TIBETAN BULLETIN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE CENTRAL TIBETAN ADMINISTRATION VOLUME 22 - ISSUE 5 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018 Focus Tibetan Culture and Language at the heart of CTA’s Five Fifty Resilience Forum **** Feature “I Assure You I would live for 100 years”: His Holiness the Dalai Lama During the Long Life (Tenshug) Ceremony **** World Press China Spends Big in Tibet to Avert a Crisis When the Dalai Lama Dies **** www.tibet.net/en/tibbul www.tibet.net/en/tibbul FOCUS 18 CTA President Opens Four-day Five Fifty Forum: TIBETAN Towards a Resilient Tibetan Community BULLETIN Tibetan Bulletin is an official bi-monthly 19 5/50 Forum on Resilience a Groundbreaking Success journal of the Central Tibetan Administration. 20 Tibetan Culture and Language at the heart of CTA’s Five Fifty Resilience Forum FEATURE 21 “I Assure You I would live for 100 years”: His Holiness the Dalai Lama Signed articles or quotations do not During the Long Life (Tenshug) Ceremony necessarily reflect the views of the Central Tibetan Administration. 22 “We Tibetans long to go back and rebuild Tibet”: His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Sweden Contributions are welcome and may be addressed to the editor, Tibetan Bulletin. However the publisher regrets its inability to return unused articles unless they are 23 A Universal Secular Ethics is fundamental to human flourishing: accompanied by a self-addressed envelope His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Museum Directors and CEOs with adequate postage. Tibetan Bulletin is distributed free of charge. To subscribe please email the circulation manager or see back cover. Editor WORLD PRESS Tenzin Saldon Email: [email protected] 24 China Spends Big in Tibet to Avert a Crisis When the Dalai Lama Dies Asst. Editor By Eric Baculinao and Jason Cumming, NBCNews Tenzin Phende Layout & Design 26 Beijing Reaches Far And Wide To Silence Critics – Tenzin Phende We Must Not Stay Silent Circulation Manager By UCA News Norbu Wangdue Email: [email protected] Tibetan Bulletin is published by: Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamshala - 176 215 H.P. India Tel: +91-1892-222510 / 222457 Vol. 22, Issue 5 REGULARS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2018 News From Tibet & Exile ......4 Contact ................................. 31 Quotes ............................32 FROM THE EDITOR October showed less promise, more wreckage for China, the most anticipated rising power of the century. The month was highlighted with China’s hard struggles to assert its soft power. While on one hand, the Chinese government is calling on Tibetan Buddhism to bolster the One Belt, One Road project—which involves infrastructure development and investments in countries in Europe, Asia and Africa—on the other, it has unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on religious adherents in its own home country. We saw this month, President Xi Jinping’s With its infamous list of human rights reforms.” He further criticised, “China strident determination to “Sinicize” the abuse and suppression in the last several has taken a sharp U-turn toward control entirety of China’s domain, primarily decades, China remains undisputed in its and oppression” and “A new wave of the religious domains. In its pursuit reputation. Even outside, its reputation persecution is crashing down on Chinese to pull in “unwavering loyalty to the is seen holding a strong foot. With Christians, Buddhists and Muslims.” Communists party”, China was seen China at the helm of the United Nations walking all over the rights of its people, committees, multilateral organisations, During the recent UN Human Rights particularly the ethnic minorities. international businesses and educational Council’s Universal Periodic Review, institutions, its repressive regime UN member states denounced China’s For six fruitless decades, China had and tools of censorship and forced policies in Xinjiang and Tibet and its suppressed the spirituality and unique detention are seen replicated in all these treatment of human rights defenders. identity of Tibet. More recently, the institutions. It called on Beijing to protect religious Uyghurs and Christian communities freedoms in Tibet, release detained have come under extreme clampdown. One is witnessing a series of similar Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities Millions of Uyghurs are targeted through trends of incidents, including cases of and stop harassing and detaining human political re-education, religious practice media censorship and heavy academic rights lawyers. and symbols are criminalised, churches controls in the academic sphere. China is burnt and by the Vatican accord, Bishops rapidly injecting its political ideals and More and more observers on China are now appointed by the Communist system into institutions of all domains, are raising the question of how should Party and their teachings must conform including western academia, media world democracies respond to China’s to CCP ideals. organisations and businesses. military and economic rise. Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen has warned that Many argue that China can not claim soft There were a series of episodic the People’s Republic of China under power on one hand while tenaciously discussions and discontent on the self- President Xi Jinping is a threat to global running an extremely repressive social censorship in western academia on the stability. and political system. China is yet to subject of China. In its attempt to silence recognise that soft power is an enduring dissent and democratic discourse around China, before claiming the title of cultural and civilisational power; it is an the world, China is spending hundreds superpower or global leader, would identity that takes form organically and of millions of dollars in western do well to take a look inward and start cannot be manufactured. It is apparent universities. addressing its domestic issues in a with its desperate attempts that China reciprocal spirit than authoritative. To has nothing much in its arsenal of soft Last month, China was heavily criticised become a global leader, it must first earn power. by the vice president of the United States the trust and faith of its own citizens at on its human rights policies, who said home. “China’s rising prosperity has not led to NEWS FROM TIBET & EXILE “Because that ceremony was only a basic European Parliament’s CTA President enthronement, we are now preparing to congratulates hold a more extensive enthronement Intergroup ranks China ceremony at Menri Monastery.” 34th Kyabje Menri amongst worst violators As told by the Bon Monastic Center, the of Freedom of Religion Trizin on his grand grand enthronement also commemorated enthronement the passing of a year since the departure The European Parliament’s Intergroup of the 33rd Menri Trizin. on Freedom of Religion or Belief and President Dr Lobsang Sangay, Central Religious Tolerance has categorised Tibetan Administration congratulated On January 1, 2018, Geshe Dawa China under “severe violations” group. the 34th Kyabje Menri Trizin, spiritual Dhargye was chosen as the 34th Menri China is also ranked amongst the worst head of Bon tradition at his official Trizin: the throne holder of Menri violators of Freedom of Religion or enthronement ceremony held at Menri Monastery, and the spiritual leader of the Belief and Religious Tolerance in the monastery. Bon religious tradition after the passing World. The report has also categorised of 33rd Menri Trizin. The traditional and China in the “Lowest Focalness” group authentic selection process of Tagdril denoting China’s lowest respect for involves the invocation of all the chief Freedom of Religion or Belief. deities and protectors of Yungdrung Bon to “Request the Religious Protectors The Intergroup in its fourth annual to Reveal the Truth”. For the selection report has analysed 122 countries on of the 34th Menri Trizin, one hundred quantitative basis with 30 focal countries thousand offerings to Sipe Gyalmo were assessed both on quantitative and performed at the main temple of the qualitative perspectives. The first group Menri Monastery. The rigorous schedule of focal countries were selected based President Dr Lobsang Sangay, Central Tibetan on the countries’ track record of being Administration making a mandala offering to 34th of procedures for Tagdril began on Kyabje Menri Trizin on his grand enthronement December 21, 2017, and pursued while the worst FORB violators and China is ceremony at Menri Monastery, Dolanji on 6 many prayers and offerings were carried part of this. The assessment criteria of September 2018. Photo/Tibet TV out by Bon monastic communities the Intergroup were “drafted on the basis across the world. The selection process of international law”, which in principle Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile concluded on the morning of Monday, means that countries like China which is Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Members of 1 January when Geshe Dawa Dhargye’s categorised as “severe violations” “are Tibetan Parliament representing the Bon name was revealed as the new Bon head. tradition Geshe Monlam Tharchin and Tsewang Tashi Bhara and Secretary of 34th Menri Trizin Dawa Dhargye Department of Religion and Culture, Rinpoche was born on November CTA were also present among the local 29th, 1972 in the Amdo region of Tibet Tibetan dignitaries and members of where he became a monk in the Gamal monastics. Monastery at the age of 17. He met the 33rd Menri Trizin Lungtok Tenpai The ceremony began with the arrival of Nyima Rinpoche when he was 22 years the Kyabje Menri Trizin Geshe Dawa old. He received the Monk’s rules of Dhargye, followed by Mandala offering Tibetan monks with placards around their neck Drangsong and his name of Dawa Darge being forcibly taken away by Chinese police in by President Dr Lobsang Sangay, Wangpo. After he received his first Geshe 2011. Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel and degree from the Gamal Monastery, Secretary Tenzin Lungtok to the Bon he joined the Bon Dialectic school in likely to be in breach of international spiritual head. Menri Monastery where he received law” where there are “systemic attacks his second Geshe degree in 2012.