Who is lying, Samdhong or Sangay?

Posted on December 23, 2017 in Articles, Guest Writers, News · 4,965 Views · 126 Comments

What are these two plotting now? On the left is Lobsang Sangay, the current Prime Minister of the Tibetan people in-exile and on the right is Samdhong Rinpoche, his predecessor. Both of them were recently appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to be the Dalai Lama’s personal envoys. As the two most senior leaders in the CTA, how come they do not know CLEARLY where each other is at any given moment in time?

The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].

By: Shashi Kei

After 60 years of dashed hopes, the Tibetan world was recently set ablaze with news of Samdhong Rinpoche’s supposed visit to China. Word first broke in The Wire, in a report titled “The Dalai Lama wants to return home” authored by former Indian ambassador Phunchok Stobdan. This was swiftly followed by supporting reports in the Tibetan Journal, titled “Dalai Lama’s envoy Samdhong Rinpoche discreetly visited China”, published on 6th December 2017.

Since the exciting news of Samdhong Rinpoche’s trip was first released however, the Tibetans and their supporters have descended into an ever-deepening chasm of confusion. This is thanks to multiple reports by the likes of Sikyong Lobsang Sangay confirming the visit, followed by denials from none other than the man himself, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche.

Sikyong Lobsang Sangay is the current Tibetan Prime Minister, having succeeded Samdhong Rinpoche as the head of the Tibetan leadership. Both were recently appointed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the Dalai Lama’s personal envoys so it is safe to say these two men are the top leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA; Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala, India). Yet, the apparent lack of coordination between the top leaders means speculation now runs rife as to the transparency of the Tibetan leadership when dealing with matters relating to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan people’s return to Tibet. To clarify matters:

Timeline of the Debacle

4th December 2017 – The Wire first breaks the story about Samdhong Rinpoche visiting China, in an article titled “The Dalai Lama wants to return home”.
6th December 2017 – Tibetan Journal publishes “Dalai Lama’s envoy Samdhong Rinpoche discreetly visited China”, confirming Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit.
15th December 2017 – Phayul publishes “Cautious Sangay says Samdhong Rinpoche made a private visit to China”, with Sikyong Lobsang Sangay confirming that Samdhong Rinpoche has paid a private visit to China. He even adds the caveat that people should not read too much into the visit. Yet, the fact of the matter is, Lobsang Sangay is confirming that a trip was made and no trip to China that involves the Dalai Lama’s envoy can ever be ‘just’ a private visit.
15th December 2017 – The Tribune publishes “Dalai Lama headed to China on pvt [private] visit?” Authored by Ajay Banerjee, The Tribune later amends the title of the story to “Former Tibetan government head visited China recently”, based on advice from the CTA. This correction is, in essence, another confirmation by the CTA that Samdhong Rinpoche did visit China.
19th December 2017 – The Diplomat publishes “A Secret Visit and Sino-Tibetan Dialogue” confirming Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit to China, claiming it to be a private trip.
19th December 2017 – two weeks after the first reports of his trip, Phayul finally publishes Samdhong Rinpoche’s denial that he visited China recently, in an article titled “Samdhong Rinpoche denies visiting China, says no plans for Dalai Lama as well”.
20th December 2017 – Tibetan Journal publishes an op-ed piece “Did President Sangay Misinform That Samdhong Rinpoche Visited China?” that questions whether Lobsang Sangay misinformed the world about Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit.

An earlier picture of Lobsang Sangay (left) and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lobsang Sangay was quoted in Phayul on 15th December 2017, confirming Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit. Four days later, Samdhong Rinpoche denied visiting China. Was Lobsang Sangay lying when he confirmed Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit? Or was it just plain incompetence? Or was Samdhong Rinpoche lying when he denied his visit? Either way, one of the Dalai Lama’s two personal envoys is lying to the Tibetan public.

So who is right, and who is wrong? Who is lying? Was Lobsang Sangay lying when he corrected the media on December 15th, telling them in his correction that Samdhong Rinpoche had gone to China? Or was Samdhong Rinpoche lying on December 19th when he said he did not go? Either way, one of the Dalai Lama’s trusted envoys is lying to the Tibetan people. And when presented in this manner, a number of things become clear.

There is no coordination between Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and Samdhong Rinpoche. As a result, the CTA changed their story so many times regarding the news of Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit to China. After 60 years of living in exile, Tibetans are hypervigilant, looking for any sign of a potential return to Tibet. The CTA should have known that a visit to China by someone as senior as Samdhong Rinpoche would have given Tibetans hope for the potential of dialogue between the Chinese and Tibetan leaderships. Yet, on such an important topic, the most senior members of the Tibetan government presented very confusing information about the trip. In the end, it was obnoxious of them to fight back and forth on vital information that has the potential to give hope to the Tibetans.
Someone is inefficient, lying and not doing their job, and this reflects the whole government that they represent. Samdhong and Lobsang Sangay are the most senior officials in the Tibetan exile government. In fact, next to the Dalai Lama, these two people would be amongst the most formidable people in the Tibetan power structure. So how can two of the highest Tibetan officials get such an important piece of news wrong? Who is lying?
If the Tibetan leadership can create so much confusion when dealing with an issue of such high public interest, what else have they ruined or disrupted over the years that the public does not know about?
The news was first released by a former ambassador of India, Phunchok Stobdan. For such significant news, it is highly unlikely that Stobdan, whose sensitive diplomatic work required meticulousness, would have made the announcement without double or triple-checking first. Similarly, one would also expect Stobdan to have access to information not ordinarily available to the public i.e. the confirmed movements of the Dalai Lama’s envoy, especially when he is heading for China.
Samdhong Rinpoche’s denial came a full two weeks after it was first reported that he had visited China. The delayed response has fuelled suspicions and can only mean one thing – Samdhong Rinpoche was in China, behind their Internet firewall. As a result, he was unable to find out what was being said about his trip in the media, and therefore unable to issue a retraction until he was out of China.
Samdhong Rinpoche’s sudden denial of his China visit two weeks after the initial news was published raises more than a few eyebrows and has had many people asking what else the Tibetan leadership might be hiding now?
Questions have previously been already raised about the CTA’s lack of transparency and accountability, and this latest debacle only adds fuel to the fire.
More interestingly, Samdhong Rinpoche’s denunciation of the said news is a slap to the face of Sangay. Sangay had confirmed to Phayul on 15th December 2017 that Samdhong did in fact made such a historic trip but cautioned that readers should not read too much into it. Bear in mind that Phayul is in effect the CTA’s mouthpiece and the source of the story is none other than the CTA. Therefore there cannot be a miscommunication or misunderstanding from Sangay’s side.
This debacle simply demonstrates how disorganized the Tibetan leadership truly are, and the total lack of communication between the top members of this small exiled government. And as small as they are now, they are already so confused and inefficient, and unable to communicate clearly to their people on such an important matter. Should the Tibetan leadership ever be able to return to Tibet, how will they ever get to run their country properly when Tibet is huge and so much bigger than Dharamsala?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama recently announced that he would be indefinitely postponing his travels, and appointed Lobsang Sangay and Samdhong Rinpoche to represent him as his personal envoys. How come Sangay and Samdhong are so uncoordinated in their announcements and work? Are these men the most capable representatives of the Dalai Lama? If these two are the best that the Tibetan leadership has to offer, the Tibetan public should be extremely concerned for their own futures at a time when the Dalai Lama is no longer around to lead and coordinate the community.

There are also a number of questions that need to be raised, primarily:

How was Samdhong Rinpoche, who has criticized the Chinese government for decades, granted a visa so easily, regardless of whether his visit was private or not? The Chinese leadership would be understandably paranoid about Samdhong Rinpoche; as the Dalai Lama’s envoy, his visit would invariably draw a crowd and he would therefore have the potential to encourage unrest. So how can someone who is the Dalai Lama’s envoy make it into China so easily?
Non-politically involved Rinpoches and lamas are stopped at Beijing’s international airport even if they are dressed in lay clothes and despite having all the necessary visas. It would be almost impossible for someone as recognizable as Samdhong Rinpoche to go into China without the Beijing government’s knowledge and, by inference, approval. The fact he was able to receive a visa without issue, let alone enter the country without issue, and in spite of his role in actively encouraging anti-China activities, must mean that he has connections with the Chinese leadership. Alternatively, it could also mean that the Chinese leadership had a higher, political motivation for allowing Samdhong Rinpoche into the country. After all, why would an old, senior monk of his age go all the way to China just to visit his family?
The Tibetan leadership act with the assumption of the stupidity of their subjects, to think that they would not be able to see the Tibetan leadership for what it is – inefficient, confused and uncoordinated. It is obvious, when Lobsang Sangay says Samdhong Rinpoche went and then Samdhong Rinpoche himself says he did not go, and the two men tussle back and forth in the media spotlight.

The Tibetan people and supporters of the Tibetan struggle should take this discrepancy seriously. All matters pertaining to the Tibetan leadership’s dealing with China directly impacts on the future of the Tibetan people and the pulse of the Tibetan struggle. So how come there is such secrecy, confusion and what seems like opposing agendas on such an important matter?

Possible Reasons for a Cover-up

(1) The visit was a failure and negotiations yielded nothing

Since 1959, the Tibetan leadership has made countless promises to return Tibetans to their homeland, all to no avail. Even the State Oracle Nechung, whom the Dalai Lama and CTA rely on, has made inaccurate prophecies about the success of the Tibetan struggle.

In addition, nothing became of the nine rounds of talks between the Tibetan and Chinese leaderships. All this time, the CTA blamed their failures on scapegoats such as Dorje Shugden practice. And all this while, they allowed China to grow stronger as the CTA and the Dalai Lama’s popularity in the world waned. It is possible that during this exploratory trip, Samdhong Rinpoche realized how the CTA’s best opportunities have slipped by, and the ‘Tibetan cause’ is now at best a pipe dream. It is possible that on this trip, he realized that Tibetans are no longer in possession of the moral authority to use global pressure to get what they (the CTA) want, because everyone is willing to overlook that in favour of a better relationship with China.

This would be something very difficult for the Tibetans to accept and would likely trigger heightened rejection of the leadership by the Tibetan people, at a time when the people are already more vocal about their disappointments with the CTA. Hence, it is best not to call attention how hopeless the Tibetan cause has become.

(2) Samdhong Rinpoche was negotiating an unpopular deal

The Tibetan leadership is known for harbouring interests that contradict their own people’s. For instance, in 1988 the Dalai Lama gave up the Tibetan independence fight in what was known as the Strasbourg Proposal, opting instead for autonomy (umaylam) or what he labelled the Middle Way Approach. The Tibetan people were not consulted and were not given a say in the matter.

On another occasion in 2013 when being interviewed by Jerome Cohen at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Sangay said pointedly, “democracy is what we practice in exile. We are not asking that democracy be implemented or be allowed inside Tibet…[but]that’s not part of what we’re asking to the Chinese government”.

The Sikyong stated clearly that under umaylam, he would do away with democracy. In that flippant statement, it may not have occurred to Sangay that he had traded away the freedom of the Tibetans. Worse still, he may not have cared, a characteristic that is common of Tibetan leaders. In any case, the Tibetans were again not consulted on this change in policy.

So if Samdhong Rinpoche was exploring a deal with the Chinese that may be at odds with general Tibetan interests, then it would be better to deny that no such visit took place.

The Dalai Lama with his two personal envoys who are currently in the midst of a petty public squabble over one of their whereabouts.

(3) To sidestep the hypocrisy after falsely accusing detractors of being Chinese agents.

It is common for the Tibetan leadership to accuse critics and detractors of being Chinese spies and agents. By accusing people they wish to target of having Chinese connections, the CTA has successfully marginalized many people who refuse to toe the official CTA party line, and conform with the CTA’s edicts. A very good example is Dorje Shugden practitioners whom the CTA claim to be working for the Chinese government, and therefore should be violently opposed and ostracized.

Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit to China, which seems to have taken place without much obstacles, hints that he does have contacts in China which he has maintained. If Samdhong Rinpoche were to be treated in the same way the CTA treats Dorje Shugden lamas, then Samdhong Rinpoche should also be considered an anti-Tibetan traitor for having Chinese contacts and visiting China.

After all, Lama Gangchen was so labelled and pictures of Lama Gangchen with Chinese officials were offered as proof of his ‘treachery’ against the Tibetan people. This is in spite of the well-known fact that Lama Gangchen’s World Peace Foundation was working on conjunction with the United Nations to spread peace and goodwill around the world, including China.

Realizing this, perhaps Samdhong Rinpoche felt it was necessary to outrightly deny that such a visit took place.

Whatever the case may be, what began as a piece of uplifting news now ends with deception and double talk and again the Tibetan people’s dreams of going home fade. The bickering and squabbling that has come to characterise the Tibetan leadership’s dealings reflects nothing more than a deep disrespect for the people; after 60 years in exile, even in the face of such monumental news which might give the people hope of a return to their homeland, the two most senior leaders in the Tibetan government cannot even coordinate themselves to give clear facts and information to their people.

And so when witnessing the tragedy that has become the CTA and their methods of governance, why would China ever cede greater levels of autonomy to such an inefficient and disorganised administration? Lobsang Sangay’s confirmation that Samdhong Rinpoche visited China and Samdhong’s subsequent and late denial again shows how murky all the CTA’s dealings are, from whether a USD 1.5 Million taken from a Tibet Fund was a loan or a gift to whether the Dalai Lama’s emissary visited China. Ultimately it is all smoke and mirrors and the ordinary Tibetan person’s future becomes lost in the confusion.

The Dalai Lama Wants to Return Home

An article published by “The Wire” on 4th December 2017. Click to enlarge. (Source: https://thewire.in/201726/dalai-lama-india-china-tibet/)

Comments left by various people on “The Wire”. Click to enlarge. (Source: https://thewire.in/201726/dalai-lama-india-china-tibet/)

Dalai Lama’s Envoy Samdhong Rinpoche Discreetly Visited China

Published 5th December 2017. The Dalai Lama’s personal envoy Samdhong Rinpoche went on a private visit to China. It was suggested in “The Wire” that while Samdhong Rinpoche was in China, it is more likely that he met up with You Quan – the newly-appointed head of the United Front Work Department that oversees Tibetan affairs. It is also said that You Quan is a close associate of President Xi. Click to enlarge. (Source: http://www.tibetanjournal.com/index.php/2017/12/05/dalai-lamas-envoy-samdhong-rinpoche-visited-china/)

Cautious Sangay says Samdhong Rinpoche made a “private visit” to China

Published on 15th December 2017. Phayul.com is the mouthpiece of the Tibetan government in exile otherwise known as Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Phayul.com also picked up the news of Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit to China. The news has spread throughout the Tibetan communities throughout the world giving some sort of hope to the Tibetans. The Tibet issue will not be resolved with the current policies of the CTA regime in Dharamsala. It has been nearly six decades of failure. So they will have to change their tactic to appease China. Tibet is within China and no other nation will be able to ‘rescue’ Tibet or assist in any way. Tibetans must help themselves by negotiating with China. Click to enlarge. (Source: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=39926&article=Cautious+Sangay+says+Samdhong+Rinpoche+made+a+%E2%80%9Cprivate+visit%E2%80%9D+to+China)

Dalai Lama headed to China on a pvt visit?

On 15th December 2017, “The Tribune” published an article titled “Dalai Lama headed to China on pvt visit?”. But not long after that, Tibet.net had asked them to change the title to “Former Tibetan government head visited China recently”. Former head would refer to Samdhong Rinpoche of course. The title can be changed but the fact remain the same that the envoy Samdhong Rinpoche was sent to negotiate with China. The negotiations must be regarding the status of Tibet and a possible visit in the future by the Dalai Lama. For the envoy Samdhong Rinpoche to visit China he would have needed India’s permission, China’s approval and of course sent by Dalai Lama himself. After all, Samdhong Rinpoche holds a refugee passport issued by India and he will need a visa to enter China. A high profile person like him cannot just simply enter China’s immigration undetected. It would be safe to assume Samdhong Rinpoche didn’t visit China, whom he has criticized for decades, to just simply visit a Buddhist site, holiday or meet up with friends. China would not easily grant him a visa for any other purpose as he is considered a dissident. He would have a purpose and a prior agreement with the Chinese government. The fact that Samdhong Rinpoche went to China to have dialogue with the Chinese government still gives hope to an eventual positive development for both sides. Lobsang Sangay has failed miserably during his two terms as head of CTA to secure talks with China and most probably out of desperation the Dalai Lama has sent a fellow monk Samdhong Rinpoche to negotiate with China. The Dalai Lama is ageing and resolution must come about soon. The main purpose of the CTA is to resolve the Tibet issue which is now entering into nearly 60 years unresolved issue. Click to enlarge. (Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/dalai-lama-headed-to-china-on-pvt-visit/513541.html.)

A Secret Visit and Sino-Tibetan Dialogue

Published on 19th December 2017. The Diplomat is a reputable online news magazine that covers political and cultural issues, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. Their report opens with a strong confirmation that Samdhong Rinpoche was indeed in China. Why would The Diplomat stake their reputation on publishing false news that could be so easily disproved by Samdhong Rinpoche showing proof he was somewhere else during the time he is alleged to have been in China? They would not risk their reputation in this way so the message is clear – Samdhong Rinpoche was in China, contrary to his denials. Click to enlarge (Source: https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/a-secret-visit-and-sino-tibetan-dialogue/)

A continuation of The Diplomat article (published 19th December 2017). Click to enlarge (Source: https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/a-secret-visit-and-sino-tibetan-dialogue/)

Samdhong Rinpoche denies visiting China, says no plans for Dalai Lama as well

Published on 19th December 2017. A full 15 days after news first breaks that he went to China, Samdhong Rinpoche finally issues a rebuttal. How come it took him more than two weeks to say anything? Where was he during this time that he could not be informed about the news that was spreading like wildfire all around the world? Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=39941&article=Samdhong+Rinpoche+denies+visiting+China%2c+says+no+plans+for+Dalai+Lama+as+well)

Did President Sangay Misinform That Samdhong Rinpoche Visited China?

Published on 20th December 2017. Another article in the Tibetan Journal highlights the confusion that all Tibetans feel about this issue. This type of confusion, animosity, lack of clarity, misinformation and poor coordination is the result of dealing with the Tibetan leadership. Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.tibetanjournal.com/index.php/2017/12/20/president-sangay-misinform-samdhong-rinpoche-visited-china/)

India Always Stood With Tibetans, Tibet Will Also Stay With India: Dalai Lama

Published on 20th December 2017. Again the Tibetan leadership adds to the confusion in Tibetan society. The Dalai Lama recently said that Tibet should be autonomous under Chinese leadership, and that Tibetan development will come from the Chinese. So how does it make sense to say that Tibetans will always stay with India? This actually reflects the lack of a clear strategy regarding the Tibetan situation. And such statements will only upset the Chinese leadership who will wonder what kind of games the Tibetan leadership is playing, when they continue to pledge support for their regional competitor, India. No wonder the Tibetan leadership has not made much progress with regards to the Tibetan situation over the last 60 years. There is no clear direction or message, or strategy. Click to enlarge (Source: http://www.tibetanjournal.com/index.php/2017/12/20/india-always-stood-tibetans-tibet-stay-india/)

Tibet Developments May Put Pressure on India

Published on 7th January 2018. Another article calls attention to Samdhong Rinpoche’s visit to meet with Chinese officials in Kunming. China’s plans to securitize Tibet by building ‘well-off border villages’ along Tibet’s borders and expanding the road network are building pressure on India. Click to enlarge (Source: http://m.rediff.com/news/column/tibet-developments-may-put-pressure-on-india/20180107.htm/)

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126 total comments on this postSubmit yours

Karma bhu

April 27, 2018

Did His Holiness the Dalai Lama recognize the wrong Karmapa?

The Karmapas and Sharmapas are spiritually inseparable. Both are fellow holders of the 900-year-old Karma Kagyu lineage, a spiritual tradition that predates the lineage of the Dalai Lamas by over 200 years. They are also responsible for the recognition of each other’s reincarnations. However, in 1992, Tai Situ recognized a Karmapa candidate different from the candidate chosen by the Sharmapa. He effectively overrode centuries of tradition amongst the four Karma Kagyu regents. Tai Situ went ahead and enthroned his own candidate without the Sharmapa’s approval, and received the Dalai Lama’s approval. Therefore, the Dalai Lama may have endorsed the wrong Karmapa.

Due to the Dalai Lama’s endorsement, the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala acknowledged Tai Situ’s candidate, Ogyen Trinley, as the 17th Karmapa, hosting him at the Gelug lineage’s Gyuto Tantric monastery. They even side-lined the Sharmapa’s candidate, Thaye Dorje. The world’s media were also misled to believe that “the Dalai Lama’s Karmapa” is the sole and legitimate candidate for the position. Until today, thanks to the Tibetan leadership, there is no end in sight to the rift that the Karmapa issue caused within the Karma Kagyu tradition. This long-standing feud occurred because of the Tibetan leadership’s political interference in spiritual matters.

http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1524833812.mp4

Tsering Wangyal

April 27, 2018

The beginning of the end for Tibetan leadership in India.

The Dalai Lama and Tibetan govt in-exile better be on the alert now. For years they have met politicians, organizations and private individuals while talking negatively about China and painted an ugly picture of China wherever they went to get sympathetic votes and more free aid in dollars. It didn’t work, as the whole world wants to be China’s friend now, even the Indians. Tibet was no Shangrila and the reason they even lost their country back in 1959 was due to their own ineffective and corrupt leadership. It’s their own fault. For the last 60 years living Tax free in India they have still not secured their country back. It shows their lack of abilities and ineptness. Now Prime Minister Modi has landed in China to meet the powerful President Xi. One of the agendas to be discussed is the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans in India. Definitely China will work something out with Modi against the freeloading Tibetan refugees. High time too. Many Indians on social media have called for the Dalai Lama and Tibetans to return home as they have overstayed their welcome in India. Why should India stick their necks out any further for the useless Tibetans? That is how the Indians have rightly complained.

Now with Modi getting closer to China and President Xi, this spells doomsday for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans. For years the Tibetans have been meddling in Indian politics and insulting China and now the day of reckoning is near. The Tibetan govt in-exile are corrupt, useless, self-serving, schismatic and hateful. For years they have spoken against Dorje Shugden practitioners, segregating them and inciting violence against them in India. Now their karma has returned. The Tibetan govt in-exile likes to call Dorje Shugden pracitioners ‘Chinese spies’ and the funny thing is now the Dalai Lama is nearly begging China to return to Tibet/China. Who is the Chinese spy now?

Now the Dalai Lama and his exiled govt better keep quiet about China and be humble. They better remain silent on the unjust treatment of Dorje Shugden people and ‘allow’ religious freedom. They are losing power and losing support fast. Now the time has come they will have to swallow their own bitter pills they so happily doled out to others previously. Tibetan govt leaders better keep quiet and be humble now. The Tibetan govt in-exile should not have segregated Dorje Shugden people. Now Dorje Shugden people should go and become friends with China and return to Tibet to live also. The Dalai Lama wants to return to Tibet so bad but China does not want him. Too bad. India does not want him either. Too bad. Should have been friends with Dorje Shugden people in order to have more support in the hundreds of thousands. They should not have made trouble. Too bad the Tibetan leadership is so corrupt. So narrow minded, they trampled on their own people’s religious rights. Now we will see who wins. The Tibetan leadership or Dorje Shugden. I have a feeling Dorje Shugden will win.

PM Narendra Modi arrives in China, his goal clear: Bridge the trust deficit
The Chinese President has not hosted any leader in an “informal summit”, which is how the Xi-Modi meeting has been described. In fact, Xi is travelling out of Beijing to central China to spend over two days with the Indian PM, the first time he is extending such a gesture to a visiting foreign leader.
Written by Shubhajit Roy | Wuhan (china) | Updated: April 27, 2018 8:07:29 am
Past midnight Thursday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in this picturesque city of lakes, parks and gardens along the Yangtze river, the big question that followed him was this: Can he bridge the trust deficit with China, and its powerful President Xi Jinping?
The answer, The Indian Express has learnt, could possibly lie in a new “modus vivendi”, an arrangement for two conflicting sides to co-exist in peace, that the two leaders will work on over the next two days.
“The modus vivendi, which was reaffirmed and arrived at during (then PM) Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 visit, has frayed considerably. It has been felt on both sides that it needs to be reframed,” sources told The Indian Express.
Officials feel the 1988 framework to develop bilateral relations in all spheres, while carrying out border negotiations without any use of force, has outlived its utility.
“China has now emerged as a hegemonic power and has been stepping on our toes repeatedly. We are competing with each other everywhere, from South Asia to Africa, from Southeast Asia to Indo-Pacific. There is a realisation that both sides have reached a tipping point,” sources said.
The Chinese President has not hosted any leader in an “informal summit”, which is how the Xi-Modi meeting has been described. In fact, Xi is travelling out of Beijing to central China to spend over two days with the Indian PM, the first time he is extending such a gesture to a visiting foreign leader.
The two leaders have met at least 10 times over the last four years, but this will be their first meeting since Xi has been re-elected, with the Constitutional limit for a presidential term done away with.
“There has been a lack of strategic trust between the two countries, and this summit will be looking at repairing that damage and how to move forward,” sources said.
“Wuhan was recently named China’s happiest city…we hope to give some happy news about the summit,” a Chinese official told The Indian Express.
Modi will meet Xi at about 3 pm Friday at the Hubei provincial museum. The two leaders will head for a one-on-one meeting at the premises and also tour the museum together.
Later, a structured meeting between Modi and Xi, with six officials on each side, will be held at the museum premises. The two sides will then move to the State Guest House, a palatial complex in the heart of the city along the East lake, where the leaders will meet once again accompanied by the officials. Modi and Xi will again meet for dinner at the guest house Friday evening.
This structured delegation-level talks is the first indication that the “informal summit” is being crafted in a calibrated and choreographed manner.
Some of Friday’s meetings will be attended by senior officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. But Saturday will see the two leaders meeting mostly in a one-on-one format, including a “lakeside walk” and a “boat-ride”. The leaders will also travel on a ferry, where they will “discuss issues over a cup of tea”.
Ahead of his departure for Wuhan, Modi said, “President Xi and I will exchange views on a range of issues of bilateral and global importance. We will discuss our respective visions and priorities for national development, particularly in the context of the current and future international situation. We will also review developments in India-China relations from a strategic and long-term perspective.”
Sources said the talks will not be on “specific issues” but “the future direction of the relationship”, including concerns and sensitivities such as the China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor, Belt and Road Initiative, listing of Masood Azhar and India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. From the Chinese perspective, the Tibetan issue and how India handles the refugees are key questions.
Preparatory work on the new arrangement has been taking place since last September, when the two leaders met in Xiamen on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and wanted to talk “in detail”, but could not due to paucity of time.
In Wuhan, Modi was received by Chinese Vice Foreign minister Kong Xuanyou at the airport.
Indicating the mood within the Chinese leadership, a commentary published in China Daily, a media outlet run by the ruling Communist Party of China, carried the headline: “Summit may herald Century of Asia”.
In the piece, Fu Xiaoqiang, research fellow at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, wrote: “Of course, Xi and Modi will also address each other’s concerns, but they are not likely to indulge in strategic distrust and geopolitical competition by ignoring the necessity of strengthening win-win cooperation.”
Incidentally, a part of the Wuhan State Guest House complex houses Mao Zedong’s summer villa by the lake side, which is now open to visitors. Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, has also hosted Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore during his tour of China 94 years ago to engage with writers, poets and intellectuals.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/narendra-modi-xi-jinping-meeting-pm-china-visit-india-relations-5153506/

Palden

April 27, 2018

His Holiness on Why a Woman Should Be Very Attractive to Be a Candidate for the 15th Dalai Lama

How come a spiritual leader is commenting on the value of women based on their looks? This is not funny, not intelligent and not politically correct. It is wrong. It is debasing and makes people lose respect for a monk such as Dalai Lama for talking about human beings in this manner.

http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1524861358.mp4

Tsering Kyi

April 29, 2018

Breaking news!

Well, all the people who was saying China-backed Panchen Lama is fake sure look ridiculous now. They attacked all the Tibetans and supporters who respected the China-backed Panchen Lama calling them all types of dirty and foul names in person and on social media. Calling them China stooges and China paid vulgar names for believing in the China-backed Panchen Lama. Now who looks so ridiculous? Now the Dalai Lama says the China-backed Panchen Lama is good and has a good teacher. If he has a good teacher it means he is turning into a good teacher himself. So he is qualified to teach. The end.

Dalai Lama says the China-backed Panchen Lama is an emanation of the previous Panchen Lama because high lamas can incarnate back as several lamas at the same time. So the Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama and the China-backed Panchen Lama are both good and both are incarnations of the previous Panchen Lama. How the tables have turned. Now all the people who criticized China-backed Panchen Lama can keep quiet and remember how ridiculous they look now. Listen to what the Dalai Lama says now as of April 2018 about the China-backed Panchen Rinpoche http://video.dorjeshugden.com/videos/11PanchenLamaIsAlive.mp4

The Panchen Lama recognized by Dalai Lama is alive and well also according to Dalai Lama himself.

Sonam Rinchen

May 4, 2018

Is it time to save the sinking ship that is the Tibetan cause? But wait a minute, the ship has already been sunk for the likes of Mr Ugyen Gyalpo.

Gone are the days when Tibet’s independence was possible, yet Tibetans like Mr Gyalpo are still living in a fantasy, asking the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to go against the Dalai Lama’s goal of meaningful autonomy for Tibet, and advocate full independence instead. On top of that, he wants India to help Tibet gain its independence, disregarding how these actions would jeopardize India’s relationship with China.

This is the same kind of illogical, self-centred, wishful thinking that caused the Tibetans to lose their country to China by signing the 17-Point Agreement in 1951. Why ask someone to fight for a lost cause? Perhaps Mr Gyalpo was on holiday and did not catch the latest media flurry about the Dalai Lama stating that he is happy for Tibet to be in China. The CTA President Lobsang Sangay even urged Tibetans to make the Dalai Lama’s dream of returning to Tibet come true.

It is time for My Gyalpo and other pro-independence activists to seriously wake up from their self-imposed slumber and plan what they can actually do if and when the Dalai Lama gets the green light to go back to Tibet. Do they want to support the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader? Or will they betray and abandon him?
Time to save the sinking ship of the Tibetan cause
By Ugyen Gyalpo
NEW YORK, US, 28 April 2018
Gone are the days when Tibetan solidarity was demonstrated through inter-organisational unity, and transparency and teamwork were not conundrums. The architects of endemic ideologies, the clash of mighty egos, and our flawed democracy, a system without multiple parties to represent different voices, has our community deeply divided and entrenched on regional grounds.
A short-circuit motherboard, like that which existed on an imaginary level before His Holiness’ devolution of his political role, that managed different flows of energy and controlled frequencies of differential arrays with a single switch, is surely missing in these rather difficult days of our newly-minted, hard-to-understand, infant democracy.
Every organisation or group has different agendas to put forth, even though the supposedly ultimate goal of solving Tibet’s issue for that matter is unequivocally shared by our same moral obligations. Every organisation in itself has become a marshy pond, where viruses of egocentrism are birthed and thrive. Every organisation and everyone leading them has somehow made islands of isolationist groups of like-minded people.
There is a silent battle of ‘creditworthiness’ brewing within our bureaucracy, and a hunger to ‘monetize’ by the many Tibet Support Groups of the cult-like brand Tibet, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s name has become detrimental to our cause and to the unity that we critically need.
Furthermore, the millions in American aid has intoxicated our movement and has us habituated to seeking monetary help, while losing sight of our goal. And the supposed leader of the free world in the United States, having lost completely the needle of its moral compass, shoves our greater issues silently under the political rug, while we rejoice in their perennial candy aid. Whilst our elected leader impatiently awaits for applause on the issues of such aid, has only added mileage to the charade that exists. It is ever too clear how wolfishly the world led by the US have sidelined the Tibet issue with the changing dynamic and symbiosis and the dominant political clout of China in its newly-found realm.
Just like Africa remains poor because of the surplus Western food that is dumped as ‘humanitarian aid’ into the market, which in turn debilitates and destroys the local farming there and makes them lazy and cyclically dependent, the Tibetan diaspora’s dependence on Western aid is no different. it has trapped them into the eternal hypocrisy of the West and made them complacent and numbingly patient.
The dynamics of what the West could have done some twenty years ago when China was easy to contain, and the empty promises and hypocrisy that exist now through reaffirmation of their help by way of lobbying and institutionalisation of the Tibetan cause, has got us nowhere but to a cycle of regimental renewal of oaths and vacant promises, and deepening of the pockets of those who exploit our cause.
The long-wished-for occasion of China one day crumbling under the weight of their capitalistic boom, which would hopefully propel uts people to yearn for greater rights and freedom guaranteed on democratic grounds that comes along with flowering seeds of prosperity, seems to be dead on arrival ever since President Xi, who seems to be Mao’s incarnate, rewrote the constitution in his own terms and vowed to rule the country indefinitely as a dictator. The likelihood of the collapse of communist China like the former USSR is far from reality now. And so are the chances of any possibility of coming to an agreement on the call for autonomy that Tibetans have been pushing for decades now.
I am not a political analyst nor an expert pundit on geopolitical changes, but my gut instinct tells me that our struggle for freedom should be waged from India of all other places. As of now realizing through this sad awakening, the Tibetan issue has become a case of the leper that no one wants to touch but only sympathise with. We have had enough of world sympathy, and of countries that once supported Tibet kowtowing to China. We should take matters into our own hands now. What we need more than anything is only our own self-help.
Having said that, the era of dependency on Western help and lobbying is a farce. We need to gather support from our natural and genuine automatic half-brother in India. Through the era of leadership of Modi’s courage, we will be able to stand up against the Chinese might in unison. Tibetans are scattered like broken rosary beads all over the world, but since the thread that brings us together is based in India, it’s but natural to wage our campaigns from there.
These last two decades have transformed not just China but India too. Having grown far from their third-world stigma, and now a leader in an emerging economy, India has become a dominant player in world politics as well. Any or all help from our half-brothers, who have given us refuge along with our religion and our script, is what we should look forward to now. India ranks among the world’s top five armed forces. No matter what, China can’t bully India lest they risk an all-out war that neither would want in the real world.
Tibet has evidently been a thorny issue in China-India bilateral relations ever since His Holiness was given refuge. As of late, the diplomatic fall-out from the slippery tongue of CTA’s President that flashed out covert secretive mission by an emissary to China, inadvertently keeping India out of the loop has caused some mistrust within the Indian politburo. India has much to lose if Tibet is ever given genuine autonomy and if China reclaims all of Tibet based on the McMahon line. As of late, India’s snubbing of Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s related programmes and events is evidence of their intentional withdrawal. The only way we Tibetans can earn back India’s hitherto undeniable moral support and trust is if we vehemently change our political course and steer this sinking ship on chartered waves of reclaiming total independence that will reshape the paradigm of where we stand as refugees in the eyes of the Indian government, and where our ultimate goal lies.
It is time that the CTA should reverse its ideology and go back to its original and genuine aim of reclaiming everything we have lost, to follow the shadow of truth of Tibet being once an independent country and nothing more. The only strong answer to China is the reaffirmation of our calls for complete independence. We must send them a strong message that we are not one of their ethnic minorities, but proud Tibetans who once ruled over their subservience.
https://www.tibetsun.com/opinions/2018/04/28/time-to-save-the-sinking-ship-of-the-tibetan-cause

UTsang Kunga

May 5, 2018

In March 2018, Tibetan protestors gathered near the Tibetan parliament, seeking to impeach Lobsang Sangay because his actions are unjust and akin to those of a dictator. Protestors also questioned his sudden termination of Penpa Tsering, the former Representative of the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC, who was his arch-rival during the 2016 Tibetan election.

But this is not all, Lobsang Sangay’s CV includes a long list of deceitful actions, such as hiding the loan trail of $1.5-million taken by his office from Tibet Fund to purchase a building to house the Office of Tibet in DC. He even ordered the Auditor General to remove any mention of the loan in various financial reports. Lobsang Sangay is also alleged to have sexually assaulted an intern of the International Campaign for Tibet advocacy group. Even before he became the Sikyong (the president of the Central Tibetan Administration), scandals surrounding his actions were rampant. Four years after buying a house near Boston, his US$227,000 mortgage disappeared overnight, one week before he became the president of the CTA. It is no wonder that Tibetans like Pelgyamo express their dissatisfaction by posting sarcastic comments on Lobsang Sangay’s Instagram page.

Yeshi Dorje

May 11, 2018

The Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) in Dharamsala refusing to accept Tibetan RCs (Registration Certificates) is yet another example of interference by the Central Tibetan Administration. Tibetans need this document to apply for an Indian passport. The CTA does not want to lose its grip on Tibetan refugees, as fewer refugees under their control means less foreign aid. That translates to less money that they can line their own pockets with.

This is not the first time that the CTA has created problems for Tibetans who wish to apply for Indian citizenship. Last July, the CTA ordered all its departments to stop issuing NOC (No Objection Certificates) to Tibetans applying for Indian passports, effectively sabotaging India’s goodwill of offering citizenship to eligible Tibetans. Perhaps that is a reason why many Tibetans are leaving their settlements in India, some of them even returning to Tibet! The CTA’s days as a ‘government’ are numbered, as more and more Tibetans apply for Indian citizenship or leave the CTA’s influence in India altogether.
No obstruction surrendering RC in Dehra Dun: Police
Tibet Sun Newsroom
McLEOD GANJ, India, 27 April 2018
Tibetans living in Dehra Dun can surrender their Registration Certificates (RC) to apply for their passport, according to a communication from the Office of the Superintendent of Police Dehra Dun.
Tibet Sun had learned about Tibetan complaints that the authorities were refusing to accept requests by Tibetans to surrender their RCs, required in order to apply for a passport. Seeking information about the matter, Tibet Sun filed a Right to Information (RTI) application, to which Dehra Dun Superintendent of Police Sarita Dobhal replied refuting the complaints.
The SP said in her reply that they have not refused RC surrender by those Tibetans seeking Indian passport, and they have accepted RCs from seven Tibetans so far.
Tibetans who spoke to Tibet Sun said that the authorities who actually handle the RC surrender at the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) within the SP Office had told them to bring court orders to be able to surrender their RC.
Following a High Court of Delhi judgment asking the Government of India to issue passport to Tibetans, the Ministry of External Affairs in March 2017 has ordered all passport-issuing authorities to issue passport to those Tibetans who fulfil the requirements as in the Citizenship Act of India.
The RC surrender process has been suspended at the FRO Dharamshala. An official confirmed the same, saying the halt has been in place since two weeks, but didn’t give details as to why they have stopped the process.
He said that it is a temporary matter and that the surrender process will resume soon.
https://www.tibetsun.com/news/2018/04/27/no-obstruction-of-tibetan-rc-surrender-for-passport-dehra-dun-sp

Khampa Bhu

May 14, 2018

The Dalai Lama Fears that He Might be Expelled from India!

The situation in India is not getting better for the Tibetan government in-exile or the Dalai Lama. Since India is getting closer to China, this trend will not slow down. Whether it is the current Prime Minister Modi, or the next Prime Minister of India making efforts to get close to China, it does not matter because the momentum has started. It benefits both India and China tremendously to be friendly and on good terms with each other. The parasite-like Tibetans leeching off India brings no benefit whatsoever to India and India realizes this sad fact finally. The Dalai Lama and his team in the Tibetan government in-exile have created so many problems externally for India and internally within the Tibetan communities, enough is enough. Tibetans like to use India to irk China. They have done that for decades and now it’s over. The Tibetans have been put in their place. The Indian government has been snubbing the Dalai Lama this year. The Dalai Lama and his cohorts have created tremendous problems, segregation, hatred, and violence towards thousands of Dorje Shugden practitioners, now that karma is coming back. Too bad. The Tibetan leadership is losing support from India, in fact, Modi purposely humiliated the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama and cohorts have less power to create so much schism and trouble now. If you read this article carefully, the Dalai Lama himself has expressed concerns he might be kicked out of India. It has reached this level that the Dalai Lama is unsure of his footing in India now. Too bad.

Aditya Sinha: Paying For Our Bull In A China Shop
May 14, 2018, 07:40 IST | Aditya Sinha
The Dalai Lama’s humiliation, our encircling neighbours and, most crucially, the lack of Modi’s signature bear hug, signify altered relations
In the two days of staged photographs, there is not one photo of Modi hugging Xi, his trademark personalised diplomacy of forcibly embracing other leaders.
One of the better things during the Karnataka Assembly election, no matter who emerges the single largest party tomorrow, was Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s press conference in Bangalore. You may not have seen it on TV. It is on YouTube, however. Rahul again comes across in a light different to the whispers about him during the past two decades, proving how it was all the doing of a well-oiled BJP machine. My favourite part was Rahul’s take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Wuhan in central China for an “informal” summit with President Xi Jinping.
Here’s what he said:
“I expected the PM to go to China as the leader of our country [and] speak to them about Doklam… He didn’t say a word. [He] had a conversation with the Chinese President with no agenda. Are you telling me there’s no agenda? There is an agenda, it’s called Doklam; there is an agenda, it’s called the Maldives; there is an agenda, it’s called Nepal… The agenda is that we’re surrounded on all sides; it’s pretty clear. But you guys don’t like to raise that, I don’t know why.
“Our foreign policy has been completely decimated. And it’s because the PM views foreign policy as an individual exercise. He’s of the impression that he can go have a conversation with the president of China, or he can go have a conversation with the president of Nepal, and everything will magically happen.
“The PM needs to carry his own people with him. Are there any conversations going on with the finance minister, with the defence minister about this type of strategy? No. It’s a one-man show.”
Briefly: China tried to seize the Doklam plateau in Bhutan last year but after a 73-day standoff against our troops, it backed down. It has reportedly since built an infrastructure leading to Doklam. In the Maldives, China is displacing India: President Abdulla Gameen last year welcomed three Chinese warships, and last month hosted the Pakistan army chief. In Nepal, despite Modi’s visit this weekend to promote Janakpur, Sita’s birthplace, as a religious tourism spot, the Nepalese have drifted from us after India’s five-month blockade in 2015 – we were pushing for greater political inclusion of the Madhesis. Modi is a villain for the Nepalese, as evident on social media.
China has seized advantage of India’s pathetic neighbourhood behaviour, and, as Rahul said, has India surrounded. No wonder many think Modi went to beg Xi to keep relations calm in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election. That Modi’s governance is election-oriented is no secret. Will the Chinese will play ball? When the two-day “informal” summit ended, the Indian side issued a statement and reportedly urged the Chinese to issue their own. Compare the two and you see a difference: while India mentioned a strategic direction to our respective armies to avoid tension on the Line of Actual Control, China only said the armies would follow past protocols. Joint statements are never easy, but individual statements are a piece of cake.
Modi had to supplicate himself because he cannot afford to go into the 2019 election after a showdown with China. Even a short skirmish will humiliate India. Unlike tension on the Line of Control with Pakistan, which benefits Modi since it can be dovetailed into communal rhetoric, tension with China gives Modi no benefit. Modi cannot help but humour China.
The Chinese were amenable to being humoured since they have now what they wanted in Doklam. China nowadays also wants to be seen as a responsible global power: hence it has nudged North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un into meeting his South Korean counterpart and, next month, with Donald Trump. China has also reached out to Japan, with whom relations are more complicated than with India.
Mainly, it was because Modi agreed to humiliate the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader who has lived in India since 1959. India prohibited its ministers from attending a Dalai Lama function (ironically, to thank India) and asked him to shift it from Delhi to his base in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. It was an insult; worse, he privately expressed the fear that he might be expelled.
The Chinese gave us time but they did not give Modi a hug. In the two days of staged photographs, there is not one photo of Modi hugging Xi, his trademark personalised diplomacy of forcibly embracing other leaders. Rahul Gandhi is right: Modi has decimated India’s foreign policy. It’s too bad that this and other aspects of his press conference were ignored by the TV media. But then, after Gujarat, Karnataka has been good practice for him. Modi’s obsession with the 2019 election means that governance will suffer, so Rahul will get more occasions to show the public his mettle.
https://www.mid-day.com/articles/aditya-sinha-paying-for-our-bull-in-a-china-shop/19420166

Tsamduk

May 15, 2018

More and more Tibetans are expressing their dissatisfaction with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). This even extends to accusing them of ruling without legal precedence. This is a serious matter as their management of funds, administrative procedures, and even their governing constitution are all flawed. From the simple of choice of words used for the translation of a title, the CTA have exposed the way in which they run their “nationless government” in an egotistical and self-serving manner. The CTA simply do things based on their personal agendas and needs, using the title of democracy as a cover.

Clearly, there is no system of governance for what the CTA do and how they spend the money they gain from people sympathetic to the Tibetan plight, aid from their host and donors from around the world. Since law is at the core of any administration, their underhanded tactic of finding loopholes and bending the rules to suit their individual needs has failed the Tibetan people. As an ex-Senior Fellow of Harvard Law School and a self-proclaimed expert in international human rights law, Sangay deters people’s faith in the integrity of a leader and the legal system, instead of upholding the cause of justice. After the public apology during his swearing in ceremony in 2016 and his firm pledge not to repeat his misconduct, it looks like Sangay is at it again.

The title “President” for Sikyong is not legal
By Sharchok Khukta
McLEOD GANJ, India, 14 May 2018
Since there have been many who have put forth questions regarding the usage of the title “President” in English for “Sikyong”, I will answer in one presentation for all.
It would become a long talk to give answer as regards this. Nonetheless, because, to keep the public in the dark is objected to in a democratic system, I will try to present insight that is complete and not mistaken.
Initially, the exile Tibetan Parliament had established through general consensus that the title “Sikyong” is to be used instead of “Kalon Tripa”. In connection with that a resolution was passed by the members of the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-exile during the fourth sitting of the second session on 21 September 2012, that “Sikyong” solely is to be used in writing, as phonetically, without the need for using the translation “Political Leader”.
The first stage of this process took place with the publication in 2015 of a compilation of rules and regulations of the exile Tibetan administration by the office of the Parliamentary Secretary of the Tibetan people’s deputies, where it appears on page 181 in Appendix 8 [Zur-hzar nya], of sub-section 3 of article 66 of the electoral rules of the exile Tibetans.
Then, on 26 April 2016, the exile Tibetan administration made the announcement on its official website tibet.net that “when the term ‘sikyong’ is to be translated into English it should be written as “president”, and that has been used up to the present day.
It is the honourable Kashag which says that “it was established [formally decided] that ‘president’ is to be the term to be used,” and the honourable Kashag claim that they had decided thus on the advice of His Holiness Dalai Lama. The Kashag had cited many other reasons, but I will not refer to them at this time. Everyone knows that at that time there was much expression of displeasure regarding this from the public.
In the second stage, as regards the usage “President” there was guidance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the reception ceremony accorded to the high-level Representatives’ Committee of the United States, at Tsuklagkhang Temple on 10 May 2017.
The third stage is that the Kashag have, both orally and in writing, said insistently that such guidance by His Holiness the Dalai Lama was as per the provision of Article 1 of the Charter of the Tibetans in exile. I am not able to know whether His Holiness the Dalai Lama has advised thus as the intent of Article 1 of the Charter. I do not consider that to be case, because if there had been the guidance advising “President” to be appropriate for the title of Sikyong, as per Article 1, then even after 25 famous amendments to the Charter such a guidance would have a procedure of discussion in the Parliament, as in the past, a procedure that has been clearly laid out.
It has been laid out in the sub-section 1 and 2 of Article 17 of clause 6 of the rules for procedure of meeting and carrying out of works by the the deputies of the Tibetan Parliament. For example, to cite the sub-section 1: “As per the sub-section 2 of Article 1 of the charter, the Speaker, in discussion with Sikyong, is to set aside time for discussion on the suggestion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.” But, without going through any recommendation from the Parliament or legal process, the Kashag said that the title in English as “President” has been decided on and designated as such, and they continue to use this title. As such that title has not became legal title. That is stage three.
Then, the fourth stage is that it may be assumed that the Sikyong and the Kashag continue to do so as it is known clearly only by most government service personnel, former and present, and People’s Deputies, former and present. Yet since the public do not know the details, when we put forth questions on the this issue in the Parliament it may be conjectured that it is an electoral grudge. Besides, when the honourable Sikyong also talks of it to the public by attaching it to electoral grudge, we are not able to have at the matter a valid rule by law. Instead everything is stirred here and there into dirty politics, so that eventually when there is too much dwelling on personal name and prestige, the common administration incurs losses.
If things go on like this there is the danger of the collapse of rule by law. From that point of view, for this issue to be clearly sorted out, the Secretaries of Gadhen Phodang must make it clear whether or not that guidance — as per Article 1 of the Charter — was given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If it was, since it would be related with the rules, the messages, advice, notice and so on be bestowed to the Parliament, and then whatever is to be established (passed as resolution) by the Parliament when implemented by all the central and regional branches of the administration, it would become concordant with the law.
So that is the issue if explained clearly.
In the end, nowadays at Gangchen Kyishong the administration relies upon one person and makes changes to the Rules; while there are able staff members in all sorts of appointments, through equal qualifications and pledges, and so on; such instances are taking place many times, not just once. In such a situation it appears that there is not sufficient supervision and watching, by the public and writers, of whether or not this Administration — set up with such effort by His Holiness the Dalai Lama — is being administered by rule of law.
I request all to put more effort and power as regarding this issue.
https://www.tibetsun.com/opinions/2018/05/14/the-title-president-for-sikyong-is-not-legal

Jampel

June 7, 2018

India tightening its grip on the Dalai Lama and Tibetans

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed Himachal police to tighten its grip on Tibetans meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Those Tibetans without paperwork showing individual identity and establishing legal credentials of their arrival in India will be turned away from seeing the religious leader. Undocumented Tibetans have been arriving in India, usually from Nepal, where they are aided by the Tibetan communities there. India seems to clamping down of Tibetan activity, from cancelling Thank You India events in Delhi and now restricting Tibetans from seeing the Dalai Lama. What else with the Indian government do next?

Norms tightened to meet Dalai Lama

DHARAMSHALA: Following directions from the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in recent past, the Himachal Police government has tightened the norms to meet the Dalai Lama, even for Tibetans coming from Tibet. The move was aimed to ensure the security of the spiritual leader at McLeodganj near here.

Well-placed sources said that there were many Tibetans, including monks, who enter India through the porous border of Nepal to meet the Dalai Lama. The MHA has directed Himachal Police that no one could meet him without having his individual identity established from his documents.

When contacted about this development, Kangra SP Santosh Patial confirmed that a letter had been received in this regard. But he refused to divulge the details of the same. “Police has received a letter and this is for the security of the Tibetan spiritual leader only, which says that we can only allow a person to meet after his individual identity and legal credentials of his arrival to India are established,” he said.

Inquires revealed that the Tibetans generally arrive in Nepal from Tibet. They were received by the refugee centres there and further assistance was provided to them by Indian and Tibetan authorities for their visit to India.”

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/norms-tightened-to-meet-dalai-lama/articleshow/64485961.cms

Thinley Woeser

June 8, 2018

Things are going to be very different for Tibetans in India from now on as Sino-Indian relations get warmer by the day. India has vowed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and ensure Tibet-related issues are handled ‘properly’. This means India will tighten her grip on all Tibetan-related activities. So, the trouble-making Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) better watch themselves and not create further problems that may antagonise China. This is something India will no longer tolerate.

China, India Vow To Strengthen Ties
China and India have extensive common interests and they have far more consensus than differences, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
All India | Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: June 06, 2018 17:05 IST
PRETORIA: China and India working together will accelerate their common development and contribute to the progress of human civilization, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
Mr Wang made the remarks on Monday in South Africa’s capital Pretoria during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the formal meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
China and India have extensive common interests and they have far more consensus than differences, Mr Wang said.
The two sides should take bilateral relations and people’s fundamental interests as a starting point at all times, properly handle problems and differences and prevent the interests of one party from affecting the overall interest, Mr Wang said.
The two sides should earnestly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas in accordance with the consensus reached by their leaders and avoid taking actions that might complicate and aggravate the situation, Mr Wang said.
China and India should strengthen coordination and play a constructive role in promoting the development of BRICS cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and other multilateral mechanisms, he said.
Sushma Swaraj said the informal Wuhan meeting between the leaders of India and China enhanced mutual trust between the two countries, strengthened cooperation, made the parties more comfortable with each other and achieved unprecedented success.
She said India will firmly adhere to the one-China policy and properly handle issues involving the core interests of China such asTaiwan and Tibet-related issues.
India and China, as the two largest emerging markets and developing countries, share a common position in safeguarding the international political and economic order and promoting the improvement of global governance, the Indian Minister said.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/china-india-vow-to-strengthen-ties-1863429

Peljor

June 14, 2018

Ex-Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche caught sleeping in a meeting

The representative of the Dalai Lama and former prime minister of the Tibetan government in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche during an important meeting having a nice sleep. The Tibetan government in-exile are run by people like this who have no control over their body and manners. They only stay awake in the meeting if there is FREE aid money coming their way to line their pockets. Shameful how Samdong Rinpoche is sleeping in the middle of a meeting and he represents the Tibetan government in-exile. This is why after 60 years Tibetan leaders have failed to get Tibet back but blame others for their failures. Shame!

http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1528941530.mp4

Tsering Drolhma

July 8, 2018

UNRULY TIBETANS FIGHTING AT DALAI LAMA BIRTHDAY PARTY AGAIN

July 2018-NYC- Tibetans fighting at some birthday celebratory event for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They set up a throne in the back, place Dalai Lama’s picture, and they fight, push, shout, scream at each other right in front of the throne of Dalai Lama and it’s filmed. That is the level of the Tibetans overall. Tibetans are not gentle, Buddhist, peace-loving, tolerant people as they portray to the world. They are rough, rude, hateful, vengeful, violent, regionalistic, narrow minded and will create trouble wherever they go. Very feudal. They always resort to vulgar words and violence. There are some moderate Tibetans, but on the whole they are very violent people who do not practice Buddhism. The average Tibetan know nothing of Buddhism and do not practice. Buddhism is just a meal ticket for them to get to another country. Their support of Dalai Lama is blind and only to be politically correct and they never practice what he teaches. Disgraceful to see a group of violent Tibetans fighting at a Dalai Lama birthday event. Shameful.☹

Tibetans are not welcomed wherever they go. Bhutanese kicked them out. Nepal hates Tibetans. India has no more use for the ‘refugee’ Tibetans and their temples made of gold. After 60 years they cannot get their own country back. What a bunch of losers and useless government people they have.

http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531033672.mp4

Tsering Drolhma

July 15, 2018

The letter:

It is about the incident that happened at His Holiness’s birthday celebration in NYC recently July 6, 2018. Some members of Tibetan woman association approached to Parliamentarian Tenpa Yarphel during the ceremony and complained that his comments regarding Nechung was disrespect to the protector and His Holiness. They also said him that he made many Tibetan people sad with his comments. And told him not to do that again in the future. Then Dhondup Tseten stood up and shamelessly touched those women. That incident almost made the ceremony stopped. To keep maintaining the relationship between Tibetan Woman Association and Tibetan Parliament Representative, TWA are asking for an apology letter from Dhondup Tseten for touching their members.

(It is so sad that in the fake democracy of the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala you cannot say anything against a leader or criticize. Too bad)

Bonnie Fider

July 12, 2018

WHY DOES RICHARD GERE AND DALAI LAMA SUPPORT SOGYAL THE DISGUSTING ABUSER?

As long as you are friends with the Dalai Lama, your actions are excusable, no matter how horrendous they may be. Even something as heinous as sexual abuse of over 60 women can be overlooked when the perpetrator is friends with the Dalai Lama namely Sogyal Rinpoche. Why rush to join the chorus of Hollywood voices condemning Harvey Weinstein’s criminality, but remain silent against Sogyal’s exploitation and abuse of women? Richard Gere was vocal in condemning against all the abuses and attacks against women by Harvey Weinstein. But silent on Sogyal Rinpoche. BBC has a full length documentary on Sogyal’s abuses as you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhIivvmMnk. Yet Richard Gere can take photos with the disgusting and abusive Sogyal. Is it because one group of women are worth protecting and the other are not? If it is not for that reason, then it can only be because Sogyal is the Dalai Lama’s friend. The Dalai Lama’s condemnation against Sogyal is very light and it’s disappointing. I guess since Dalai Lama supported Sogyal so much, he can’t be seen as wrong in doing so. Politics is sad.

Sherab Wangmo

July 12, 2018

TENMA VERY ANGRY WITH SIKYONG LOBSANG SANGYE AND PENPA TSERING

Tenma deity takes trance of her oracle in Nechung Monastery in Dharamsala, North India. The deity is highly displeased and angry at Sikyong Lobsang Sangye and Penpa Tsering. She is scolding them by waving her arms at them and throwing rice at them. You can see Penpa Tsering shielding himself. These two has always been corrupt and extremely self-serving. Naturally the oracles of the Dalai Lama take trance and are very angry.

http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531344206.mp4

Suresh Ratna

July 13, 2018

SUMAA has been consistent in their efforts to evict Tibetans from Arunachal Pradesh as the Tibetans are known to exploit benefits given to locals. The Central Tibetan Administration, especially their so-called ‘president’ Lobsang Sangay, made the situation worse by rubbing salt in the wound, making a statement that Chief Minister Pema Khandu is an ardent follower of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a lifelong friend of the Tibetan people. This was right after Khandu announced the adoption of the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy in Arunachal Pradesh.

Tibetan refugees create a lot of problems for the locals no matter where they are, especially in Arunachal Pradesh. They take the locals’ land and resources without giving anything in return, making the locals furious to the extent that they are now demanding a written undertaking from the Tibetan refugees not to claim Indian citizenship and STC/PRC in Arunachal Pradesh. It is time to impeach Sangay for a better leader to guide and take care of the Tibetans in India before the wrath of locals evict Tibetans from the state or even the country for good.

Self-styled student group in Indian border state calls for Tibetan refugees to be moved to ‘demarcated camps’
[Wednesday, July 11, 2018 18:45]
By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, July 11: Self-styled group “The Students’ United Movement of All Arunachal” (SUMAA) has reportedly submitted a memorandum to the West Kameng deputy commissioner on Monday, demanding an immediate rollback of the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014 within three days against threat of retaliatory action.
The students group has also called for Tibetan refugees to be moved to demarcated camps and revoke trading licences obtained by Tibetan refugees. A written undertaking from the Central Tibetan Administration not to claim Indian citizenship and STC/PRC in Arunachal Pradesh for Tibetans, has also been demanded.
Last year, the same group initiated the “Anti Tibetan Refugee Movement” calling for ousting of Tibetan refugees from the state. Spokesperson of the group has alleged that with the implementation of the TRP 2014, benefits such as MGNREGA, PDS, Indira Awas Yojana, and National Rural Health Mission provided by the Centre for “our people will be snatched away” by the Tibetan refugees.
The group in October 2017 also released a list of all the shops owned by Tibetans with their names in the Capital Complex area threatening that the Tibetans will be targeted individually and “forcefully evicted”.
The Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy assures welfare to Tibetan refugees in India on matters concerning land lease, extending central and state government benefits, relevant papers/trade license/permit for economic activity and legal permit to pursue any professional career such as nursing, teaching, Chartered Accountancy, medicine, engineering etc, depending upon the qualification.
Till date, Karnataka government has been the only state to begin implementation of the policy. In Dec 2016, the Tibetan refugee settlement of Mundgod became the first settlement to be handed over the land lease agreement by Karnataka State.
Arunachal Pradesh has the fourth largest number of Tibetans in India, with four settlements in Tezu, Miao, Tuting, and Tenzingang. However, the number of Tibetan refugees has dwindled to just 7500 with Canada accepting 1000 Tibetan refugees in 2016 and many youths venturing to bigger Indian cities for livelihood. In India, the total number of Tibetan refugees is close to 90,000, according to a 2009 CTA census.
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=40615

Christie Donald

July 14, 2018

Hollywood is one of the most influential groups of people who have promoted the mysticism of Buddhist Tantra to the world. Together with the media, they have packaged Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan lamas into a fantasy Utopia, filled with God-like beings who are able to lead people along the quick path to enlightenment.

This propaganda has been widely exploited by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to garner support, especially financial aid, for the so-called Tibetan Cause and the Tibetan struggle against Chinese rule. Little does the West, including Richard Gere and the so-called Buddhist Professor Robert Thurman, know that efforts from China to improve the infrastructure and standard of living for the Tibetans in China have created opportunities for Tibetans to grow and be successful. This is something that is rarely seen in exile under the governance of the CTA.

This false image that has been promoted for the past 60 years or so is now slowly fading away as more and more victims come forward, exposing the sexual abuse they have suffered under the hands of Tibetan lamas like Sogyal Rinpoche. The root of the problem is clear, people are greedy and lazy while wanting quick success and attention. Since they get these from the Tibetan lamas like Sogyal, they are willing to accept the exploitation. This is further driven by fear that they would no longer be seen as the privileged ones in the inner circle if they do not clutch at their lamas and be seen showing tremendous devotion to their gurus. With only a superficial knowledge of Buddhism, this cult-like group of Hollywood stars and American politicians like Richard Gere continue to generate respect and love for their skewed version of the “Dharma”, while real Buddhist masters are relegated to the side lines.

This Sexual Abuser Hollywood Doesn’t Want You To See
Feb 28, 2018 | Posted by Christine A. Chandler
Why is the mainstream media ignoring this Elephant in the Room?
Is it because, once they peel the curtain back on this little sexually abusive, predator Lama, Lama Sogyal Rinpoche, best friend of the Dalai Lama and his major benefactor, helping to spread Mindfulness throughout the West, the whole edifice of deception, corruption, cover-ups of institutional sexual abuse, and Shangri-la pretenses will be exposed?
Never mind that these Tibetan lamas have fooled a large part of the Western psychology profession, most all of journalism, and certain parts of academia as well as CEO’s of major corporations. Those who also want to jump on the billion-dollar Mindfulness bandwagon; the first cult technique these Tibetan lamas used to get us to think as a herd.
Perhaps it is also because the news media coverage, for the last twenty-five years, of Saint Dalai Lama, keeper of slaves and life-time serfs less than sixty years ago, is one of the icons of the Hollywood jet-set, certain politicians like Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Tim Ryan, academics, like Uma’s dad- Robert Thurman, and such Hollywood stars, as Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, Scarlett Johansson, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Sharon Stone, the list goes on and on, who will now be seen, not just as enablers of Weinstein, but also of the Tantric cult of Tibetan Lamaism and its Tantra that has infused Hollywood with its amorality and sexual abuse for the last four decades, given it permission for their long history of accepting this behavior as ‘normal.’
It was not so long ago, that Trungpa fooled our sixties generation, with the help of rock and roll stars, and Allen Ginsberg, modern poet extraordinaire of the Howl, and member of NAMBLA. Ginsberg also controlled the narrative of how these Tibetan Lamas were to be seen by the public, for the next forty-plus years.
Marxists have been in collusion with the lamas, as well, for a very long time. As have certain institutions on the right, of the C-Street variety. The Dalai Lama boldly sends messages of being a friend to democracy to every President since his “escape” from China. But declares himself a Marxist in India.
Australian CEOs in the article link above are now questioning the wisdom of having Lama Sogyal of Rigpa, the Dalai Lama’s best friend all these years, who has been their icon for mindfulness meditation at the workplace. They are not willing to cover-up for his sexual abuse and demeaning and degrading of women, his keeping a harem, just as Chogyam Trungpa did but it was ignored, and his Tantra was allowed to spread. Thanks to Hollywood giving him a featured role in Little Buddha with Keanu Reeves.
Isn’t it time we peeled the whole onion back to see part of what’s at the core of this sexual abuse and confusion about right and wrong?
Nancy Pelosi goes to the Dalai Lama for advice, and gets crazier every year; Tim Ryan, groomed to take her place, writes a book about Tantric Mindfulness for a Mindless nation and called: Mindfulness Nation .
Ryan hangs out with Lama Sogyal’s friend, Lama Tsoknyi who is Sogyal’s strongest supporter and pal.
Tim Ryan and Lama Tsoknyi, speak together about Global Warming. Tsoknyi surely helped Ryan write his book and Tim Ryan helps Lama Tsoknyi pretend he is a ‘scientific lama’ who also can bless books to make them understandable and can infuse statues with living mojo inside his cult groups of western followers around the world, and now in Asia, fooling the Han and Chan Buddhists that he is teaching what the Buddha taught when it is Tantra and its institutionalized sexual abuse and Lamaist corruptions.
The occult, crazy-making Tantra of Tibetan Lamas has been infusing Hollywood, Journalism, Academia, Psychology, Third-wave Feminism, and the Entertainment Industry and Left-Wing Politics, for the last forty years. Recently, we have been seeing its results implode as the sexual abuses of celebrities and journalists, politicians makes explosive media news.
Chogyam Trungpa, the Tantric Lama darling of the sixties Drugs, Rock and Roll crowd was the first Tibetan Lama to illegally keep a harem of sexual consorts on American soil. His Regent gave his students AIDS, with unprotected sex, but was never criminally charged. Instead he was allowed to brainwash his students into believing this was ‘openness’ and freedom, on the way to the realization of a non-duality mind. They have reinvented his ‘lineage’ along the coast of Maine, to turn that State back into Massachusetts.
“Democracy was a failed experiment” said Trungpa’s mouthpiece, Ginsberg, who believed a totalitarian dictatorship of Tribal warlords would be so much better.
Time to unpeel the whole onion and get to the core of what has been making the West crazy, immoral and stupid: the civilization jihad that comes with a smiling face and a Lamaist peaceful facade.
https://extibetanbuddhist.com/this-sexual-abuser-hollywood-doesnt-want-you-to-see/

Yoezer

August 8, 2018

While the government of Nepal has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, they have welcomed 30 Chinese NGOs to enter the country. These NGOs will penetrate the country’s social sector at the grassroots level. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal at one time. Nepal is increasingly open to Chinese influence, a sign that ties between both countries are strengthening, while India’s influence is being reduced. The time has passed for India’s monopoly to remain uninterrupted in Nepal as opportunities to engage with China are being welcomed.

30 Chinese NGOs all set to work in Nepal
REWATI SAPKOTA
Kathmandu, July 30
At a time when the government has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, 30 Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal to penetrate the country’s social sector and the grassroots.
The Social Welfare Council Nepal and China NGO Network for International Exchanges, an umbrella body of Chinese NGOs, have signed a memorandum of understanding to enable Chinese NGOs to work in Nepal. The agreement was signed yesterday between SWCN Member Secretary Dilli Prasad Bhatt and CNIE General Secretary Zhu Rui in the presence of Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen Tham Maya Thapa and Chinese Deputy Minister of External Affairs Wang Yajun.
The agreement has paved the way for the first batch of 30 Chinese NGOs to work in Nepal for a period of three years. Their contract will be extended based on the consent of SWCN and CNIE. Representatives of these 30 Chinese NGOs were also present during yesterday’s signing ceremony. They have agreed to work in partnership with local NGOs to implement their programmes and projects.
The Chinese NGOs are eyeing areas such as livelihood, healthcare, education, skill-based training, community development and disaster management. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs has entered Nepal at one time. The Chinese assistance so far in Nepal has largely been limited to development of infrastructure projects. But the entry of these NGOs indicates China is keen on making its presence felt in Nepal’s social sector and the grassroots, which, till date, have remained domains of the West and countries such as Japan and India.
The MoU signed between SWCN and CNIE states that Chinese NGOs will be mobilised for ‘the benefit of needy Nepalis and to enhance ties between China and Nepal through people-to-people support programmes’.
“The Chinese NGOs will abide by the law of Nepal in its entirety while carrying out development cooperation in Nepal,” says the MoU, adding, “Chinese NGOs will submit programmes to the SWCN to carry out development activities in partnership with Nepali NGOs and SWCN in line with plans and policies of the government of Nepal.”
The MoU was signed at a time when the government has drafted the National Integrity Policy to limit activities of NGOs and INGOs, as some of them were found ‘trying to break communal harmony and proselytising Nepalis’. There were also concerns that high administrative cost of many NGOs and INGOs was preventing money from reaching the real beneficiaries. The policy clearly states that NGOs and INGOs cannot spend more than specified amount under administrative and consultant headings. They will also be barred from working against Nepal’s interests, culture and communal harmony and conducting activities to promote their religious, social or other agenda, adds the policy.
Around 48,000 NGOs are currently registered in Nepal, of which only 1,600 have been receiving funds from INGOs, as per SWCN. The SWCN has directed INGOs and NGOs to spend 60 per cent of the budget to generate tangible results, while the remaining can be used to cover administrative costs and organise training, meetings and seminars.
https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/30-chinese-ngos-all-set-to-work-in-nepal/

Jampa Lhundup

August 8, 2018

The Nikkei Asian Review is a highly reputable news platform. They are not tabloid in any sense of the word. What they publish is reputable and thoroughly reliable. They mention clearly in an article published August 7, 2018 that the Dalai Lama has a terminal illness. The Prime Minister of India knowing this is now conciliatory towards China. He understands that the Dalai Lama cannot be used as a pawn in irritating China any further. Negotiations are progressing that after the passing of Dalai Lama, his government in-exile will close. The end.

India uses rumor of Dalai Lama’s ill health to mend China ties
If Tibetan exile flow is stemmed, Beijing might compromise on territorial claim
YUJI KURONUMA, Nikkei staff writer
August 07, 2018 17:02 JST
DHARAMSALA — Rumors are flying around in this northern Indian city, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile, that the 14th Dalai Lama is suffering from terminal cancer.
With Tibetan exiles deeply worried about the 83-year-old religious leader, the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been using the situation to take a more conciliatory approach to China. Modi also seems to be lowering the standing of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Word that the Dalai Lama may be in serious condition has quietly spread. “I have heard that His Holiness is not well,” said Migmar Chodon, a 49-year-old housewife in Dharamsala. “Though I don’t know well about it, I am worried.”
A 27-year-old restaurant employee in the city said, “I have read somewhere that His Holiness is unwell.”
In 1959, Tibetan people rose in revolt in Lhasa, Tibet, which had been occupied by China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, and the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India. At least 130,000 Tibetans later left their homeland. At present, 85,000 Tibetans live in India, about 8,000 of them in Dharamsala, which hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile and a temple where the 14th Dalai Lama lives.
Rumors about the Dalai Lama suffering from poor health come frequently. The latest one arose in June, when an Indian media company reported that the Dalai Lama was in the “last stage of prostate cancer.” The Dalai Lama’s doctor and the government-in-exile immediately denied the news, and people have tried to remain calm. “I want to believe the words of the doctor,” the restaurant worker said.
The Indian government thinks the terminal cancer report is credible. A government source said “the prostate cancer has spread to his lymph nodes” and that “his life would not be so long” now.
In the past two years, the Dalai Lama has received treatment at a hospital in the U.S. People close to the Dalai Lama worry that word of this was leaked by U.S. authorities. Now the Dalai Lama “will be going to Switzerland for radiotherapy in the month of August,” the source said.
India is using rumors that the Dalai Lama is in poor health to build a more conciliatory relationship with China. In April, during an informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China, Modi tried to portray the India-China relationship as improved.
During the meeting, “Modi apprised President Xi of the Dalai Lama’s health and the Indian position on Tibet after his death,” a government source said. “This information from Modi took Xi by surprise, and the two discussed the issue for a long time at the Wuhan summit.”
When the leaders met in 2015 and 2016, they informally discussed a proposal for India to stop accepting new Tibetan exiles after the death of the Dalai Lama in return for China withdrawing its territorial claim on some parts of northern India.
For humanitarian, strategic and other reasons, India has been accepting Tibetan exiles for nearly 60 years. Tibet has been something of a buffer zone between the world’s two most populous countries since shortly after India’s independence in 1947. However, China has strengthened its grip on the Tibet Autonomous Region, and in 2017 new exiles numbered 57, a sharp drop from over 2,000 a decade earlier.
With Tibet’s strategic value waning, India has moderated its stance.
At the behest of the Indian government, the Tibetan government-in-exile last year changed the English name for its sikyong from “prime minister” to “president.” Geshe Lhakdor, director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and for years an interpreter for the 14th Dalai Lama, said the new term denotes the leader of an organization, rather than the leader of a country.
The Indian government is also encouraging Tibetan exiles to acquire Indian citizenship.
A successor to the 14th Dalai Lama will be installed when a person believed to be his reincarnation is found, or will be appointed under a new system, like nomination.
The 15th Dalai Lama will then lead the Tibetan Buddhist world. However, it will be difficult for the successor to take the place of the 14th Dalai Lama, who has international influence as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and is the protector of Tibetan exiles.
The buildings that house the government-in-exile and the temple which is home to the 14th Dalai Lama sit atop a mountain. At the foot of this mountain is the Tibetan Reception Center that Tibetan exiles first visit for registration. It is quiet these days, and very much unoccupied.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/India-uses-rumor-of-Dalai-Lama-s-ill-health-to-mend-China-ties

Lhakpa Dhendup

August 11, 2018

What will the all the people around the world and in Tibet do now? Dalai Lama says he is happy that Tibet is a part of China and should remain a part of China. So many Tibetans self-immolated for Tibet to be independent and now Dalai Lama did a 360 degree turn and says he wants to go back to Tibet and China and Tibet should be a part of China. So unbelievable. So many are angry and disappointed.

Tibetans ready to be part of China: Dalai Lama
Organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the event was a part of “Thank You India – 2018″ held by the Tibetan community across India to mark 60 years of its exile in the country.
Indo-Asian News Service
Bengaluru
Tibetans are ready to be a part of China if guaranteed full rights to preserve their culture, the Dalai Lama said on Friday.
“Tibetans are not asking for independence. We are okay with remaining with the People’s Republic of China, provided we have full rights to preserve our culture,” the 83-year-old spiritual leader said at “Thank You Karnataka” event here in the city.
Organised by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the event was a part of “Thank You India – 2018″ held by the Tibetan community across India to mark 60 years of its exile in the country.
“Several of Chinese citizens practicing Buddhism are keen on Tibetan Buddhism as it is considered scientific,” the Nobel laureate said.
Born in Taktser hamlet in northeastern Tibet, the Dalai Lama was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. He fled to India from Tibet after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule in 1959.
China annexed Tibet in 1950, forcing thousands of Tibetans, including monks, to flee the mountain country and settle in India as refugees.
Since then, India has

Dalai Lama should set things right

August 12, 2018

Dear Dalai Lama,

Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.

By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.

It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.

Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.

You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.

No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.

You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.

You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.

After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.

Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.

The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.

Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.

Ayana

August 15, 2018

Why doesn’t the United States and its allies end Refugee Status for the useless Tibetans? They have been refugees for 60 years now and don’t tell me they still cannot get their lives back in order?

Tibetans really know how to put on a good show and use people, take their money and do nothing in return.

Trump and Allies Seek End to Refugee Status for Millions of Palestinians
In internal emails, Jared Kushner advocated a “sincere effort to disrupt” the U.N.’s relief agency for Palestinians.
BY COLUM LYNCH, ROBBIE GRAMER | AUGUST 3, 2018, 2:12 PM
Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, has quietly been trying to do away with the U.N. relief agency that has provided food and essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees for decades, according to internal emails obtained by Foreign Policy.
His initiative is part of a broader push by the Trump administration and its allies in Congress to strip these Palestinians of their refugee status in the region and take their issue off the table in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to both American and Palestinian officials. At least two bills now making their way through Congress address the issue.
Kushner, whom Trump has charged with solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been reluctant to speak publicly about any aspect of his Middle East diplomacy. A peace plan he’s been working on with other U.S. officials for some 18 months has been one of Washington’s most closely held documents.
But his position on the refugee issue and his animus toward the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is evident in internal emails written by Kushner and others earlier this year.
“It is important to have an honest and sincere effort to disrupt UNRWA,” Kushner wrote about the agency in one of those emails, dated Jan. 11 and addressed to several other senior officials, including Trump’s Middle East peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt.
“This [agency] perpetuates a status quo, is corrupt, inefficient and doesn’t help peace,” he wrote.
The United States has helped fund UNRWA since it was formed in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians displaced from their homes following the establishment of the State of Israel and ensuing international war. Previous administrations have viewed the agency as a critical contributor to stability in the region.
But many Israel supporters in the United States today see UNRWA as part of an international infrastructure that has artificially kept the refugee issue alive and kindled hopes among the exiled Palestinians that they might someday return home—a possibility Israel flatly rules out.
Critics of the agency point in particular to its policy of granting refugee status not just to those who fled Mandatory Palestine 70 years ago but to their descendants as well—accounting that puts the refugee population at around 5 million, nearly one-third of whom live in camps across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza.
By trying to unwind UNRWA, the Trump administration appears ready to reset the terms of the Palestinian refugee issue in Israel’s favor—as it did on another key issue in December, when Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In the same January email, Kushner wrote: “Our goal can’t be to keep things stable and as they are. … Sometimes you have to strategically risk breaking things in order to get there.”
Kushner raised the refugee issue with officials in Jordan during a visit to the region in June, along with Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt. According to Palestinian officials, he pressed the Jordan to strip its more than 2 million registered Palestinians of their refugee status so that UNRWA would no longer need to operate there.
“[Kushner said] the resettlement has to take place in the host countries and these governments can do the job that UNRWA was doing,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
She said the Trump administration wanted rich Arab Gulf states to cover the costs Jordan might incur in the process.
“They want to take a really irresponsible, dangerous decision and the whole region will suffer,” Ashrawi said.
Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, told reporters in June that Kushner’s delegation had said it was ready to stop funding UNRWA altogether and instead direct the money—$300 million annually—to Jordan and other countries that host Palestinian refugees.
“All this is actually aimed at liquidating the issue of the Palestinian refugees,” hesaid.
The White House declined to comment on the record for this story. A senior executive branch official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. policy regarding the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee program “has been under frequent evaluation and internal discussion. The administration will announce its policy in due course.”
Jordanian officials in New York and Washington did not respond to queries about the initiative.
Kushner and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, both proposed ending funding for UNRWA back in January. But the State Department, the Pentagon, and the U.S. intelligence community all opposed the idea, fearing in part that it could fuel violence in the region.
The following week, the State Department announced that that United States would cut the first $125 million installment of its annual payment to UNRWA by more than half, to $60 million.
“UNRWA has been threatening us for six months that if they don’t get a check they will close schools. Nothing has happened,” Kushner wrote in the same email.
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said at the time that the U.S. had no intention of eliminating funding for Palestinian refugees, and that it was taking time to explore ways to reform UNRWA and to convince other countries to help Washington shoulder the financial burden of aiding the Palestinians.
But the following day, Victoria Coates, a senior advisor to Greenblatt, sent an email to the White House’s national security staff indicating that the White House was mulling a way to eliminate the U.N.’s agency for Palestinian refugees.
“UNRWA should come up with a plan to unwind itself and become part of the UNHCR by the time its charter comes up again in 2019,” Coates wrote.
She noted that the proposal was one of a number of “spitball ideas that I’ve had that are also informed by some thoughts I’ve picked up from Jared, Jason and Nikki.”
Other ideas included a suggestion that the U.N. relief agency be asked to operate on a month-to-month budget and devise “a plan to remove all anti-Semitism from educational materials.”
The ideas seemed to track closely with proposals Israel has been making for some time.
“We believe that UNRWA needs to pass from the world as it is an organization that advocates politically against Israel and perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem,” said Elad Strohmayer, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Strohmayer said that Palestinians are the only population that is able to transfer its refugee status down through generations.
The claim, though long advanced by Israel, is not entirely true.
In an internal report from 2015, the State Department noted that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees “recognizes descendants of refugees as refugees for purposes of their operations.” The report, which was recently declassified, said the descendants of Afghan, Bhutanese, Burmese, Somali, and Tibetan refugees are all recognized by the U.N. as refugees themselves.
Of the roughly 700,000 original Palestinian refugees, only a few tens of thousands are still alive, according to estimates.
The push to deny the status to most Palestinians refugees is also gaining traction in Congress.
Last week, Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, introduced a bill that would limit the United States to assisting only the original refugees. Most savings in U.N. contributions would be directed to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States’ principal international development agency. But USAID is currently constrained by the Taylor Force Act, which restricts the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends a policy of providing aid to families of fallen terrorists.
“Instead of resettling Palestinian refugees displaced as a result of the Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1948, UNRWA provides aid to those they define as Palestinian refugees until there is a solution they deem acceptable to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Lamborn’s bill states.
“This policy does not help resettle the refugees from 1948 but instead maintains a refugee population in perpetuity.”
A congressional aide familiar with the legislation said its intent isn’t to gut UNRWA funding, but redirect assistance to descendants through USAID.
“The people that are suffering should still get assistance, but through appropriately defined humanitarian channels and aid programs,” the aide said.
Similarly, Sen. James Lankford, (R-Okla.), has drafted legislation that would redirect U.S. funding away from UNRWA and to other local and international agencies.
The bill, which has not yet officially been introduced, would require the U.S. secretary of state certify by 2020 that the United Nations has ended its recognition of Palestinian descendants as refugees.
“The United Nations should provide assistance to the Palestinians in a way that makes clear that the United Nations does not recognize the vast majority of Palestinians currently registered by UNRWA as refugees deserving refugee status,” reads a draft obtained by Foreign Policy.
Previous U.S. administrations have maintained that the vast majority of Palestinian refugees will ultimately have to be absorbed in a new Palestinian state or naturalized in the countries that have hosted them for generations.
But the fate of the refugee issue was expected to be agreed to as part of a comprehensive peace pact that resulted in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“It’s very clear that the overarching goal here is to eliminate the Palestinian refugees as an issue by defining them out of existence,” said Lara Friedman, the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace.
“This isn’t going to make peace any easier. It’s going to make it harder.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/03/trump-palestinians-israel-refugees-unrwaand-allies-seek-end-to-refugee-status-for-millions-of-palestinians-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-unrwa-israel-palestine-peace-plan-jared-kushner-greenb/

Ojas

August 15, 2018

Supreme Court of India JUSTICE Mr. MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) writes that Tibet is much better under the Chinese than it was under the lamas who only wanted to make the populace slaves. It was feudal and it will never return to the backwardness again.

Time has come to acknowledge that Tibet has vastly improved under Chinese rule
JUSTICE MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) | 12 August, 2018
From a terribly poor state hinged on a feudal system, Tibet has modernised and grows faster than the rest of China
This article has been prompted by Jyoti Malhotra’s article in ThePrint ‘Tibetan government quietly changed its PM’s designation. India won’t be unhappy about it‘.
China’s annexation of Tibet in 1959, ousting the Dalai Lama, had attracted it worldwide criticism. The Dalai Lama fled and was granted asylum in India, where he set up a government-in-exile with its headquarters in Dharamshala.
The Chinese claim Tibet on the grounds that it has been part of the country since the Yuan dynasty of the 13th century, which is disputed by the government-in-exile. But let us leave this that matter aside.
The more important question is whether Chinese rule has benefited Tibet.
The answer is that it undoubtedly has. As the Reuters’ Ben Blanchard writes: “Today Tibet is richer and more developed than it has ever been, its people healthier, more literate, better dressed and fed”.
Although Ben goes on to argue that this development masks “a deep sense of unhappiness among many Tibetans”, I will disagree. How can anyone be unhappy if s/he is healthier, better fed and better clothed?
Under the rule of the Dalai Lamas (Buddhist priests), the people of Tibet were terribly poor, almost entirely illiterate, and lived like feudal serfs.
Today, Tibet presents a totally different picture. The illiteracy rate in Tibet has gone down from 95 per cent in the 1950s to 42 per cent in 2000. It has modern schools, universities, engineering and medical colleges, modern hospitals, freeways, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, mobile stores and apartment buildings. The capital Lhasa is like any other modern city.
While the economic growth in the rest of China has slowed down to about 7 per cent, Tibet has had a 10 per cent growth rate in the last two decades.
Tibet has huge mineral wealth, which was only awaiting Chinese technology to be tapped. Nowadays, it has numerous hydro and solar power plants and industries running with Chinese help.
Tibetan literature is flourishing, contrary to claims that the Chinese want to crush Tibetan culture.
Of course, now the lamas cannot treat their people as slaves.
The so-called ‘government-in-exile’, of which Lobsang Sangay claims to be the President, is a fake organisation, funded by foreign countries. They only want to restore the feudal Tibet, ruled by the reactionary lamas, something which will never happen.
The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India
https://theprint.in/opinion/time-has-come-to-acknowledge-that-tibet-has-vastly-improved-under-chinese-rule/97172/

Vardaniya

August 20, 2018

The cracks in Tibetan society are starting to show, and it is now coming to the attention of local Indians who have all but identified the Tibetan leadership as the source of the divisions. According to this author, disunity amongst the Tibetans is now creating problems for Indian law enforcement agencies, and this disunity may culminate in young Tibetans holding silent grudges against their host country. It is incredible that after six decades of generosity from India, Indians are now facing the very real possibility Tibetans can be ungrateful towards India. The Tibetan leadership totally failed to impart positive values upon their exiled community, like gratitude for those kindest to them and the need to repay these kindnesses with real, tangible results. It’s also very unlikely that the Tibetan leadership will now start to do this, after six decades of failing to do so. Indians need to realise this, and see that there is no benefit for their nation to align themselves with the Tibetan leadership, and there never will be.
Tibetan disunity not in India’s interest
John S. Shilshi
Updated: August 7, 2018, 11:00 AM
India is home to the Dalai Lama and an estimated 120,000 Tibetan refugees. Though this humanitarian gesture on India’s part comes at the cost of risking New Delhi’s relations with China, India has never wavered in ensuring that Tibetans live with dignity and respect. Notified settlements across the country were made available so that they can live as independently as possible and practice Tibetan religion and culture. They are also allowed to establish centres of higher learning in Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, several reputed Buddhist institutes came up in Karnataka, and in the Indian Himalayan belt. In what may be termed as a gesture well reciprocated, and because of the respect and influence His Holiness the Dalai Lama commands, the Tibetan diaspora also lived as a peaceful community, rarely creating problems for India’s law enforcement agencies.
The situation, however, changed from 2000 onwards when unity amongst Tibetans suffered some setback due to developments like the Karmapa succession controversy and the controversy over worshiping of Dorje Shugden. In a unique case of politics getting the better of religion, two senior monks of the Karma kargyue sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Tai Situ Rinpoche and late Shamar Rinpoche, developed serious differences after the demise of Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, in 1981. This animosity ultimately led to emergence of two 17th Karmapa candidates in the early nineties. While Tai Situ Rinpoche identified and recognised UghyanThinley Dorje, late Shamar Rinpoche anointed Thinley Thaye Dorje as his Karmapa candidate. Enthronement of their respective protégés at the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, the supreme seat of the Karma Kargue linage, being their primary objective, both started indulging in activities monks normally are expected to, and bitterness spewed against each other.
The bitter rivalry assumed a new dimension when UghyenThinley Dorje suddenly appeared in India in January 2000. The competition became fiercer and hectic political lobbying, never known in the history of Tibetan Buddhism on Indian soil, became common place. Apart from pulling strings at their disposal in Sikkim as well as in the power corridors of New Delhi, these senior monks spat against each other with allegations and counter allegations, widening the gaps between their supporters. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, choosing to favour one of the candidates—a decision many Tibet watchers felt was ill-timed—had also limited possible scope of rapprochement. Hence, the Karma Kargyue followers are now vertically divided, while the camps are dragged into a long drawn legal battle.
Another development that unfortunately split the Tibetans is the controversy over Shugden worshipping, which again is an internal matter of the Gelugpa sect, to which the Dalai Lama belongs. It erupted as a result of the Dalai Lama urging Tibetans to refrain from worshiping Dorje Shugden, a deity believed to be a protector, according to Tibetan legend. Shugden practitioners, who felt offended by the call, describe it as an attack on freedom of religion, a right, which Dalai Lama himself tirelessly fought for. On the other hand, die hard Dalai Lama followers perceived the questioning of the decision as one challenging the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and mounted massive pressure on Dorje Shugden practitioners to relent, with some even demolishing the statues of the deity. The rivalry ultimately led to split in two Gelug monasteries in Karnataka, and Serpom and Shar Garden monasteries in Bylakupe and Mundgod respectively came under the control of Shugden followers. The bitterness associated with the split is exemplified by the fact that till today, members of these monasteries are treated as some sort of outcasts by the others. Thus, for the first time, the Tibetan diaspora in India gave birth to sections opposed to the Dalai Lama, with spillover effects in Tibet and elsewhere.
For India, with a fragile internal security profile, a divided Tibetan population on its soil is not good news. It has several long-term implications. It is common knowledge that China considers Dalai Lama as a secessionist, one plotting to divide their country. The latter’s claim of “all that Tibetans were asking for, was a status of genuine autonomy within the Constitution of the Peoples’ Republic of China”, had fallen into deaf ears. China also considers him as someone who plays to the Indian tune to tickle China. Therefore, at a time when China has successfully shrunk the Dalai Lama’s space internationally, India continuing to extend the usual space for him is viewed as complicity. Sharp reaction from China when he was allowed to visit Arunachal Pradesh in April 2017, is a recent example. Such being the delicate nature of India-China relations on matters and issues concerning Tibetans, India can hardly afford to ignore the division within the diaspora. Past experience of dubious elements from Tibet having succeeded in infiltrating the Central Tibetan Administration, including the security wing, should be a warning.
It is also time India understands the reason behind Tibetans seeking Indian passports, despite an existing arrangement for issue of Identity Certificates, which is passport equivalent. Some had even successfully taken recourse to legal remedy on the issue, and left the government of India red-faced. These changing moods should not be viewed as desires by Tibetans to become Indian citizens. They are triggered by the pathetic state of affairs associated with issuing of Identity Certificates, where delays in most cases are anything between six months to one year. Early streamlining of the process will drastically reduce their desire to hold Indian passport. It will also remove the wrongly perceived notion among some educated Tibetan youth, that the cumbersome process was a ploy by India to confine them in this country. While India should not shy from requesting the Dalai Lama to use his good offices to end all differences within the community in the interest of India’s internal security, it will also be necessary to ensure that young Tibetans do not nurse a silent grudge against the very country they called their second home.
https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/tibetan-disunity-not-indias-interest

Maya

August 24, 2018

Although the Dalai Lama has offered an apology, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) still expressed their disappointment over his controversial comment on Nehru, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Dalai Lama called Nehru self-centred.

The Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.

Dalai Lama should abstain from imparting controversial information to students: Arunachal Congress
Dalai Lama should know that a spiritual leader like him is shouldering great expectation: APCC
| DAMIEN LEPCHA | ITANAGAR | August 12, 2018 9:58 pm
disappointment over the recent statement made by Tibetan Spiritual Leader the 14th Dalai Lama in which he called Jawaharlal Nehru, the former Prime Minister of India as “self-centered” and the one responsible for parting India and Pakistan.
“Although Dalai Lama expressed regret over his controversial comment, the APCC is extremely thwarted by it. A Tibetan spiritual leader calling names to an Indian leader who sweated most to keep him and his followers safe from Chinese aggression is simply not acceptable. Today, India is home to lakhs of Tibetan refugees who are living in 37 settlements and 70 scattered communities across different states of India,” APCC vice-president Minkir Lollen said in a statement on Sunday.
“Dalai Lama may have forgotten that India provided a beam of light and hope to Tibetans remaining in Chinese-dominated Tibet and in the neighbouring Chinese provinces politically cut off from the Tibetan heart land. All these happened only because India has great leaders like Gandhi and Nehru who took the responsibility of social burden to shelter thousands of persecuted Tibetans then in 1959,” Lollen added.
Minkir said Dalai Lama should know that a spiritual leader like him is shouldering great expectation, hope and trust of millions on record and the same are watching his contribution towards the mankind.
“In such circumstances, Dalai Lama should abstain from imparting partial and controversial information to the students who are the torch bearer of the nation,” the Congress said.
Further stating that the statement of the spiritual leader could be a politically motivated one and made with an effort to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi for survival of his continuation in the country, the Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.
https://nenow.in/north-east-news/dalai-lama-should-abstain-from-imparting-controversial-information.html

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Who is lying, Samdhong or Sangay?

By: Shashi Kei

Timeline of the Debacle

Possible Reasons for a Cover-up

(1) The visit was a failure and negotiations yielded nothing

(2) Samdhong Rinpoche was negotiating an unpopular deal

(3) To sidestep the hypocrisy after falsely accusing detractors of being Chinese agents.

The Dalai Lama Wants to Return Home

Dalai Lama’s Envoy Samdhong Rinpoche Discreetly Visited China

Cautious Sangay says Samdhong Rinpoche made a “private visit” to China

Dalai Lama headed to China on a pvt visit?

A Secret Visit and Sino-Tibetan Dialogue

Samdhong Rinpoche denies visiting China, says no plans for Dalai Lama as well

Did President Sangay Misinform That Samdhong Rinpoche Visited China?

India Always Stood With Tibetans, Tibet Will Also Stay With India: Dalai Lama

Tibet Developments May Put Pressure on India

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Kensur Rinpoche Lobsang Phende to Give Chakrasamvara Initiation and Commentary in April 2023

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Der Dalai Lama Gibt Zu Dass Er Sich In Bezug Auf Dorje Shugden Geirrt Hat

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Who is lying, Samdhong or Sangay?

By: Shashi Kei

Timeline of the Debacle

Possible Reasons for a Cover-up

(1) The visit was a failure and negotiations yielded nothing

(2) Samdhong Rinpoche was negotiating an unpopular deal

(3) To sidestep the hypocrisy after falsely accusing detractors of being Chinese agents.

The Dalai Lama Wants to Return Home

Dalai Lama’s Envoy Samdhong Rinpoche Discreetly Visited China

Cautious Sangay says Samdhong Rinpoche made a “private visit” to China

Dalai Lama headed to China on a pvt visit?

A Secret Visit and Sino-Tibetan Dialogue

Samdhong Rinpoche denies visiting China, says no plans for Dalai Lama as well

Did President Sangay Misinform That Samdhong Rinpoche Visited China?

India Always Stood With Tibetans, Tibet Will Also Stay With India: Dalai Lama

Tibet Developments May Put Pressure on India

Share this article

Latest from this Category

Kensur Rinpoche Lobsang Phende to Give Chakrasamvara Initiation and Commentary in April 2023

Grand Prayer Festival to celebrate 25 years of the Dorje Shugden Society

Der Dalai Lama Gibt Zu Dass Er Sich In Bezug Auf Dorje Shugden Geirrt Hat

Share this article

Appreciation Letters

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Sign up for our mailing list.

Dorje ShugdenThe Illustrated Story

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Dorje Shugden
The Illustrated Story