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World Tibet Network News


The Canada Tibet Committee
September 25, 2008

Contents

1. Dalai Lama back to work after illness (AFP)

2. China slams Dalai Lama in government report (AP)

3. Dalai Lama's envoys to hold parleys with China again (IANS)

4. Karmapa Arrives in Delhi After Rescue (Phayul)

5. Tibetan Canadian honoured as "Pacifist of the Year" in Montreal (Conflict Solutions)

6. 6.0-magnitude quake jolts Xigaze of Tibet (Xinhua)

7. White paper: China respects freedom of religious beliefs of Tibetans (Xinhua)

1. Dalai Lama back to work after illness

DHARAMSHALA 25 September 2008 (AFP) — Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama returned to work on Thursday four weeks after he was hospitalised suffering from abdominal pains, an aide said.

The 73-year-old Nobel peace laureate begun teaching sessions in Dharamshala, the northern Indian town where he lives in exile from China, but his planned trips to Germany and Switzerland next month have been cancelled.

"His Holiness is doing very well, he begins public teachings from today. There will be two sessions each day," Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of Tibetan government in exile, told AFP.

In the weeks preceding his illness, the Dalai Lama had pursued a hectic international itinerary as he campaigned for improved human rights in Tibet while China hosted the Olympic Games.

He spent four days in a Mumbai hospital undergoing tests, and doctors told him to rest for several weeks after he was released.

The health scare prompted special prayer meetings in Dharamshala, with monks and nuns gathering at the main temple to pray for his well-being.

Many world leaders had called to enquire after his health, Rinpoche said, including US President George W. Bush.

"President Bush called on Tuesday because His Holiness had been scheduled to meet him earlier this month on his way to Latin America," Rinpoche said.

The Buddhist monk fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.

2. China slams Dalai Lama in government report

By SCOTT McDONALD

BEIJING 25 September 2008 (AP) — China issued a government report Thursday praising its rule over Tibet and accusing the Dalai Lama of wanting to restore a backward feudal system in the Himalayan region.

The white paper, published six months after riots and protests rocked Tibet, said the government had spent vast sums of money and manpower to protect Tibetan culture.

But the 30-page paper issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, also accused Tibet's exiled spiritual leader of spreading false rumors about cultural genocide in the region and said any moves to split it from China would fail.

"The 14th Dalai Lama and his clique's clamor for 'cultural autonomy of Tibet' is essentially a political conspiracy to restore theocratic rule over the culture of Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabitated regions, and thus realize the 'independence of Greater Tibet,'" it said.

The paper was issued about a month before an expected third round of talks aimed at easing tensions between the sides.

The talks were started after monk-led protests against Chinese rule turned violent in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in March. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama and his supporters of fomenting the unrest.

Despite the two earlier meetings with the Dalai Lama's representatives, the government has stepped up its campaign to vilify the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

"The 14th Dalai Lama and his clique and the anti-Chinese forces in the West conspire to force the Tibetan ethnic group and its culture to stagnate and remain in a state similar to the Middle Ages," the paper said.

The Dalai Lama has denied China's claims that he wants independence for Tibet, saying he only seeks greater autonomy for the Himalayan region to protect its Buddhist culture.

His self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala, India, rejected Beijing's latest claims.

"If the situation was excellent in Tibet, then the Chinese government did not need to issue a white paper. If the Chinese government feels that they have done enough to protect the Tibetan language and culture, they should allow free access to the international media," spokesman Thupten Samphel said Thursday.

The March demonstrations were the most significant challenge to Chinese rule in nearly two decades. Beijing has said 22 people died in the violence, but Tibetan supporters say many times that number were killed in the protests and subsequent military crackdown. China's harsh response garnered worldwide criticism.

Associated Press reporter Ashwini Bhatia contributed to this report from Dharmsala, India.

3. Dalai Lama's envoys to hold parleys with China again

Dharamsala, Sep 25 (IANS) Envoys of exiled Tibetan spiritual guru, the Dalai Lama, will hold parleys with the Chinese government again next month, Tibet's government-in-exile said Thursday.It will be the eighth round of talks between the Dalai Lama's envoys and the Chinese that resumed in September 2002.

"Our main objective is to settle the vexed issue of Tibet amicably with the Chinese leadership so that our brothers across the border could have freedom to preserve their cultural identity," Thubten Samphel, a spokesman of the government-in-exile, told IANS.

The Dalai Lama along with many of his supporters fled Tibet and took refuge in this Indian hill station when Chinese troops moved in and took control of Lhasa in 1959.

Although the Chinese leadership considers that the issue of Tibet is only about the Dalai Lama, the government-in-exile clarifies that the issue at stake is the well-being of six million Tibetans only.

Samphel said the last round of negotiations with the Chinese in the month of July this year was not fruitful as they were preoccupied with the Olympics.

Special envoys Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, who participated in the last round of talks in China, had also said: "The Chinese are obsessed with the Olympics. There is no need to hold the next round of talks before the Games."

Samphel clarified that on earlier occasions "there were intensive and frank talks between the representatives of the spiritual guru and the Chinese. This gives us (Tibetans) the hope that the issue will be settled amicably".

But political observers said: "China also wanted to continue the dialogue process, though at a slow pace, because it fears that once the Dalai Lama, who is still respected by a majority of Tibetans as a god, dies in exile, there will be a vacuum of leadership.

"This will bolster morale of the Tibetans who are unhappy with the 'middle-way' approach of the Nobel laureate that advocates autonomy for Tibet. There are chances that the Tibetans, especially the youth, may demand full independence for Tibet".

Meanwhile, the three-day meeting of the task force on negotiations on Tibet issue concluded here Wednesday.

The task force, set up by the Dalai Lama, chalked out the strategy for the next round of talks.

Prime Minister of the government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche said: "During the task force meeting we reviewed the outcome of the negotiations held earlier with them (Chinese). Now the left-over issues will be taken up on a mutually accepted dates and place."

"This time (during the eight round of talks) we have made up our mind to candidly convey to our counterparts (Chinese) that in the absence of serious and sincere commitment on their part, the continuation of the present dialogue process would serve no purpose," a minister in the government-in-exile said, requesting anonymity.

4. Karmapa Arrives in Delhi After Rescue

Phayul
Thursday, September 25, 2008
By Tenzin Sangmo

The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee who was airlifted to safety after being stranded for 48 hours in Himachal Pradesh's Lahual and Spiti district flew into Delhi from Leh yesterday.

"The spiritual leader reached Delhi this morning (Wednesday) by an Indian Airlines flight... he will leave for Dharamsala after two days," the Karmapa's Secretary Gompa Tsering told IANS on phone from Delhi.

"Since the Manali-Leh highway is still closed at a number of places and it's not safe to travel on the Leh-Srinagar highway, we decided to reach our residence in this hill town via Delhi," he further added.

The Karmapa had embarked on a 'Dharma Tour' beginning September 8 to October 3, 2008. He was scheduled to visit regions of Ladakh, Lahual Spiti and Kinnaur. He was headed towards the town of Keylong in Lahual Spiti after concluding his visit to Ladakh when heavy snowfall forced the entourage which included His sister and General Secretary Drupon Rinpoche to cut their visit short.

Gompa Tsering said of the religious tour in Lahaul and Spiti, "For the time being it has been cancelled. The visit will be replanned."

5. Tibetan Canadian honoured as "Pacifist of the Year" in Montreal

By Brian Bronfman
Conflict Solutions
Montreal, 21 September, 2008

At ceremonies in Montreal recognizing the United Nations International Day of Peace, a Tibetan Canadian—Thubten Samdup—was named Pacifist of the Year. Mr. Samdup, National Chair of the Dalai Lama Foundation Canada, received the honour in recognition of his two decades of work for the well-being of the Tibetan people, and for his tireless devotion to peace and nonviolence.

During ceremonies this past Sunday, an enthusiastic crowd enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of Montreal's famous Mount Royal Park, while listening to speeches by dignitaries and peace activists, as well as performances by musical artists, all of whom extolled the virtues of peace and the need to practice it both in our personal lives and in the actions of our nations.

Partway through the festivities, after a minute of silence was observed and 21 doves (representing September 21st being the Day of Peace) were released, lead organizer Jean Trudel of the organization Cercle de Paix announced that Mr. Samdup had been named Pacifist of the Year, and congratulations were given by Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay.

Speaking both in French and in English, Mr. Samdup humbly accepted the award, and spoke of the Tibetan people as exemplary seekers of peace, whose nonviolent struggle and whose deeply-ingrained values are models for the world.

A proud Tibetan, proud Canadian, and proud Quebecer, Mr. Samdup also announced that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be visiting Montreal next year, in recognition and support of exciting changes within the Quebec educational system that should help to create a generation of young Quebecers who value peace, social harmony, and inter-dialogue, consistent with His Holiness' own teachings and philosophy.

Before heading the Dalai Lama Foundation Canada, Mr. Samdup founded the Canada Tibet Committee, and he continues to be a social and economic entrepreneur whose recent initiatives include the launching of a newly invigorated effort on "Electing the Next Kalon Tripa," and the creation of Tibet Innovations, which aims to provide economic opportunities for young Tibetans in South and Central Asia.

6. 6.0-magnitude quake jolts Xigaze of Tibet

Xinhua News Agency
September 25, 2008

A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Zhongba County in Xigaze Prefecture at 9:47 AM in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Thursday, the National Seismological Network said.

No casualties were reported.

It said the epicenter was 20 kilometers deep and was located at 30.8 degrees north latitude and 83.6 degrees east longitude.

Zhongba, a remote county near the China-Nepal border, is more than 4,700 meters above sea level and has a population of 18,000.

The county has suffered many aftershocks after a 6.8-magnitude quake on Aug. 25. On Sept. 10, two earthquakes just 14 minutes apart and measuring 5.1 and 5.2, respectively, on the Richter scale hit the county.

7. White paper: China respects freedom of religious beliefs of Tibetans

[Xinhua is Chinese News Agency]

BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has set great store by respecting the freedom of religious beliefs of the various ethnic groups living in Tibet since the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, said a white paper on Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture issued by the Information Office of the State Council on Thursday.

Tibetan Buddhism is the faith of the majority of the residents of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is an important component of Tibetan tradition and culture. Over a long course of historical development, the Tibetans have developed their unique customs and lifestyle.

Old Tibet practiced theocracy, like that in the Middle Ages of Europe. The upper class, represented by the Dalai Lama, dominated the politics, economy and culture of Tibet, and controlled the "admission" of the followers of Tibetan Buddhism to paradise, the paper said.

Under the system of theocracy and religious autocracy, the ordinary people had no freedom of religious belief at all. Such a system proved to be a tight fetter on people's minds and social functions, it said.

The Democratic Reform toppled the decadent and outdated theocracy and the religious regime controlled by the Dalai Lama and other living Buddhas, and separated religion from politics, according to the paper.

The monasteries were put under democratic management, thus providing an institutional guarantee for the freedom of religious belief, it added.

Editor: Wang Hongjiang

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