South China Morning Post
Stop modernising Lhasa, pleads Tibetan writer
Wednesday, 08 May, 2013, 11:25am
Comment Blogs
Amy Li
When Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser protested online this week against a commercial development in her hometown of  Lhasa, thousands supported her by reposting her message and sharing their own thoughts on Tibet.
Most of the supporters said they had visited Tibet as tourists. Others said they had seen it only in pictures and movies. But few probably knew how difficult it has become for Woeser and other relocated Tibetans to go home to the autonomous region in western China.
When Woeser, who lives in Beijing, went back to visit her mother in October, she had to go to Jilin – where her hukou, or residential permit – is registered to get a travel document from local police. Only after police issued a letter stating Woeser had no crime history and a form was signed by an authority and stamped by the local precinct could she set off.
She could tolerate the procedures, but not what she saw at home.
Once home, Woeser said she was astonished by both the scale and the nature of commercial developments going on in the ancient part of the Tibetan capital.
“Lhasa is being destroyed by excessive commercial development,” she wrote in the headline of a petition on Saturday that was quickly censored after it went viral on Weibo. “Please save Lhasa[1],” she pleaded in the letter, which was reposted on her blog.
The development project in question was Barkhor Mall, a shopping centre being built in the old town section of the city. The mall, once finished, would cover an area of 150,000 sq m and have more than 1,000 parking spaces, according to its developer.
“How much underground water will be drained to make room for the parking?” asked Woeser, evoking memories of the panic and discontent among many locals when underground water was drained to build a big mall a couple of years ago. Development companies took two years to drain the water.
“People worry about sinkholes and collapses, and other damages to the old town,” she wrote.
What worried Woeser more was what many described as a trend by the local government to turn Tibet into another “Lijiang old town”, a historic town in Yunnan province now bustling with tourists. It’s constantly criticised for being overly commercialised and having lost its soul after many original residents moved out.
Lhasa locals worry that what had happened to Lijiang is now happening in Lhasa.
For instance, a plan revealed by the government said vendors and residents in the historic Barkhor area would be moved away from this historic and popular place for pilgrims and locals. Their houses and shops would be used to attract new businesses including restaurants, bars and art galleries.
Under the plan, old vendors would be moved to the new mall, and residents would be relocated to the suburbs, with each household receiving 20,000 yuan (HK$25,000) to 30,000 yuan in compensation.
“Lhasa doesn’t exist for only tourists,” Woeser told the South China Morning Post. “There are real people who live here and it’s also a religious place. You can’t just turn it into a Sanlitun village.” Sanlitun village is a high-end popular shopping destination in Beijing.
As much as locals fear that development will change Lhasa’s architecture, culture and religion, they were also scared of retaliation and do not dare speak out against the plans, said Woeser.
While most international media have given their attention to the recent cases of immolations by Tibetan monks, Woeser argued that a more imminent disaster in Lhasa has been largely ignored.
She decided to make her plea for support on social media, knowing it would mean possible retaliation from the government.
“I therefore plead to Unesco and other international organisations, Tibetan scholars and experts, and all of you, please stop this horrible modernisation from committing unforgettable crimes to Lhasa’s old town environment, culture and architecture,” she wrote.
Woeser’s letter received thousands of comments and reposts from supporters on Weibo before it was taken down by censors on Monday

David Cameron ‘to visit China this year’
BBC News  7th May 2013
David Cameron Downing Street said it was up to David Cameron to decide whom to meet
David Cameron aims to visit China this year, Downing Street has said, following reports the prime minister has been barred from the country.
Officials in Beijing are said to be angry that Mr Cameron met the Dalai Lama last year.
But Number 10 said no ban was in place and the government wanted to foster a “stronger relationship” with China.
Mr Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met the Dalai Lama at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The Buddhist spiritual leader is seeking a measure of independence from China for his homeland of Tibet.
‘Not pressure’
Mr Cameron’s spokesman said: “It is entirely reasonable for the prime minister to decide who he meets.
“The Chinese government always lobbies hard against any meetings between foreign governments and the Dalai Lama. We have made clear in advance to the Chinese government that British ministers will decide who they meet and when they meet them.”
Asked whether the prime minister felt under pressure from Beijing to apologise, his spokesman replied: “Not pressure, no.”
Questioned over whether Mr Cameron was effectively banned from China, he said: “No. I believe the prime minister aims to go before the end of the year.”
He declined to reveal whether dates for a proposed visit had been discussed, but said: “We regularly discuss issues of mutual interest and importance with the Chinese.
“The prime minister has recently had warm engagements with both the (Chinese Communist) party secretary and premier. Government ministers have had around 14 meetings with their Chinese counterparts since May last year.”
The spokesman added that UK exports to China had grown more than those of any other EU country last year.
He said: “We want to establish a stronger relationship with China, recognising that it is in the interests of both countries to manage our differences with respect and co-operate as much as possible.”
The meeting between Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg and the Dalai Lama had been part of the government’s approach of seeking “dialogue and discussion and gathering a wide range of viewpoints on issues of importance”, said the spokesman.
Mr Clegg told Sky News: “We have a very important economic relationship with them [China]. But that doesn’t mean we should somehow give up on what we believe in when it comes to human rights and freedoms which we will continue to express in a respectful but nonetheless firm way.”

First Tibetan Women’s Soccer Team Blazes a Trail
19.04.2013
DHARAMSALA — Last year, an American teacher and 27 high school students from across the Tibetan Diaspora formed the first Tibetan national women’s football (soccer) team. Since then, they have overcome local critics who opposed the formation of the all-female team and become an inspiration for others.
News that a team of Tibetan women would enter a men’s soccer tournament last May sent ripples of excitement through this sleepy hill station at the foot of the Himalayas. There was also some disapproval.
Even Tibetans who have long lived in exile retain some conservative cultural views, says José Cabezón, Dalai Lama chair professor of Tibetan Buddhism and cultural studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“Tibetan women have always had a considerable and powerful role within the family, but less so in society,” said Cabezón. “The patterns that existed tend to be preserved and change is not easily won in society.”
Cassie Childers is the 31-year-old teacher from New Jersey whose vision of the team one day playing in the Olympics is the driving force behind Tibetan women’s soccer.
She says Tibetan men already have a national team and the Tibetan government-in-exile offers broad funding for boys’ school clubs.
“But there was nothing for the girls,” said Childers. “So we had two aims. The first is to empower all Tibetan women. The second, very political, is to form Tibet’s first women’s national team, training our players to speak their truth, to tell the world about Tibet, as a tool for peace.”
Many of the young women selected for the team were born inside Tibet and had walked with their parents across the Himalayas to escape Chinese rule.
Many had never kicked a soccer ball before. To play their first match in the Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup, players from nine schools in the Diaspora trained intensely for a month.
Childers says as soon as the tournament began, questions about the team’s credibility seemed to fade, along with any opposition to women’s participation in competitive sports.
“There were 5,000 Tibetans in attendance,” she said. “When they saw our team walk onto that ground, something shifted. You could see this is something real.  This is something big.”
And, then shortly after the second half began, Lhamo Kyi scored the first goal in the history of Tibetan women’s soccer.
“This girl kicked the ball in the net and then ran into the middle of the ground and did a flip,” said Childers. “And, that was the moment history changed. I never heard another [negative] comment.”
Like other young footballers around the world, team captain Lhamo and star midfielder Phuntsok Dolma aspire to the success achieved by heroes like British footballer David Beckham.
But a sense of responsibility, removed from the hype and money of the professional game, infuses the girls’ discussion of football. Dolma’s dream is to become a coach, like Childers.
“People say Tibetan women can never do what men can do,” said Dolma. “But [we have shown] we can. In Tibet women don’t get any opportunities.  So I will teach them and say to them, ‘You must never give up. You can take this opportunity.”
Sarah Rosemann of Williams College, Massachusetts, is conducting a study on women in Tibetan society. She sees significant gains being made in gender equality, but offers some caution.
“Women are standing up like this; starting to demand the men’s roles and to get involved in really pursuing their independence,” said Rosemann. “A lot of that comes from being exposed to different ideas while in Diaspora. But, there is a lot more objectivization of women, as well.”
Although they may not have won the tournament, Coach Cassie and her players have already won broader victories.
By 2017 – emulating the Palestinian men’s team that has twice played against China – these young Tibetan women hope to achieve full international status from soccer governing body, FIFA.
 (Articles from Voice of America 6^th May 2013)

http://www.asiasentinel. com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5358&Itemid=422
Did China Cover Up A Mining Disaster?

Evidence suggests killer landslide was manmade
Nearly three weeks after the death of 83 workers in a landslide near a village in Tibet, which official Chinese media characterized as a natural disaster, suspicion is rising that it resulted from improper mining activity.
The disaster occurred in Zibug, known as dZibug in Tibetan and Sibu in Chinese, in Maldro Gungkar County roughly 63 km northeast of Lhasa. Nearly two hours before sunrise in Tibet on March 29, the landslide roared about three kilometers down the valley, burying workers in a mining camp belonging to Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Ltd., a subsidiary of China Gold International Resource Corp., under 10 stories of rocks and mud. Immediately after the incident, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported that it was a natural disaster and said rescue workers were hopeful of finding workers alive. However, researchers in the United Kingdom and at the Tibet Environment Desk in the exile capital of Dharamsala in India began raising suspicions.
Four days after the tragedy, a spokesperson for China Gold International Resource Corp., which operated a mine employing the dead workers, insisted that it was a natural disaster. Asked how she knew it was a natural disaster, she said, “It is all in the news.” She did not make any further comment, describing it as a “sensitive issue.” So far Xinhua is the only source of news about the incident because it was reportedly the only media outlet that had access to the area.
Rescue efforts continued until at least April 4, by which time Xinhua reported that 66 bodies had been dug from the rubble. On the same day an official memorial ceremony was reportedly held at Zibug Village, about 6 km below the site of the landslide. There were no survivors. Of the dead, 81 were Chinese, two were Tibetan women.
“Take care and live on for a good life,” Xinhau quoted Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party Chief of the Tibetan Administrative Region, as saying to family members. The official news agency has not reported anything further on their online English news. But researchers outside Tibet started discovering more evidence that appears to contradict the official Chinese claim.
Last Tuesday, the Environment Desk of the Tibetan exile government released a report that said it was the “result of the aggressive expansion and large-scale exploitation of minerals in the Gyama Valley – a manmade phenomenon rather than merely a ‘natural disaster’.”
The UK-based independent researcher Adrian Moon conducted a study as well, which he made available a few days before the Dharamsala report. In his study, he indicated that mining activity on the top of the mountain was more likely to be the cause of the disaster.
On April 12, David Petley, Professor of Hazard and Risk in the Department of Geography at Durham University in the UK, said his analysis also found that the possible cause was more likely man-made.
“The properties of the landslide are consistent to what you’d expect to see from mining rather than from natural processing,” Petley said.
These findings raise another question. Why would Chinese official media and China Gold International immediately jump to the conclusion that it was “natural disaster”? Tibet environment researcher Gabriel Lafitte says Xinhua’s conclusion actually made him more suspicious of the reliability of its claim. He said landslides require more complex investigations because they destroy much of their evidence.
China Gold International identified the mountain from where the landslide occurred as Tseri Mountain. Google Earth images show the changes to this mountain between 2010 and 2012. An earlier image shows roads had been built on the mountain. A later one reveals greater activity taking place on the top of the mountain and the development of more roads. There are unidentifiable machines seemingly engaging in work on the ridge of the mountain. From some angles, the mountaintop appears to have become flatter. Jigme Norbu, a researcher at the Tibet Environment Desk in Dharamsala, described the mountain as being “decapitated.”
According to a report on the American Geophysical Union’s blog, a satellite image shows that the slope that failed “had been subject to a huge mining operation – basically a mountaintop removal exercise. Perhaps more importantly, the spoil that has been removed has been dumped down the slope that subsequently collapsed. The scale of this operation is very large, and it is notable that the spoil has mostly accumulated on the upper part of the slope, although some has passed to the foot of the slope. So, how come the Chinese news reports about the event did not mention this huge modification of the slope?”
The landslide took place at the southern side of Tseri Mountain, which falls under the jurisdiction of Zibug Village. It is about 30km via road from the Gyama Township where the Huatailong mining operation has been largely taking place, according to previous reports. The two townships, or xiangs, are located at each end of the valley where Tseri Mountain stands in between. According to Moon’s study, the mining company was previously only licensed to mine in Gyama area and did not come under the jurisdiction of Tashi Gang Township.
Observers like Petley also questioned the safety practices of the Chinese mining company. He said he was surprised to see the location of the camp where the workers were buried, most likely while sleeping.
“In Europe or North America, you wouldn’t normally expect to see people camping so close down the slope.” In fact a larger mining landslide occurred in the US state of Utah on the evening of April 12. But no one died or was injured because the company was monitoring the situation and evacuated workers eight hours before it occurred.
Google Earth images of Tseri Mountain that were taken before the mineworkers’ camp was set up show it was located in a very steep valley below the mountain.
The incident also raised the issue of inequality in job opportunities. Tibet observers like Robert Barnett point out that having only two Tibetans in the workforce of 83 people reveals how the locals are denied receiving benefits from mines like this.
China has claimed that the locals are benefiting from the mine. On March 20, an official Chinese information website on Tibet called “China’s Tibet” reported Maldro Gongkar County held a ceremony for the graduation of 100 local students from a school in Yunan Province with different skills in mining. The report said all the students had received scholarship from the mining company and that the company spent a total of RMB5 million ($84,000) for the program. Beijing Review reported August last year that the company spent $28.48 million on environmental protection, although some Tibetans connected to the region say the environmental program was mainly tree plantations in a lower valley.
But money is not what the Tibetans are fighting for, says Tibet researcher Robert Barnett. He says Westerners assume Tibetans want more money from the mines, but that the real fight is not for money.
“What we hear Tibetans saying is not that they want more money, though of course they raised that generally about the fact that the money should be benefiting the area, but what they’ve been raising, though, is about the damage to their environment—the long term damage.”
One Tibetan living in the San Francisco Bay Area who was originally from Gyama area, said he believes that the local Tibetans had protested against establishment of the mine.

Dalai Lama to speak at Sydney University
AAP      April 23, 2013 8:20PM
The University of Sydney has agreed to host a lecture by the Dalai Lama in June after previously being accused of withdrawing the invitation for political reasons.
The university said it never received any official request for an appearance by the Tibetan spiritual leader.
However, emails from the uni’s vice-chancellor Michael Spence referred to a decision to “withdraw support for hosting His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s planned speech”, the ABC reported last week.
The report led to allegations that Sydney University, which has close ties to the Chinese government, dropped the invitation for political reasons.
The university’s Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (IDHR) and representatives of the Dalai Lama have now agreed to host an on-campus lecture for students in mid-June, IDHR director John Keane said.
“It is hoped the mid-June event will form part of a determined commitment of the University of Sydney to develop a constructive dialogue on matters concerning Tibet and the wider region,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Mr Keane said IDHR and the University of Sydney also remain “firmly committed” to the principle that academics are free to invite anyone to the campus who has a legitimate contribution to public debate.
The Dalia Lama will speak under the theme ‘Education Matters’ in the event open for university students only.
The Dalai Lama no longer makes political statements but is blamed by the Chinese Government for the continued self-immolation of Tibetan monks.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/dalai-lama-to-speak-at-sydney-university/story-e6frfku9-1226627375101#ixzz2RKD0warL

21 Tibetans Arrested in Protest Against Rampant Land Grabbing in Kyegudo
April 12, 2013 5:43 pm
DHARAMSHALA: More than 21 Tibetans are arrested after hundreds of local Tibetans in Kyegudo region of Kham protested against the local Chinese authorities on 9 April.
The Tibetans were protesting against rampant land grabbing and forceful eviction of Tibetan families from their ancestral homes in the Kyegudo region. Six Tibetans are reported to be seriously injured during confrontation with the Chinese security forces.
The local Chinese authorities have announced further plans to destroy 200 more homes to create more land for industries and private ownership.
Self-immolation against Land Grabbing
After the devastating 2010 earthquake, thousands of Tibetans in Kyegudo have been rendered homeless due to a rampant land grabbing rush by Chinese authorities in the area.
Two Tibetan women have also set themselves on fire protesting against these forced evictions and the lack of any concrete help from the central government in Beijing.

 
Translation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s remarks to the Tibetans gathered during his Teaching at Salugara, West Bengal, on 29 March 2013
Two years ago, I took retirement from my political responsibility. In addition to my personal retirement, it also ended the nearly 400-year old system, established from the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama and followed by the successive Dalai Lamas, of being both the spiritual and temporal ruler of Tibet. This system proved useful during its time, now the time has changed. Even in the future, when the time comes for the Tibetans in exile and Tibet to be living together, I had already mentioned long time back that there would not be a situation where we will be at the helms. Not only that, even whether the institution of the Dalai Lama will exist or not, is needed or not, will be decided by the concerned people at that time. I have said that as early as 1969.
Since around 12 years back, I have been in semi-retirement, with our political leadership being appointed through elections since 2001. Thereafter, my status had been that of a semi-retirement. Around two years ago, we saw the completion of two five-year terms (for ten years) of the elected Kalon Tripa. During the elections, Tibetans in different countries were paying good attention and taking good responsibility in the election process. Therefore, I felt the time had come for my complete retirement, ending (as we Tibetans would say, in a good era and in a good way, and with auspiciousness) the system of Gaden Phodrang assuming political responsibility.
This did not happen unwillingly, but took place happily, joyously and voluntarily. Leaders that I know, whether in India, the United States or other places, have all commended my decision saying it was very good.
Among Tibetans, while the immediate reaction has been that of uneasiness, yet after the reasons for this have been explained everyone has concurred. Since the current period is one where we are struggling for freedom, our proceeding 100 per cent on the democratic path has only strengthened the power of the struggle. It has increased the opportunity for support from across the world. We are not holding on to the old system, like an old dog holding on to a bone, but rather we are implementing progress and changes with the times. Therefore, there have been many benefits.
I have taken such a decision not because I have become discouraged, nor have I relinquished the authority because I have lost hope for the cause of Tibet. So I would like to tell you all not to worry about it.
The Tibetan struggle is not for the cause of a few Tibetans; it is a struggle for the just cause of the entire Tibetan people, and the Tibetans inside Tibet are the primary in this.  I have always stated that I consider myself as the free spokesperson of Tibetans inside Tibet, rather than their leader or someone who gives order to them.
Therefore, it was my responsibility to explain the aspirations of the Tibetan people, and the real situation inside Tibet. It is my responsibility to place the aspirations of the Tibetans in Tibet before other people. Tibetans living inside Tibet continue to have remarkable courage and determination.
Secondly, the territory under the then Gaden Phodrang government only included Tibetans living in areas of U and Tsang, and parts of Dhotoe, on this side of the Drichu River. But today, there is a great and astounding sense of unity amongst Tibetans in all Dhotoe, Dhomey, and U-tsang [three traditional provinces of Tibet]. In the seventh, eighth and the ninth centuries, during the time of the religious kings, Tibetans from the three provinces were subjects of one King. Around the ninth century, when Tibet began to break up, there was political disintegration. Although in terms of religion and culture they continued to be one, politically it had waned greatly.
Today, however, on account of many external and internal factors, there is an admirable sense of Tibetan unity and Tibetan-ness. Much attention is being paid to one’s religion and culture. Likewise, those of us in exile have, under much difficulty in the past more than fifty years, remained steadfast in our courage and altruistic disposition. In the process of accepting the challenges we have shown remarkable distinction compared to other similar refugee communities. We don’t have to pronounce this ourselves as many people who work with refugee communities and know Tibetans, have made this observation. This is primarily the fruition of the altruistic disposition and courage of the greater Tibetan people who faced the challenges. In this connection, today, I would like to thank the Tibetans from Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Gangtok. You have all been enthusiastic to date and done well. I thank you for from the bottom of my heart for your zealousness.  You all are able to represent the greater Tibetan people well. Thank you.
In terms of an approach to resolve the Tibetan issue in the future, in 1974 we decided on a policy — not in the spirit of “I win, others lose,” but being of benefit to the Chinese Government and also to the Tibetan people – which is the mutually beneficial Middle Way Approach.
In late 1978 and 1979 there was a situation when we had direct contact with Deng Xiaoping and the Chinese Government under his leadership. It was easy for us to establish this contact with the Chinese Government then because we had already decided on a mutually beneficial approach a few years earlier.
Following the harsh policy imposed all over China in the 1980s, when the democracy movement came to China, the Tibetans also experienced harshness under that overall policy. Otherwise, during Hu Yaobang’s time there was great hope. But Hu Yaobang was dismissed. Thereafter, Zhao Ziyang also was not able to achieve anything. Thus, it was somewhat like our misfortune that our contact with the Chinese Government did not result in anything concrete.
At the same time, inside Tibet, when the series of protests as a result of desperate attempt to air grievances were becoming bigger, there was violent suppression, and the situation is heartrending currently.
However, in the past several years, more than 20 and 30 years, and especially after the 2008 protests, I have been meeting many Chinese; Chinese intellectuals and students (I have met several thousand students who are studying in the United States and Europe, etc.). In terms of Chinese intellectuals, there have been many prominent ones who have come to meet me.
Also, we have had regular discussion sessions with Chinese scholars.
Among these Chinese intellectuals and students, some of them after hearing our explanation of the Middle Way Approach, express understanding and are greatly elated. In essence, there has been strong support from among the Chinese people to our Middle Way Approach.
Around last year, I received a hand written letter in Chinese from a Chinese living in Beijing. He was an intellectual. He said that in the past although he knew the Dalai Lama was a spiritual leader, he considered him a political separatist. However, he went on a pilgrimage to Wu Taishan where he met a [Tibetan] monk from India (who was on a pilgrimage there) who spoke good
Chinese. When the monk explained the Dalai Lama’s effort to resolve the Tibetan-Chinese problem through the Middle-Way approach, the scholar had written that he felt that this mutually beneficial solution would be supported by 100 percent of the people in China, if only they knew. This is a factual development.
Whatever it is, I have been meeting many Chinese. All of them hold the Middle Way Approach in great esteem saying this is also of benefit to China. They are greatly pleased. At the official level, the Chinese government has not budged, but if we ask:  Is the government important or are the people important? Obviously in the long run, people are more important.
Our mutually beneficial Middle Way policy continues to attract widespread support among the Chinese people, particularly from intellectuals like Liu Xiao Bo in China. It is also admired and supported by many Chinese intellectuals and democracy activists in the US. And most importantly, my fellow Tibetans in Tibet, intellectuals, writers, artists, teachers, etc: I have met hundreds of them.  They say that all Tibetans may want independence in their heart, but we need to see what is achievable and what can resolve the current problem. Therefore, the mutually beneficial Middle Way Approach is rational that can be explained to Chinese and that can be discussed.
I have met many Tibetan intellectuals from inside Tibet and none among them has suggested that we proceed on the path of independence.  We do have the rights. The situation is clear if we look at the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries. From the time of our religious kings, it has been said that Tibetans will be happy in Tibet and the Chinese will be happy in China. With a distinct language and script, we have a different tradition and are a separate people.
However, the world is changing now. If we look at China, when the previous Dalai Lama was returning to Tibet after being in exile in India, the Chinese Emperor was no longer there and revolution was beginning. Even in his testament, his remarks, the previous Dalai Lama had said that China had then become like a pond whose water source had dried up. Today, China is not a pond whose water source had dried up. These days, some people seem to say that the previous Dalai Lama had done like this and the 14th Dalai Lama is not capable enough. We have to think carefully. We have every right to claim independence, but Tibet is in a critical situation now. We have different language, culture, and tradition, and if we gradually really think on a mutually beneficial solution; for example, I usually ask the Chinese to look at the situation in India. The East, South, West, and the North of India have different languages, different scripts, but there is no risk of separation as everyone receives equal facilities, and because there is rule of law, democracy and freedom. Tibet has different language and script and if the Chinese treat Tibetans, as they talk about brethren nationalities, respect, love and provide equal rights, Tibetans will also consider accordingly.  This is because we, too, need to consider our interest at the broader level.
Occasionally, I have been saying this clearly and I wanted to say this here today.  Among Tibetans in exile, as also those from Tibet who stay in India for few months, there are those who depart for the United States and Europe. They do so not out of concern for religion, but for dollars. So, Tibetans need money and finance. Therefore, rather than living poorly in independence (which we cannot achieve), if Tibetans get good economic development by living within the People’s Republic of China, and at the same time if we can preserve and promote our language, religion and culture. In particular, China today has around 400 -500 million Buddhists, and every week ten to twenty mainland Chinese Buddhists come to Dharamsala. When we meet them, most of them cry and urge me not to forget the Chinese Buddhists. Although there are difficulties, many Chinese also attend important teachings when
there are Chinese translators, like thousands of Mainland Chinese pilgrims visited Bodhgaya last year during the Kalachakra teachings. Even in the past, many Chinese emperors have been enamored by Tibetan religion and culture and have become Buddhists, and practiced Tibetan religion.  In the future, too, many Chinese will be interested in Buddhism, in particular Tibetan Buddhism. Even today, there are many Chinese showing interest in Tibetan Buddhism.
Therefore, we have to think from a broader perspective. China is economically a powerful country and so we need to see how we can benefit from that.  From the religious and cultural perspective, in addition to preserving and promoting Tibetan religion and culture, if we can help hundreds of millions of Chinese Buddhists, it also benefits the Buddha Dharma as also the individual people.  This is mutually beneficial.
So, you must understand that the Middle-Way Approach has concretely yielded some fundamental results. The issue of not having any results by talking to Chinese government is from only one aspect. It cannot represent the entire aspect. If we look at it from a wider perspective, from the people level, we have achieved a very good result.
Whatever it is, under the Middle Way Approach, if the Chinese government has some flexible thinking, we are in a position of establishing contact comfortably. If we keep on claiming independence, we ourselves are closing that door for contacts. Even if the Chinese show an indication of being in contact with us, it would be like our side would have closed the door then. So we have to think carefully about this.
So, you Tibetans from Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Gangtok, we all have the responsibility for our common cause. Though I have already retired, I am still a Tibetan and an Amdowa (We have not been under the Gaden Phodrang in the past). Most importantly, the Tibetans in Tibet continue to put their trust in me and to place their faith in me. Similarly, the Tibetans in exile put their trust in me and place their faith in me.  So I retain a responsibility. That is why I thought I would speak a little bit on the fundamental issue of Tibet at this gathering.  You should think over this.
In the past 60 years, China has changed dramatically. Today’s China is greatly different from the one over 30 or 40 years back. Today’s China has some freedom of expression. Some Tibetans say that when they are in Tibetan areas, especially Lhasa, there are severe restrictions but when they are in China there is immense freedom. Therefore, China is changing.
On our Tibetan issue, the current condition in Tibet is such that China faces mortification while Tibet experiences suffering. It is only harming both the sides and nothing else. Therefore, if China thinks rationally, it will help China as well as the Tibetans.  Since the Middle Way Approach is on a path of mutual benefit, I have full confidence that it will produce results in the future. Please understand this and bear it in mind.
Tashi Delek.  See you later.
N.B. This has been translated from the original remarks given in Tibetan. If there is any discrepancy between the two, please treat the Tibetan version as authoritative and final.

PRESS RELEASE BY THE COMITÉ DE APOYO AL TÍBET (CAT)
22 March 2013
HU JINTAO DENOUNCED FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMES IN TIBET AFTER LOSING IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION
Yesterday morning 21st March, less than a week after Hu Jintao stepped down as China’s leader and lost his immunity from prosecution, the CAT, the Fundación Casa del Tíbet and the private accusation of Thubten Wangchen, lodged an extension to the initial lawsuit at the Audiencia Nacional’s nº 2 court.
The now former President of China, Hu Jintao, who left office on 15th March 2013, is accused of committing the crimes of genocide and serious violations of the Geneva Conventions against the Tibetan people that are being tried by this court. Despite conclusive proof of his direct responsibility in the case, he was not included in the list of accused until yesterday because of his immunity.
The document lodged is based on documented evidence, expert reports and depositions already presented to the Audiencia Nacional’s nº1 and nº2 courts and on the original lawsuit for genocide. Of particular importance are the two most recent expert reports by the International Campaign for Tibet and the Human Rights Law foundation. The international expert Kate Saunders, when ratifying the above mentioned report before the judge in December 2012, specifically put forward and extended the description of the chain of command that existed in the People’s Republic of China. In her deposition she also referred specifically to Hu Jintao as being directly responsible for the repression in Tibet.
Hu Jintao held the important post of Party Secretary of  the Tibet Autonomous Region from 1988 to 1992. During his years in that post he supervised and gave orders, to violently repress the Tibetan people. What is more, these criminal acts were recognised and applauded by Party leaders at a meeting of the Politburós Standing Committee in October 1989 at a time when martial law in Tibet was having its most repressive results.
Similarly, Hu Jintao, as was denounced in ICT’s report presented to the Spanish court, formed part of the core of top Chinese leaders who met in Beijing in July 1994 at the Third Work Forum on Tibet to draw up the policies aimed at rapid economic development in Tibet whilst trying to undermine loyalty to the Dalai Lama; and he took part as president in July 2001 in the Fourth Work Forum on Tibet, where similar policies were consolidated under the imperative of “vigorously adapting Tibetan Buddhism to socialism”.
This accusation is also based on declarations by other witnesses at the Spanish central court nº 1 on 22 April 2009; a case that was shelved due to a lack of national connection and absence of Spanish victims – two highly controversial reasons bordering on inconstitutional  given the Universal nature of the law – and whose appeal is still pending resolution by the Constitutional Court.
This denouncement is a solemn promise that the CAT’s team made to the victims who took part in the legal process as witnesses and to the many Tibetans who have followed the process and who have asked us why we had not accused him before for what was obvious to those who suffered indescribably during Hu Jintao´s mandate.
CAT’s concluding remarks:
The CAT has always acted on these legal cases according to basic principles, the precepts of international law and motivated only by the victims and the hope of truth, accountability  and “never again” on behalf of Tibetan victims.  We are well aware of the permanent clichés of whether international law is slow or ineffective or not, that money is all that matters, that these cases are merely symbolic and the rumble of what is the measure of success in these highly politised cases. All that is background noise to us. The only measure of success is doing your best to seek truth and accountability and staying away from the changing winds of political convenience. The rest is out of our hands. Thus, all the classic distortions, clichés or speculations of a political and economic nature are part of our surroundings but not part of our job.  We believe that not doing anything is the only measure of failure.
END ON THE PRESS RELEASE

Tibet among world’s most repressed societies: US senator
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/tibet-among-worlds-most-repressed-societies-us-senator/articleshow/19077589.cms
WASHINGTON: Expressing concerns about the continuing unrest in Tibet and the tragic trend of self-immolations, a top US senator has alleged that the region is among the most repressed and closed societies of the world.
“Tibet today is one of the most repressed and closed societies in the world, where merely talking on the phone can land you in jail. Support for the Dalai Lama can be prosecuted as an offence against the state,” Senator Robert Menendez, Chariman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.
“Tibetans are treated as second class citizens; their travel within and outside of Tibetan areas is highly restricted. Foreign diplomats and journalists are routinely denied access,” he said on the Senate floor yesterday.
Since February 2009, more than 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, he noted.
Many of the self-immolators have called for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and for China to acknowledge the basic human dignity of the Tibetan people.
“Like so many others, I wish that Tibetans would not choose self-immolations, a horrific act, as a method of protest. I hope Tibetans will find other ways to express their grievances and despair and halt these self-destructive acts,” he said.
“At the same time, we must understand that these sorts of acts are indicative of the deep sense of frustration felt by the Tibetan people. This is not a conspiracy of “foreign forces” but indicative of the deep sense of hopelessness of a people denied their basic dignity,” Menendez said.
He observed that Americans see Tibet as an issue of fundamental justice and fairness, where the fundamental human rights o the Tibetan people, as embodied in the Chinese constitution, are not being respected; where their culture is being eroded; and where their land is being exploited.
Menendez said thus the responsibility falls to the US to help the Tibetan people in their efforts to preserve their culture and identity and have a say in their own affairs and to be able to exercise genuine autonomy within China.
“We should continue to fund the important programmes that help Tibetan communities, both in exile and on the Tibetan plateau. While these provide tangible humanitarian results, they also send a critical signal to the aggrieved Tibetan population that the United States hears their plea,” he said.
The United States, he said should work with the UN to secure access to Tibet for independent international observers and media members.
“The State Department should continue to insist on access to Tibet by its personnel. We need independent and credible reporting on the true situation on the ground, and the Department should work with China to take steps to see that the principle of reciprocity is respected,” Menendez argued.
“Peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue could go a long way in demonstrating to the world that China is indeed a responsible and constructive member of the community of nations. In turn, Beijing’s growing influence in the Himalayan belt, especially Nepal, should be assessed in a broader dialogue with other nations in the region,” Menendez said.

Mandie McKeown
Campaigns Coordinator, International Tibet Network
http://www.tibetnetwork.org
e: mandie@tibetnetwork.org, campaigns@tibetnetwork.org
t: +44 7748 158 618
skype: carymckeown
~ Stand Up for Tibet | Sign the pledge ~ www.standupfortibet.org  ~

The Failure of Western Human Rights Policy: Fallacies and Misconceptions about China
Posted on March 13, 2013
12 March 2013 – Geneva, Switzerland, by Kelsang Gyaltsen, Special Representative of H. H. the Dalai Lama to Europe
delivered for the Conference by The World Uyghur Congress WUC on Human Rights in China: Implications of New Leadership for East Turkestan, Tibet and Southern Mongolia’
Many Western governments, including the United States and the European Union, are engaged in bilateral „Human Rights Dialogue“ with China. This dialogue is adopted as the primary instrument to promote human rights in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Today, after nearly two decades of bilateral human rights dialogue, it is an open secret that this approach has failed to produce any tangible progress. This is admitted even by diplomats conducting the dialogue in private discussions and by a number of authoritative studies.
There is despondency and dispiritedness among diplomats in the foreign policy community about the dismal records of their human rights engagement with China. They realize that there is something fundamentally wrong with the present human rights policy of their governments vis-à-vis China.
This conclusion is right. The present Western governments’ policy on human rights with regard to China is based on some basic fallacies and misconceptions about China.
In the West there has always been a school of thought that contends that “quiet diplomacy” is the more effective way in dealing with China on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The logical consequence of this has been for Western governments to exercise restraint in order to avoid “the loss of face” of Chinese leaders. And it is obvious and clear that this restraint to avoid the loss of face of Chinese leaders has a part in the loss of lives of an increasing large number of Tibetans and in the overall deteriorating human rights situation in the PRC.
It is clear that the Chinese willingness to engage in bilateral human rights dialogue only aims to prevent public discussion of her human rights record. The Western engagement in bilateral human rights dialogue – without any conditions and benchmarks – is seen by the Chinese government as a sign that Western governments’ priority is smooth relations on a wide range of issues of mutual interest rather than tension and confrontation over human rights.
The Chinese government does not see this engagement by Western governments as conciliatory nor as goodwill gesture but simply as weakness on human rights principles.
The Chinese government thinks and accepts that Western governments need to raise human rights with them in order to mollify the public at home. But the Chinese government never seems to have felt any real pressure to introduce any meaningful initiatives on human rights in China. As a result the credibility of Western human rights policy has been lost. Sadly, the bilateral human rights dialogue has become a ritual exercise that help to avoid the loss of face of not only the Chinese leaders but that of the Western governments, too.
Psychologically China has been skilful in cornering the Western governments in a defensive position by constantly lamenting “the humiliation” inflicted on China by Western colonialism. By exploiting the bad conscience of Western powers about their colonial past China has been able to reject any criticism of their human rights record as “interference in the internal matters” of China with impunity.
This is, however, in complete breach and contradiction of the universality and indivisibility of the declaration of human rights. Moreover, if such argument is tolerated then the question arises why this should not be applicable to other countries in Africa and Asia with similar history?
Another fundamental fallacy of the Western approach to promote human rights in China is the exclusive focus on engagement with the government. However, ultimately, it is the defenders and activists of human rights and advocates of democracy and the rule of law in those countries who will shape the future course of their country. Consequently, an effective human rights policy must aim at encouraging and strengthening those forces of human rights and democracy. Unfortunately, instead of considering every statement and every initiative how they might affect the spirit and actual situation of the people advocating greater respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms at great personal risks some Western governments take the sensitivity of the Chinese leaders as a measure for dealing with China on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The West knows from the testimonies of dissidents in the formerly Communist countries in Eastern Europe, such as the late former Czech President Vaclav Havel, how important official and public expression of solidarity and support from free countries in the West have been in sustaining their hope and aspirations of freedom. The West must now apply to the Communist rulers in Beijing the lessons learnt from dealing with Communist rulers in Eastern Europe and of the Soviet Union.
The attitude of Western governments towards China still seems very much influenced by the legacy of the Cold War. During the Cold War the Soviet Union was the enemy of the Western Bloc whereas China was seen more as an ally. Although Communism and one-party rule in China have been no less brutal and oppressive than in the former Soviet Union, the Western attitude towards Communist China has been more tolerant and conciliatory – irrespective of the immense systematic and widespread violations of human rights in the PRC. Tens of millions of Chinese perished in waves of political purges and campaigns carried out by the Chinese Communist Party. Nonetheless Western media and governments often portray Chinese Communism as benign. Mao was an icon of the Western youth in late 1960s and 70s. Even today, there are people who propagate the one-party rule of China as the more suitable and efficient alternative to Western style democracy. In this way there still continues to exist many fallacies and misconceptions about China impeding the formulation of a more realistic and firmer policy vis-à-vis China.
Against this background a more effective and robust human rights policy requires a return and rededication to basic values and principles of Europe. At the core of Europe’s spirit is the fundamental belief in the inherent equality and dignity of all human beings and in the values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. With this spirit Europe succeeded in defeating and eliminating tyranny and despotism from the Continent of Europe.
Europe needs to realize that in our heavily interdependent and interconnected world our own basic rights and freedoms are not secure and safe as long as there are dictatorships and despotism in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, it is often those who are deprived of their human rights who are least able to speak up for themselves. This responsibility rests with those of us who do enjoy such freedoms.
It is, therefore, important that Europe’s commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law does not halt at the borders of Europe. A rededication to these basic values will strengthen political will and self-confidence needed for a principled and robust European human rights policy. With sustained and coordinated effort and a clear common political strategy and agenda on human rights Europe can play a crucial leading role in the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in China and thus also contributing to the alleviation of plight of the Tibetan people and a peaceful resolution of the issue of Tibet through dialogue and negotiations.