FW: [WTNN] World Tibet Network News -- February 10, 2011
Alex Bunjes
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Issue ID: 2011/02/10Compiled by Nima Dorjee
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Contents
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1. Why India is Investigating a Reincarnated Tibetan Lama
2. A tempest in Tibetan temples
3. Tibetan Lama Faces Scrutiny and Suspicion in India
4. Virbhadra slams HP govt for 'leaking' probe details
5. U.S. Tibet Coordinator visits Tibetan settlement in south India
6. Dalai Lama: Top 25 political icons,
7. China needs political liberalisation: Dalai Lama
8. China has no communist ideology; India deserves UNSC seat: Lama
9. Rebel Tibetan singer jailed for "subversive songs" released
10. Super Bowl ad featuring Tibet triggers angry reaction in China
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1. Why India is Investigating a Reincarnated Tibetan Lama
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Thursday, Feb. 03, 2011
By Ishaan Tharoor , TIME Blog
In the West, the Tibetan religious leader Ogyen Trinley Dorje is admired
for his youth (he's 25), his looks (he was once introduced at a U.S.
event as "His Hotness") and his courage (as a teenager, he fled from
Chinese-ruled Tibet on horseback). But in India, where Dorje, the
reputed 17th incarnation of the Karmapa Lama, now lives, he is seen by
many in less reverential terms. This week, the second-most famous
Tibetan in exile after the Dalai Lama found himself at the center of an
Indian media storm after government investigators confiscated around $1
million in cash kept in his monastery. The fact that a sizable chunk of
the currency was in Chinese yuan prompted manic headlines in India's
ever voluble press, querulously asking whether this was proof that Dorje
was a Chinese "spy" or "mole."
Dorje, his associates and allies ‹ the Dalai Lama chief among them ‹
have dismissed the spying accusations, explaining that the money is just
an accumulation of unsolicited donations from devotees around the world,
including Chinese Buddhists living in mainland China. In Dharamsala, the
Tibetan capital-in-exile, some 2,000 Tibetans rallied in support of the
Karmapa Lama. Facing a crowd massed at his Gyuto monastery on Feb. 2,
Dorje urged his backers to "be at ease... truth will prevail." In a nod
to his hosts, he reportedly added: "The Indian government, in contrast
to the communist regime in China, is a free and democratic country." All
the while, Indian news channels documented the continuing investigation
into the matter by the Research and Analysis Wing ‹ New Delhi's
equivalent to the CIA. See TIME's 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama.
The controversy has in part illustrated the still uncomfortable
relationship between the Indian state and the many Tibetans who live as
permanent guests on Indian soil. Decades ago, India accepted tens of
thousands of Tibetan refugees fleeing Chinese occupation, but it has
never accorded the Tibetans full rights of citizenship. Many typical
transactions, from buying land to depositing foreign currency in Indian
banks, are either illegal for Tibetans or a bureaucratic nightmare ‹
and, in no small part, an explanation for why Dorje's monastery held
onto the various funds it had amassed from donations. Robbie Barnett, a
professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University and an authority on
the Tibetan government in exile, is bemused by the current Indian
hysteria. "It's a bit like saying the Pope is a Chinese spy because he
has donations from Chinese followers," he says.
But to his Indian critics India, Dorje is hardly the Pope. Unlike the
Dalai Lama, who embarks on visits to remote monasteries and global tours
every year, Dorje's movement is tightly controlled and restricted by the
Indian government. His only ever foreign trip was a swing through the
U.S. in 2008. Because of challenges leveled by a couple of rival
claimants to his holy position as the Karmapa Lama, he's barred from
visiting the Rumtek monastery in the Indian state of Sikkim, one of the
most important shrines of his Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism and
the abode of the "Black Crown," one of the sect's most hallowed relics.
In a better era of cooperation between Tibetan exiles and the Chinese
government, monks from this monastery were permitted in 1992 to discover
and determine that the Karmapa had reincarnated in Dorje, the son of
nomadic sheepherders in northeastern Tibet. He remained in China with
Beijing's endorsement, but cozy relations were over by 1995 ‹ when China
handpicked the successor to the recently-deceased Panchen Lama ‹ and
Dorje was soon blocked from receiving the vital tutelage of the Rumtek
monks. A few years later, he and his aides escaped to India following
days of treacherous driving through mountain passes, treks around
checkpoints and a lengthy spell on horseback. "The Karmapa's escape to
India was the single most humiliating incident for China's Tibet policy
in decades," says Barnett. After learning of his flight, Beijing
initially tried to justify the trip as a mission to find "musical
instruments" necessary for Buddhist rituals. See TIME's 2 minute bio of
the Dalai Lama.
But a coterie of influential figures in New Delhi and elsewhere in India
harbor suspicions ‹ backed by little to no evidence ‹ over Dorje's
presence, doubting that China would have allowed him to escape. Dozens
of Tibetans with lesser means manage to slip across the border every
year. Bahukutumbi Raman, a respected political analyst and former Indian
government official, wrote on his blog this week that Dorje "could be a
planted Chinese 'agent of influence.'" Fear over China's inroads into
South Asia plays well in the Indian media. At a Feb. 1 press conference,
Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister of the state of Himachal Pradesh,
where Dharamsala is located, used the occasion of the investigation to
sound the alarm. "[China is] making air strips, rail lines [along the
border]... China is surrounding us from all sides," he said. (Comment on
this story.)
Though Dorje seems to be handling the scrutiny with calm and grace, this
expression of Indian distrust may have negative consequences for New
Delhi. Dibyesh Anand, an assistant professor of international relations
at Westminster University in London and author of Tibet: A Victim of
Geopolitics, lamented the overblown controversy in an op-ed in
theHindustan Times. "Hardline officials in China must be laughing their
heads off at the Indian media circus," Anand wrote. "They know that this
will not only create confusion in the exiled Tibetan community in India,
but will also create disenchantment about India among Tibetans inside
China."
As the Dalai Lama reaches his twilight years, a disenchanted,
disgruntled population is the last legacy he wants to leave behind. It's
unlikely Dorje would directly replace him ‹ after all, he is supposedly
the realized incarnation of a sect that's considerably older than the
Dalai's Gelugpa order. But in the power vacuum that may follow the Dalai
Lama's death, no other spiritual leader could rival Dorje's charisma and
prestige. See pictures of spiritual healing around the world.
Though articles in the West tend to focus on the Karmapa Lama's penchant
for video games and X-men comics, Dorje is reputed to be an erudite
scholar, despite his youth, as well as a capable poet and a leader with
great "diplomatic acumen," as Barnett describes. The difficulty for him
now, though, is to what extent he'll be able to express his talents.
Hemmed in his monastery in the outskirts of Dharamsala, Dorje cuts
something of a forlorn figure, isolated from his parents in China and
devotees in India and elsewhere. In an interview with a visiting
journalist last year, he complained, "I don't see much of the outside
world." And given the current controversy, the curtailed life of the
Karmapa Lama looks likely to continue.
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2. A tempest in Tibetan temples
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Allegations of spying and media manipulation lay bare the divisions in
Tibetan Buddhism and tensions between China and India. Mistrust between
rival Karmapas belies the image of a placid religion.
By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
February 7, 2011, 9:27 p.m.
Reporting from Dharamsala, India ‹
He's a "living Buddha" with movie-star good looks and an iPod, a
25-year-old who rubs shoulders with Richard Gere and Tom Cruise and is
mentioned as a successor to the Dalai Lama.
Now allegations that he's a Chinese spy, and a money launderer to boot,
have laid bare divisions in the outwardly serene world of Tibetan
Buddhism and longtime tensions between China and India.
There's a lot at stake. The Karmapa is among Tibetan Buddhism's most
revered figures and heads the religion's wealthiest sect, with property
estimated at $1.2 billion worldwide. His appointment was approved by
both Beijing and the Dalai Lama ‹ a rarity ‹ but rivals say he isn't the
legitimate leader.
Tibetan Buddhism's image of placid chanting and sublime meditation
belies a more edgy history, analysts say, replete with religious figures
attacking each other and alliances between monasteries and brutal warlords.
The Dalai Lama heads one sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the so-called yellow
hats, a reference to their headgear, while the Karmapa heads a black-hat
sect.
After the 16th Karmapa died in 1981, top lamas split over who should
replace him, resulting in three rivals, significant distrust and a fight
over control of the previously shared Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim.
"We in the West tend to project all our fantasies about mystical
spiritualism onto Tibetan Buddhism," said Erik Curren, author of
"Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan
Buddhism Today." "It's really like a civil war. There's lots of acrimony."
Last week, some 2,000 Tibetans trudged down steep mountain roads to the
Gyuto Ramoche Temple, the residence of the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje,
to show their support for the man at the center of the allegations.
"Long live his holiness Karmapa," monks and worshipers chanted,
fingering prayer beads and holding aloft pictures of him with the Dalai
Lama.
The allegations, largely unsubstantiated, were widely repeated in major
Hindi- and English-language media here, prompting aides and supporters
to wonder who's fanning the negative publicity.
"There's definitely been a witch hunt," said Kate Saunders, a
spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet. She said that with
the Dalai Lama aging, Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje is someone able to
unify the diverse community.
Some believe Indian security officials may be behind the raids and
publicity, concerned over the sect's many temples along the sensitive
India-China border, keen to boost budgets and influenced by supporters
of a rival Karmapa.
"The Karmapa is definitely not a Chinese spy," said Deki Chungyalpa, an
advisor. "I think Indian officials and the media had a role in spreading
this. It makes the situation a lot more volatile." Followers added that
supporters of a rival Karmapa may be involved.
Rabjam Rikki, private secretary to Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, said
such suggestions were completely unfounded.
The latest incident began Jan. 26 after police discovered $220,000 in a
car at a checkpoint. Under questioning, the driver said it came from the
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
A search of the leader's religious offices then turned up $1.4 million
more in cash, including $165,000 in Chinese currency, fueling media
speculation that the Karmapa was working for Beijing. Under Indian law,
residents can hold $2,000 in foreign currency.
"Misunderstandings and mistakes" happened, the Karmapa told followers
last week, but he expressed faith that the truth would prevail.
Aides said the cash came from foreign devotees and that the money at the
checkpoint was intended for the purchase of land for a new monastery.
Tibetan refugees are not allowed to buy land in India, and buying
through an Indian proxy is also illegal. But aides said they had
repeatedly informed the Indian government of their plans.
"If you go strictly by the rules, yes, but it wasn't done with any bad
intention," said spokesman Karma Topden.
Late last month, Chinese Communist Party official Xu Zhitao said the
Karmapa was not a Chinese spy, although that's done little to settle the
issue.
"It's possible this is a deliberate salvo by China to stir up more
controversy," said Robbie Barnett, director of Columbia University's
Modern Tibetan Studies Program, given that many Indian intelligence
officials tend to believe the opposite of what Chinese officials say.
"They must be rubbing their hands with glee."
"There is a lot of tension and politics being played out," said Srikanth
Kondapalli, a China studies professor at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru
University.
Some fear the infighting could undermine the larger struggle for more
cultural and religious freedom for Tibetans under Chinese control.
"It really damages our image," said Tenzin Tsundu, an activist with Free
Tibet.
Some analysts said some Westerners have a rosy-eyed view of Tibetan
Buddhism, perhaps a reflection of their disillusionment with Western
religions.
"Inter-sect conflicts involving physical violence is nothing new,"
Curren said. "It's just like any religion. It has its share of bad
apples, but that doesn't spoil the whole barrel. The sooner Westerners
realize that, the better."
Anshul Rana of The Times' New Delhi Bureau contributed to this report.
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3. Tibetan Lama Faces Scrutiny and Suspicion in India
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February 7, 2011
By JIM YARDLEY
DHARAMSALA, India ‹ His daring escape from Tibet seemed out of a movie.
Then only 14, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was one of Tibetan Buddhism¹s most
revered incarnate lamas, and his journey through the icy passes of the
Himalayas was viewed as a major embarrassment for China. The youth
arrived in India in early 2000 to a euphoric greeting from Tibetan exiles.
India, though, was less certain about what to do with him. Intelligence
agencies, suspicious of his loyalties and skeptical of his miraculous
escape, interrogated him and tightly restricted his travel. He remains
mostly confined to the mountainside monastery of a Tibetan sect
different from his own. And that spurred an idea: He wanted his own
monastery. Eventually, his aides struck a deal to buy land.
Now, the 17th Karmapa, as he is known, has seen his quest for a
monastery unexpectedly set off a national furor, fanned by Indian media
that have tapped into growing public anxiety about Chinese intentions on
their disputed border.
The Indian police are investigating the Karmapa after discovering about
$1 million in foreign currency at his residence, including more than
$166,000 in Chinese currency. Flimsily sourced media accounts have
questioned whether he is a Chinese spy plotting a monastic empire along
the border.
³Monk or Chinese Plant?² asked an editorial in The Tribune, a national
English-language newspaper.
Many Tibetans scoff at the spying allegations. But the episode starkly
exposes the precarious position of the Dalai Lama and the exiled
movement of Tibetan Buddhism he has led since he fled China in 1959. The
Tibetan cause depends heavily on Indian good will, particularly as China
has intensified efforts to discredit and infiltrate their exile
organization.
Tensions are rising between India and China over a variety of issues,
including Tibet. Sophisticated hackers, traced to China, have penetrated
computer systems in Dharamsala and at Indian government ministries.
China has long blamed Tibetan exiles in India for fueling instability
across the border in Tibet. But now India, too, seems more wary of
Tibetan activities; the Indian police are investigating new Tibetan
monasteries near the border for possible ties to China, a police
official said.
Meanwhile, Chinese leaders are betting that the Tibetan movement will
fracture after the eventual death of the Dalai Lama, who is 74; they
have even declared their intent to name his successor.
Indian suspicions about the Karmapa are a particular problem. He has a
global following and, at 25 years old, he is viewed as a potential
future leader of the movement ‹ a possibility deeply compromised if
Indian authorities consider him a foreign agent.
³What Tibetans must address is the idea that Tibetans could be
considered a security threat to India and not an asset,² said Tsering
Shakya, a leading Tibet specialist. ³But the idea that a boy at the age
of 14 was selected as a covert agent by a foreign government to
destabilize India ‹ and the assumption the boy will assume leadership of
the Tibetan movement and eventually work against India ‹ is worthy of a
cheap spy novel.²
For the past week, Tibetans have rallied behind the Karmapa, with
thousands of monks holding candlelight vigils at his residence. Tibet¹s
political leaders, including the Dalai Lama, have called on the
Karmapa¹s aides to correct any financial irregularities but have
dismissed any suspicions about the Karmapa¹s being a Chinese agent.
³Baseless, all baseless,² said Samdhong Rinpoche, the prime minister of
the Tibetan government in exile. ³Not a fraction of anything that has a
base of truth.²
Many Indian intelligence agents have distrusted the Karmapa from the
start. He was a unique case, since both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese
government had endorsed him. He would explain his escape as an act of
principle; he was being pressured to denounce the Dalai Lama, and
Chinese officials also were forbidding him to study with high lamas
outside China. Many investigators were unconvinced, wondering how such
an important figure could slip so easily over the border.
On Wednesday, when the procession of monks arrived to offer support, the
Karmapa described the current controversy as a ³misunderstanding² and
expressed confidence in the fairness of Indian authorities.
³We all have taken refuge and settled here,² he said. ³India, in
contrast to Communist China, is a democratic country that is based on
the rule of law. Therefore, I trust that things will improve and the
truth will become clear in time.²
Within Tibetan Buddhism, the Karmapa ranks third after the Dalai Lama
and the Panchen Lama, with each man believed to be reincarnated through
the centuries. After the death of the previous Karmapa, a bitter feud
broke out between the high lamas charged with identifying his successor:
at least two other people now claim to be the Karmapa, though a majority
of Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, recognize Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
But this dispute has complicated efforts by the Karmapa to claim the
monastery built by his predecessor in the Indian border region of
Sikkim. Indian officials have blocked him from taking ownership until
claims from rival Tibetan factions are resolved ‹ which is why, given
the uncertainty over the duration of the legal fight, the Karmapa sought
land for a new monastery, his aides say.
The land deal led to the current controversy. On Jan. 26, India¹s
Republic Day, police officers apprehended two men at a highway
checkpoint after discovering about $219,000 in Indian rupees inside
their car ‹ money they said had come from the Karmapa. The next day, the
police raided the Gyuto Monastery and found boxes of cash from more than
20 countries, including China; officers arrested the financial officer
overseeing the Karmapa¹s charitable trust and continue to investigate
the Karmapa himself.
³He ran from China,² said P. L. Thakur, the police inspector general in
Dharamsala. ³Tibet is under China. Why and how has this currency come
here? For what purpose? Why was it being kept there?²
Naresh Mathur, one of the Karmapa¹s lawyers, said the money was from the
devotees who for the past decade had come from around the world for the
Karmapa¹s blessing. By custom, they leave an offering, usually envelopes
of cash; the Chinese renminbi, he said, are from Tibetans or other
Chinese who have made a pilgrimage to Dharamsala.
Mr. Mathur said the Karmapa¹s aides were unable to deposit the money
because they were awaiting a decision on their application ‹ made
several years ago ‹ for government approval to accept foreign currency.
In the interim, they say, the money is stored where the officers found
it ‹ in boxes kept in a dorm room shared by monks.
Mr. Mathur also denied any suggestion that the land deal was secretive
or illegal, and he said that it was the seller who demanded cash.
On Friday, the Karmapa offered blessings to devotees who lined up to
meet him in his fourth-floor reception room. Among them was a group of
Chinese followers from the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen. Aides say that
bookkeeping mistakes may have been made in recording the donations, but
that the intent is to handle the money the right way.
³We will be making changes,² said Deki Chungyalpa, a spokeswoman for the
Karmapa. ³Like hiring a professional accountant who is not a monk.²
For many Tibetans, the broader concern is about the future of the
Tibetan movement itself. Tenzin Tsundue is a Tibetan activist who once
unfurled a ³Free Tibet² banner at an appearance by President Hu Jintao
of China. He says India has always been a steadfast friend of Tibetans,
providing a home for as many as 120,000 Tibetan refugees, yet now he
worries its support may be wavering.
³This country that we are so grateful to is alleging the Karmapa is a
spy for China,² he said. ³And we can¹t understand that at all.²
Hari Kumar contributed reporting.
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4. Virbhadra slams HP govt for 'leaking' probe details
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Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 07, 2011
Union minister and former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra
Singh, on Monday slammed the state police for "leaking details of
investigations" regarding the alleged seizure of foreign currency from
the monastery of the Karmapa Lama. "The HP government did not handle the
matter properly.
It failed in its duty to handle such a delicate matter," said Singh, the
minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Singh added it was
wrong to brand anyone as a Chinese agent even before the probe in the
case was complete. "It is unfair to do such branding when the probe is
still going on. Let us all not forget that the Karmapa has been
recognised by the Dalai Lama," the minister said. Asked whether he was
defending the Karmapa, Singh replied: "I have never met him in my life
and it is not a question of defending anyone. I don¹t know about the
charges against him, which need to be probed. My point is the issue has
been unnecessarily sensationalised."
Karmapa Lama, the third highest-ranking Tibetan religious leader after
the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, has been in the eye of storm
following the recovery of currency worth nearly Rs7 crore from his
premises. The 25-year-old, whose real name is Ogyen Trinely Dorje and is
widely tipped to replace the aging Dalai Lama, is also facing
allegations of having links with China.
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5. U.S. Tibet Coordinator visits Tibetan settlement in south India
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ICT press release, February 9, 2011
Under Secretary of State Maria Otero, who serves concurrently as U.S.
Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, visited the Tibetan refugee
settlement in Bylakuppe in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on
February 8 and 9, 2011.Her visit to the largest Tibetan settlement in
India is the first by a Tibet Coordinator, the top U.S. official who
oversees Tibet policy.On arrival in South India, Under Secretary Otero
was received by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration and Lodi
Gyari, the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. ICT Director
for Government Relations, Todd Stein, is traveling in tandem with the
delegation.
As part of her Tibetan issues portfolio, mandated by the Tibetan Policy
Act, Under Secretary Otero oversees U.S. programs for Tibetans,
including the U.S. humanitarian assistance grant that supports Tibetan
refugees as they arrive from Tibet and helps address educational and
health needs in the Tibetan refugee population.The Tibet office in the
State Department also has oversight of $2 million approved by the U.S.
Congress to help revitalize the Tibetan refugee settlements.To this end,
on February 1, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced
it was seeking proposals for projects on organic agriculture and
workforce development in the Tibetan settlements.
This U.S. financial support comes as the Central Tibetan Administration
(CTA) seeks to implement its plan to revitalize the Tibetan refugee
settlements in India and Nepal, some of which are a half century old,
with improved infrastructure and new economic opportunities.Under
Secretary Otero was briefed by CTA and local settlement officials on the
plan and the challenges facing the Tibetan refugee population in South
Asia.
"Under Secretary Otero expressed the continued strong support of
President Obama, Secretary Clinton and the U.S. Government for the
welfare of Tibetans and the viability of their communities as they
endeavor topreserve their distinct identity during the time of exile in
India," said Todd Stein, Director of Government Relations at the
International Campaign for Tibet in Bylakuppe.
Under Secretary Otero was hosted at the Sera Monastic University and
toured Tibetan commercial enterprises, ahospital, and an organic farming
center to assess the needs of the settlement and its residents. She was
able to hear directly from a broad spectrum of Tibetan community members.
Under Secretary Otero's visit to Bylakuppe is part of a visit to South
Asia that includes Nepal, where she will review the specific challenges
faced by Tibetans there.The official announcement of her trip can be
found at
http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/tibet-news/us-government-statements-re
garding-us-special-coordinator-tibetan-issues-visit-india.
Press contact:
Todd Stein
Director of Government Relations, International Campaign for Tibet
Email: todd....@ictibet.org
Tel: +1 202-731-3155
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6. Dalai Lama: Top 25 political icons,
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TIME
By FEIFEI SUN Friday, Feb. 04, 2011
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2046285,00.h
tml
To countless Tibetans, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader
and a head of state in absentia. But to people around the world, Tenzin
Gyatso is not only the greatest and most public advocate for Tibetan
rights and the virtues of Tibetan Buddhism, but for interfaith tolerance
and peace as well. For decades -- and from exile since 1959 -- he has
worked to resolve tensions between Tibet and the People's Republic of
China. And like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. before him, the Dalai
Lama done so in a manner defined by nonviolence and tolerance. In 1989,
he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
The Dalai Lama's humility has endeared him to presidents and religious
leaders of several countries, affording him the opportunity to raise
awareness and drum up support for Tibet on a global scale. His 1998
book, The Art of Happiness, sold more than 1.5 million copies in the
U.S. and made him a New York Times bestselling author for nearly two
years. Yet little the 14th Dalai Lama can do seems to endear him to the
authorities in Beijing, who have rebuffed his overtures, label him a
"wolf in monk's robes," and seem intent on waiting for the iconic figure
to die. For all the global compassion and sympathy the Dalai Lama has
won, his lasting legacy may be one of sad, crestfallen failure.
Full List
SOME FAMOUS FOLK
* Mohandas Gandhi
* Alexander the Great
* Mao Zedong
* Winston Churchill
* Genghis Khan
* Nelson Mandela
* Abraham Lincoln
* Adolf Hitler
* Ernesto "Che" Guevara
* Ronald Reagan
* Cleopatra
* Franklin Roosevelt
* Dalai Lama
* Queen Victoria
* Benito Mussolini
* Akbar the Great
* Lenin
* Margaret Thatcher
* Simùn BolÆvar
* Qin Shi Huang
* Kim Il-Sung
* Charles de Gaulle
* Louis XIV
* Haile Selassie
* King Richard the Lionheart & Saladin
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7. China needs political liberalisation: Dalai Lama
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Ajay Parmar, TNN, Feb 10, 2011, 03.05am IST
JODHPUR : Terming China as a communist nation without communist
ideology, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said that China
urgently needs political liberalisation.
Reiterating his demand for autonomy for Tibet, he, however, expressed
concern that the Tibetan culture, values, lifestyle, language,
traditions and customs are fast being suppressed by China, which is
imposing its own culture in the region.
The Dalai Lama was speaking at a lecture on Nalanda Thought: India's
Ancient Treasure' hosted by Aravali Institute of Management here on
Wednesday. He also replied to questions of the students ranging from
education to politics.
"Today, Tibet needs economic development and for which we cannot afford
to be an independent land. But Chinese policies are against us which is
not acceptable to us," he said
He signalled about his retirement soon, saying, "I am at the fag end of
my mission." Replying to a question, he also advocated permanent seat
for India in the UN Security Council and that too with veto power,
saying India is the most deserving nation for the status.
Addressing the students, he described them as the agents of change of
the 21 century, who have the responsibility to ensure global peace
through action (Karma) and called upon them to work with a vision along
the principals of ahimsa to make this century a century of peace.
He also advocated dialogue as the best tool to resolve national and
international problems. He also urged students to be concerned about and
active in protecting earth from environmental degradation.
He advised them to have a realistic vision governed by knowledge and
have unbiased compassion, which he said, are lacking miserably in
pursuit of materialistic pleasures. He also emphasized values like
cooperation, trust, harmony, tolerance, friendship, moral ethics and on
top of all human values, warmheartedness.
Talking about the Nalanda university's education system, he stressed
that the country needs to revive that system in the benefit of the
humanity. He described the Tibetans as the disciples of India and termed
Tibetan tradition a true lineage of Nalanda education system. "We are
proud to have that system intact. But, unfortunately, India, our guru,
could not preserve the Nalanda tradition, a truly pluralistic system
based on experiments, logic and investigation and not on mere
quotations," he said.
Referring to the present education system, he said it is devoid of moral
ethics. "But now there is a growing concern in many countries about
making education as an inculcator of moral ethics based on secular
harmony," he said.
Later, he also addressed the students of Rajmata Krishan Kumari Girls
School and emphasized on women's education terming it as important.
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8. China has no communist ideology; India deserves UNSC seat: Lama
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TNN, 9 FEB, 2011, 11.26PM IST,PTI
JODHPUR: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has termed China as a
"communist nation without communist ideology" and said the country
urgently needs political liberalisation.
He also advocated India's quest for permanent seat in UN security
council , saying it is the "most deserving" nation for the status and
veto power.
Expressing grief over suppression of Tibetan culture and tradition, he
said imposition of Chinese lifestyle in the region is "unacceptable".
However, the exiled leader said at a function here that Tibet cannot
afford to be independent as it is small and landlocked but certainly
needs greater autonomy. He said Chinese policies are against Tibetan
people and they cannot accept this.
75-year-old Dalai Lama also signaled about his retirement and said "I am
at the fag end of my mission."
Speaking in a lecture on "Nalanda Thought: India's ancient treasure"
hosted by a management institute here, Dalai Lama stressed upon the need
to revive the Nalanda university's education system for the benefit of
humanity.
The Tibetans are disciples of India and called the Tibetan tradition a
true lineage of Nalanda education system.
He called the Nalanda tradition a truly pluralistic system based upon
experiments, logic and investigation.
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9. Rebel Tibetan singer jailed for "subversive songs" released
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Phayul[Wednesday, February 09, 2011 13:19]
By Kalsang Rinchen
Dharamsala, February 9 China has released on Tuesday a popular Tibetan
singer jailed for his songs that called for Tibetan independence,
expressed nostalgia for the exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai
Lama and remembered the Chinese government¹s crackdown on Tibetans
across Tibet in 2008.
According to the Radio Free Asia , Tashi Dhondup, was freed from a
Chinese jail in Xining early Tuesday. ³He arrived safely at his hometown
in Yulgan county on the same day at around 7:00 p.m.,² the RFA quoted a
relative of Tashi as saying. ³On the way, he passed through Tsekhog
county, where he was well received by the locals with scarves and
greetings.²
³His family, fans, and friends gave him a warm welcome on his arrival at
his home county in Malho prefecture,² said the relative who asked not to
be named.
³So far, the local police have not imposed restrictions on the local
Tibetans and Mongolians for welcoming the popular singer following his
more than a year in detention,² the relative said.
Tashi was sentenced to one year and seven months¹ jail term in March
last year for producing a music album with ³subversive songs².
Tashi was arrested on Dec 3, 2009 from a restaurant in Xining, where he
had been in hiding after authorities banned his album titled ³Torture
without Trace² in November the same year.
Chinese authorities in central Henan province, where the singer is a
member of the Henan Mongolian Autonomous Region Arts Troupe, had issued
the warrant for his arrest.
Tashi was previously detained in September 2008, according to sources of
the International Campaign for Tibet, and accused by authorities of
including 'counter-revolutionary content' in a song entitled 'The Year
of 1959,' the year of the Lhasa Uprising and the Dalai Lama's flight
into exile. He was detained and beaten for over seven days by police in
Xining.
5,000 copies of his album sold out within a month of its October release
in Amdo region of eastern Tibet, where Tashi is a popular local star.
China launched a massive crackdown on Tibetan artistes, writers and
intellectuals, following the nationwide protests that started on March
10, 2008 in Lhasa and spread across the Tibetan plateau.
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10. Super Bowl ad featuring Tibet triggers angry reaction in China
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By Jo Kent, CNN
February 7, 2011 7:32 a.m. EST
Commercials aired during the Super Bowl are some of the most expensive -
and most watched - in the U.S.
(Over 106 million Super Bowl viewers watched the New Orleans Saints'
victory over Indianapolis, in Super Bowl 2010 (Source: Nielson Co.) )
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The ad is by Groupon -- a U.S.-based company that helps group-buyers get
discounts
During the ad, actor Timothy Hutton appears to be served a meal at
Himalayan Restaurant in Chicago
He delivers the line "The Tibetan people are in trouble. Their culture
is in jeopardy"
Groupon has said China is a priority for the company
Beijing (CNN) -- The Super Bowl usually comes and goes without much
notice in China.
However, this year, America's famous sporting event took a different
turn when a television advertisement featuring Tibetans and a
Chicago-area Himalayan restaurant triggered angry comments from internet
users in China.
The ad by Groupon -- a U.S.-based company that helps online group-buyers
get discounts -- was to generate support for The Tibet Fund, an
organization that aims to preserve Tibetan culture.
During the ad, actor Timothy Hutton appears to be served a meal at
Himalayan Restaurant in Chicago. He delivers the line "The Tibetan
people are in trouble. Their culture is in jeopardy."
Then in a seemingly sarcastic tone, Hutton adds, "But they still whip up
an amazing fish curry!"
Hutton then talks about a 50% discount he and other Groupon users got at
a Himalayan restaurant in Chicago.
The joke fell flat with Chinese internet users, at a time when the
venture capital-backed Groupon is aggressively expanding its services
and staffing in mainland China.
Tibet has long been a source of consistent domestic and international
tension for China, which established control over the region in 1951.
The Dalai Lama went into exile in 1959 following an uprising against
communist leadership.
Tensions related to religious freedom, human rights, development and
political sovereignty have plagued the region periodically ever since.
"Just saw the ad, are they oblivious?" asked user Mofei on Sina.com's
microblogging service Weibo.
"Groupon is doomed to failure now in China," wrote user Yageboo on
Sina's Weibo. "Groupon's lax approach to the Chinese market is not going
to work!"
Sina.com user cnbuff410 asked, "Groupon ... you play a 'free Tibet'
advertisement during the Super Bowl ... do you actually want to enter
the Chinese market?"
Vivek Kunwar, a co-owner of Himalayan Restaurant in the Chicago area,
saw the advertisement during a Super Bowl commercial break.
"When we saw it, it was an 'uh-oh' moment, even for me," Kunwar said in
a phone interview.
"There was nothing that we could do .. we were not even involved in the
shoot."
However, not everyone was affected.
One online user posted, "Groupon is an American company with a conscience."
The restaurant first opened in 2003, and has enjoyed a strong community
customer base.
"When we were shown the script, it sounded pretty good. However, the way
the ad was made was not in good taste," Kunwar said.
"Our name was used but the way the ad was presented really wasn't done
very well. It could offend people definitely."
Phone calls and e-mails to Groupon headquarters and its Beijing office
went unanswered on Sunday evening. But the company posted a message on
its official Twitter account, saying "Like standing too close to a
rainbow, viewers' hearts are warmed" by the Super Bowl ad.
Kunwar said though the ad had a strong message, it's presentation was
wrong.
"It came out the opposite of what they were hoping for," the co-owner said.
Kunwar said the advertisement was not filmed in their restaurant but on
a set.
"From our part, we hope people realize it was not us," Kunwar said.
"We participated because we liked the cause. (Groupon) should've
considered the sensitivity of the matter," Kunwar said Groupon has not
reached out to the Himalayan Restaurant since the commercial aired.
"Nobody has called me but I definitely do want to talk to their people
and ask them what they were thinking," he told CNN.
"It makes Groupon look bad, it makes us look bad and it was not the way
it should've been done."
Kunwar said he expects the three-restaurant chain will receive
complaints, and he is concerned about future business.
Tibetans and Chinese in their community may "be a little unhappy with
it," he said.
Beijing-based consumer expert Ray Ally said shock value is a part of
marketing.
"Sometimes brands try to create impact by being a big risque or a bit
confrontational," Ally said. "Brands use this kind of shock to generate
awareness for their brand ... they think that maybe it would get people
talking about Groupon in a positive way."
Ally said some topics are best left untouched.
"They need to steer clear of politics, race and religion because it can
backfire," Ally told CNN. "And that's what happened here. This will
actually damage their brand in the US and more importantly it will
damage their brand in China."
Groupon has said China is a priority for the company.
"China is such an important market ... you'll likely see us there,"
Groupon president Rob Solomon recently told state-run China Daily.
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