Kashag's statement on 21st anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize for His Holiness the Dalai Lama

TibetNet[Saturday, December 11, 2010 10:58]
On this occasion of the twenty-first anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Kashag, on behalf of the Tibetan people in and outside Tibet, would like to pay our utmost respect and greetings to His Holiness.

His Holiness, who besides being the foremost proponent of the principle of non-violence around the globe by applying the philosophy of dependent origination and non-violence as shown in the teachings of the Buddha, has guided the Tibetan struggle for justice onto to the path of non-violence making it different from other national struggles in the world. His Holiness has also shown, both in principle and in practice, that all global conflicts can be solved through a non-violent approach. These qualities made His Holiness the most suitable recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Thus, when His Holiness accepted the prize in 1989, it increased prestige and the value of the already esteemed Nobel Peace Prize. At the same time, it has also created a widespread awareness about and interest in the just cause of Tibet around the world. Since the award was an inspiration and the trust in the non-violent method and an outstanding recognition of the Tibetan struggle for justice, we commemorate it with highest respect and fondness. On this special occasion, if the Tibetan people in and outside Tibet can reaffirm their genuine pledge for the non-violent path based on trust and understanding, then this occasion will constitute a meaningful celebration.

An important development that we should be happy about and proud of is the conferment of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Mr Liu Xiaobo, a prominent Chinese democracy and human rights activist, who is currently in prison in the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of all the Tibetan people, we would like to congratulate Mr Liu Xiaobo, and commend the Nobel Committee for taking this decision without bowing to the Chinese government’s pressure. However, the Kashag is saddened by the Chinese authorities appalling behaviour of not releasing Mr Liu Xiaobo from prison and keeping his wife under house arrest. The Kashag strongly condemns these actions. Since the values and aspirations of all the Nobel laureates are well known around the world, keeping a few individuals in prison cannot lock up their thoughts, principles and aspirations. It is a fact of life that the authoritarian rulers who try to control people’s thought by force and suppression are the most ignorant of human beings.

Although this day is also celebrated as World Human Rights Day, it is a matter of sadness that no one has, thus far, been able to protect human rights enough to be celebrated. Moreover, the first decade of the 21st century is over and yet looking at the fact that a number of Nobel laureates are either in prison, under surveillance or in exile shows the state of human rights today.

These days the advanced nations in the West and the countries in the East who blindly follow the West use many beautiful slogans such as democracy, freedom, equality and human rights, but in actual practice they all appear empty words devoid of any meaning.

At present, a large number of people including Tibetans in Tibet are living with constant fear and torture under the oppressive regime of the People’s Republic of China, denied even their fundamental human rights. Sadly, it has been amply proven that no powerful nations or organizations have either the will or the strength to restore them their rights. In China, being in possession of a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is deemed as a criminal act warranting many years of imprisonment. Yet the United Nations, the author of the declaration, has failed to muster enough pride to even condemn such acts. Under such circumstances, it becomes almost a laughing stock for us to commemorate the World Human Rights Day. However, we celebrate it to keep up with the international norm.

Since 2008 the whole of China and especially the Tibetan areas have been witness to systematic suppression and further restrictions of basic human rights. The right to religious freedom, the right to speech and cultural and educational freedoms have been deliberate targets. The recent proclamation by Chinese government officials in many Tibetan areas ordering a change in the medium of instruction from Tibetan to Mandarin in schools is a large-scale evil plan directed at annihilating the very identity of Tibet. Such policies not only completely ignore the ideologies of Karl Marx, Lenin and Mao on ethnic minorities but are a clear and present attempt at the whole-scale destruction of a people’s language and culture. We unequivocally condemn and criticize such heinous policies. On behalf of Tibetans in exile we offer our solidarity and enthusiastic support to the leaders, students and ordinary people who legally and peacefully request the protection of our language.

Realizing the tremendous strides in exercising modern democracy in the exile Tibetan community under His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s leadership, we fervently hope that Tibetans remain united and work towards the principal cause of Tibet.

Taking this opportunity, Kashag would like to offer the wholehearted prayers of Tibetans in and outside Tibet, beseeching His Holiness to remain as ever the religious and temporal leader of Tibet. From the depth of our hearts we request Your Holiness never to consider or even talk about semi-retirement and full-retirement. At the same time, Kashag implores Tibetans to further advance our collective merit and preserve Tibetan values and ethics, which become the most gratifying offerings to His Holiness.

Finally, the Kashag prays for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lana and the spontaneous fulfilment of all his wishes. May the truth of the issue of Tibet prevail soon.


The Kashag

10 December 2010

Wikileaks Reveal China’s Attempts to Limit His Holiness’ Movements Wednesday, 08 December 2010 16:52 James Dunn, The Tibet Post Europe

London: A collection of confidential documents released by WikiLeaks this month has revealed China attempted to limit Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama's movements by politically pressuring many international countries. Other documents discuss the international communities concern about Tibet and the free Tibet cause.
The WikiLeaks website was founded in 2006 by among others Chinese dissidents and journalists with the aim to exposing oppressive regimes and revealing unethical behaviour of governments. During its early days its reportedly used Chinese hackers to gather information about Chinese espionage activities, which they then relayed, to "Non-government targets of the Chinese espionage, such as Tibetan associations," said WikiLeaks spokesman Julian Assange. During the Uprising Day protests in Tibet, in 2008, WikiLeaks released a collection of photos and videos of the protests in Lhasa that the Chinese government has attempted to censor. They also encouraged others to spread the media throughout China and worldwide calling China's censorship regime "the Great Firewall of China."
The UK's Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in China, Chris Wood reported that in May 2009, the Chinese government demanded that the UK not allow His Holiness to travel to London. The British government did not meet the demands so they requested that government officials not meet with the Dalai Lama. Dan Wood also reported that local authorities in Gansu Province had detained a British Consul, reflecting the authorities' angst over foreigners traveling to the Tibetan regions of the province. The French government also voiced its angst over China's threats, French DCM Nicholas Chapuis noted that the Beijing city government had threatened to break its sister-city relationship with Paris if the Dalai Lama were to receive an honorary citizen award from the French capital. Despite these threats the Parisian mayor, Bertrand Delanoe bestowed His Holiness with the honorary citizen award on June 7th, 2009.
A further cable relating to US and Chinese relations, dated the April 30th, 2009, stated that the Chinese Vice Foreign Miniser, He Yafei hoped the United States would deny His Holiness a visa, and if not, then agree to hold no official meetings with him, including President Obama. However the US official replied, "there were serious concerns among the U.S. public, the Administration and Congress over the situation in Tibetan areas of China. China should take steps to address Tibetans' legitimate grievances and engage the Dalai Lama's representatives in productive dialogue. Denying a visa to the Dalai Lama was not being contemplated."
A file released on Monday by WikiLeaks revealed China's concern of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is an outspoken human rights supporter. The Chinese ambassador in Kazakhstan, Cheng Guoping told his American counterpart, Richard Hoagland that "She (Pelosi) had the Ministry of Foreign Affairs scared to death on the eve of her visit,"
Another leak in March 2009 revealed that during Kevin Rudd administration as Australian Prime Minister he had urged China to strike a deal with the Dalai Lama for autonomy in Tibet. In the cable between himself and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, he urged her to use her stature to have ''a quiet conversation'' to push the idea with Beijing's leaders. He also said that the West should be prepared to use force against China "if everything goes wrong".
During the Beijing Olympics a cable stated that the US were concerned by China's detaining and deporting of pro-Tibet demonstrators. The communication was sent by Dan Piccuta the Chief of Mission at the US Embassy and called the protests as an "ongoing campaign of well-organised protests in Beijing." It continues by detailing the protests made by US citizens stating, "among the six were reportedly two American citizens belonging to the "Students for a Free Tibet" organisation. All protesters attempted to display either Tibetan flags or banners calling for an end to human rights abuses in China," adding that they were removed some forcibly by venue security.
It seems likely that these recent leaks are not the conclusion but another in a series of political revelations provided by WikiLeaks.

Tibetan Govt. to Exhibit His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's Biography

Wednesday, 08 December 2010 03:43 YC. Dhardhowa, The Tibet Post International

Dharamshala: The Tibet Museum of the Department of Information and International Relations, exiled Tibetan government based in Dharamshala, India will be organising a photo exhibition on the life of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader to commemorate the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1989.
The photo exhibition is scheduled from 10 to 19 December 2010 at the Tibet Museum, located near the main temple at Mcleod Ganj.
In the afternoon, movies and documentary films based on the life of His Holiness and his teachings will be also screened from 3 pm at the same venue. The exhibition will showcase photos depicting His Holiness the Dalai Lama's early life and responsibility, his escape into exile, prestigious international awards conferred on him, and his meeting with different religious heads and world leaders.
His Holiness received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his struggle for the liberation of Tibet through peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people. According the Norwegian Nobel Committee, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has developed his philosophy of peace from a great reverence for all things living and upon the concept of universal responsibility embracing all mankind as well as nature. In the opinion of the Committee the Dalai Lama has come forward with constructive and forward-looking proposals for the solution of international conflicts, human rights issues, and global environmental problems.
Following Movies shall be Screened
10 December 2010: Kundun
14 December 2010: Seven Years in Tibet
15 December 2010: Universal Responsibility to the Modern World
16 December 2010: Compassion in Exile
17 December 2010: A Human Approach to World Peace
18 December 2010: Oceans of Wisdom
19 December 2010: Ethics for New Millennium

Any Leader Impossible to Challenge Hu Jintao on TibetTuesday, 07 December 2010 15:07 YC. Dhardhowa, The Tibet Post International

Dharamshala: The WikiLeaks website has published a series of dispatches sent by the US embassy in Beijing, China, to Washington in April 2008, concerning the Chinese government's attitude towards and policies on Tibet.
The leaks show that President Hu Jintao remains inflexible in his stance on the Tibet issue and is not open to any kind of challenge from within his own government. They also suggest that the Chinese public, influenced by the state media, are growing more nationalistic and antagonist towards the West - especially over its reporting of the Olympic Games and the Tibet issue.
Below we publish summaries of the dispatches:
* President Hu Jintao remains firmly in charge of China's policy on Tibet, with the leadership unified over Beijing's current hard-line stance and buoyed by rising PRC [People's Republic of China] nationalist sentiment. Given Hu's background and experience in Tibet, as well as the "extremely sensitive" nature of the issue, no one would "dare" challenge Hu or the Party line, contacts say. While there may be differences in how various leaders publicly articulate China's Tibet policy, there are no substantive differences among the top leadership. Similarly, Embassy sources do not believe that two recent articles in Party-controlled southern newspapers signaled leadership debate or a review of policy, instead arguing the pieces perhaps reflect an adjustment in the Party's media strategy. The Party has been buoyed by rising nationalist sentiment, fueled in part by anger at the West over "biased" media reporting on Tibet and Olympic-related protests, but this nationalistic fervor also constrains future policy choices. Regardless, any modification of Tibet policy is unlikely in the short term, at least until after the Olympics, contacts say.

* President Hu Jintao is firmly in charge of the PRC's Tibet policy, with the leadership unified over Beijing's current hard-line stance, several Embassy contacts told PolOffs [note-takers]over the past week. Sources argued that given Hu Jintao's own expertise and experience regarding Tibet (Hu was provincial party secretary in Tibet in the late 1980s), as well as the "extreme" importance and sensitivity of the Tibet issue, it would be virtually "impossible" for any leader to challenge Hu on Tibet. An issue as sensitive as Tibet policy would be controlled by a small group of top leaders, limited primarily to the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC), meaning it is difficult to know precisely the content of leadership discussions on Tibet - longtime Embassy contact xxxxx. Nevertheless, "it is still quite clear," xxxxx argued, that Hu Jintao is "completely" in charge of the Tibet issue, and no other leader would "dare" confront Hu or the Party line over such a critical issue. Doing so would be "political suicide" and would make any leader vulnerable to charges of being "soft," or even being a "traitor," risking eventual removal, a la the ouster of former Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang in 1987, xxxxx averred.

* There is "absolutely no division" within the leadership on Tibet, -xxxxx. For the Chinese leadership, Tibet is even more sensitive than Taiwan. Among the nine members of the PBSC who are controlling China's Tibet policy, no one has the stature or experience to challenge Hu, xxxxx said, noting that four are brand-new members of the PBSC, and no one on the PBSC other than Hu has direct experience in Tibet. It was Hu Jintao, as then-Party Secretary in Tibet, who oversaw the "quick and effective Sipdis [SIPRNET distribution] suppression" of protests there in 1987 and 1989, which earned him "great praise" from then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and which was an important factor in his elevation to the PBSC in 1992, xxxxx recalled. Thus, Hu has "great confidence" when it comes to Tibet, putting him in a virtually unassailable position. There may be room within the leadership for expressing differences with Hu on issues such as Taiwan, economic development or political reform, but not on Tibet, xxxxx asserted.

* A range of contacts have acknowledged that there are differences of opinion within the Party and among elites regarding Tibet, though none believed this reflected any disagreement among the top leadership. For example, xxxxx acknowledged the presence of more "moderate" voices on Tibet within the Party, but he nevertheless stressed that it is Hu Jintao who is "completely" in charge of China's Tibet policy. Moreover, it is clear that those such as Hu favoring a "hard line" are calling the shots. (Note: xxxxx's view that Tibet policy is more sensitive for China's leadership than even Taiwan, noting that despite its rhetoric, Beijing has de facto accepted the involvement of the United States in Taiwan, but China can never accept the "interference" of foreign powers in Tibet.) xxxxx confessed that he "personally" favors a more "measured" approach to Tibet, to include dialogue with the Dalai Lama, given that "only the Dalai Lama" can unify the majority of the Tibetan community both within China and abroad.

* Separately, xxxxx "many elites" are advocating a reassessment of policy toward the Dalai Lama questioning the wisdom of demonizing and refusing to negotiate with him. According to xxxxx however, apart from a "minority" of "elites" and "intellectuals," the majority of the Party rank-and-file, as well as "98 percent" of the public, support the current policy. Any serious disagreement over Tibet among the Party leadership is "simply unimaginable," xxxxx stated, a view separately shared xxxxx.

* Almost all of xxxxx the Party has been buoyed by rising nationalist sentiment, fueled in part by anger at the West over "biased" media reporting on Tibet and PolOff that Chinese "anger" over the West's "bias" on Tibet is real, widespread and will have long-term effects. xxxxx them seemed themselves to be angry over Western media reporting, refusing to recognize the irony that for most Chinese, their only access to this "biased Western reporting" is through the official PRC press agency Xinhua's characterization of it. xxxxx emphasized that virtually "everyone" he knows is angry and believes that Western reporting, together with calls for boycotting the Olympic opening ceremony, implies support for Tibetan independence and makes the public feel that the West is trying to "keep China down." xxxxx, meanwhile, said nationalism is definitely surging, but he thought this sentiment is largely concentrated in the 25-35-year-old age group among both Hans and Tibetans. Olympic-related protests. xxxxx all emphasized to

* Whatever the causes of the surge in nationalism, the result has been a dramatic increase in support for the Party's policy on Tibet, contacts say. xxxxx said this outcome is partly a "natural" reaction to the fact that Chinese have in recent years become more nationalistic as a result of growing pride over China'srapid development, with the Tibet furor merely providing the most recent "spark" to inflame passions. xxxx separately acknowledged, however, that the Party's feelings in order to rally the public in support of the Center's Tibet policy, and so far, it has been very"completely unified" the people behind the Party and Government, something that had been "unthinkable" throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s,xxxxx asserted. propaganda line has also purposefully stoked nationalistic successful in doing so. The recent Tibet crisis has"completely unified" the people behind the Party and Government, something that had been "unthinkable" throughoutmost of the 1980s and 1990s, xxxxx asserted.

Tsangla Pemakoepa's Spoken Language

Tshangla is one of the most widely spoken languages in the kingdom of Bhutan. Tshangla is the main language of eastern Bhutan and is also spoken in adjacent portions of Arunachal Pradesh as well as in the enclave of Pemakö in Tibet much further east. The centre of gravity of the language can be found from the foothills bordering the plains of Assam through the deep V-shaped valleys of eastern Bhutan, where the language is known in Dzongkha as Sharchobi kha ‘the language of the easterners’. In the past, relative isolation of speech communities as a result of the geography of the area has resulted in a considerable variety of dialects, which, however, is rapidly decreasing as a spoken standard develops.
Tshangla is found scattered throughout eastern Himalayan ridges. Most of the Tshangla populace live in Eastern Bhutan where they formed an overwhelming major ethic group of the country probably accounting for 25-30% of the total population. Scatterred Tshangla speakers can also be found in neighbouring countries with different names,in Indian state of Arunachanl Pradesh they
are called Kalaktang Monpa where as about 10,000-12,000 Tshanla speaking people are also live in Pemako region of Tibet(China)/India
Tim Bodt is writing a comprehensive grammar of Tshangla based on the variety of the language spoken by a specific agriculturalist pastoralist community in eastern Bhutan. The grammar will also include a descriptive and comparative survey of the various Tshangla dialects. A Tshangla-Dzongkha-English dictionary with orthographies in Roman as well as in ’Ucen script is also envisaged.

Schedule 2010

Teaching in Kalimpong, WB, India on December 13: His Holiness will give a teaching on The Three Principal Paths (lamtso namsum) and confer a long life empowerment (tsewang) at Tharpa Choeling Monastery in the morning.
Blessing Ceremony in Ravangla, Sikkim, India on December 19: His Holiness will bless the Buddha Statue being built by the Sikkim State Government in the morning.
Teaching in Gangtok, Sikkim, India on December 21 and 22: His Holiness will give two-day teachings. On the morning of December 21 he will teach on Nagarjuna's Commentary on Bodhicitta (jangchup semdrel) & Quintessential Collection of the Mind Sadhanas from the 5th Dalai Lama's Secret Teachings (thukdrup yangnying kundu). On the morning of December 22 he will confer a long life empowerment (tsewang) and be offered a long life ceremony.
Teaching in Salugara, WB, India on December 24: His Holiness will give teachings on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo's 37 Practices of A Boddhisattva (laklen sodunma) and confer an Avalokiteshvera Initiation (chenresig wang) in the morning at Sed-Gyued Monastery

Planning Commission Releases Report on "Second Tibetan Demographic Survey"

DHARAMSHALA: The Planning Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration has published a report on the latest population census titled “Demographic Survey of Tibetans in Exile-2009”.

The survey was successfully conducted by the office of the Planning Commission on 12 April 2009 worldwide.

The total population of Tibetans outside Tibet as on 12 April 2009 stood at 127,935 comprising of 70,556 males and 57,379 females as compared to 111,020 recorded during the 1998 survey. There were 94,203 Tibetans living in India, 13,514 in Nepal, 1,298 in Bhutan and 18,920 elsewhere. Tibetans in exile make up about 3 percent of the total ethnic Tibetan population in the world with the rest in the Tibetan areas of People's Republic of China.

The annual growth rates which were hovering around estimated 2.8 percent for the last thirty years, has declined below 2 percent. According to the latest survey, the annual growth rate of the Tibetan population in exile is 1.96.

The Total Fertility Rates, based on "own-child method" for the period prior to 1998 was estimated to be as high 4.9 during 1987-89 has gone down to 1.18 in 2009, thus showing a total decline in the fertility level of 3.65 in 2009. The survey lists two major factors that might have caused the fertility transition in Tibetan population. Literacy figures confirm that young child bearing Tibetan women are more educated than their parents and were brought up in relatively better economic positions. This cohort takes longer time in building their careers that delay their age at marriage resulting in fewer children or forgoing having them altogether. Besides, the contraceptive prevalence has risen substantially from only 10 percent among the married women in 1980's to 95 percent in 2001.

The sex ratio for Tibetan population in exile is 798 females per 1000 males, which is an improvement of 6 points over 792 recorded in 1998.

As per the latest survey, there is an impressive surge of 10.1 percent in general literacy rate from 69.3 percent in 1998 to 79.4 percent in 2009. The effective literacy rate (population of 6 years and above) is 82.4 percent and the literacy rates for males and females are 88.7 percent and 74.4 percent respectively. The data shows that those in formal education prolong their study period for improving their basic academic capability in diversified tertiary education, especially women, in comparison to previous decades.

The rate of Tibetan workforce population has improved remarkably by 52.2 percent in both main and marginal workers categories. The total workforce population is over 75,000 strong, which constitutes around 69 percent of the total population living in South Asia. This includes 27,540 as main workers (36 percent) and 5,525 as marginal workers (i.e., those who did not work for at least 183 days in the preceding 12 months to the survey: 7.36 percent). There are as many as 36,755 non-workers which make up 34 percent of the total population, out of which 15.5 percent are unemployed. It can be said that over 17 percent of the total workforce population is unemployed and underemployed.

The survey witnessed significant occupational shift of those main workers in primary agricultural activities to more diversified tertiary sectors. As compared to 22.5 percent of main workers in farming and cultivation activities, in 2009 only 8.1 of them have retained farming as their primary activity. The change in mindset, literacy level, the know-how and the external exposures of present generation are the factors behind this occupational shift. The survey recorded an unprecedented growth of NGOs and a steady growth in house hold industries, informal business (mainly sweater business) and teaching professions.

The overall dependency ratio is measured at 41 percent as against 53 percent in 1998. Child dependency ratio is 27 percent as against 39 percent in 1998, whereas, old-age dependency is recorded as 14 percent in 2009 as in 1998.

The life expectancy of total population in 2009 stands at 67.45 years which is 5.05 years less than previous survey. In gender perspectives, it seems that health conditions of male members in terms of morbidity and mortality have shown no significant improvements rather situation seems to be worsening. Further investigation may reveal whether this dismal situation is attributed to the unchanging socialising behaviours of male members who still continue to lead risky lifestyle, the survey noted.

The survey revealed a slight increase in crude death rate from 8.78 per thousand in 1998 to 9.7 in 2009. The infant mortality rate of the Tibetan population in exile was recorded as 15.44 per 1000 child-births and it has gone down to 60.3 percent in comparison to 1998. Household economic improvement and better health coverage of the population with essential child health services such as mother and child care programs have ensured continued declines in level of infant mortality. Cancer is the leading cause of both morbidity and mortality in the Tibetan community followed by liver cirrhosis, heart-related diseases. Even as TB and malaria are gradually declining, the deaths caused by HIV/AIDS, accidents, suicides are increasingly becoming an inescapable reality, the survey said.

Out of an estimated 75 percent of the exile population who have migrated, 52 percent have changed their residences permanently for education and economic opportunities. Our estimate shows that over 9,309 persons have moved to the west during 1998-2009, it said.

The survey recorded a significant growth of population in the countries outside South Asia with a figure of 18,920 persons as against 12,153 in 199