FW: [WTNN] World Tibet Network News - December 16, 2010

[Alex Bunjes]

 
Thursday, December 16, 2010
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Issue ID: 2010/12/16
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Contents
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1. 'Kashmir to us is what Tibet is to China' (The Times of India)
2. Tibet key to resolve Indo-China border dispute: Kalon Tripa (TibetNet)
3. The Next Dalai Lama: China has a choice (Guardian)
4. Dharamsala calm as Wen arrives in India (IANS)
5. Deal with China from a position of strength: Dalai Lama aide (Indian Express)
6. Exiled Tibetan govt: Tibet central to Sino-India border dispute (TOI)
7. Wen and the art of Tai Chi (The Pioneer)
8. Wen, will you give us Tibet, ask refugees (The Times of India)
9. His Holiness the Dalai Lama ringing the Bell of Peace (Taiwan News)
10. A Tibetan Singer Preserves Culture (Care2.com)
11. Richard Holbrooke and Tibet (Bhuchung Tsering)
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1. 'Kashmir to us is what Tibet is to China'
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The Times of India
16 Dec 2010

External affairs minister SM Krishna on Thursday (December 16) brought up Kashmir during his meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. According to sources, Krishna told Jiabao that Kashmir is still a core issue and Kashmir to India is like what Tibet is to China.

Issues like stapled visa and boundary disputes were also brought up. The Chinese Premier has told Krishna that Foreign Ministers of both countries must resolve all pending issues.

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today said foreign ministers of India and China should look into all the pending issues between the two countries.

Wen conveyed this to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna when the latter called on him here.

Both the foreign ministers should look into all pending issues, Wen is understood to have told Krishna, sources privy to the conversation said.

Warmly greeting Krishna, Wen told him that when China and India meet, the whole world watches.

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2. Tibet key to resolve Indo-China border dispute: Kalon Tripa
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TibetNet
Thursday, 16 December 2010

DHARAMSALA: The Central Tibetan Administration has said it would be a wishful thinking on the part of India and China to hope for a lasting solution to their border dispute unless the issue of Tibet hangs in the balance.
 
"In fact, there is no Sino-India border. Tibet is intertwined with the boundary problem between these two countries. There needs to be a political will in both India and China to resolve the boundary dispute," Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche told The Times of India yesterday. 
 
Kalon Tripa said: "Unless the question of Tibet hangs in the balance it is wishful thinking to hope for a lasting peace in the region."
 
"However, the Central Tibetan Administration wants stable relationship between the two Asian giants," he said adding that it would usher durable peace in the region.

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3. The Next Dalai Lama: China has a choice
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Enforcing 'China's Dalai Lama' will wreck reconciliation hopes. Reaching out to exile Tibetans could be a game-changer

Dibyesh Anand
Guardian.co.uk <http://Guardian.co.uk>
Wednesday 15 December 2010

It is not easy for any modern secularist country to deal with a faith-based institution that is far older than itself and refuses to be domesticated. Imagine a state that is professedly communist; tolerates religious beliefs for ordinary citizens, but not for the members of the dominant ruling party; and has within its territory a deeply religious ethnonationalist people who find most of their traditional leaders in exile accused of separatism. Yes, that state is the People's Republic of China; the people concerned are Tibetans; and the institution is that of the Dalai Lama.

What makes life difficult for the rulers in China is the fact that the Dalai Lama is more than a political and religious leader of Tibetan people; he is also a globally recognised personality known for his universalist values. The 14th Dalai Lama is a figure like no other, he is also a person who has shown himself to be remarkable.

As a figure, the Dalai Lama represents a centuries-old institution and is an embodiment of Avalokitesvara, a bodhisatva of compassion, and is the spirit of Tibetan nation. A bodhisatva is an enlightened being who stays back on earth to help people. As a person, the present Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has proven his leadership by taking Tibet out of its geographical location in the heart of Asia to unlikely places across the globe. Not only has he helped create a flourishing exile community in India, Nepal, Switzerland, and the United States – but through his ability to combine a universalist message of compassion, interfaith dialogue, and advocacy of the Tibetan cause, he has single-handedly given Tibetans an international visibility.

The politics of his international popularity, some of it now doubt animated by Sinophobia in the west, are a matter of debate, but not even the hawkish ideologues in Beijing can deny the fact that the Dalai Lama remains a formidable presence in the hearts and minds of most Tibetans living inside China. The Dalai Lama has lived in exile since 1959, and while he claims to want only "genuine autonomy" for Tibetans within China, the Communist government accuses him of harbouring desires for 'disguised independence' and separatism.

As the Dalai Lama gets older there is no sign of compromise between him and Beijing, prompting speculation about the future of the institution. The Dalai Lama adds to the confusion by giving conflicting indications and emphasising it is up to Tibetan people to decide. But who speaks in the name of this "Tibetan people"? China, whose control over Tibet is recognised by all other states in the world? Or the Dalai Lama-led exile government in the Indian town of Dharamsala, which is widely respected by many Tibetans as the continuation of the traditional Tibetan state?

A highly probable scenario for the 15th Dalai Lama is that there will be two of them: one boy recognised inside China with Beijing's blessings, another somewhere in exile. Lest someone thinks this is far-fetched, there are already two contending Panchen Lamas (next only to the Dalai Lama in importance), both inside China: one publicly feted, another not seen since his disappearance in 1995. There are two Karmapas, the head of the Kagyu sect, both in exile now. But having two Dalai Lamas, both under intense international public scrutiny, will be uncharted territory. The world might be spiritually richer with more tulkus ("living Buddhas"), but it will be the end of all hopes for reconciliation between China and its Tibetan population.

In 2007 China enacted a law that asserted the Chinese government as the final authority in the recognition process of tulkus. Exiles saw it as another onslaught on the much-cherished Tibetan Buddhism by the Chinese government, and foreign commentators were struck by the paradoxical scenario of a communist party claiming authority over an otherworldly matter .

However, China's attempts are not exceptional. Most secular states have laws in place to regulate faith-based institutions. For instance, Bhutan a small Himalayan kingdom, passed a resolution in 2005 that clarified the government's authority over reincarnations found inside the country's territory. Given that Tibet is recognised internationally as being under Chinese sovereignty and it is a common practice for secular states to assert their primacy over religious institutions, the crucial issue therefore is not the principle behind government interference, but the nature of it.

Beijing's ambiguous role

Does Beijing mean to facilitate the material and spiritual wellbeing of Tibetans and create a genuinely harmonious society? Or is the intervention to domesticate, and even subvert, the most cherished specificity of Tibetan Buddhism – the reincarnate lamas? If the latter, that is the driving force for the hardliners in the Communist party, aware that their actions will generate more friction between Tibetans and the government, and end any hope for reconciliation. China says that it wants to better manage Tibetan religious freedom provided in the constitution; but its critics reject this claim as a distortion of traditional religion and a cynical ploy to take control over the next Dalai Lama.

Reincarnate lamas, that is trulkus or "living buddhas", are embodied institutions believed to be higher realised beings, who control their rebirths and are integral to Tibetan Buddhist culture. Once a reincarnate lama passes away, his soul is said to transfer itself to another body, usually that of a young boy. After a painstaking search governed by indications given by the previous body, rituals, cosmic signs, dreams and material factors, the new reincarnation is found and confirmed. The search party, as well as those who confirm the final selection, is often itself composed of reincarnate lamas and expected to have a close association with the embodied institution.

When senior reincarnate lamas such as the Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama, with political status within the traditional Tibetan state, are involved, the procedures for search, identification, verification and confirmation get more complicated. But the basic principle remains the same – indications from the previous embodiment, cosmic signs that can be perceived by close associates, and final enthronement in the seat with involvement of religious and lay officials.

In this scenario, can there be any legitimacy behind "China's Dalai Lama", should the hardliners go ahead with finding one after the demise of the present Dalai Lama in exile? The simple answer is no. This is not because China is a communist state or that there is no historical precedent of Chinese imperial courts or local chieftains exercising some authority over the final selection and enthronement. If the present Dalai Lama gives indications of his rebirth inside China, Beijing will have legitimacy for its choice. Contrary to what many exiles and their western supporters argue, the Chinese state's claim to have final authority over the selection of senior reincarnate lamas is not without precedent. What is new and exceptional is the total control and micromanagement of the process.

What is wrong with the "China's 15th Dalai Lama" ?

First, the basic principle behind reincarnate lamas is that the rebirth occurs to continue the work of the previous embodiment. If the 14th Dalai Lama is a "splittist", the accusation made by the government, and keeps repeating that he will not take rebirth inside China, what power does the Chinese government possess to transform the separatist soul into a patriotic soul while it transmits from one body to another? What magic wand does China have to modify the soul, override all the indications the previous embodiment had given, and make it enter a baby boy of the state's choice ? It is like saying to the enlightened being: "Sorry Mr Avalokitesvara, but contrary to your wishes and desires, the Communist party of China orders you to be born in a place of its choice. You have no option. But don't worry, we assure you a life of comfort and power so long as you are patriotic to the motherland." This farcical scenario is laughable had it not become a serious possibility.

Second, how can the Chinese government cobble up a search party for the 15th Dalai Lama? The team will need blessings from senior lamas in the Gelug sect (the dominant "Yellow" sect that ruled Tibet for the last few centuries) – but all of them, except the Panchen Lama, are in exile. Surely, to ensure "China's Dalai Lama", the government will have to include only "reliable" and "patriotic" lamas in the process. But this automatically implies that the search team will have members who are opposed to what the 14th Dalai Lama said and did in exile. How can China expect its Tibetan minorities, let alone the exiles, to have any respect for this?

Does this imply that China should have no role in the 15th Dalai Lama should the 14th pass away in exile?

Not necessarily. China could reach out to the exile Tibetans, offer to support the search team in all ways possible, remind the team that the most stable outcome for all will be to get the Chinese government's stamp of approval, and the new baby Dalai Lama to visit his homeland. By reaching out and offering a friendly hand, China could change the name of the game. On the other hand, by letting its policy remain hostage to hardliners, it will destroy hope for future reconciliation with its own minorities.

Currently the only avenue for negotiations is one between Beijing and the Dalai Lama over his personal status. Once the present leader dies, and we have a "China's Dalai Lama" and an "exiles' Dalai Lama", all hope for a compromise will evaporate. Once China invests in its own Dalai Lama, it will become a prisoner of its own approach. No longer able to negotiate or talk to exile Tibetans, it will face the impossible task of selling its own choice to the Tibetans, Chinese and the rest of the world. A new source of tension and instability will be created in the Tibetan plateau. Maybe only then will the Chinese leaders develop nostalgia for the 14th Dalai Lama, and the hope for stability and reconciliation that only he provides.

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4. Dharamsala calm as Wen arrives in India
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Dharamsala, Dec 15, 2010 (IANS) Home to the Dalai Lama and a large Tibetan community, Dharamsala was calm Wednesday even as Tibetan protests erupted in New Delhi coinciding with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's India visit.

Superintendent of Police Daljeet Thakur said that no protests were held anywhere in Dharamsala including McLeod Ganj, the seat of the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile and known as 'Little Lhasa'.

Tibetan Youth Congress president Tsewang Rigzin explained why Dharamsala was quiet.

'Our main protest is focused in Delhi, where we have planned to stage demonstrations and submit memoranda to various embassies to highlight the plight of people of Tibet and the human rights violations,' he said.

TYC is the largest Tibetan group seeking Tibetan independence.

Activists of Tibetan support groups like the Tibetan Women Association, Students for Free Tibet and National Democratic Party of India are also camping in Delhi.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama too is not in Dhramsala. He is in Sikkim, to attend religious ceremonies and deliver a discourse.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet along with many of his supporters in 1959 when Chinese troops occupied Lhasa and the rest of Tibet and took refuge in India. More than 94,000 Tibetans live in India today.

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5. Deal with China from a position of strength: Dalai Lama aide
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Indian Express
Thu Dec 16 2010

New Delhi: As Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao landed in the capital on a three-day visit, the Tibetan government-in-exile said India should deal with China from a position of strength as Beijing only ‘recognises power and respects strength’. Speaking at a seminar on ‘Rethinking India’s Sino-Tibet Policy’, the representative of the Dalai Lama in New Delhi, Tempa Tsering, questioned the massive infrastructure build-up by China on the border and said India should take note of the recent developments in the Tibet region. “If you look at history, China has an insatiable taste for more land and has an ambition to dominate others. There are not the basis to build trust and mutual confidence,” Tsering said, pointing out that China had outstanding border issues with all its neighbours. The senior aide to the Dalai Lama questioned China’s intention to increase the pace of infrastructure development in Tibet and said that most of it was directed towards increasing military muscle. “A large number of airports have been built in the name of infrastructure but where are the airline to transport people? If you look at road infrastructure, where is the public transportation and buses that people can use?” he said.

Tsering said a number of missile bases had come up in Tibet and the rail network was being expanded to reach Nepal and the Sikkim border, raising questions on the real intentions of China. Tsering alleged the railway network was being used to populate the Tibet region with Han Chinese. “Everyday, the train comes in with 4,000 Chinese people and returns with 2,000. The remaining stay back in Tibet where the Tibetan people are being made a minority,” he said. He was speaking at a seminar organised by four four Tibetan non-governmental organizations to coincide with the Chinese premier’s visit. The discussion was chaired by Major General (Retd) Vinod Saighal. The speakers were Mohan Guruswamy, Director of Centre for Policy Alternatives, social activist Jaya Jaitley and Tsering, who holds the rank of a minister in the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

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6. Exiled Tibetan govt: Tibet central to Sino-India border dispute
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Naresh Kumar Sharma,
The Times of India
Dec 15, 2010

DHARAMSALA: As the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao began his three-day visit to India on Wednesday, the exiled Tibetan government stated here that the issue of Tibet was centrally linked to the long-standing boundary dispute between India and China.

Speaking to TOI, the de facto prime minister of Tibet, Samdhong Rinpoche said, "In fact, there is no Sino-India border. Tibet is intertwined with the boundary problem between these two countries.There needs to be a political will in both India and China to resolve the boundary dispute." He however added that China had been all along more rigid on the issue. He said, "Unless the question of Tibet hangs in balance it is wishful thinking to hope for a lasting peace in the region."

Regarding reported construction of tunnels by China in the western part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) which could be used by Beijing to place the missiles targeting various towns of India, he said that it was "a great security threat to the entire Indian continent." Not only this, he said that the Chinese construction of railway line extending to Nepal and near India's border in Sikkim was also a great threat to India.

"However, the exiled Tibetan government wants stable relationship between the two Asian giants," Rinpoche said adding that it would usher durable peace in the region.

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7. Wen and the art of Tai Chi
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December 15, 2010 
The Pioneer
Claude Arpi

Make no mistake: Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao are like a restaurant sugar packet, black on one side and white on the other, but still part of the same whole.

W ho is China’s First Dissident? Many China observers believe that it is not Mr Liu Xiaobo who was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but the Prime Minister (or Premier in Communist jargon) of the country, Mr Wen Jiabao, who will be visiting India between December 15 and 17. During the last few months, Mr Wen Jiabao has spoken on several occasions on the same theme as the Nobel Laureate; each time he has been censured by the ‘authorities’ of his own country.

Take his visit to the United States in September. Mr Wen Jiabao was interviewed by Fareed Zakaria for CNN’s Global Public Square. When Zakaria asked Mr Wen Jiabao about freedom of speech in China, the suave Premier, known as ‘Grandpa Wen’ in the Middle Kingdom, replied, “I believe freedom of speech is indispensable for any country — a country in the course of development and a country that has become strong. Freedom of speech has been incorporated into the Chinese Constitution.” He then continued in the same vein, “I often say that we should not only let people have the freedom of speech, we more importantly must create conditions to let them criticise the work of the Government.”

When Liu Xiaobo had said the same thing, he was jailed for 11 years. Well, it might be the prerogative of the Premier of the State Council to not be jailed but only censured. Ironically, it is the same State Council which sentenced Mr Liu Xiaobo.

More than being a dissident, Mr Wen Jiabao has probably an extraordinary capacity of adaptation and survival. On May 19, 1989, the director of the general office of the Communist Party of China walked with his boss, CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, to meet the youth who had gathered at Tiananmen Square. Zhao Ziyang told the students, “I have to ask you to think carefully about the future.” He assured them that all issues could be dealt with peacefully.

One of the issues that bothered the students was that their protest was labelled as ‘turmoil’ by the party rather than a patriotic movement. For the youth on the Square, the description mattered greatly: They felt that their motivations were being questioned. The director was Mr Wen Jiabao. Two weeks later, tanks of the People’s Liberation Army rolled into Tiananmen Square and crushed the protest.

An interesting debate is today going on in China: Is Mr Wen Jiabao ‘putting on a show’ when he speaks about democratic reforms? Due to the extreme opaqueness of the regime in Beijing, the question is not easy to answer. The South China Morning Post mentioned a letter written by some former senior editors and journalists (including the nonagenarian secretary of Mao Tse-tung). The Hong Kong-based paper wrote: “The sponsors of the open letter seemed most outraged by the fact that even Wen had been censored. They cited examples of his speech in Shenzhen on August 21, a talk with journalists in the US on September 22, and his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23.”

Living in India, the ‘largest democracy in the world’, it is difficult to imagine a Prime Minister who is not free to speak his mind or has portions of his speeches deleted by an all-powerful Propaganda Department. When the question about Mr Wen Jiabao was asked to Mr Du Daozheng, director of the editorial board at Yanhuang Chunqiu magazine (former Chinese edition of Asiaweek), he had a different view: “(Wen) has always worked tirelessly for opening and reform… He is also a living person, with his own thread of life… This is not ‘putting on a show’. I think that his manner and actions are based on his wide knowledge and the excellent traditions of Chinese culture.”

But people like Yu Jie, the author of China’s Best Actor: Wen Jiabao do not believe that ‘Grandpa Wen’ is a reformist. In an interview with BBC’s Chinese service, Yu Jie said: “Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao are like the two sides of a coin. They are on a tandem bike, heading in the same direction. I think they are playing the good-guy-bad-guy routine, like the harsh-dad-loving-mum sort of thing.”

There is a fascinating cable from the US Ambassador to China about Beijing’s Tibet policy in one of the Wikileaks releases. In April 2008, Ambassador Clark T Randt tends to have the same perception as Yu Jie: “While there may be differences in how various leaders have publicly articulated China’s Tibet policy, there are no substantive differences among the top leadership. (Contact) xxxx asserted that, on Tibet, Hu and Wen are like a 'restaurant sugar packet’, black on one side and white on the other, but still part of the same whole.” That is exactly the point: Mr Wen Jiabao gives a ‘milder’ face to a regime which remains basically undemocratic.

What can India expect from Mr Wen Jiabao's visit? Regarding the dispute over stapled visas for Indian citizens living in Jammu & Kashmir, nothing will be announced during the visit though Beijing's policy will probably be progressively relaxed. Mr Wen Jiabao will say that his Government is working hard to reduce the trade deficit with India. With a contingent of 400 businesspersons, the Premier is scheduled to witness the signing of some 45 business deals between Indian and Chinese companies. He may even beat US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and take back home some $20 billion in contracts. The fact remains that imports from Tibet remain nil this year at Nathu-la pass in Sikkim.

But China being China, Mr Wen Jiabao will bring nothing directly home. He will first visit Islamabad and assure China’s 'all-weather friend' of Beijing’s unconditional support and probably supply nuclear power reactors in contravention with international laws. South Block will probably pretend not to notice this practice of Chinese leaders to visit Islamabad after New Delhi, a practice that has been discontinued by leaders of other ‘friendly’ countries.

One issue should however be strongly taken up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: The construction of dams on Brahmaputra. A few days ago, the Chinese TV announced the opening of a new road reaching right to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh: “The harsh natural conditions meant building a highway connecting Motuo (Metok) to outside world was once considered a dream. However, just in a week, the last tunnel is due to be completed for the Motuo Highway and the dream will come true,” said CCTV reporter Yin Xiang.

For India, this might prove to be a nightmare. In 2004, ‘Grand Pa’ Wen had managed to block the construction of a large hydropower plant on Salween river. He used his ‘influence’ to demand an in-depth study of the likely impact on the local ecology and communities. His decision deeply upset the power companies as well as local vested interests. Why can’t he do the same for the proposed dams on Yarlung Tsangpo, or Brahmaputra? He would then truly be a ‘good guy’!

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8. Wen, will you give us Tibet, ask refugees
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The Times of India
Dec 16, 2010

NEW DELHI: Six Tibetans staged a demonstration outside Taj Palace Hotel on Wednesday afternoon while a large number of people marched through the city streets to protest against the visit of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. The young protestors shouted slogans against Jiabao and China outside the hotel on Sardar Patel Marg and demanded that Beijing vacate their homeland.

"We protested outside Taj Palace Hotel telling Wen Jiabao that Tibet does not belong to him and China should vacate it," Tenzin Norsang, a protestor, told Times City.

The youths were later detained and taken to Chanakyapuri police station.

In another protest, around 1,000 protestors marched from Rajghat to Jantar Mantar where they held a meeting. Chanting anti-China slogans and waving Tibetan flags, the protesters demanded that China leave Tibet. They carried placards which read 'Free Tibet Wen, Free Tibet Now' . A seminar was also held in the capital on "Rethinking India's Sino-Tibet Policy" .

"At a time when China-India relations are hitting an all-time low and there are concerted efforts from both sides to salvage the ties and strengthen relations, it is of paramount importance for both the Asian giants to address the core issue of Tibet ," said Kirti Dolkar Lhamo , president of Tibetan Women's Association.
Police have stepped up security outside Chinese embassy and the hotel where Jiabao is staying to ensure the situation is in control.

The special branch has deputed its officers to monitor the movement of Tibetans in several pockets in north Delhi, including Majnu Ka Tila, north campus and Timarpur.

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9. His Holiness the Dalai Lama ringing the Bell of Peace
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Taiwan News
2010/12/16

To pray for blessings for the Tibetan and Indian people and all the living creatures in the universe, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama">Dalai Lama rang the Bell of Peace in the 11th International Conference of Chief Justice of the World (ICCJW) and the 2010 Global Symposium on Awakening Planetary Consciousness on December 11, 2010 in Lucknow, India, and became the 6th Noble Peace Prize Laureate of the bell ringers. When ringing the Bell, which has traveled around the globe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama">Dalai Lama expressed “Real peace must be developed from within. As such it is important to quell the fire of hatred. That also has to come through education.” The solemn ceremony of ringing the Bell of Peace was witnessed by 116 chief justices and NGO representatives from 63 countries and more than 1,000 students and teachers of the City Montessori School. The appraisal committee of Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) awarded to His Holiness the Dalai Lama">Dalai Lama the lifetime achievements of love and peace in recognition of his great endeavors in promoting the love for the world. The solemn and impressive ceremony has left deep impressions in the hearts of the witness.

In Chinese culture, the sound of the bell has the effect of cleansing people’s hearts. Dalai Lama was in high spirits when ringing the Bell and enjoyed interactions with the energy boys and energy girls of FOWPAL. The more than 3,000 delegates in the ceremony were surrounded by the peaceful sound of the Bell.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in high agreement with the philosophy of Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, zhang-men-ren of Tai Ji Men, president of FOWPAL and honorary vice president and board member of UN/NGO Association of World Citizens. Dr. Hong says “The pursuit of love, peace and human rights is incessant. A heart of pureness is the blessings by God to the one with wisdom. After countless lives of learning good and refraining from doing bad, we will eventually step onto the right path of going back to the origin. All our endeavors are witnessed by people and the heaven and earth. We will leave with no remorse as long as we are fully dedicated and spare no efforts.” His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been committed to love, peace and non-violent resolutions to conflicts. And he won the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1989 for his non-violent approaches. Also, in 2010, the appraisal committee of FOWPAL awarded him the lifetime achievements of love and peace in recognition of his love, kindness, and mercy and his great contributions to the One World.

For over 4 decades, Dr. Hong Tao-Tze has led his dizi traveling around the globe conducting more than 2,000 cultural exchange programs, qigong and martial arts seminars, and summit of elite leaders of the world to spread the message of love and peace. Dr. Hong established the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) in United States in 2000 to invite leaders to ring the Bell of Peace and work for a harmonious and sustainable future for generations to come. As of today, 207 world leaders from 68 nations have rung the Bell, including 22 heads of states, 6 Nobel Peace Laureates, ambassadors, UN officers and many other leaders of governments. The bell-ringers have made commitments to love and peace for humanity. Their efforts in stopping wars and promoting peace are exemplified by peace works of Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, Fradique de Menezes, President of Sao Tome and Principe, and Leonel Fernandez, President of Dominican Republic.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has maintained correspondences with Dr. Hong for years. He praises highly Dr. Hong and FOWPAL for their contributions to world peace. The two sages dedicated to peace and human rights share similar philosophies. Dr. Hong indicated in his speech “Human beings can no longer control everything with their own methods. The World is one big family and we are all inter-connected in one way or another. One sneeze can create a butterfly affect in the distance.” Through the interaction among the world leaders, the power of love and peace can work like butterfly effect to create positive response and feedback to turn the destiny of the world and move toward the better future.

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10. A Tibetan Singer Preserves Culture
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Care2.com (blog)
posted by: Heidi Minx

Tibetan folk singer Techung is working hard to preserve his culture.  After Tibet's forced hostile takeover by China in 1949, Tibetans-in-exile have found inspiring ways to preserve their culture.

Techung grew up in Dharamshala, India, where his family and tens of thousands of other Tibetans resettled from their native Tibet. At the age of 9, he was enrolled in the newly formed Tibetan Dance and Drama School, now known as the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA).

In his 17 years of residency at the Institute, he studied all aspects of the Tibetan performing arts:  folk, court, and opera - through the oral teaching tradition used by the venerated Tibetan elders with whom he was honored to study. 

After emigrating to the U.S., he co-founded the San Francisco-based Chaksampa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company in 1989. From 1995-97, Techung worked for the Milarepa Fund in San Francisco, who organized the Tibetan Freedom Concerts worldwide.

His love of music has manifested in some remarkable ways.  This month, he has released 'Semshae,' which means 'Heart Songs' in Tibetan. It is a collection of Tibetan children's songs -- the first to be released from the exile community.

While Tibetans inside Tibet have, in the past months, been protesting the PRC's initiatives to remove the Tibetan language from schools, this CD in itself is a peaceful effort to keep the language alive through song.

Techung's dedication doesn't stop here, though.  Earlier this month, I worked with Care2 to create a petition calling for the release of Tashi Dhondup - a young singer from Amdo jailed for singing songs calling for freedom, and for torture to cease.

Within days of the petition going live, Techung contacted me, and asked how we could collaborate to raise more awareness for Tibet's artists, who are often political prisoners, and call for their release.

Techung's initiative was inspiring.  He has a vision that doesn't rest on just one continent.  This past week, he has organized and performed at two concerts, one in Delhi and one in Dharamsala, India.  In Delhi, he was joined by Dhondup Wangchen's wife, Lhamo Tso, and Tsundue (featured in photo above), another dedicated activist who emulates Ghandi's mantra of peaceful resistance.

Concerts are also planned for London, New York and Toronto.

After I founded Built on Respect, I spent a better part of the last two years living in Dharamsala, volunteering in the community there.  There is not a person I know there who does not have a relative in jail, or has not themselves been persecuted for their religous beliefs or desire for freedom.

I advocate for these prisoners, and have become friendly with their families.  On days when I think things are not so good, I think of the brave women I have met, like Lhamo Tso -- a mother, living as a refugee in a strange country, wondering if her husband is okay, knowing he has been tortured so badly he has contracted Hepatitis, and is being denied medicine.  And her three children, who see the efforts of the community and world around them, but still have no father to tuck them in or sing them songs at night.

I commend Techung for his selfless work, and hope that his music, and the voices of many will help preserve a culture, and be anthems for peace.

I encourage you to sign the petition for Tashi Dhondup and Dhondup Wangchen, and join in this community effort so these families can be safely reunited.

To learn more about 'Semshae - Heart Songs' or order a copy, visit www.semshae.org <http://www.semshae.org> .

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11. Richard Holbrooke and Tibet
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Bhuchung K. Tsering
http://weblog.savetibet.org

December 14, 2010

Following his untimely passing away on December 13, 2010, it is a testament to veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke’s relationship-building skills that people from all corners of the world and all walks of life are talking about their personal connections with him.

I, too, had the privilege of meeting him quite a few times when I accompanied Mr. Lodi Gyari, the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who consulted him regularly on matters relating to China and Tibet.

During these meetings I could sense that he had a very personal attachment to the issue of Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is also indicated by his involvement in Tibet-related issues, both conspicuously (as in the case of public events organized by the International Campaign for Tibet) and also behind the scenes. He would voice his feelings on Tibet at every available opportunity, including in non-Tibetan fora. While he strongly supported His Holiness’ policy of negotiations with the Chinese leadership, at the same time I have seen him give straight forward advice without any hesitation to Mr. Lodi Gyari when he felt there was a need to do so. I remember him participating in a “Conversation” with the Dalai Lama in Washington, D.C in October 2007 along with Mr. Richard Armitage and Mr. Strobe Talbott during which he did not shy from posing very frank questions to His Holiness on Tibet.

Ambassador Holbrooke was very detailed in his approach, whether it was on the negotiations strategy with the Chinese leaders that he met or the food that he consumed. (I am basing the latter observation on a working lunch that Mr. Lodi Gyari had with Mr. Holbrooke one time in New York. Mr. Holbrooke had ordered sandwiches and while the rest of us picked up a sandwich, mine being vegetarian, I saw him deftly taking the sandwich apart and eating just the meat filling.)

Holbrooke’s attitude towards the Tibetan issue gave me a new insight into how it is seen by international policy makers as one that has geopolitical and strategic dimensions. While I have grown up in India where Tibetans voice the familiar slogan “Tibet’s independence is India’s security,” seeing a political strategist like Holbrooke explain it from his perspective is an altogether different thing.

In an address at a conference on “Ethnic Conflict Through International Diplomacy” at the Texas A&M University in 2005, he compared the situations in the former Yugoslavia and the Kurds in Iraq with that of the Tibetans. According to media reports, Holbrooke told the conference that Tibet had all the characteristics of a separate nation with “its own language, its own cosmology and its own leader, the Dalai Lama,” adding, however, that “…there are only 4-6 million of them. If they were to try to do what Kosovo did to Yugoslavia in the heart of Europe, the Chinese would crush them.”

Holbrooke’s suggestions under such a situation were that separation was not possible, ethnicities must learn to peacefully coexist and protect their nationalities. The report quotes him as saying, “This is why we have to find ways that people can live in countries where they’re not ethnically dominant, in a way that all their rights – religious, political, cultural, educational – are protected.”

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