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Dangerous Truths
Dangerous Truths The Panchen Lama's 1962 Report and China's Broken Promise of Tibetan Autonomy Matthew Akester July 10, 2017 About the Project 2049 Institute The Project 2049 Institute seeks to guide decision makers toward a more secure Asia by the century’s mid-point. Located in Arlington, Virginia, the organization fills a gap in the public policy realm through forward-looking, region-specific research on alternative security and policy solutions. Its interdisciplinary approach draws on rigorous analysis of socioeconomic, governance, military, environmental, technological and political trends, and input from key players in the region, with an eye toward educating the public and informing policy debate. About the Author Matthew Akester is a translator of classical and modern literary Tibetan, based in the Himalayan region. His translations include The Life of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, by Jamgon Kongtrul and Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule by Tubten Khetsun. He has worked as consultant for the Tibet Information Network, Human Rights Watch, the Tibet Heritage Fund, and the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, among others. Acknowledgments This paper was commissioned by The Project 2049 Institute as part of a program to study "Chinese Communist Party History (CCP History)." More information on this program was highlighted at a conference titled, "1984 with Chinese Characteristics: How China Rewrites History" hosted by The Project 2049 Institute. Kelley Currie and Rachael Burton deserve special mention for reviewing paper drafts and making corrections. The following represents the author's own personal views only. TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover Image: Mao Zedong (centre), Liu Shaoqi (left) meeting with 14th Dalai Lama (right 2) and 10th Panchen Lama (left 2) to celebrate Tibetan New Year, 1955 in Beijing. -
Tibet Under Chinese Communist Rule
TIBET UNDER CHINESE COMMUNIST RULE A COMPILATION OF REFUGEE STATEMENTS 1958-1975 A SERIES OF “EXPERT ON TIBET” PROGRAMS ON RADIO FREE ASIA TIBETAN SERVICE BY WARREN W. SMITH 1 TIBET UNDER CHINESE COMMUNIST RULE A Compilation of Refugee Statements 1958-1975 Tibet Under Chinese Communist Rule is a collection of twenty-seven Tibetan refugee statements published by the Information and Publicity Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1976. At that time Tibet was closed to the outside world and Chinese propaganda was mostly unchallenged in portraying Tibet as having abolished the former system of feudal serfdom and having achieved democratic reforms and socialist transformation as well as self-rule within the Tibet Autonomous Region. Tibetans were portrayed as happy with the results of their liberation by the Chinese Communist Party and satisfied with their lives under Chinese rule. The contrary accounts of the few Tibetan refugees who managed to escape at that time were generally dismissed as most likely exaggerated due to an assumed bias and their extreme contrast with the version of reality presented by the Chinese and their Tibetan spokespersons. The publication of these very credible Tibetan refugee statements challenged the Chinese version of reality within Tibet and began the shift in international opinion away from the claims of Chinese propaganda and toward the facts as revealed by Tibetan eyewitnesses. As such, the publication of this collection of refugee accounts was an important event in the history of Tibetan exile politics and the international perception of the Tibet issue. The following is a short synopsis of the accounts. -
Interview #29U – Alak Rita Rinpoche April 7, 2017
Tibet Oral History Project Interview #29U – Alak Rita Rinpoche April 7, 2017 The Tibet Oral History Project serves as a repository for the memories, testimonies and opinions of elderly Tibetan refugees. The oral history process records the words spoken by interviewees in response to questions from an interviewer. The interviewees’ statements should not be considered verified or complete accounts of events and the Tibet Oral History Project expressly disclaims any liability for the inaccuracy of any information provided by the interviewees. The interviewees’ statements do not necessarily represent the views of the Tibet Oral History Project or any of its officers, contractors or volunteers. This translation and transcript is provided for individual research purposes only. For all other uses, including publication, reproduction and quotation beyond fair use, permission must be obtained in writing from: Tibet Oral History Project, P.O. Box 6464, Moraga, CA 94570-6464, United States. Copyright © 2018 Tibet Oral History Project. TIBET ORAL HISTORY PROJECT www.TibetOralHistory.org INTERVIEW SUMMARY SHEET 1. Interview Number: #29U 2. Interviewee: Alak Rita Rinpoche 3. Age: 92 4. Date of Birth: 1925 5. Sex: Male 6. Birthplace: Khotse 7. Province: Dhomay (Amdo) 8. Year of leaving Tibet: 1956 9. Date of Interview: April 7, 2017 10. Place of Interview: Tashi Khyil Monastery, Clement Town, Uttarakhand, India 11. Length of Interview: 1 hr 50 min 12. Interviewer: Marcella Adamski 13. Interpreter: Tenzin Yangchen 14. Videographer: Tenzin Choenyi 15. Translator: Tenzin Yangchen Biographical Information: Alak Rita Rinpoche was born to a poor nomadic family in Khotse, Amdo Province in 1925. His family was completely dependent on their animals for survival. -
The Lhasa Jokhang – Is the World's Oldest Timber Frame Building in Tibet? André Alexander*
The Lhasa Jokhang – is the world's oldest timber frame building in Tibet? * André Alexander Abstract In questo articolo sono presentati i risultati di un’indagine condotta sul più antico tempio buddista del Tibet, il Lhasa Jokhang, fondato nel 639 (circa). L’edificio, nonostante l’iscrizione nella World Heritage List dell’UNESCO, ha subito diversi abusi a causa dei rifacimenti urbanistici degli ultimi anni. The Buddhist temple known to the Tibetans today as Lhasa Tsuklakhang, to the Chinese as Dajiao-si and to the English-speaking world as the Lhasa Jokhang, represents a key element in Tibetan history. Its foundation falls in the dynamic period of the first half of the seventh century AD that saw the consolidation of the Tibetan empire and the earliest documented formation of Tibetan culture and society, as expressed through the introduction of Buddhism, the creation of written script based on Indian scripts and the establishment of a law code. In the Tibetan cultural and religious tradition, the Jokhang temple's importance has been continuously celebrated soon after its foundation. The temple also gave name and raison d'etre to the city of Lhasa (“place of the Gods") The paper attempts to show that the seventh century core of the Lhasa Jokhang has survived virtually unaltered for 13 centuries. Furthermore, this core building assumes highly significant importance for the fact that it represents authentic pan-Indian temple construction technologies that have survived in Indian cultural regions only as archaeological remains or rock-carved copies. 1. Introduction – context of the archaeological research The research presented in this paper has been made possible under a cooperation between the Lhasa City Cultural Relics Bureau and the German NGO, Tibet Heritage Fund (THF). -
Opening Speech Liao Yiwu
About the 17th Karmapa Liao Yiwu On the morning of 4 June, 1989, a contingent of over two hundred thousand soldiers surrounded the Chinese capital of Beijing, where they opened fire on unarmed protesters in a massacre at Tiananmen Square that shook the entire world. On 5 March of that same year, there had been another large massacre in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, news of this earlier event had been effectively suppressed. Because of the absence of the Western news media, the PLA’s cold- blooded killing of Tibetan protesters was never recorded on camera. The holy city of Lhasa was about ten times smaller than Beijing at that time, and Bajiao Square where the massacre took place was about ten times smaller than Tiananmen Square, and yet over ten thousand peaceful protesters assembled in that narrow square, where they clashed with some fifteen thousand heavily-armed soldiers. As a result of this encounter, more than three hundred civilians lost their lives, another three thousand were imprisoned, and the “worst offenders” were subsequently sentenced to death. The Jokhang Temple located next to the Potala Palace was attacked and occupied by army troops because it was flying the Snow Lion Flag of Tibetan independence, and it was burned to the ground along with its precious copy of the Pagoda Scriptures, a text which symbolizes the dignity of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. Tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists stood in the street bewailing the loss of their sacred text, and the lamas continually tried to rush into the burning temple to rescue the scriptures, but were shot down amidst the flames. -
Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 117Th Congress
Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 117th Congress March 31, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R46750 SUMMARY R46750 Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues March 31, 2021 for the 117th Congress Thomas Lum U.S. concern over human rights in China has been a central issue in U.S.-China relations, Specialist in Asian Affairs particularly since the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. In recent years, human rights conditions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have deteriorated, while bilateral tensions related to trade Michael A. Weber and security have increased, possibly creating both constraints and opportunities for U.S. policy Analyst in Foreign Affairs on human rights. After consolidating power in 2013, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and State President Xi Jinping intensified and expanded the reassertion of party control over society that began toward the end of the term of his predecessor, Hu Jintao. Since 2017, the government has enacted new laws that place further restrictions on civil society in the name of national security, authorize greater controls over minority and religious groups, and further constrain the freedoms of PRC citizens. Government methods of social and political control are evolving to include the widespread use of sophisticated surveillance and big data technologies. Arrests of human rights advocates and lawyers intensified in 2015, followed by party efforts to instill ideological conformity across various spheres of society. In 2016, President Xi launched a policy known as “Sinicization,” under which the government has taken additional measures to compel China’s religious practitioners and ethnic minorities to conform to Han Chinese culture, support China’s socialist system as defined by the Communist Party, abide by Communist Party policies, and reduce ethnic differences and foreign influences. -
2019 International Religious Freedom Report
CHINA (INCLUDES TIBET, XINJIANG, HONG KONG, AND MACAU) 2019 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT Executive Summary Reports on Hong Kong, Macau, Tibet, and Xinjiang are appended at the end of this report. The constitution, which cites the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, states that citizens have freedom of religious belief but limits protections for religious practice to “normal religious activities” and does not define “normal.” Despite Chairman Xi Jinping’s decree that all members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must be “unyielding Marxist atheists,” the government continued to exercise control over religion and restrict the activities and personal freedom of religious adherents that it perceived as threatening state or CCP interests, according to religious groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international media reports. The government recognizes five official religions – Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism. Only religious groups belonging to the five state- sanctioned “patriotic religious associations” representing these religions are permitted to register with the government and officially permitted to hold worship services. There continued to be reports of deaths in custody and that the government tortured, physically abused, arrested, detained, sentenced to prison, subjected to forced indoctrination in CCP ideology, or harassed adherents of both registered and unregistered religious groups for activities related to their religious beliefs and practices. There were several reports of individuals committing suicide in detention, or, according to sources, as a result of being threatened and surveilled. In December Pastor Wang Yi was tried in secret and sentenced to nine years in prison by a court in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in connection to his peaceful advocacy for religious freedom. -
An Annotated List of Birds Wintering in the Lhasa River Watershed and Yamzho Yumco, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
FORKTAIL 23 (2007): 1–11 An annotated list of birds wintering in the Lhasa river watershed and Yamzho Yumco, Tibet Autonomous Region, China AARON LANG, MARY ANNE BISHOP and ALEC LE SUEUR The occurrence and distribution of birds in the Lhasa river watershed of Tibet Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China, is not well documented. Here we report on recent observations of birds made during the winter season (November–March). Combining these observations with earlier records shows that at least 115 species occur in the Lhasa river watershed and adjacent Yamzho Yumco lake during the winter. Of these, at least 88 species appear to occur regularly and 29 species are represented by only a few observations. We recorded 18 species not previously noted during winter. Three species noted from Lhasa in the 1940s, Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata, Solitary Snipe Gallinago solitaria and Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica, were not observed during our study. Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis (Vulnerable) and Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus are among the more visible species in the agricultural habitats which dominate the valley floors. There is still a great deal to be learned about the winter birds of the region, as evidenced by the number of apparently new records from the last 15 years. INTRODUCTION limited from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. By the late 1980s the first joint ventures with foreign companies were The Lhasa river watershed in Tibet Autonomous Region, initiated and some of the first foreign non-governmental People’s Republic of China, is an important wintering organisations were allowed into Tibet, enabling our own area for a number of migratory and resident bird species. -
Dongcaoalong Lake, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
Journal of Global Change Data & Discovery. 2018, 2(4): 452-453 © 2018 GCdataPR DOI:10.3974/geodp.2018.04.14 Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository www.geodoi.ac.cn Global Change Data Encyclopedia Dongcaoalong Lake, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China Gou, Z. J. Liu, F. G.* Department of Geographic Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, China Keywords: Dongcaoalong Lake; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; Qinghai province; fresh water lake; data encyclopedia Dongcaoalong Lake is located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and belongs to Madoi county, Guoluo Tibetan autonomous prefec- ture, Qinghai province, China. It is separated from Ngoring Lake 81 km at its northwest, and from Donghu Lake 77 km at its north. Dongcaoalong Lake lies in the northern bank of the Yellow River, and it is an exorheic lake lake formed by the swinging of Yellow River bed. It is connected with the Yellow River, so it belongs to an exorheic plateau lake. Its Figure 1 Data map of Dongcaoalong Lake (.kmz format) geo-location of the lake is 98°42′40″N- 98°45′56″N, 34°28′55″E-34°31′2″E[1] (Figure, 1, Figure 2). There are mountains on the east, west, and north sides of the Dongcaoalong Lake, while the terrain is flat in the south side, where Yel- low River develops braided drainage. Due to the constant change of the drainage line of Yel- low River, floodplains and wetlands interlaced Figure 2 Data map of Dongcaoalong Lake with lakes and marshes are formed by the Yel- (.shp format) low River[2]. Dongcaoalong Lake is 5 km wide in east-west direction, and 3.7 km long in north-south direction. -
Asian Alpine E-News Issue No.54
ASIAN ALPINE E-NEWS Issue No. 54 August 2019 Contents Journey through south Yushu of Qinghai Province, eastern Tibet Nangqen to Mekong Headwaters, July 2019 Tamotsu (Tom) Nakamura Part 1 Buddhists’ Kingdom-Monasteries, rock peaks, blue poppies Page 2~16 Part 2 From Mekong Headwaters to upper Yangtze River. Page 17~32 1 Journey through south Yushu of Qinghai Province, eastern Tibet Nangqen to Mekong Headwaters, July 2019 Tamotsu (Tom) Nakamura Part 1 Buddhists’ Kingdom – Monasteries, rock peaks, blue poppies “Yushu used to be a strategic point of Qinghai, explorers’ crossroads and killing field of frontier.” Geography and Climate of Yushu With an elevation of around 3,700 metres (12,100 ft), Yushu has an alpine subarctic climate, with long, cold, very dry winters, and short, rainy, and mild summers. Average low temperatures are below freezing from early/mid October to late April; however, due to the wide diurnal temperature variation, the average high never lowers to the freezing mark. Despite frequent rain during summer, when a majority of days sees rain, only June, the rainiest month, has less than 50% of possible sunshine; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in June to 66% in November, the city receives 2,496 hours of bright sunshine annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) in January to 12.7 °C (54.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.22 °C (37.8 °F). About three-fourths of the annual precipitation of 486 mm (19.1 in) is delivered from June to September. -
Escape to Lhasa Strategic Partner
4 Nights Incentive Programme Escape to Lhasa Strategic Partner Country Name Lhasa, the heart and soul of Tibet, is a city of wonders. The visits to different sites in Lhasa would be an overwhelming experience. Potala Palace has been the focus of the travelers for centuries. It is the cardinal landmark and a structure of massive proportion. Similarly, Norbulingka is the summer palace of His Holiness Dalai Lama. Drepung Monastery is one of the world’s largest and most intact monasteries, Jokhang temple the heart of Tibet and Barkhor Market is the place to get the necessary resources for locals as well as souvenirs for tourists. At the end of this trip we visit the Samye Monastery, a place without which no journey to Tibet is complete. StrategicCountryPartner Name Day 1 Arrive in Lhasa Country Name Day 1 o Morning After a warm welcome at Gonggar Airport (3570m) in Lhasa, transfer to the hotel. Distance (Airport to Lhasa): 62kms/ 32 miles Drive Time: 1 hour approx. Altitude: 3,490 m/ 11,450 ft. o Leisure for acclimatization Lhasa is a city of wonders that contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist religious sites and lies in a valley next to the Lhasa River. StrategicCountryPartner Name Day 2 In Lhasa Country Name Day 2 o Morning: Set out to visit Sera and Drepung Monasteries Founded in 1419, Sera Monastery is one of the “great three” Gelukpa university monasteries in Tibet. 5km north of Lhasa, the Sera Monastery’s setting is one of the prettiest in Lhasa. The Drepung Monastery houses many cultural relics, making it more beautiful and giving it more historical significance. -
Review of Evidential Systems of Tibetan Languages
Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2017 Review of Lauren Gawne Nathan W. Hill (eds.). 2016. Evidential systems of Tibetan languages. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 40(2), 285–303 Widmer, Manuel DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.00002.wid Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-168681 Journal Article Accepted Version Originally published at: Widmer, Manuel (2017). Review of Lauren Gawne Nathan W. Hill (eds.). 2016. Evidential systems of Tibetan languages. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 40(2), 285–303. Linguistics of the Tibeto- Burman Area, 40(2):285-303. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.00002.wid Review of Evidential systems of Tibetan languages Gawne, Lauren & Nathan W. Hill (eds.). 2016. Evidential systems of Tibetan languages. de Gruyter: Berlin. vi + 472 pp. ISBN 978-3-11-047374-2 Reviewed by Manuel Widmer 1 Tibetan evidentiality systems and their relevance for the typology of evidentiality The evidentiality1 systems of Tibetan languages rank among the most complex in the world. According to Tournadre & Dorje (2003: 110), the evidentiality systeM of Lhasa Tibetan (LT) distinguishes no less than four “evidential Moods”: (i) egophoric, (ii) testiMonial, (iii) inferential, and (iv) assertive. If one also takes into account the hearsay Marker, which is cOMMonly considered as an evidential category in typological survey studies (e.g. Aikhenvald 2004; Hengeveld & Dall’Aglio Hattnher 2015; inter alia), LT displays a five-fold evidential distinction. The LT systeM, however, is clearly not the Most cOMplex of its kind within the Tibetan linguistic area.