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein should look closely at charges of blatant rights abuses and environmental concerns in Tibet if allowed by Beijing to visit the region, a group of 20 Tibetan writers, educators, and former political prisoners says, cautioning him against falling into any “trap” set by Chinese officials to mislead him.
A letter sent electronically this month by the 20 from inside Tibet outlines a range of concerns to be addressed by Zeid, who has said he is in talks with Beijing over a planned visit to Tibet.
The Tibetan writers, educators, and ex-political prisoners sent their letter to the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) for forwarding to Zeid’s office at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Our main reason for sending this appeal is to highlight our lack of freedom in Tibetan areas to protect our own environment and to express our own views and concerns,” the letter says, according to a copy made available to RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Concern over ‘staged tours’
“Protests are treated as violations of the law, and those who engage in them are detained and beaten, while many have been killed. In this way, Tibetan areas have been turned into zones of torture and repression,” it says.
No visit by the U.N. human rights chief to Tibet has yet been approved by China, though Zeid has voiced hope that a visit could be arranged per a recommendation accepted by China at a periodic review of its human rights record held in Geneva.
“We are discussing this issue with the Chinese authorities,” Zeid told reporters on Oct. 16.
Signing the letter with what appear to be pen-names, the Tibetan authors of the letter especially urge the U.N’s new human rights chief “not to fall into the trap” of taking part in tours “staged” by Chinese officials.
“We also ask that you visit the family members or other persons close to Tibetan self-immolators to understand the true circumstances that have led over 130 of them to end their lives in protests since 2009,” the letter says.
Beijing’s assertions of sovereignty over Tibet have made conditions there “difficult to understand from outside,” the letter says, adding, “Please describe clearly the conditions that you see, and tell our true story to the world. This will lighten our burden inside Tibet.”
Preliminary discussions
Zeid told reporters last month that Beijing had “agreed to the recommendation that there be a visit by the high commissioner to Tibet and so we are discussing this issue with the Chinese authorities,” Agence France-Presse reported.
“I’ve had a few very preliminary discussions about this. We agreed we would sit at some stage and elaborate a concept of how this is going to take place,” he said.
Allowing the U.N.’s top rights official to visit Tibet was among a raft of recommendations issued by the U.N. Human Rights Council when it assessed China’s record in October 2013, AFP reported.
China has not ruled out a visit by Zeid but said he must apply through “appropriate channels.”
“China hopes to develop cooperation with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and his office on a foundation of equality and mutual respect,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
“At the same time we also hope that he fulfills his responsibilities fairly and impartially.”
Speaking to RFA, TCHRD executive director Tsering Tsomo acknowledged receipt of what she called the “very important and precious” letter sent from inside the tightly controlled Tibetan region.
“We will forward it on to the head and members of the U.N. Human Rights Council,” Tsomo said.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 133 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 Musician Who Produced Songs For Popular Singer is Jailed
2014-12-01
A Tibetan musician has been ordered jailed for more than two years for producing patriotic Tibetan songs that have been banned by the Chinese authorities, according to sources, amid a crackdown by Beijing on Tibetan cultural figures.
Producer Pema Rinzin, 44, was sentenced by the same court that ordered his popular singer, Kalsang Yarphel, 39, jailed for four years in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, last week, the sources said.
Rinzin, who turned producer after a successful singing career, was sentenced to two years and six months in jail and fined 50,000 yuan (U.S $8,130) by the Chengdu Chinese People’s Intermediate Court for producing “politically sensitive” DVDs, India’s Dharamsala-based monk Kanyak Tsering told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Among songs he produced were “In Memory of Tibet” and “Tears,” which have been banned.
“Some of Rinzin’s supporters were allowed to witness the proceedings in court but he was not allowed to have an attorney for his defense,” Tsering said.
Rinzin, a former monk, stopped singing in 2008 and devoted most of his time to the production of films and songs in a studio in Chengdu.
The authorities “had threatened him about shutting down his studio” several times, according to Tsering, an exile monk from the restive Kirti monastery in Sichuan’s Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Once a monk
Rinzin had once enrolled in the Namtso monastery in Ngaba but later became a layperson.
He was convicted by the Chengdu court on Nov. 27 when Yarphel, 39, was sentenced for organizing Tibetan concerts and singing songs carrying political themes such as ‘Tibetans’ and ‘Lama la,’ a Tibetan source with contacts in the region told RFA at the weekend.
“Other songs he sang were ‘We Should Learn Tibetan’ and ‘We Should Unite'”
China has jailed scores of Tibetan writers, artists, singers, and educators for asserting Tibetan national and cultural identity and language rights since widespread protests swept Tibetan areas in 2008.
Yarphel was taken into custody in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa on July 14, 2013 after he helped organize Lhasa-area concerts called Khawai Metok, or Snow Flower, in which he sang a song titled “Fellow Tibetans,” former political prisoner Lhamo Kyab told RFA then.
The song, which calls on Tibetans to learn and speak Tibetan and to “build courage” to think about Tibet’s “future path,” was deemed subversive by Chinese authorities, who opened an investigation and questioned Yarphel several times before finally detaining him, he said.
Strong fan base
Popular since childhood for his beautiful singing voice, Yarphel had built up a strong fan base among Tibetans over the years and had distributed many recordings, said Kyab, adding that the singer had performed at concerts arranged both by the government and by private organizations.
The Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) had said that Chinese authorities had banned the sale of DVD recordings of the Khawai Metok concerts at which Yarphel performed.
But copies had already been widely distributed in Tibetan-populated areas of China’s Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces, TCHRD said.
Among other Tibetan singers in custody are Lolo, Pema Tinley, Chakdor, Shawo Tashi, Ugyen Tenzin, Achok Phulshung, Choksal, Trinley Tsekar and Gonpo Tenzin. All were detained since 2012, with some already tried and sentenced to jail terms as long as six years.
One song by jailed singer Lolo, “Raise the Tibetan flag, Children of the Snowland,” was seen as a direct challenge to Chinese rule.
Some 133 Tibetans have self-immolated since 2009 in protests opposing Beijing’s rule and calling for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Reported by RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

Tibetan Monk Detained After Solo Freedom Protest in Kardze
2014-11-26
A young Tibetan monk was taken into custody on Wednesday in western China’s Sichuan province after launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing’s rule in Tibetan areas and calling for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, according to sources.
Sonam Yarphel, a 22-year-old monk belonging to the Mangge monastery in Sershul (in Chinese, Shiqu) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, staged his protest at the Sershul county center at about 3:50 p.m. local time, sources told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Wednesday.
It was the fourth Tibetan solo protest in the Kardze prefecture over the last four months. Tibetans in Kardze prefecture are known for their strong sense of Tibetan identity and nationalism and frequently stage protests alone or in groups opposing rule by Beijing.
“[Yarphel] shouted slogans calling for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, and held up a banner in both hands as he walked in protest through the town,” one local source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“After protesting for several minutes, he was overpowered by police and taken into custody,” he said.
Separately, other local sources confirmed Yarphel’s protest and detention.
“He was taken away by security officials and is now being held at the county detention center in Sershul,” one source said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Monks questioned, Internet blocked
Police later arrived in the Sershul county center in large numbers, another source said, adding, “It is now very difficult to get updated information since the Internet has been shut down in our area.”
“Right now, I am away from the county center,” he said.
Chinese officials and police officers are now present at Mangge and are questioning the monastery’s 150 to 160 monks, sources said.
Reached by RFA for comment, a duty officer at the Sershul county police office said, “I heard about this incident, but don’t know the details,” before referring the call to another department.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 133 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 Lobsang Choephel, Kunsang Tenzin, and Pema Ngodup for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Poisoning Tibetan Rivers: Why is it not so natural?
November 14, 2014 10:30 am
By Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha
“In the past, our rivers were crisp and clean, the mountains and valleys were known for their natural beauty. But now the rivers are polluted with poisonous waste from the mines,” is what a local resident said to Radio Free Asia hoping that letting the news out to the world would at least raise pressure on local authorities to act as the people’s government, rather than of the mining companies. Such grievances are numerous and wide spread among the Tibetan population in recent years due to the desecration of their mountains and poisoning of their rivers by destructive mining practices followed in Tibetan areas under Chinese occupation.
On September 23, 2014, more than 1000 local Tibetans of Dokar and Zibuk villages near Tibetan capital city Lhasa protested against poisoning of their rivers by Gyama Copper Poly-metallic Mine. The mine is located close to a stream that locals use for drinking, irrigation and animal feeding. But as always, the local officials conveniently declared that the water pollution in the rivers was caused by natural factors and not by the mine.
A similar official statement was issued back in 2013, when 83 mine workers of the same mine were killed in a mine induced landslide due to mismanagement of mine waste or over-piling of mine waste rocks on a steep V-shaped valley. The official statement was obediently published by Xinhua News without the slightest hint of journalistic objectivity despite the loss of so many lives. This systematic approach without any legal transparency and with no sense of compunction by the local Chinese government in Tibetan areas has become a dangerous trend and bizarre scenario.
The Gyama Mine is operated by Huatailong Mining Development, a subsidy of the China National Gold Group Corporation, and ironically is praised as eco-friendly and a model mine by China. If the standard and qualification for a model mine is of such, then the plight of the people and state of the environment is seriously in danger. The deliberate and systematic falsification of causes behind the Gyama mine landslide and river water poisoning by Chinese local government could only be explained by themselves.
But a 2010 article titled “Environmental impact of mining activity on the surface water quality in Tibet: Gyama valley,” by Xiang et al., firmly ascertains that “a localized severe heavy metal contamination is documented in the stream water of Gyamaxung-chu (chu means river) and wastewater treatment facilities in the Gyama valley.” It also states that “the environmental risk at the Gyamaxung-chu source area, where the measured contents correspond mainly to geochemical background was zero. However, there was a very high risk at the upper and middle parts of the stream and it appears to be both natural and accelerated by the extensive mining activities. The levels of metals (such as lead, copper, cadmium and zinc) represent the high risk for the environment, including local human populations and their livestock.”
The article further goes on to say that “ the great environmental concern are the many mining and processing deposits in the valley, containing large amount of heavy metals, such as lead, copper, zinc and manganese etc. These deposits are prone to leak its contaminants through seepage water and erosion of particulates, and pose therefore a future risk for the local environment and a potential threat to the downstream water quality.”
Gyamaxung-chu is a mountain spring fed by groundwater, rain and melting snow with continuous flow throughout the year providing life for the many villages situated on its path before draining into the Lhasa river and finally into the Yarlung Tsangpo or Brahmaputra.
A similar Assessment Report by Environment and Development Desk of Central Tibetan Administration back in 2013 after the Gyama mine landslide clearly produced strong evidence to link the landslide with the mismanagement of mine waste.
Considering the evidences, why do the relevant authorities refuse to see the truth and deny justice for its own people? Who granted mining companies so much power that they could get away with killing its own workers and poisoning community rivers? The only conclusion according to the local Tibetans is that there is an absolute cozy camaraderie between mining companies and local officials. The power of this nexus overrides everything else: ethnic cultural rights, local community interests, mineral resource extraction procedures and environmental laws. They could even manipulate official media and experts to validate outright crimes against its own people and the environment.
The recent protest against river water poisoning is a desperate attempt after almost five years of continuous pleas to the Chinese authorities in Lhasa. The so called people’s government threatens and intimidates its own people for raising such issues of public interest. The people are left with no choice but to seek help from the outside world by appealing to international media, hoping Beijing would take notice and the central government would come to their rescue. I am sure Beijing cares about the welfare of its people. According to a report in China Daily (23-01-2013) the central urban areas of Beijing city alone have 300 water quality monitoring stations. How many such stations are there in the Tibetan areas and why are the people of Gyama valley denied of such rights?
The poisoning of Tibetan rivers will have catastrophic consequences to both China and the world, as Tibet is home to the largest store of accessible fresh water and source of Asia’s six greatest rivers (Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, Salween, Indus and Brahmaputra), feeding some of the world’s most populated nations like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
Tibetans take great pride in the purity of their rivers and causing river water pollution is simply against their way of life. In the 11th century when Indian Buddhist scholar, Atisha Dipamkara visited Tibet, he was overjoyed by the freshness and purity of Tibetan rivers so much that he recommended the waters of Tibet be served as the greatest offering to Lord Buddha. Since then the unmistakable Tibetan culture of water offering is prominently visible in every home and monastery. But what will the people of Gyama valley would offer to the Gods, when the very basic necessity of drinking water for the community is poisoned?
Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha is an Environment Research Fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute

Chinese Mining is Ordered Stopped in Tibetan Protest-Hit Dzatoe
2014-10-23
Chinese authorities have banned mining operations in an environmentally sensitive part of China’s northwestern Qinghai province where clashes last year between police and Tibetan protesters left dozens injured and eight detained, Tibetan sources said.
The move ending excavations in Dzatoe (in Chinese, Zaduo) county in the Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture followed widespread coverage in foreign news media of the protests and community leaders’ petitioning the central government in Beijing over the mining operations.
The area affected by the mining has been declared a protected zone, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service. “All mining activities have stopped in our area,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Here in Dzatoe, stone pillars have been set up in several places, marking these as National Protected Natural Areas,” the source said, adding that mining work has been halted not only in Dzatoe, but in areas close to the Drichu river, which flows through Yulshul, and the Machu river, which rises in neighboring Golog (Guoluo) prefecture.
The Drichu (Yangtse) and Dzachu (Mekong) rivers, which run through Yulshul, and the Machu (Yellow) river in Golog are protected at their headwaters in China’s regional Sanjiangyuan, or Three Rivers, Nature Reserve, though enforcement of environmental regulations has been uneven.
“Last year, some of our community members went all the way to Beijing to appeal to the Chinese central government to protect our environment, and took great risks to present our grievances to the authorities,” the source told RFA.
“Our protests and activities were also widely reported by news organizations, including your own,” he said. “So everything turned out well for us.”
Local corruption
A Tibetan source in exile confirmed that mining operations in the area have stopped.

“When [petitioners] put their case to the central government, pointing to corruption at the local level, authorities in Beijing finally issued an order through the provincial government to local authorities to stop the mining,” the source said Thursday, citing contacts in Dzatoe.
“The stone pillars were put up a few months ago, and everyone who was detained for protesting has now been released,” he said.
Calls seeking comment from Dzatoe county police rang unanswered on Thursday.
On Aug. 15-16, 2013, hundreds of Tibetan villagers blocked work at three mining sites—Atoe, Dzachen, and Chikdza—in Dzatoe county, sparking clashes with Chinese security forces in Atoe and Dzachen that left eight detained and dozens injured.
Documents with government seals appearing to give central government approval for the work were later found to be fakes, a Tibetan source said in an earlier report.
When current Chinese prime minister Li Keqiang was formerly vice prime minister, he had issued general orders calling for mineral surveys to be conducted, RFA’s source in Dzatoe said.
“And this was deliberately misinterpreted by local authorities [in Dzatoe] as a central government order allowing Chinese mining companies to excavate minerals in Tibetan areas,” he said.
“But this year, the problem of mining activities in Atoe, Dzachen, and Chikdza has finally been resolved.”
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 Lobsang Choephel, Guru Choegyi, and Lhuboom for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.