US House passes resolution to bestow medal on Dalai Lama

[waltky]

Granny says, "This oughta stick in China's craw...

5 Sep 2007, WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Tuesday to allow the use of the US Capitol rotunda for a ceremony next month to bestow Congress' highest civilian honour on the Dalai Lama.

The resolution also would permit the International Campaign for Tibet to sponsor a related ceremony for Tibet's exiled spiritual head on the Capitol grounds on Oct. 17. The House voted last year to award the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal. The Congressional ceremony would rankle China, whose government has increasingly sought to direct Tibetan Buddhism, for centuries the basis of Tibet's civil, religious, cultural and political life.

China denounced the House vote last year to bestow the gold medal on the Dalai Lama and condemned his receipt in 1989 of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharmsala, India, since he fled Tibet amid a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

China has held a centuries-old claim on Tibet, a Himalayan region west of the main Chinese territory. It enforced that claim with a military invasion in 1951. Mary Beth Markey, vice president of the International Campaign for Tibet, called the congressional award the most significant international tribute to the Dalai Lama since the Nobel Prize nearly 20 years ago.

Source

[waltky]

China monkeyin' with the monks...

China jails Tibetan monk
February 04, 2008 - THE abbot of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in southwest China has been jailed for three years on charges of endangering national security by inciting the masses.

Khenpo Jinpa, 37, abbot of Chogtsang Talung Monastery in Sichuan province, was sentenced last July, but the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy only reported his imprisonment in a statement sent today. The centre did not give a reason for the delay, but the authorities are keen to keep politically sensitive Tibetan issues under wraps. The court could not be reached for comment.

Police detained Khenpo Jinpa in August 2006 on suspicion of distributing leaflets calling for Tibet's independence and the Dalai Lama's long life at a festival the previous year, the centre said. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, has lived in exile in India since 1959 when he fled his predominantly Buddhist homeland after an abortive uprising against Communist rule.

Khenpo Jinpa was born to a nomadic family and ordained as a monk at at a young age. In 1992 he enrolled at the Serthar Buddhist Institute. In 2001, hundreds of monks' huts at the institute were destroyed by paramilitary police and a ceiling of 1000 monks was imposed against the total enrolment of about 10,000.

China jails Tibetan monk | NEWS.com.au

[waltky]

I need Hu, like the flowers need the rain, ya know I need Hu...

Why Beijing Needs the Dalai Lama
Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2008 - Despite the intensity of the confrontation between the Chinese authorities and Tibetan protestors, Beijing and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, appear to be subtly acknowledging the extent to which they need each other. But you have to read past the pungent rhetoric to see that.

China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Tuesday lashed out at the Dalai Lama, blaming the exiled Tibetan leader for the confrontations of the past week. The events that have rocked Tibet and Tibetan communities all over the region, Wen charged, had been "masterminded and incited by the Dalai Lama clique." The Dalai Lama insisted that the uprising in Tibet was a spontaneous reaction to Beijing's unyielding refusal to hear Tibetan grievances, and its adoption of a policy that the spiritual leader branded "cultural genocide." Not much room for a meeting of minds, then. Or is there?

Even as he lambasted the exiled Tibetan leader, Wen added, "We have repeatedly stated that [if] the Dalai Lama gives up his independence position, recognizes Tibet as an inseparable part of China's sovereign territory and recognizes Taiwan as an inseparable part of China's sovereign territory, [then] our door is open to him for talks ... But the recent events exactly prove he is hypocritical on these two key issues. Even so, I want to reiterate that we still keep our word. Now what is key to this is his action."

But the Dalai Lama continues to speak out against the goal of independence as unrealistic — much to the chagrin of an increasingly militant younger generation of Tibetans — and has called instead for "genuine" autonomy for Tibet. The Dalai Lama continues to reiterate his firm commitment to policies that have been rejected by many younger Tibetan activists as ineffectual. On Tuesday, he reaffirmed his preference for dialogue and coexistence with the Chinese, threatening to resign his political leadership role if the confrontation with Beijing continued, and urging restraint among Tibetan activists aiming to confront the Chinese. Clearly, the Dalai Lama is concerned that confronting a far stronger rival — one whose centrality to the global economy makes it an indispensable partner to the world's most powerful nations — can only result in defeat, and ruin any prospect of a consensual coexistence between Beijing and a relatively autonomous Tibet.

More Why Beijing Needs the Dalai Lama - TIME

[waltky]

Tibet sympathy protest in the western province of China...

Clashes in Western China, 1 Dead
Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2008 — Clashes between rioters and authorities in China's western Sichuan province left one policeman dead and "several others" injured Monday, state media said, casting doubt on assurances by Chinese leaders that restive Tibetan areas had been brought under control.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported late Monday that "a group of perpetrators" had attacked armed policemen with knives and stones at 4:30 p.m. in Garze prefecture, according to local authorities. The officer, identified as Wang Guochuan, was killed instantly while several other policemen were wounded in what Xinhua characterized as "riots." A human rights group founded by exiled Tibetans said one monk was killed in the clash.

It was not possible to immediately confirm either claim. Officials who answered phone calls Tuesday at police and government offices in Sichuan's Garze prefecture either denied anything had happened or said they had not heard of such reports. "The police were forced to fire warning shots, and dispersed the lawless mobsters," Xinhua quoted the official as saying. The agency gave no details on whether any civilians were injured.

The state media report appeared to confirm that sympathy protests in support of monk-led demonstrations in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa have continued to spread in western China despite a massive mobilization of troops and police there. China's communist leadership has faced the biggest challenge to its rule in the Himalayan area in nearly two decades after protests in Lhasa exploded in violence on March 14, spilling over into neighboring Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces.

Xinhua also said that 381 people involved in protests in another Sichuan county, Aba, had surrendered to police by Monday. Aba was the site of protests over several days in the past week. A Tibetan rights group reported its version of Monday's events, saying that a crowd of 200 monks, nun and ordinary citizens, had gathered to march in Drango County in Garze, chanting "Long live the Dalai Lama" and "Freedom for Tibet."

Citing sources in the area, the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement that protesters clashed with armed police, who subsequently fired into the crowd, killing one monk and leaving another in critical condition. Because of China's ban on foreign journalists traveling in the region, it was extremely difficult to verify any information regarding the protests.

Source

[waltky]

Dalai doin' what he can for peace...

Dalai Lama calls for calm in Tibet
12 Jun 2008, The Dalai Lama on Thursday appealed to Tibetans not to disturb the Olympic torch relay as it passes through the capital Lhasa, saying he fully supports the Beijing Olympics.

The torch is expected to pass through Tibet over the next week, although exact details of its schedule are being kept secret following unrest in the province against Chinese rule in March. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said he did not want the torch to spark protests in Lhasa similar to those that erupted when the relay passed through London and Paris on its round-the-world journey. "The Olympic Games we fully support, the Olympic torch is part of that," he told reporters in Sydney, where he is conducting a series of meditation seminars. "Over a billion Chinese brothers and sisters feel very proud of it, we must respect this, therefore we should not disturb it."

Some groups critical of China's rule in Tibet have said taking the torch to the Himalayan region is an insult considering the massive Chinese security clampdown after the March unrest there. Exiled Tibetan leaders say 203 people died in the crackdown, while China says it killed no one and that "rioters" were responsible for 21 deaths. China has largely blamed the Dalai Lama for fomenting the unrest and accused him of seeking to sabotage the Olympic Games.

Despite such accusations, Beijing in early May restarted a dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama over the remote, Himalayan region. China "peacefully liberated" Tibet in the early 1950s, which resulted in the Dalai Lama fleeing the region in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. In recent years, the Dalai Lama has renounced Tibetan independence and, while acknowledging that the region is a part of China, has urged greater political and religious autonomy for his homeland.

Source

Granny says, "Dat's gratitude fer ya"...

China warns Australia over Dalai Lama
June 12, 2008 - CHINA today warned Australia not to allow the exiled Dalai Lama to carry out separatist activities on its territory.

"We request Australia to pay attention to our grave concerns and not allow the Dalai to engage in separatist activities on Australian territory," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

"The Chinese Government firmly opposes the Dalai's engagement in separatist activities in any country under any name and firmly opposes any country offering the Dalai support or convenience to engage in separatist activities." Mr Qin was commenting on the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner's ongoing visit to Australia.

China has continued to accuse the Dalai Lama of seeking an independent Tibet, but the Buddhist leader has repeatedly denied such accusations while calling for greater autonomy for his homeland from Chinese rule.

More China warns Australia over Dalai Lama | NEWS.com.au

[waltky]

China bullyin' Tibet - again...

Chinese soldiers seal off Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa
July 14,`08 : Chinese soldiers have reportedly placed over 1,000 Tibetan Buddhist monks under armed guard in monasteries around Lhasa, four months after anti-Chinese riots left the area in a state of devastation.

According to The Times, troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have sealed off Drepung, the largest monastery in Tibet. Nobody is being allowed to go in or out. Photography is banned and passers-by are being shooed away. A camp of olive-green tents and two rings of roadblocks surround this sanctuary of meditation. Local people say the monks pay the army for food to be sent to them.

Drepung was singled out for punishment and "re-education" because Chinese security forces identified many of its monks on video recordings of the protests against Beijing's policies in Tibet. The Nechung monastery, about a mile south, was also sealed off. Tibetans said its monks were known for their fidelity to the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing identifies as a renegade.

Some monasteries, however, have complied with Chinese officials and installed party-controlled committees, allowing them to pursue their Buddhist studies in troubled silence. The Sera monastery in north Lhasa is an example of toeing Beijing's line. Its 500 monks did not join the protests and have collaborated in the formation of an "administrative committee" to supervise them.

More Chinese soldiers seal off rebel Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa

[waltky]

China usin' Olympics for political means...

Guess who's not invited to the Olympics?
Sat Jul 19, 2008 - The Dalai Lama may be the guest of honor of President George W. Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders, but you won't find Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on the Beijing Olympics guest list.

Also missing from the list is Ma Ying-jeou, the Harvard-educated, democratically elected president of self-ruled Taiwan which Beijing has claimed as its own since their split in 1949 amid civil war, despite a recent thaw in relations. The Dalai Lama's appearance could have helped repair China's international image, which was dented by a government crackdown following rioting among Tibetans in March -- the worst in the Himalayan region since 1989. But China fears he would steal Chinese President Hu Jintao's thunder.

"It's supposed to be Hu Jintao's Olympics, but it'll become the Dalai Lama's Olympics if he attends," a source familiar with government policy said requesting anonymity. The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, had said during a visit to London in May that he hoped to attend the August 8-24 Games if talks between his envoys and China produced results.

China has not rejected the Dalai Lama's overtures outright, but hopes were dampened when the closed-door talks ended with the government-in-exile accusing China of lacking sincerity. The Chinese government has blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for instigating the March unrest and attempting to sabotage the Olympics, charges he has repeatedly denied.

More Guess who's not invited to the Olympics? | U.S. | Reuters