China-Tibet Threads

[Double Edge]

One Tibetan called Tensing Tsundue decides to march on foot to Delhi from Dharamshala. 550 km walk. He reaches Delhi on Mar 10.

He wants to raise awareness about the Tibetan cause in India.

He wants to challenge India's one China policy.

This guy is Gandhi and Bhagat Singh rolled into one on a Dandi march :smile:

His first opponent will be the Indian govt (!)

They have not stopped him from doing the march so so far so good.

There are restrictions on political activities that Tibetans can do in India. Can't protest outside the Chinese embassy in India for example which otherwise is perfectly fine in the west.

Tensing is right that awareness about Tibet is low in India.

Only recently did i discover at a Thank you India event held in 2018 in my city that my state offered the second most generous land grant in the country to Tibetan exiles.

The Tibetan colony is near Mysore called Bylakuppe.

By the first chief minister of my state, back in the 50s (!)

Part of the reason i was not aware is i concluded long ago that Tibet was a lost cause.

Not to Tibetans. Their belief and faith in the cause knows no limits.

 

[Double Edge]

Tenzin's daily log

https://www.tenzintsundue.com/works/walk/

What kind of response have you received from the people?

A large number of people are happy that someone is doing something to empower India in responding to China. I am getting a great response from people during this march. I am carrying a Tibetan as well an Indian national flag. People don’t usually expect or have rarely seen a Tibetan man carry both flags on his back. They are pleasantly shocked and want to know more. They immediately love the idea of a Tibetan face, hoisting Indian national flag, carrying it on my shoulder and distributing this paper.

People give me chai and ask me to sit down and talk to them. Their sense of nationalism comes over. They say ‘hum to rozi roti mai baithe hain, aap desh ke liye kaam kar rahe hain (We are consumed in earning bread, you are working for the nation).’


What are you going to do once you reach Delhi?

I am seeking an appointment with the Prime Minister of India. I am not sure if it is possible but I am hopeful. I am also running an online signature campaign which petitions the government of India to change the ‘One China’ policy, asking people to sign in huge numbers.

Once I get to Delhi, I will deliver these signatures to the PM or his office. We will also have a concluding conference about India-China-Tibet relationship in Delhi


Do you have any expectations from the Centre?

I am petitioning the Government of India to change the One China policy and to take it up seriously. This is the way China can be given a befitting reply. People around the world as well as within are looking at the kind of response India has given.


You think your march will signify any change or make a difference?

Marches like these, whether it is Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March or Martin Luther’s march for civil liberties, I think this is the way to walk as a political exhibition and to highlight the issue and maintain momentum for a long period of time which can help galvanise enough support, awareness and change of opinion. Therefore, if this march does not change India’s policy, it will at least make India think again.


What do you think India’s recourse towards the current situation with China should be?

India has always acted as a subordinate to China. China has always been taking the initiative in dealing with the Himalayas. We have always been defensive as China decides when do they want to attack, when do they want to cause border incursions, when do they want a war. We have been defensive, protecting our image saying ‘kuch nahi hua hai’. But if we continue with this, we will be in a position of weakness and always be dictated upon. Tibet is a unique opportunity to dislodge China politically and diplomatically now.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/in-tibets-independence-resides-indias-security-7205512/

 

[Double Edge]

Historical failure to defend Tibet as an independent nation has left India with a failed conscience | NH | Dec 27 2020

India has been overcautious in dealing with the Tibet issue. The Dalai Lama is not allowed to make political statements. But following the stand-off in eastern Ladakh, the gloves must come off. India must consider allowing political activity among Tibetan refugees and by the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala. The historical failure to defend Tibet as an independent nation has left India with a failed conscience.

Ignoring of the Tibet issue by the world powers and regional powers will embolden Beijing to expand its repression in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, threaten Taiwan and incentivize its expansionist designs in Ladakh, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.

Article is dated Dec 27, wonder if this march signals a change of attitude.

Knowing GOI they won't say a damn thing so we will have to be attentive to any changes from the norm.

 

[Double Edge]

Good discussion on China's White paper on Tibet

China choosing a Dalai Lama won't work in Tibet. It will only fulfill political goals in the mainland.

They already pulled this stunt with the Panchen Lama in the 90s and the result is people in Tibet don't keep a photo of him. Don't revere him.

These Tibetans are adamant about choosing their own leaders :wink:

 

[Double Edge]

The Great Escape (pdf)

A comic book of the Dalai Lamas escape into exile.

On the eve of China’s takeover of Lhasa in 1959, the entire world was caught by surprise when His Holiness the Dalai Lama eluded the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and escaped undetected. As recorded in the autobiography of His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche and signed eyewitness affidavits, The Great Escape tells the true story of the Dalai Lama’s epic flight into exile in India and how the protector Dorje Shugden was behind every pivotal step to bring His Holiness safely out of Tibet for the future of the Tibetan people, culture and religion.

https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/the-greatest-escape-in-history.html

 

[Double Edge]

Another on China's white paper on TIbet

 

[Double Edge]

What does playing the Tibet card for India entail ?

Here is one articulation

1. Speak Up. No more silence. Recognise the cause of Tibetan autonomy.

2. Reject China's claim of sovereignty over Tibet

3. Internationalise the issue of Tibetan freedom

4. Highlight the grave human rights situation in Tibet

5. Claim the Dalai Lama's legacy, back reincarnation in India

If China throws out agreements going back to 1993, India can throw out some more as well.

Late Sushma's taunt to the Chinese foreign minister in 2015 still holds.

One India for one China

 

[Double Edge]

"The Nerve, How Did They Even Think Of This?" Tibetans React To Ccp Projection Onto Potala Palace | Free Tibet | Jun 30 2021

Footage has emerged from occupied Tibet of a giant projection onto the former home of the exiled Dalai Lama by the Chinese Communist Party, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the CCP’s establishment ahead of celebrations on 1 July.

The video, taken by an unknown and clearly distressed woman, and sent outside the country at huge risk to her safety, shows words in Chinese which translate as “Celebrate the CCP's 100th founding anniversary” projected onto the Potala Palace, the Dalai Lama’s winter home until he was forced to flee Tibet from Chinese forces in 1959.

 

[Double Edge]

India does not allow Tibetans or any one else for that matter to demonstrate in front of the Chinese embassy.

But McLeodganj is another matter

Latest dare by the Dala Lama

 

[Double Edge]

The referenced statue was in Sichuan province

Tibetan monks beaten, arrested for sharing Buddha statue destruction news | RFA | Jan 07 2022

Sophie Richardson, China director for New York-based Human Rights Watch, added that China’s demolition of the statue and crackdown on Tibetans sharing news of its destruction show that “religious believers cannot rely on legal or constitutional safeguards of their faith.”

China in its current phase of “ultranationalist and statist ideology gives all power to the state, and regards civil society with suspicion and contempt,” Richardson said.

China destroys second revered Tibetan statue in Sichuan | RFA | Jan 10 2022

Authorities said the statue's housing lacked a fire escape, but Tibetans see a crackdown on their religion.

The three-story statue and the structure housing it were both torn down around the same time as the 99-foot Buddha, which authorities said was too tall, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA, citing contacts in Drago.

“Chinese authorities have again given unbelievable reasons for the destruction, saying there was no fire escape in the temple housing the three-story high statue of Maitreya Buddha, but these aren’t valid excuses,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect his sources in Drago.

“The Chinese government is just continuing to Sinicize Tibet’s religion by not allowing Tibetans the freedom to practice their own religion and faith,” the source said.

This is an ongoing process


China razes 1,000-year-old Buddhist temple | India Today | Sept 21 2020

In the latest act of religious oppression, China has demolished a 1,000-year-old Buddhist temple in its Shanxi province.

This one in 2020 was in Shanxi