This from Students for a Free Tibet:

According to reports received from Tibet three Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, and Penkyi were executed by Chinese authorities in Lhasa on October 20th, 2009. There are reports that a fourth execution may have taken place. Read the report.

Students for a Free Tibet joined other Tibet rights groups in publicly condemning this travesty of justice and calling for immediate action on the part of our governments and the international community. Read the press statement.

Please write to your Members of Congress urging them to immediately respond to this distressing news. You can also take action by calling your congressional offices to urge them to press the Obama administration to condemn these killings. Find contact information.

Un magistrale gioco di lucine colorate può smettere di essere un semplice vezzo decorativo e diventare qualcosa di più controverso. Soprattutto se ha per oggetto una costruzione che è il simbolo del paese in cui si trova, e se le lucine in questione riproducono la bandiera di una nazione con cui i rapporti diplomatici non sono sempre stati floridissimi.

Negli ultimi giorni due casi hanno fatto discutere. A New York l’Empire State Building si è colorato di rosso e giallo per commemorare i 60 anni della Repubblica Popolare Cinese.  A Parigi la Tour Eiffel rimarrà bianca e rossa fino all’11 ottobre,  in occasione della “stagione della Turchia in Francia”. Non so se la mia visione sia distorta, ma è un po’ come se allo stadio Olimpico di Roma si tingesse la curva sud con i colori della Lazio. Per carità, non ci sarebbe nulla di male, ma ne sarei sinceramente colpita, forse positivamente. Ad ogni modo quello che penso io è un dettaglio trascurabile. Lo è meno il fatto che l’opinione pubblica metta i due fatti al centro di un dibattito.

Nel caso dell’Empire, si sono scatenate intere associazioni in difesa dei diritti della minoranza tibetana. Qualche giorno fa un gruppo di manifestanti asserragliato sotto al building gridava “No all’impero cinese, Tibet libero subito” e mostrava cartelli con scritto “l’Empire State Building celebra 60 anni di oppressione cinese”. Lhadon Tethong, direttore dell’associazione Students for a Free Tibet, ha definito l’illuminazione la “totale, sfacciata accettazione di un sistema comunista totalitario”. Il fatto è che la decisione di accendere di rosso il simbolo della Grande mela ha scontentato un po’ tutti in politica, a destra e a sinistra. Dal repubblicano Peter King al democratico Anthony Weiner. Lo hanno definito “a sad day”, un giorno triste per New York.

Qui un altro video delle proteste.

Lo storico precedente è quello della Francia, la cui torre d’acciaio era stata illuminta nel 2004 con i colori della bandiera cinese. A distanza di 5 anni la Tour Eiffel è di nuovo al centro dell’attenzione, ma stavolta quella contestata è la bandiera turca.  Su facebook un gruppo di oltre 5mila membri critica l’idea pensata in casa Sarkozy con tanto di prolissa motivazione. Si dissociano perfino il consiglio cittadino (che passa la patata bollente al governo) e il sindaco socialista Bertrand Delanoe, ancora una volta per la controversa questione del rispetto dei diritti umani in Turchia, oltre che per la negazione del genocidio della minoranza armena.

Ma alla fine le polemiche restano soltanto tali. Del resto, una volta proposta pubblicamente l’iniziativa di “ridipingere” (seppur temporaneamente) i due colossi, tirarsi indietro vorrebbe dire ammettere che quel simbolo estraneo, appiccicato sul proprio, è davvero “inopportuno”. Un conto è pensarle, certe cose. Altro è farle sotto gli occhi (abbagliati) di tutti.

China Lights up Empire State Building

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091001/ap_on_re_us/us_empire_state_building_china

Thanks for posting about the Elliot Sperling-Lobsang Sangay dissension, Jigme. I had actually intended to do a post on the Sperling article when it first came out, but, unfortunately, I got a bit wrapped up in non-blogging responsibilities. I found Lobsang Sangay’s response quite disappointing, both because I have a favorable impression of him (I lack any qualifications to assess his merits as a potential Kalön Thripa, but I like his bearing) and because I think there is a valid critique to be made of Sperling’s conclusions. And yet, Lobsang Sangay seems to respond only with invective. I don’t think it’s a fair criticism to simply accuse him of orientalism. His arguments make sense — it is very difficult to see how a free Tibet can be achieved through China’s legal system. The problem is that, when  you lack any good options, simply demonstrating the faults of Option A doesn’t prove that Option B is going to work well. So, the question must be: if genuine autonomy is a very difficult goal, how is independence going to be achieved instead? Personally, I agree with Lobsang Sangay that there is a better chance of making gains by supporting the Middle Way plan (or going further, even, and simply asking that Tibet be given exactly the same status as Hong Kong), but, unfortunately, I don’t think that this particular contribution to the debate actually helps make that case.

On a vaguely related note, I also recommend this article from Tibet Info Net about the foibles of TGIE’s “Finding Common Ground” initiative, in which they have organised talks and meetings between Tibetan exiles and Chinese dissidents. I don’t object to the basic idea and, moreover, I have no reason to think there was anything wrong with the execution either; but, it’s still important to pay close attention to the inevitable (and occasionally weird) problems that can pop up even with a well-executed good idea. And I completely agree with the Tibet Info Net author that SFT’s rant against Jet Li was pointless. Jet Li definitely said a couple things that I don’t agree with, but Jet Li is really, really not the big problem here.

Thanks again to best pal Bruce the Mystical Goose for continuing to keep us abreast of such wonderful NY-based art events!  This one sounds fun as hell and it’s being held to benefit the non-profit Students for a Free Tibet.   Fun + a good cause = Yes!  If i can manage to be in the NYC area on August 1, you can bet I’ll be there enjoying art and downing drinks for freedom!

50 ARTISTS HONOR 50 YEARS OF TIBETAN RESISTANCE WITH NEW YORK SHOW AND AFFORDABLE ART SALE

Tibetan Contemporary Artists Joined by Diverse Group of International Peers

What: Art for Tibet fundraiser
Where: 79 Walker Street, New York, NY 10013
When: Saturday, August 1st, 5pm – 10pm

*details after the jump*

New York – On August 1st, more than 50 artists will exhibit works together at a one-night event in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan people’s nonviolent resistance to Chinese occupation. The event will be held at Art in General gallery in New York City and feature a diverse group of international artists from Boston, Kathmandu, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo. This will be the first contemporary art show bringing together Tibetan and non-Tibetan fine artists in support of Tibetan freedom and independence.

Most artwork will be on sale for a flat fee of $100 per piece, making this an affordable way for patrons to purchase original art and support the Tibetan cause at the same time. There will also be select pieces sold in a silent auction with opening bids starting at $250. In addition, there will be a live painting collaboration between Tibetan and non-Tibetan artists at the event that will be auctioned at the end of the night.

Participating artists include Rostarr, David Ellis, Kenji Hirata, Richard Gere, Karen Ingram, Christian Mendoza, Yuri Shimojo, GION, Jennifer Garcia, Joseph Ari Aloi, Sasquatch23, Hisashi Oguchi, Suckadelic, Eric Orr, Ngawang Jordhen, Stephane Sednoui, Cey Adams, Florencio Zavala, 428Graffi, Chris Shaw, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Tenzin Mochoe, Chand Nirankari, Phill Bartell, Beth Achenbach, Tenzing Rigdol, Damion Silver, Casey Ryder, Philip Lumbang, Tenzin Konchok, Mike Houston, Chaw Ei Thein, Emma Beecher, Travis Bone, Shan Jay, Carl Wedoff, Nicholas Shuminsky, Katie Hill, Lillian Byers, Nancy Jo Johnson, Peter Barrett, Jessica Dimmock, Ellen Wong, Losang Gyatso, Chris Maiurro, Steven Cogle, Carl Riddle, Burt Banger, Gil Corral, Jun Shoji, David Pierce, Mio Murakami, Sonam Zoksang, Chungbo Tsering, and more.

In 1959 the Chinese government brutally crushed a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, forcing the Dalai Lama and a hundred thousand Tibetans to flee into exile. Last year in March, just months before the Beijing Olympics, protests against Chinese rule swept across the Tibetan plateau. Chinese authorities responded with brutal force in a crackdown that continues to this day and has left thousands of Tibetans in prison or disappeared. After 50 years of resistance, however, the Tibetan people remain committed to nonviolence and their hopes for freedom are undiminished.

There will be live DJ sets by Spiritbear (Acid Test DJ’s / SuperSpirit). Drinks will be provided by Beerlao. All proceeds from the event will benefit Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with international headquarters in New York. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, SFT campaigns for the Tibetan people’s fundamental right to freedom and independence.

Tibetan Timeline

629 King Songtsen Gampo begins his reign in Tibet. Nomadic groups first come together under his leadership to form a unified society.

763 King Trisong Detsen forms an alliance with Siam and defeats the Chinese army. He installs a puppet Emperor in China and retreats.

1244 Godan Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, advances into Tibet. Tibetan lamas instruct the Mongolian people in return for military protection. Thus begins what was known as the ‘lama-patron’ relationship that would also be the basis of Tibet’s future relationship with China.

1280 Kublai Khan conquers China.

1578 Sonam Gyatso (1543-88) is given the title of Dalai Lama by Altan Khan, ruler of the Tümed Mongols. The first and second Dalai Lamas were awarded their titles posthumously. ‘Dalai’ means ‘ocean’ in Mongolian.

1617 The fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Losang Gyatso, is born. He later declares himself head of all Tibet rather than just a reincarnation of the Drepung Monastery. He is called upon by the Chinese to dissuade the Mongolians from further aggression.

1718 Tibet is freed from Mongolian occupation with the help of Chinese troops.

1726 China is called upon to mediate in a conflict between Tibetan ministers. China uses the opportunity to establish a military base in Lhasa. China’s current claim to Tibet stems from this period.

1792 China helps Tibet in a war against the Nepalese Gurkhas. The Chinese Emperor declares his envoys as the provincial governors of Tibet.

1793 China decrees that the search for religious reincarnations, including the Dalai Lama, must be organized by Chinese envoys.

1806 Due to internal conflicts Chinese influence over Tibet begins to diminish.

1895 The 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933) begins his rule. Tibet rejects the Chinese method of drawing lots to choose the Dalai Lama and returns to the traditional method of testing young boys to see if they can recognize articles belonging to the former leader.

1903 A British military ‘expedition’ led by Colonel Francis Younghusband marches into Lhasa.

1904 The ‘Treaty of Lhasa’ between Britain and Tibet is signed. Article 9 states that no foreign power has the right to intrude into Tibet’s internal affairs.

1910 China sends an army into Lhasa, destroying much of eastern Tibet along the way.

1912 In the wake of the Manchu dynasty falling during the 1911 Chinese revolution, Tibetans expel the weakened Chinese from Lhasa. The Dalai Lama declares Tibet’s independence to Chinese President Yüan Shih-Kai. Most scholars recognize this as the beginning of de facto independence for Tibet.

1935 On 6 July the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is born.

1947 India gains independence from Britain. It continues to uphold the British position that Tibet should be free from foreign influences.

1949 Mao Zedong’s troops gain control of China.

1950 In October the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) marches into Chamdo in the east of Tibet with 40,000 troops. Tibet’s 8,000-strong army is defeated in two days. The Tibetan Government appeals to the UN for help. The US, India and Britain decide not to intervene in case it is viewed as an ‘imperialist conspiracy’. Full executive powers are granted to the 15-year-old Dalai Lama.

1951 A ‘17-Point Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet’ is signed by Tibetan delegates in Beijing, under military pressure from China, officially recognizing China’s sovereignty over Tibet. China agrees not to interfere with Tibet’s traditional system of government or its citizens’ religious and cultural freedoms. But Chinese troops occupy the capital of Lhasa, becoming increasingly oppressive, and the ‘17-Point’ agreements prove to be empty promises.

1954 India officially recognizes China’s sovereignty over Tibet.

1959 On 10 March, an uprising begins in Lhasa, triggered by the Chinese attempting to persuade the Dalai Lama to go unaccompanied to a military base. China clamps down, killing an estimated 87,000 Tibetans. On 17 March the Dalai Lama flees Lhasa and at the end of the month is granted asylum by India. Thousands of his compatriots follow him into exile. The Dalai Lama then repudiates the ‘17-Point Agreement’, claiming Chinese duress.

1960 A CIA-funded Tibetan guerrilla base is established in Mustang, Nepal, to continue covert resistance against the Chinese occupation. The Tibetan Government-in-exile moves from its temporary base to Dharamsala, northwest India.

1966 Mao Zedong’s ‘Cultural Revolution’ begins. According to official Chinese statistics, 79 per cent of Tibet’s religious sites were destroyed and 93 per cent of monks had to take off their robes.

1971 China stations its first nuclear weapons in Tibet’s northeastern Amdo province.

1976 The death of Mao Zedong and the end of the ‘Cultural Revolution’.

1984 The Tibetan Government-in-exile announces that 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese occupation since 1950.

1987 The Dalai Lama presents his Five Point Peace Plan during a speech in Washington.

1988 The Dalai Lama addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He suggests a compromise whereby Tibet could have autonomy for its internal affairs under China’s sovereignty, with China remaining responsible for Tibet’s foreign policy (known as the ‘Middle Way’). He is criticized for this position by some Tibetan groups.

1989 China declares martial law in Tibet after three days of protest demonstrations in Lhasa. The Dalai Lama wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

1990 A reception centre for refugees is opened in Dharamsala.

1991 US President George H Bush signs a congressional resolution declaring Tibet an occupied country.

1995 The Dalai Lama announces Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a six-year-old child in Tibet, as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He is kidnapped by China, which enthrones another six-year-old boy as the 11th Panchen Lama. The whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents remain unknown.

1999 The World Bank approves a $160-million loan to China to resettle some 58,000 Chinese farmers in Amdo. Tibetans argue that the cultural survival of local nomadic people is threatened.

2000 The 17th Karmapa Lama, 14-year-old Orgyen Trinley Dorje, the third-ranking lama in Tibetan Buddhism, escapes Tibet for India.

2001 Tibetans in exile vote for the first time to select the kalon tripa (prime minister). Samdhong Rinpoche is elected with over 80 per cent of the votes.

2006 A new railway is opened, linking Lhasa and the Chinese city of Golmund. Critics say this will further increase the influx of Han Chinese into Tibet.

2008 In March, protests break out in Lhasa. According to Tibetan sources, over 150 Tibetans are killed and over 2,000 arrested. In August, China hosts the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing. Pro-Tibetan protests arise all over the world, severely disrupting the passage of the Olympic Torch. In October, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband makes a parliamentary statement officially recognizing China’s sovereignty over Tibet.

2009 Tibetans cancel New Year celebrations due on 25 February in mourning for those killed by Chinese forces in the 2008 uprising, and in protest at the continuing crackdown. The usual singing and dancing is replaced by silence and the lighting of butter lamps both in Tibet and in exile.

Source: http://www.newint.org/issues/current/

From Phayul:

Inside Tibet people have made the decision not to celebrate Losar this year. It appears to be not just an expression of sorrow for those Tibetan shot, tortured and imprisoned in last years uprising, but also an act of defiance against the Chinese government that wants to show the world that Tibetans enjoy religious and cultural freedoms under its rule. In exile there has been some debate on whether or not to celebrate Losar. There are valid arguments on both sides, but then again the logic of revolution is another thing altogether. When the struggle calls we can only obey.

Earlier I had written a cultural essay for Losar, but then I decided on a a more political gift for Rangzen advocates and activists. The following piece is actually a pamphlet to be distributed on March 10 and future rallies and meeting, but I thought that those who believe in Rangzen might enjoying sitting back with a chang-koe and reading it on Losar day. Most of us have a general idea of the facts that have been presented before the UN and the world, to show that Tibet was an independent country before the Communist invasion: treaties, the Shakabpa passport, the flag and so on. I have tried to provide details that are probably not that well known but which I hope will edify and perhaps even cheer and encourage.

I have attempted to be scrupulously honest with the facts and have provided authentic references for nearly every claim or statement made in the pamphlet. Since the pamphlet had to be kept short, all the references, additional material, related documentation, photographs, maps, illustrations, audio clips and bibliography will be on a website www.rangzen.net. You can access what you want on the section “Independent Tibet – Some Facts” and clicking on the reference number.

The fully laid-out and illustrated pamphlet can be downloaded (in black & white or colour) at the website and can be printed at home or at a commercial printer. Individuals or organization can print and distribute the pamphlet, and space is provided on the front cover for the organizations credit line. The website will be up in a few days – definitely before March 10.

INDEPENDENT TIBET – SOME FACTS
Compiled by Jamyang Norbu for the Rangzen Alliance

FUNCTIONING STATE
Before the Chinese Communist invasion of 1950 Tibet was a fully functioning and independent state. It threatened none of its neighbors, fed its population unfailingly, year after year, with no help from the outside world. Tibet owed no money to any country or international institutions, and maintained basic law and order. Tibet banned capital punishment in 1913 (mentioned by a number of foreign travelers [1]) and was one of the first countries in the world to do so. There is no record of it persecuting minorities (e.g. Muslims [2]) or massacring sections of its population from time to time as China and some other countries do – remember Tiananmen. Although its frontiers with India, Nepal and Bhutan were completely unguarded, very few Tibetans fled their country as economic or political refugees. There was not a single Tibetan immigrant in the USA or Europe before the Communist invasion.

FOREIGN MILITARY INVASION NOT “PEACEFUL LIBERATION”
On the dawn of 6th October 1950, the 52nd, 53rd & 54th divisions of the 18th Army[3] of the Red Army (probably over 40,000 troops) attacked the Tibetan frontier guarded by 3,500 regular soldiers and 2,000 Khampa militiamen. Recent research by a Chinese scholar reveals that Mao Zedong met Stalin on 22nd January 1950 and asked for the Soviet air force to transport supplies for the invasion of Tibet. Stalin replied: “It’s good you are preparing to attack Tibet. The Tibetans need to be subdued.”[4]

An English radio operator (employed by the Tibetan government) at the Chamdo front wrote that Tibetan forward defences at the main ferry point on the Drichu River fought almost to the last man.[5] In the south at the river crossing near Markham, the Tibetan advance guards fought heroically but were wiped out, according to an English missionary there.[6] Surviving units conducted fighting retreats westwards, in good order. No unit fled or surrendered. Four days into the retreat, one regiment was overwhelmed and destroyed. Only two weeks after the initial attack, the Tibetan army surrendered. The biography of a Communist official states “Many Tibetans were killed and wounded in the Chamdo campaign.” and “… the Tibetan soldiers fought bravely, but they were no match for the superior numbers and better training”[7] of the Chinese forces. According to the only Western military expert who wrote on the Chinese invasion of Tibet “…the Reds suffered at least 10,000 casualties.”[8]

It was not a peaceful liberation of Tibet as Beijing claims. In 1956 the Great Khampa Uprising started and spread throughout the country culminating in the March Uprising of 1959. Guerilla operations only ceased in 1974. “A conservative estimate would have to be no less than half-a-million”[9] Tibetans killed in the fighting. Many more died in the subsequent political campaigns, forced labor camps (laogai) and the great famine. The revolutionary uprisings throughout Tibet in 2008 and the brutal Chinese crackdown clearly demonstrate that the struggle continues today.

NATIONAL FLAG
The modern Tibetan national flag was adopted in 1916.[10] Its first appearance before the world was in National Geographic Magazine’s “Flags of the World” issue of 1934[11] and other publications, and was reproduced in the early thirties in cigarette card collections in Europe.[12]

The flag was probably too new and unknown to appear in the very first flag issue (1917) of the National Geographic, but Tibet did receive mention in an article on medieval flags in that same issue.[13] According to an eminent vexillologist, Professor Lux-Worm, the national flag of Tibet was based on an older 7th century snow lion standard of the Tibetan Emperor, Songtsen Gampo.[14] It should be borne in mind that over 90% of the flags of the nations in the UNO were created after WWII, including the present national flag of China.

NATIONAL ANTHEM
The old Tibetan national anthem or national hymn, Gangri Rawae or “Snow Mountain Rampart” was composed in 1745 by the (secular) Tibetan ruler Pholanas.[15] It was recited at the end of official ceremonies and sung at the beginning of opera performances in Lhasa.[16] When the Tibetan government came into exile in India, a more modern national anthem, Sishe Pende (“Universal Peace and Benefits”)[17] was composed. The lyrics were written by the Dalai Lama’s tutor, Trichang Rimpoche who was considered a great poet in the classical nyengak (Skt. kaviya) tradititon.

MAPS OF TIBET
Many pre-1950 maps, globes and atlases showed Tibet as an independent nation separate from China. Some of the earliest maps on record of Asia show Tibet (variably spelled as Tobbat, Thibbet, or the Kingdom of Barantola) as separate from China or Cathay. A map of Asia drawn by the Dutch cartographer, Pietar van der Aa around 1680 shows Tibet in two parts but distinct from China;[18] as does a 1700 map drawn by the French cartographer Guillaume de L’isle, where Tibet is referred to as the “Kingdom of Grand Tibet.” [19] A map of India, China and Tibet published in the USA in 1877 represents Tibet as distinct from the two other nations.[20] An 1827 map of Asia drawn by Anthony Finley of Philadelphia, clearly shows “Great Thibet” as distinct from the Chinese Empire.[21]

Probably the largest stained glass globe in the world (in Boston), based on the Rand McNally 1934 map of the world, clearly shows Tibet as a separate nation.[22] (Tibet is in pink above India)

Following the publication of the great atlas commissioned by the Manchu Emperor Kangxi and created by Jesuit cartographers, some European maps in the mid-1700s began to depict Tibet as part of China. The Jesuits could not personally survey Tibet (as they had surveyed China and Manchuria) since Tibet was not part of the Chinese Empire. So they trained two Mongol monks in Beijing and sent them to make a secret survey of Tibet. Similar clandestine surveys of Tibet were conducted by British mapmakers using trained Himalayan natives and even a Mongol monk. An American sinologist has observed that, like European colonial powers, China could be said to have used cartography to further its “Colonial Enterprise” in Tibet and Korea.[23]

TIBETAN CURRENCY
Before the Chinese invasion, Tibet had its own currency based on the Tam and Srang denomination system. The earliest coinage used in Tibet was silver and struck in Nepal under a treaty agreement.[24] A joint Chinese-Tibetan currency (the Ganden Tanka) was issued when Manchu forces occupied Tibet. After the Chinese army was expelled in 1912, Tibet minted its own coin using Buddhist and Tibetan designs. Paper currency was only introduced into Tibet in the early 20th century, but according to the numismatist Wolfgang Bertsch, these bank notes were “small works of art.”[25] A unique aspect of Tibetan banknotes was that the serial numbers were handwritten by a guild of specialist calligraphists, the epa, to prevent forgery.

Even after the Communist invasion, Tibetans successfully undermined Chinese efforts to take over its currency. Official Chinese currency only came into use after the departure of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government from Tibet in March 1959.26

TIBETAN PASSPORTS
The Tibetan government issued its own passports to travelers entering its borders or (the few) Tibetans who traveled abroad. Before WWII, the term passports covered visas and travel documents in general. The earliest record of a Tibetan passport issued to a foreign traveler is in 1688 to an Armenian merchant, Hovannes (Johannes).[27]

The Tibetan government gave its approval for the first-ever Everest expedition (1921). Charles Bell, the visiting British diplomat in Lhasa wrote “I received from the Tibetan Government a passport in official form, which granted permission for the climbing of Mount Everest.”[28] The subsequent Everest expeditions of 1922, 1924 and 1936[29] also received passports from the Tibetan government. Passports were sometimes issued for scientific undertakings: the Schaeffer expedition of 1939,[30] Tucci’s expedition of 1949 [31] and the plant hunter Frank Kingdon Ward in 1924.[32]

President Roosevelt’s two envoys to Tibet in 1942 were presented their passports at Yatung.[33] The Americans Lowell Thomas Jr. and Sr. visited Tibet in 1949, and were issued “Tibetan passports” at Dhomo. “When the Dalai Lama’s passport was spread out before us, I could not help thinking that many Western explorers who had failed to reach Lhasa would have highly prized a document like this.” [34]

The first modern Tibetan passport [35] with personal information, photograph and space for visas and endorsements was issued in 1948 to members of the Tibetan trade mission. It was modeled on the international one-page fold-out model of 1915. Britain, USA and seven other countries issued visas and transit visas for this document.

TREATIES
One of the most important treaties between the Tibetan Empire and the Chinese Empire dates back to AD 821-822. The text, carved in Tibetan and Chinese on a stone pillar [36] near the Jokhang temple in Lhasa states that “Great Tibet” and “Great China” would act towards each other with respect, friendship and equality.

As an independent nation, Tibet entered into treaties with neighboring states: Bushair 1681, Ladakh 1683 and 1842, Nepal 1856 and so on.

Tibet signed a number of treaties and conventions with Britain culminating in the Simla Treaty of 1914 by which British India and Tibet reached an agreement on their common frontier.[37] India’s present-day claims to the demarcation of its northern border is based on this treaty which was signed by Tibet – not China.

In January 1913, Tibet and Mongolia signed a treaty in Urga, the preamble of which reads: “Whereas Mongolia and Tibet having freed themselves from the Manchu dynasty and separated themselves from China, have become independent states, and whereas the two States have always professed one and the same religion, and to the end that their ancient mutual friendships may be strengthened…”[38] Declarations of friendship, mutual aid, Buddhist fraternity, and mutual trade etc. follow in the various articles. The Tibetan word “rangzen” is used throughout to mean “independence”.

A Tibetan Bureau of Foreign Affairs was established in 1942, which conducted diplomatic relations (and correspondence[39]) with Britain, USA, Nepal, independent India and China.

POST & TELEGRAPH SYSTEM
The modern Tibetan postal system was built on the older messenger system of the early Tibetan Empire and the later Mongol courier system. A Post and Telegraph Office (dak-tar laykhung) was created in 1920.[40] Postage stamps of various denominations were indigenously designed and hand-printed, and which are now collector’s items.[41] Though not a signatory to the International Postal Treaty, a system was created so that letters from Tibet could be delivered to foreign addresses, and letters from abroad be delivered inside Tibet.

Spencer Chapman, visiting Lhasa in 1936, declared that “the postal and telegraph system is most efficient.”[42] The same system continued for a period after 1950. The Czech filmmaker Vladimir Cis had a letter from his family in Prague delivered to him in the wilderness of Tibet by a postal runner.[43]

A telegraph line from India to Lhasa was completed in 1923, along with a basic telephone service.[44] Both were open for public use. The Tibetan capital was electrified in 1927. The work of installing both the hydroelectric plant and the distribution system was undertaken near “single-handedly”[45] by a young Tibetan engineer, Ringang. All these projects were initiated and paid for by the Tibetan government. Radio Lhasa was launched in 1948 and broadcasted news in Tibetan, English and Chinese.[46]

WITNESSES TO INDEPENDENT TIBET
The fact that Tibet was a peaceful, independent country is attested to by the writings of many impartial western observers [47] who not only visited pre-invasion Tibet, but even lived there for considerable periods of time – as the titles of some of their memoirs seem to proudly proclaim: Twenty Years in Tibet (David McDonald)[48], Eight Years in Tibet (Peter Aufschnieter)[49], Seven Years in Tibet (Heinrich Harrer)[50]. The premier scholar on Tibet, Hugh Richardson lived for a total of eight years in Tibet, and his many writings[51] reveal a country that was functioning, orderly, peaceful and with a long history of political independence and cultural achievement. Another great scholar and diplomat, Charles Bell, regarded as the “architect of Britain’s Tibet policy,” was convinced that Britain and America’s refusal to recognize Tibetan independence (but which they sometimes tacitly acknowledged when it was to their advantage) was largely dictated by their desire “to increase their commercial profits in China.”[52]

It is almost certain that none of the official propagandists who demonize Tibet in Chinese publications had witnessed life in old Tibet. In fact, none of Beijing’s Tibet propagandists in the West (Michael Parenti, Tom Grunfeld, Barry Sautman et al)[53] had visited Tibet before 1980. They often misrepresent the old Tibetan society and government with select quotes from English journalists and officials (L. A. Waddell, Percival Landon, Edmund Candler, Captain W.F.T. O’Connor) who accompanied the British invasion force of 1904, and who sought to justify that violent imperialist venture into Tibet by demonizing Tibetan society and institutions.

The only high-ranking Chinese official with scholarly credentials who spent any length of time in old Tibet was Dr. Shen Tsung-lien, representative of the Republic of China in Lhasa (1944-1949). In his book Tibet and the Tibetans, Dr. Shen writes of a nation clearly distinct from China, and one that “…had enjoyed full independence since 1911.” He writes truthfully of a hierarchical, conservative society “fossilized many centuries back” but whose people were orderly, peaceable and hospitable – but also “notorious litigants,” adding that “few peoples in the world are such eloquent pleaders.” Shen also mentions “Appeals may be addressed to any office to which the disputants belong, or even to the Dalai Lama or his regent.”[54]

Reference Notes. (the expanded version will be on the website)

Bell, Charles. Tibet Past and Present. London: Oxford University Press, 1924. See index: “Capital punishment abolished in Tibet, 142, 143, 236.”

Byron, Robert. First Russia then Tibet. London: Macmillan & Co., 1933. pg 204: “Capital punishment was now abolished.”

McGovern, William. To Lhasa in Disguise. New York: Century Co., 1924. pg 388-389.

Kingdon-Ward, Frank. In the Land of The Blue Poppies. New York: Modern Library, 2003. pg 22.

Winnington, Alan. Tibet: The Record of a Journey. London: Lawrence & Wishart Ltd., 1957.

2 Henry, Gray. Islam in Tibet. Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae, 1997.

Nadwi, Dr. Abu Bakr Amir-uddin. Tibet and Tibetan Muslims, Dharamsala: Library of TibetanWorks & Archives, 2004.

3 Goldstein, Melvyn. A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa PhuntsoWangye. University of California Press, 2004, pg 137

4 Chang, Jung & Jon Halliday. Mao: The Unknown Story. London: Jonathan Cape, 2005.

5 Ford, Robert. Captured in Tibet. London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd, 1957. pg 158.

6 Bull, Geoffrey T. When Iron Gates Yield. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1955. pg 130.

7 Goldstein, Melvyn. A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa PhuntsoWangye. University of California Press, 2004, pg 139.

8 O’Ballance, Edgar. The Red Army of China. London: Faber & Faber, 1962. pg 189-190.

9 Norbu, Jamyang. “The Forgotten Anniversary – Remembering the Great Khampa Uprising of1956″. Thursday, December 07, 2006, Phayul.

10 Tsarong, Dundul Namgyal. In the Service of His Country: The Biography of Dasang DamdulTsarong Commander General of Tibet. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000. pg 51

11 Grosvenor, Gilbert and William J. Showalter, “Flags of the World”. The National GeographicMagazine: September, 1934 – Vol. LXVI – No. 3. Washington, D.C.” National Geographic Society, 1934.

12 Tibet Nationalflagge, Bulgaria Zigarettenfabrik, Dresden,1933. (From a series non-European countries, pictures 201-400) Courtesy of Prof. Dr. Jan Andersson.

13 Grosvenor, Gilbert H. “The Heroic Flags of the Middle Ages.” The National Geographic Magazine: October, 1917 – Vol. Xxxii – No. 4. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1917.

14 Lux-Wurm, Pierre C. “The Story of the Flag of Tibet.” Flag Bulletin: Vol. XII – No. 1. Spring 1973.

15 OLD TIBETAN NATIONAL HYMN
Ghang ri rawe kor we shingkham di
Phen thang dewa ma loe jungwae ne
Chenrezig wa Tenzin Gyatso yin
Shelpal se thae bhardu
Ten gyur chik

Circled by ramparts of snow-mountains,
This sacred realm,
This wellspring of all benefits and happiness
Tenzin Gyatso, bodhisattva of Compassion.
May his reign endure
Till the end of all existence
(my translation)

The eminent Tibetan scholar, Tashi Tsering citing the historical work Bka’ blon rtogs brjod, says that this verse was composed by the Tibetan ruler, Phola lha nas, (in 1745/46) in praise of the 7th Dalai Lama. “Reflections on Thang stong rgyal po as the founder of the a lce lha mo tradition of Tibetan performing arts,”The Singing Mask: Echoes of Tibetan Opera, Lungta Winter 2001 No 15, eds. Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy and Tashi Tsering)

16 Audio clip of namthar (opera aria) of National Hymn sung by Techung. Courtesy of Chaksampa

17 TIBETAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
Sishe phende dhoe gu jung wei ter
Thubten sampel norbu honang bar
Tendro nor dzin gyache kyong wey gon
Trinle kyi rolsto gye
Dorje kham sum tenpey
Chok kun jham tse kyong
Nam khoe gawa gyaden u pang gungla beg
Phuntso deshi nga thang gye
Bhojong cholkha sum gyi kyonla deyden sar pey khyap
Chosi kyi pelon tar
Thubten chochu gyepe dzamling yangpi kyegu shidi pela jor
Bhojong tendro getzen nyi woe kyi
Tashi woe nang humdu tro mi zi
Nachoe munpey yul ley gye gyur chi

TIBETAN NATIONAL ANTHEM (Translation)
The source of temporal and spiritual wealth of joy and boundless benefits
The Wish-fulfilling Jewel of the Buddha’s Teaching, blazes forth radiant light
The all-protecting Patron of the Doctrine and of all sentient beings
By his actions stretches forth his influence like an ocean
By his eternal Vajra-nature
His compassion and loving care extend to beings everywhere
May the divinely appointed rule achieve the heights of glory
And increase its fourfold influence and prosperity
May a golden age of joy and happiness spread once more through the three regions of Tibet
And may its temporal and spiritual splendour shine again
May the Buddha’s Teaching spread in all the ten directions and lead all beings 
in the universe to glorious peace
May the spiritual Sun of the Tibetan faith and People
Emitting countless rays of auspicious light
Victoriously dispel the strife of darkness

Lyrics composed in 1959 by Kyapje Trichang Rinpoche, tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

18 Image. A map of Asia drawn by the Dutch cartographer, Pietar van der Aa around 1680 shows Tibet in two parts but distinct from China.

19 Image. A map of Asia drawn by the French cartographer, Guillaume de L’isle, around 1700, where Tibet is referred to as the “Kingdom of Grand Tibet.”

20 Image. “Map of Hindoostan, Farther India, China and Tibet”. Constructed & engraved by W.Williams, Phila. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1877 by S Augustus Mitchell in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

21 Image. An 1827 map of Asia drawn by Anthony Finley of Philadelphia, clearly showing “Great Tibet” as distinct from the Chinese Empire.

22 The Mapparium, is a thirty-foot stained-glass globe room in the lobby of the Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, which gives one a unique “inside view” of the world. The political boundries are frozen circa 1935. It was based on Rand McNally’s 1934 map of the world,. At this size, the scale amounts to approximately 22 miles to the inch.

In the photograph Tibet (pink) can be seen directly at the back above British India (red) and to the side of China (yellow).

Check URL for history and directions. [Link1] [Link2]

23 Hostetler, Laura. Qing Colonial Enterprise: Ethnography and Cartography in Early ModernChina. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.

24 Bertsch, Wolfgang. The Currency of Tibet. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 2002.

25 Bertsch, Wolfgang. A Study of Tibetan Paper Money: With a Critical Bibliography, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1997.

26 Rhodes, N.G. “The First Coins Struck in Tibet”. Tibet Journal. Winter 1990: (LTWA), Dharamsala.

27 Richardson, Hugh. “Reflections on a Tibetan Passport”. High Peaks Pure Earth: Collected Writings on Tibetan History & Culture. London: Serindia Publications, 1998. pg 482.

28 Bell, Charles. Portrait of a Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1987. pg 278.

29 Gould, B.J. The Jewel in the Lotus: Recollections of an Indian Political. London: Chatto & Windus, 1957. pg 210-211.

30 Englehardt, Isrun. Tibet in 1938-39: Photographs from the Ernst Schafer Expedition to Tibet. Chicago: Serindia, 2007. pg 121.

31 Tucci, Guiseppe. To Lhasa and Beyond. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH, 1983. pg 14-15.

32 Cox, Kennith. Frank Kingdon Ward’s, Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges. United Kingdom: Antique Collector’s Club, 2001. pg 75.

33 Tolstoy, Lt.Col. Ilia. “Across Tibet From India To China”. The National Geographic Magazine. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, August 1946. “This letter was a piece of red cotton cloth about 16 inches wide and two feet long, to be carried in the bosom or on a staff by an outrider who would precede the party by one or two days. It stated that two American officers were en route to visit the Dalai Lama…”

34 Thomas, Lowell Jr. Out of This World: Across the Himalayas to Forbidden Tibet. New York: The Greystone Press, 1950. pg 79-80.

35 Facsimile of Shakabpa passport

36 Photograph. Treaty Pillar of AD 821-822 within protective enclosure.

37 The Sino-Indian Boundary Question (Enlarged Edition). Peking: Foreign Language Press, 1962. Photostat of eastern sector of original map of the McMahon line with signatures and seals of Tibetan and British plenipotentiaries, Delhi 24 March 1914. Original scale 1:5000,000.

38 Facsimile of the Tibet-Mongolia Treaty of 1913, and English translation.

39 Facsimile of Tibetan Foreign Bureau letter (and English translation) to Mao Tse-tung in 1949 .

40 Waterfall, Arnold C. The Postal History of Tibet. London: Robson Lowe Ltd., 1965.

41 Images of Tibetan stamps and covers.

42 Chapman, F. Spencer. Lhasa the Holy City. London: Chatto and Windus, 1940. pg 87.

43 Cis, Peter. Tibet, Through the Red Box. New York: Francis Foster Books, 1998.

44 David, MacDonald. Twenty Years in Tibet. New Delhi: Vintage Books, 1991. (first published 1932). pg 287.

45 Tsarong, Dundul Namgyal. In the Service of His Country: The Biography of Dasang Damdul Tsarong Commander General of Tibet. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000. pg 62.

46 Brauen, Martin. Peter Aufschnaiter’s Eight Years in Tibet. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2002.

In 1948, Radio Lhasa started the first of its daily broadcasts to the outside world. At five p.m., the station would go on air. The news was read in Tibetan, and then in English by Reginald Fox or by Kyibuk, one of the surviving Rugby students and an official at the Tibetan Foreign Bureau. Finally, the news was read in Chinese by Phuntsok Tashi Takla, the Dalai Lama’s brother-in-law. Official announcements were also read over the radio, as this one prepared by Aufschnaiter:
“We have the honour to announce that Radio Lhasa will broadcast an announcement of the enthronement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the ruler of Tibet, together with a proclamation of the Tibetan government to the Tibetan people and the world, on Friday 17 November 1950, at 5.45 p.m. Indian Standard Time.”

47 Statement by Westerners who visited Tibet before 1949 (London13 September 1994). Mr Robert Ford, Mrs Ronguy Collectt (daughter of Sir Charles Bell), Dr Bruno Beger, Mr Henreich Harrer, Mrs Joan Mary Jehu , Mr Archibald Jack, Prof. Fosco Maraini and Mr Kazi Sonam Togpyal of Sikkim. http://www.tibet.com/Status/statement.html

48David, MacDonald. Twenty Years in Tibet. New Delhi: Vintage Books, 1991. (first published 1932). pg 287.

49 Brauen, Martin. Peter Aufschnaiter’s Eight Years in Tibet. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2002.

50 Harrer, Heinrich. Seven Years in Tibet. London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1953.

51 Richardson, H.E. High Peaks Pure Earth: Collected Writings on Tibetan History & Culture. London: Serindia Publications, 1998.

Richardson, H.E. Tibet and Its History. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.

Richardson, H.E. and David Snellgrove. A Cultural History of Tibet. London: George Wiedenfeld & Nicholson,1968.

52 Bell, Charles. Portrait of a Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1987. pg 396.

53 Norbu, Jamyang. “Running-Dog Propagandists” Phayul.com, [Monday, July 14, 2008 09:37]

54 Shen, Tsung-lien and Shen-chi Liu. Tibet and the Tibetans. California: Stanford University Press, 1953. pg 112.

A handful of human rights NGO’s are up in arms because Madame Secretary Clinton is not going to beat China up over human rights abuses during her upcoming visit.  The State Department announced that human rights would be “an important issue” for Clinton but that she would be careful to only raise this important issue when “appropriate”.  Groups like Amnesty International believe that only the United States has the power to move China on the issue of human rights, so to hear that Madame Secretary will only discuss them as an aside when the important talking wraps up strikes the human rights campaigners as defeat.  It probably is defeat.  And while the upset is understandable, it stems from an inability to connect dots outside their specific area of concern.

China has never been pushed on human rights, particularly by anyone named Clinton.  The same consternation existed when Madame Secretary’s husband worked to have China become the most-favored nation of the United States and to bring about its ascension into the WTO.  The same caveat was employed then: (roughly) “It’s very important to us, but not as important as other things.”  Diplomacy is an art of many personas, the one presented to the public almost never gives an indication of the true face beneath the pronouncements.  In fact, it is almost always carefully desinged not to reveal much of anything unless you know the code and read between the lines.

Either Secretary Clinton is terrible at diplomatic code speak or she just doesn’t care if the mask slips.

She remarked to reports in Seoul, “But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis.”  Rare is the event of a top-level diplomat speaking so honestly.  Allow me to rephrase, “Look, I’m heading to Beijing with hat-in-hand.  If you honestly expect me to harangue them for jailing the Fulon-gong, then you’re delusional.  You wouldn’t walk into the bank and preface a mortgage application with demands on the banker’s behavior, yet you expect me to do just that?  You’re all out of your frickin’ minds.”

It wasn’t much more than a week ago that a director-general at the China Banking Regulatory Commission said, “We hate you guys. Once you start issuing $1 trillion-$2 trillion [$1,000bn-$2,000bn] . . .we know the dollar is going to depreciate, so we hate you guys but there is nothing much we can do.”* Another statement of uncharateristic bluntness.

So not only is Clinton going to see the banker, she’s going to see a very upset banker.  Her boss has already signed a massive stimulus plan; the  military machine must be kept running; and there are two very conflicts that require large, extra-budgetary expenditures.  All of this on an empty bank account.  She knows who pays the bills, even if Amnesty International and Students for a Free Tibet do not…or don’t want to think that these realities factor into US behavior towards China.

She’s going to Beijing on her knees.  Welcome to the New American Century.

*Quote is from an FT.com article that now requires a paid subscription.

I am so angry with Hillary Clinton. Obama was the only Presidential Candidate vocal about the issue of Tibet, yet his Secretary of State is blatantly ignoring the severity of the issue.

From the Associated Press:

Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet.

“But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,” Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing.

T. Kumar of Amnesty International USA said the global rights lobby was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by Clinton’s remarks.

“The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues,” he said.

“But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future US initiatives to protect those rights in China,” he said.

Students for a Free Tibet said Clinton’s remarks sent the wrong signal to China at a sensitive time.

“The US government cannot afford to let Beijing set the agenda,” said Tenzin Dorjee, deputy director of the New York-based advocacy group.

China has been pouring troops into the Himalayan territory ahead of next month’s 50th anniversary of the uprising that sent Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama into exile in India.

“Leaders really need to step up and pressure China. It’s often easy to wonder whether pressure makes a difference. It may not make a difference in one day or one month, but it would be visible after some years,” Dorjee said.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had sent a letter to Clinton before her maiden Asia visit urging her to raise human rights concerns with Chinese leaders.

Before she left, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said human rights would be “an important issue” for Clinton and that she would “raise the issue when appropriate.”

China has greeted President Barack Obama’s administration nervously, believing he would press Beijing harder on human rights and trade issues than former president George W. Bush.

Students for a Free Tibet: Our Nation Episode 4

From BBC:

Tibetan exiles meeting in India have agreed to back the Dalai Lama’s policy of seeking autonomy, rather than full independence from China.The Tibetan spiritual leader’s approach to continue talks with Beijing received the majority vote at the meeting in Dharamsala, but delegates concluded that if China makes no effort to meet the demands, other options would be put forward.

Click here for another report.

A generation gap in Tibet’s royal family

Jyoti Thottam in TIME:

Khedroob Thondup nephew of the Dalai Lama. AP

“I was seven years old in 1959, and I was studying in Darjeeling,” recalls Khedroop Thondop. “One day my teachers told me that I was to go and receive someone at the train station. That’s when I realized that I was related to His Holiness and that I was Tibetan.”

As the Dalai Lama’s nephew, the eldest son of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s eldest brother, Thondop, now 56, has already led an extraordinary life. He was born in Calcutta, where his father, a political leader in the Tibetan government, had been posted. He went to the elite St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi, got an MBA in the United States, ran a family business for several years in New York City, and then returned to India in 1977 to serve as his uncle’s special assistant. Two years later, he went to Beijing for Tibet’s first negotiations with China, taking notes on the meetings between his father and Chinese supreme authority at the time, Deng Xiaoping. For the last 21 years, he has run a center for Tibetan refugees in Darjeeling and has served three terms in the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.

More:

Born in exile: the young Tibetans of Dharamsala

In the streets of Dharamsala, Sébastien Daguerressar, special correspondent of France 24 channel, got firsthand testimonies from these young Indian-born Tibetans, who dream of winning back a country they have never seen.

Khendrab Palden

He sits on the pavement, facing the temple on Dharamsala’s main road. Teacup in hand and MP3 player in his ears, he takes in the sun. “I’m considering exile,’ he says, anticipating my question. His name is Khenrab Palden, 26, and exile for him is not just a personal goal – it’s a professional one. He is a filmmaker. His parents left Tibet before he was born, he explains. But thanks to the Tibetan community, his parents set up a business and managed to send their son to study in the US.

In Massachusetts, Khernrab studies anthropology, the history of religion, and film. “I feel 60% Tibetan, 20% Indian, and 20% American. My country will be where I make my living. Tibetans are like the Jews chased out of their countries by Hitler.”

More:

Previously in AW: At exile meeting, Tibetans debate independence

From Phayul.com

Zhu Weiqun, Vice-Minister of the United Front Work Department, received a noisy reception during his visit to London, Students for a Free Tibet said. Tibetans and supporters chanted slogans against Zhu and Chinese government at Chatham house at St. James square where Zhu took part in a ’round-table’ discussion on the recent failure of the eighth round of talks.

A Chinese FedEx employee briefly disrupted the protest as he stormed towards the Tibetan protesters in an attempt to provoke the Tibetans into confrontation. He snatched a Tibetan national flag from a Tibetan protester and snapped the flagpole. The Chinese man was warned by the police for his provocative behavior.

Padma Dolma, a Tibetan student, threw herself in front of the Chinese diplomat’s entourage carrying a Tibetan national flag. Four other Tibetans splashed tomato sauce onto the windows of the car in which Zhu was traveling.

A protester splashes tomato sauce on a van carrying Chinese officials in a symbolic representation of bloody killings in Tibet.

The protesters banged the glasses and yelled, “Zhu Weiqun, liar, liar.” Pema Yoko, who took part in the skirmish, said the Tibetans will not stand down to the Chinese government. “We showed the London public that the Chinese government is responsible for the bloodshed and death of hundreds of Tibetans in a brutal crackdown after the protest in Tibet in March this year.”
Zhu Weiqun in the firs ever press conference by China after talks with Tibetan envoys accused the Dalai Lama as being responsible to for the failure to make any progress.

Zhu Weiqun was among the Chinese representatives who met with the Tibetan delegation during the two-day talks in Beijing last week. The Executive vice minister of China’s Central United Front, the Chinese government department in charge of talks with representatives of Dalai Lama, said Monday that no progress was made at recent talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama and accused the exiled leader of trying to split Tibet from China.

“The sovereignty is the most fundamental issue. The Dalai has — by denying Chinese sovereignty over Tibet — been trying to seek a legal basis for his claims of independence or semi-independence over Tibet,” Zhu said at the press conference on Nov 10.

Tibet supporters also condemned the Chinese government’s latest wave of hard-line rhetoric. “To spuriously blame the Tibetan side for the collapse of talks was patently false, but to accuse the Dalai Lama of plotting ‘apartheid’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Tibet is both ludicrous and deeply offensive to all Tibetans,” said Terry Bettger, Campaigns Coordinator of Students for a Free Tibet UK. “Rhetoric like this only serves to embarrass Chinese diplomacy on the world stage, and exposes the absolute lack of sincerity the Chinese government have shown to talks with the Dalai Lama’s envoys.”

Found this article via The Worst Horse from Boing Boing

An update on the pro-Tibet tech-art protests happening in Beijing: Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) tells Boing Boing that a group of five pro-Tibet activists displayed an LED Throwie Banner near the Olympics site in Beijing. The protesters, all of whom are US nationals, were promptly detained by Chinese authorities.

From SFT, via email to BB:

This was inspired by GRL’s “Throwies” project, and the building and implementation of this was done by a complete separate group of Tibet activitists. They combined a traditional protest banner with over five hundred throwie lights and batteries sewn and taped onto the banner.

Details on the SFT website, Photos on Flickr, and here is a short video. “Still no more news on GRL founder James Powderly at this point,” a SFT rep tells us. Previous BB post on Powderly’s detention in Beijing, over 24 hours ago.

Here’s a snip from the SFT press release about today’s action:

Five pro-Tibet activists unfurled a banner spelling out “Free Tibet” in English and Chinese in bright blue LED “throwie” lights in Beijing’s Olympic Park tonight. The five were detained by security personnel after displaying the banner for about 20 seconds at 11:48 pm August 19th. Their whereabouts are unknown. The detained activists are Americans Amy Johnson, 33, Sam Corbin, 24, Liza Smith, 31, Jacob Blumenfeld, 26, and Lauren Valle, 21.

“The Chinese government is desperate to turn the world’s attention away from its abuses in Tibet as the Olympics take place, but the creativity and determination of Tibetans and their supporters has once again ensured that Tibetan voices are heard and seen in Beijing despite the massive security clampdown,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The Chinese leadership must realize that the only way it can make the issue of Tibet disappear is to acknowledge the demands of the Tibetan people and work with them to bring an end to China’s occupation of Tibet.”

The lights used on the banner are blue 10 mm light-emitting diodes (LEDs) powered by small batteries, commonly known as “throwies.” Throwies are open-source technology attributed to OpenLab and Graffiti Research Lab, developed as a means of creating non-destructive graffiti and light displays. This is the first time ever that they have been used on a banner. James Powderly, free speech activist and co-founder of the Graffiti Research Lab (GRL), was detained in Beijing early this morning (see http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/jamespowderly).

Five pro-Tibet activists unfurled a banner spelling out “Free Tibet” in English and Chinese in bright blue LED “throwie” lights in Beijing’s Olympic Park tonight. The five were detained by security personnel after displaying the banner for about 20 seconds at 11:48 pm August 19th. Their whereabouts are unknown.

The detained activists are Americans Amy Johnson, 33, Sam Corbin, 24, Liza Smith, 31, Jacob Blumenfeld, 26, and Lauren Valle, 21.

“The Chinese government is desperate to turn the world’s attention away from its abuses in Tibet as the Olympics take place, but the creativity and determination of Tibetans and their supporters has once again ensured that Tibetan voices are heard and seen in Beijing despite the massive security clampdown,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The Chinese leadership must realize that the only way it can make the issue of Tibet disappear is to acknowledge the demands of the Tibetan people and work with them to bring an end to China’s occupation of Tibet.”

The lights used on the banner are blue 10 mm light-emitting diodes (LEDs) powered by small batteries, commonly known as “throwies.” Throwies are open-source technology attributed to OpenLab and Graffiti Research Lab, developed as a means of creating non-destructive graffiti and light displays. This is the first time ever that they have been used on a banner. James Powderly, free speech activist and co-founder of the Graffiti Research Lab (GRL), was detained in Beijing early this morning (link).

Students for a Free Tibet has staged seven protests in Beijing over the last two weeks, placing the issue of Tibet’s occupation front and centre as China hosts the Olympic Games. The protests have included a dramatic banner hang near the Bird’s Nest Stadium; a display of Tibetan flags near the Bird’s Nest just before the opening ceremony began; a symbolic die-in at Tiananmen Square; a protest by a Tibetan woman with flags outside Tiananmen Square; a blockade of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park; and “Free Tibet” banner hang outside the CCTV headquarters. Thirty-seven members and supporters have been detained and deported, not including those detained today.

Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is a network of young people and activists campaigning for Tibetan independence, with 700 chapters in more than 30 countries worldwide. SFT’s international headquarters are in New York, with offices in Toronto, London, and Dharamsala, India.

Contacts: In Asia, Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director, and Kate Woznow, Campaigns Director, +1 917 289 0219 or +44 20 7084 6245

Watch video here.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has backed away from a DMCA take-down request to remove a YouTube video of a Tibetan protest at the Chinese consulate in New York.

The video in question (see below) was clearly not an example of copyright infringement. YouTube and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) both pushed back against the IOC, which then withdrew their complaint. As the EFF notes, however, the inaccurate title of the video was “Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony,” so in all likelihood, the IOC was filing DMCA notices for Olympics content, which has been springing up on YouTube faster than they can take it down.

Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project, was impressed that YouTube went beyond the call of duty in pushing back at the IOC. With the sheer volume of DMCA requests that YouTube must be fielding with the Olympics, taking the time to double-check the content is certainly impressive. At the same time, however, it highlights how much work YouTube has to do in terms of policing copyrighted content. The number of legal notices they have to respond to consume time and resources that might be put to better use.