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Canadian MP Garnett Genius meets His Holiness

By Jake Thomas: January 19, 2016

Tibetans offering prayers before a large portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Chokri monastery in Karze County, eastern Tibet, January 25, 2016. Photo: TPI

By Thomas Jake, January 28, 2016

Dharamshala — Over a thousand Tibetans in western China’s Sichuan province gathered this week in public at a Buddhist monastery to pray for the long life of the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is receiving medical treatment in the U.S. Participants in the gathering had assembled two weeks before at Chokri Monastery in Karze County (Chinese: Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) for an already scheduled traditional ceremony, the sources said.

“This is an annual prayer gathering which usually begins on Jan. 13 and ends on Jan. 25,” TPI’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“But following a notice sent out on January 20, by the Central Tibetan Administration requesting prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama while he undergoes a health check at the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., the Tibetans extended their praying for two extra days,” sources said, adding that “they dedicated the gathering’s final two days, January 25 and 26, to those specific prayers.”

Video and photos circulating on social media sites also show hundreds of Tibetan men, women, and children seated before a large shrine at the monastery and praying before a large image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose photos are banned by Chinese authorities in Tibet.

Dharamshala — Mr Garnett Genius, a Member of Parliament from Canada’s Conservative Party visited Dharamshala, where he met with the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama to discuss human rights and religious freedom.

“I met with the Dalai Lama on Friday, to discuss human rights and religious freedom,” Mr Genius wrote in his Twitter page, on January 18.

He also visited the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) on January 15, 2016. During his visit, he also met with members of the standing committee of the TPiE and discussed the proceedings and system of the parliament, and the policies and structure of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Genuis’ meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama was part of a five-day trip to India to take part in speaking engagements in front of university students.

“It was an honour to meet with his holiness, the Dalai Lama,” Genuis said, adding that “He is a man deeply concerned for the rights and freedoms of all people. He has an optimistic outlook and believes Canada can play a significant, positive role promoting human rights in the region.”

On November 20, interim Conservative opposition leader Rona Ambrose announced the appointment of Genuis to the role of deputy critic for human rights and religious freedoms in the Canadian Parliament.

“I was honoured to be named deputy critic for human rights and religious freedoms,” Genuis said, following the appointment.

“I am honoured by the trust our new leader has put in me with this appointment, and I will diligently serve in this capacity to ensure that Canada remains a strong voice for human rights

Mr Garnett Genuis, Member of Parliament, Canada with the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, India, on January 15, 2016. Photo: TPI

around the world.”

Mr Genius is a first time member of parliament from Canada.

He was elected to the Canadian parliament three months ago

HRW report: Villagers in Tibet under intensive government surveillance

State-approved Tibetan Language classes: Report

Tibetan language instructors Tawu County, eastern Tibet, receiving ceremonial scarves from well-wishers in an undated photo. Photo: TPIat Chokri monastery in Karze County, eastern Tibet, January 25, 2016. Photo: TPI

By Jane Cook, January 27, 2016

Dharamshala — A series of classes promoting the study of the Tibetan language and taught by university-affiliated instructors has gone ahead with apparent state approval in a Tibetan county in Kham province of eastern Tibet, sources say.

The classes were held over the winter school vacation and pulled in around 200 students in Tawu (Chinese: Daofu County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture), a monk with contacts in Tawu County, told TPI. “Based on the students’ language proficiency, the classes were divided into four levels—advanced, dialectical, intermediate, and beginners,” TPI’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The local Tibetan students in Tawu warmly embraced this crash course and were very attentive during the teachings,” Tsering said, adding that the series of intensive classes was also well received by students’ parents.

Classes were taught by Tawu Gyaltse, a student at the Northwest University for Nationalities in Lanzhou, capital of neighboring Gansu province, and by two university friends, possibly accounting for local authorities’ approval of the initiative, sources said.

At the conclusion of the 20-day winter course in Tawu County, a closing ceremony was held, presided over by Tawu Nyatso monastery schoolmaster Geshe Paljor, the sources said, adding that prizes were awarded for top-performing students.

“Bilingual education is a necessity for living in a modern society,” course instructor Tawu Gyaltsen said, addressing students and others at the event.

“Teaching of the Tibetan language should be promoted and strengthened through systematic planning,” Gyaltsen said.

Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to reassert national identity in recent years, with Chinese authorities frequently closing language classes taught outside the state-controlled education system.

Informally organized language courses are typically deemed “illegal associations,” with tightened security measures in Qinghai province’s Pema (Banma) county recently leading area residents to take classes in secret due to fear of arrest, sources said.

A surveillance camera near Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. (file photo)

By Steve Shaw: January 20, 2016

Dharamshala — An intensive government surveillance program that was due to end in 2014 appears to have been extended indefinitely, a move that Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said “signals authorities’ intention to suppress any signs of dissent or criticism among Tibetans”.

Launched in 2011, the scheme known as “Benefit the Masses” was initially described by state media as a way to improve rural living standards. However, research by HRW indicates that in reality it involves surveillance, political indoctrination and the suppression of freedom of speech and religion.

More than 20,000 officials and communist party personnel have been divided into teams of four or more and dispatched to over 5,000 rural villages. Along with intrusive surveillance of villagers, they carry out widespread political re-education, and establish partisan security units. The information that is collected can then potentially lead to detention or other forms of punishment.

The official slogan used to describe the objective of the teams is “all villages become fortresses, and everyone is a watchman.”

The program was due to last three years and end in October 2014, however it is still in operation despite the fact there has been no public announcement about an extended timeline. It is said to be unprecedented in its scope and size, and figures from 2013 show that is has come at a cost of more than 25% of the regional government’s budget, which translates to approximately 1.48 billion Yuan (approximately US$227 million) annually.

In a statement Sophie Richardson, China director at HRW, called the Chinese government’s decision to extend the surveillance program as “nothing less than a continuous human rights violation,” and said that permanent surveillance of Tibetans is the new normal.

“Benefit the Masses” is just one of a number of systems introduced to prevent a recurrence of the protests that spread across the Tibetan plateau in 2008 and they are key to what Beijing calls, “social stability maintenance”.

Another of these systems of information gathering is known as the “Six Ones” and was introduced in November 2011 to monitor Tibetan monasteries. Under this system almost every monastery in Tibet has been placed under direct control of authorities, with government or party officials permanently stationed inside. The purpose is said to be to “ensure that monks and nuns do not take part in activities of splitting up the motherland and disturbing social order.”

An even larger system was launched in 2012 and has been described in official documents as “grid” management. It involves areas being divided up into grids and each grid being monitored by a leader and patrolled by community workers, known as “Red Armband Patrols”. These teams gather information on potential ‘troublemakers’ and have allegedly been involved in searching homes for signs of potential political dissent.

“China’s surveillance scheme openly and massively infringes upon the basic rights of Tibetans protected under Chinese and international law,” Ms Richardson added. “China’s central and regional authorities should end the repressive aspects of this scheme immediately.”

in the 2015 Canadian parliamentary election. This was his first visit to the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala.

Scientists record new species in Tibet: Report

By Yangchen Dolma, January 28, 2016

Lhasa — The discovery of a new Himalayan forest frog clade in Tibet has been confirmed. It will join 12 other Chinese amphibian families.

After five years of field research, scientists from Kunming Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences confirmed the discovery of the rare frog that can breed without the help of water, as well as new species of reptiles on the QinghaiTibet Plateau, Chinese state-run-media Xinhua report claimed.

The frogs were categorized under the oldest available generic name for this clade -- Liurana, and divided into three effective species -- Liurana alpine, Liurana medogensis and Liurana xizangensis.

Based on morphological and phylogenetic data, they were believed to be “close relatives” of the family of Ceratobatrachidae that live on the south Pacific islands.

Che Jing, an analyst with the institute, told Xinhua that the discovery means the definition of Ceratobatrachidae must be reviewed and this is the first record of this family in China.

“The family’s distribution range has now increased from the south Pacific to include the Himalayan region. This offers valuable insight into biogenetic evolution and geological history,” Che said.

The smallest frogs known to reside in China, an adult Liurana frog is 3-cm long at most, while a Liurana medogensis is less than 2 cm. The frogs live around moss in forests over 3,000 meters above sea level.

Ceratobatrachidae frogs have also been spotted in the southeast Asian countries of Myanmar and Thailand.

Che said a survey across the Indo-China Peninsula in southeast Asia would be necessary.

In addition, Chinese scientists identified a new genus and species of tree frog, a new species of the genus Scutiger, and a new species of the genus Amolops in Modog County, southeastern Tibet, as well as two new species of Japalura on the Hengduan Mountain Range, according to findings published by the institute.

Ranging from tropical forest to alpine conditions, Modog is a biodiversity-rich area in the eastern Himalayan region.

Home to 47 nature reserves, the report claimed that the so called ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ boasts China’s largest conservation area.

Tibetans capture poachers in Dzoge County, Tibet Thomas Jake, January 14, 2016

Dharamshala — Tibetan villagers assigned to guard wildlife in Dzoge County, north-eastern Tibet have taken into custody four Chinese illegally caught poaching endangered animals in the so called protected areas, sources with close contact said.

The four Chinese poachers were detained at around 2:00 a.m. on January 9, 2016, near Basu village in Dzoege County in Ngaba, Amdo Province of Tibet (Chinese: Ruo’ergai county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture) and were quickly handed over to local authorities, the sources told TPI. “The Tibetans confiscated two rifles and a jeep, along with the carcasses of 12 animals the poachers had hunted,” TPI’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The animals they had killed included musk deer, wild sheep, wolves, and rabbits, sources added. Photos of the latest event also circulated on the social media.

The Chinese provincial government official website later confirmed the arrest, claiming that the accused poachers are now under investigation by the county police.

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FEATURE TPI NEWS Environmental degradation on the “Third-Pole” Preventing a water war in Asia The Tibet Post International

January 31, 2016

By Gabriel Lafitte, January 31, 2016

A map for Yarlung Tsangpo, Asia’s largets river. Photo: File

By Washington Times January 18, 2016

Just when Asia was getting accustomed to the Chinese threat to the oceans of Southeast Asia, there’s another water worry for Asians. The government in Beijing controls the health of six major South and Southeastern Asian rivers, the heart of life in the region. All of the rivers rise on the Tibetan plateau. The Chinese have been on an intensive program of dam-building on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra, the Irrawaddy, the Meman Chao Phya and the Mekong, which would give them the ability to control these arteries of commerce, as well as irrigation of rice and other crops, for vast areas downstream.

Snows are melting on thousands of glaciers, the largest concentration of ice north and south of the poles, repeating the ancient and constant cycle of change in the world’s weather. One Tibetan lake, Namtso, a holy site where pilgrims circumnavigate its banks in prayer, expanded by 20 square miles between 2000 and 2014. Tibet’s glaciers have shrunk by 15 percent over the past 30 years. Though subject to the whims of climate change, if melting continues at current levels the warmer temperatures could melt twothirds of the plateau’s glaciers by 2050, and this would affect in unknown ways 2 billion people in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The most dramatic example of prospective risk is China’s plan to divert the Brahmaputra from its upper reaches, where it flows a thousand miles through Tibet and another 600 miles through India, emptying into the harbor of Calcutta, the secondlargest city of China. The Brahmaputra is the lifeline of northeast India, a troubled region with caste and other ethnic conflicts.

There’s concern in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia over eight dams under construction on the upper reaches of the Mekong River. The Burmese military junta canceled a dam under construction in Myanmar, formerly called Burma, one of six Chinese-led hydroelectric projects

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planned for the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy.

These plants would have exported electricity to southern China.

Government and the business interests worry that China’s apparent intention to dam every major river flowing out of Tibet will lead to environmental imbalance, natural disasters, degrade fragile ecologies, and most of all, divert vital water supplies. The extent of the Chinese program is monumental — on the eight great Tibetan rivers alone, China has completed or started construction of 20 dams, with three-dozen more on the drawing board.

The Dalai Lama points out the obvious, that China’s dam-building could lead to conflict. He warns that India’s use of the Tibetan water “is something very, very essential. So, since millions of Indians use water coming from the Himalayan glaciers I think [India] should express more serious concern. This is nothing to do with politics, just everybody’s interests, including Chinese people.”

The Chinese program for the Brahmaputra is one of the issues which complicate the India-China relationship. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi blows hot and cold over the threat.

Despite extensive contacts, Himalayan border disputes dating from almost a century are no nearer solution than ever, and water is one of the important irritants. Increasing penetration of the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, once dependencies of Britain, has become a new concern in New Delhi.

However, China has become India’s No. 1 trading partner — up to $80 billion in 2015, an increase of $10 billion over 2014. India exports mostly raw materials and imports mostly Chinese electronics and other manufactured goods. Economic relations are the usual guarantee that political and economic disagreements will somehow be sorted out. But not always. Keeping the peace if not necessarily tranquility between the Asian giants must be a priority of the U.S. government. A water war is in nobody’s interest.

A BRIEFING FOR MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, BRUSSELS, 16 NOV 2015 At a time when we are preoccupied with immediate dangers, it is wonderful to find an audience willing to consider the long term. All too readily the long term danger is pushed aside by the threat before us now, and the long term fades from view.

Yet we must also accept responsibility for the long term, and that is why the world will shortly meet in Paris, to finally take meaningful action over climate change, with every country contributing, in the hope we can avert cooking the planet. We have found time for the long term, despite the immediacy of other threats.

When we consider the unique situation of Tibet, we discover we are dealing with a second long term danger; in fact the long unresolved conflict over Tibet now intersects with the long term climate warming, in disturbing ways.

Because the world has seldom found time to consider Tibet, focussing instead on violent struggles that always take priority, the Tibetan situation is known as a frozen conflict. This climatic metaphor is apt: frozen conflicts may not be hot, but they do not go away either, they remain unresolved, and there is a price to pay, as we shall see, including a climatic price. The two conflicts, of Tibet and climate, do intersect, in surprising ways.

The Tibetans are keen to contribute to the climate debate, and to participate in finding planetary solutions. The leader of Tibetans in exile, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, recently summed up the Tibetan climate situation succinctly, in an article in The Guardian. He points out that Tibet is indeed the roof of the world, is heating fast, permafrost and the glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, and over one billion people rely on Tibet, Asia’s water tower, for their daily water needs. He highlights China’s plan to dam all major Tibetan rivers for hydropower, and China’s policy of removing the Tibetan pastoral nomads from their pastures, pleading for these improper policies to be reconsidered.

But how are all these issues interconnected?

How does the frozen conflict, and the silencing of Tibetan voices within Tibet, interact with global climate warming?

First, climate scientists have come to realise that all local and regional climates are interconnected, affecting each other. The climate of Tibet affects the whole planet, and cannot be thought of as a peripheral or remote question. The Tibetan Plateau is a vast island in the sky, four to five kilometres up into the troposphere, with the many mountain chains a further 3000, even 4000 metres higher still. The Tibetan Plateau is the size of Western Europe, and its bulk, its seasonal cooling and heating directly affect

the atmosphere, right across the northern hemisphere. The jetstream that meanders across the planet is deflected by the sheer bulk and altitude of the Tibetan Plateau, which is close to two percent of the planetary land surface. In winter, cold polar air pushes southwards, and the Jetstream is deflected to the Himalayas, which protect India from the intense cold of continental inner Asia.

In spring and summer, the Tibetan Plateau, especially the bare rock of the upper slopes, heats fast, so fast that the Jetstream switches far to the north, deflected around the northern plateau edges, thus drawing in from the far Indian Ocean the rain bearing clouds of the monsoon.

This seasonal alternation of the jetstream is a driver, an engine of the monsoons of India and of East Asia. The effects go further, as far as Europe. Climate scientists have looked along the latitude circling the northern hemisphere, from the Tibetan Plateau, across East Asia, the north Pacific, North America, the Atlantic and on to Europe, and found that air pushed into the upper troposphere by Tibet only descend when they reach Europe. So, climatically, Tibet and Europe are directly connected. What had seemed distant, long term and remote is actually in every momentary breath we take.

We are truly one planet, with one atmosphere.

As the Dalai Lama has said: “This blue planet is our only home and Tibet is its roof. The Tibetan plateau needs to be protected, not just for Tibetans, but for the environmental health and sustainability of the entire world.”

When we explore these interconnections further, a remarkable picture emerges. China, having prevented Tibetans from speaking for themselves, speaks for Tibet. What China has to say about Tibet’s role in the climate debate is disturbing, a distortion of the sciences of our planetary future.

China argues that, although it is by far the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, its actions in Tibet offset and mitigate the global climatic impacts of the world’s factory. China grounds its policy of removing nomads from their ancestral pastures on an official slogan: tuimu huancao, closing pastures to grow more grass. The more grass that grows in ungrazed pastures, the more carbon is captured, and the more China proves its global citizenship in tackling climate change. The result is that well more than half of all of China’s nature reserves and national parks are in Tibet, including the best alpine meadow pasture lands of the Tibetan Plateau, where grazing is now banned.

How did we get to this strange point, where cancelling the skilful and sustainable grazing economy of the vast Tibetan rangelands can be applauded as China’s contribution to climate change mitigation? To answer this question, we need to look overall at what China envisages as the uses, and future of

the Tibetan Plateau.

Science plays a leading role, as the Tibetan Plateau had not been scientifically categorised, enumerated, measured and uploaded into global databases only two human generations ago. Until the 1950s, China had no effective, day to day control over the land or people of Tibet. Whatever one makes of the political arguments, until the 1950s, there was no Chinese presence on the ground. China, seeing itself at the forefront of scientific socialism, was determined to discover the exploitable treasures of this vast plateau, and extract them.

Scientific expeditions quickly located many major mineral deposits, as well as the sources of the great rivers, hitherto mythologised.

China fundamentally sees Tibet as the point sources of great mineral wealth, and extraction is now rapidly intensifying. Mineral deposits occur in specific places, enclaves of intensive investment and extraction.

The rest of Tibet, unsuitable for classic Chinese small-scale agriculture, remains in Chinese eyes a remote and useless hinterland of wandering nomads who seem unproductive given the enormous areas they roam. The future of Tibet, spelled out in one Five-Year Plan after another, is to be an archipelago of enclaves, zones of intensive extraction, with a largely urbanised population, just like the rest of China, with the rural people shifted to urban fringes, then away from the plateau altogether, since a scattered and mobile population can never enjoy modernity.

Outside of the urban and extraction enclaves, the rest of Tibet has little future, will be largely depopulated, and can best earn China global credit for being rebadged as an enormous carbon capture zone, offsetting China’s ongoing combustion of more coal each year than the rest of the world combined.

So the exclusion of the silenced nomads is packaged as a positive contribution to climate change, to REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and land degradation) and to LDN (land degradation neutrality); thus qualifying China not only for the world’s approval but also financial transfers due to developing countries which forego development and in return are eligible for PES (payment for environmental services).

This is a grotesque misappropriation of the concepts of climate change and what can be done to save the planet. A rising tide of Chinese scientists openly contradicts this official narrative. Led by Prof Li Wenjun, at Peking University, this new school of environmental science fieldworkers in nomadic areas see the degradation that has occurred as a result of mistaken and improper policies that fragmented nomadic pasture lands, causing overgrazing, for which China now blames the “primitive” nomads who in fact have cared sustainably for huge rangelands for 9000 years of human use.

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Dr Franz Pahl Mr Thomas Kemeil Mr Shalinder Kumar Ven Thupten Yarphel

Former speaker of South Tyrol, Italy A software engineer, Austria A professional graphic designer, India A Tibetan writer, India

Editor in Chief Yeshe Choesang Chinese Editor Keary Huang Tibetan Editor Choneyi Sangpo Assistant Editor Dawa Phurbu Project Manager Molly Lortie Taipei Photographer Artemas Liu Layout & Design Choneyi Sangpo Circulation Tsering Samdhup

Contributors to this editon Yeshe Choesang India Choenyi Sangpo India Keary Huang Taiwan Dawa Phurbu India Tsetan Tashi India Victor Reyes US Dawa Dolma India Steve Shaw UK Himalayan Literacy Trust Room #, Top Floor, New Varuni House Temple Road, McLeod Ganj: 176219 Dharamshala, Distt. Kangra H.P., India

E-mail: editor@thetibetpost.com Skype: dhardhophonya1959 Mobile: +91-9882423566 www.thetibetpost.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/tpinews

Map of permafrost and glacier in the “Third Pole” - Tibet. Photo: The Economist

January 31, 2016 Tibet News 3 US Special Coordinator for Tibet visits Sikyong greets India on R-day, praises Indian freedom struggle Dharamshala, meets top officials

The Tibet Post International

TPI NEWS

By Yeshe Choesang: January 26, 2016

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay interacting with US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Ms Sarah Sewall and the US delegation.

Photo: CTA/DIIR

By Jake Thomas: January 17, 2016

Dharamshala — US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Ms Sarah Sewall, paid an official visit to Dharamshala, to discuss issues of importance to the Tibetan refugee community.

An eight member delegation of US led by Ms Sewall, arrived on a two - day official visit to Dharamshala, on

January 15. Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, returning from his Japan tour, accompanied Sarah from New Delhi.

“Under Secretary Sewall, in her role as Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues, travels to India and meets Tibetans from all walks of life to discuss ways to preserve Tibetan culture and promote educational opportunities for all Tibetans,” a press release from the US State Department said.

Ms Sewall’s engagements at Dharamshala include a meeting with Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay and an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama among others.

She met with Tibetan individuals and representatives of various Tibetan NGOs to discuss issues of gender equality and women empowerment in exile. The US delegation also interacted with Tibetan youth today to discuss the role and outlook of Tibetan youngsters in the course of the struggle.

Ms Sewall is the United States Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, and the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. This is her second visit to Dharamshala since her appointment to the post on 20 February 2014. Her last visit was in November 2014.

DPP’s victory in Taiwan’s election sends a strong message to China

Dharamshala — On behalf of the Tibetan people, the political leader of Tibetan people (Sikyong) Dr Lobsang Sangay greeted India on its 67th Republic day and praised India’s non-violent struggle for freedom.

The brief ceremony to celebrate the occasion was held at the Kashag secretariat, attended

by Kalons, Secretaries and senior officials of the The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).

Dr Lobsang Sangay, the political leader of Tibetans hoisted the Indian National flag at a brief ceremony held Tuesday morning.

“Tibetans inside and outside Tibet, either in spirit or in person, joins in the celebration to mark the 67th anniversary of India’s Republic Day,” Sikyong said while greeting the people of India on behalf of the Tibetan people.

Sikyong also expressed gratitude to the state and central government of India for extending continued support to the Tibetan people and for hosting Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

“Incredible India has been a kind host to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Central Tibetan Administration and the largest population of Tibetans in exile. So, on behalf of all the Tibetans, i wish India and the indian government our very best wishes,” he said, adding, no country has done more for Tibet than India.

Speaking on India’s freedom movement, Sikyong described the non -violent movement led by Mahatma Gandhi as the role model from which Tibetans derive inspiration for its peaceful and non-violent struggle for Tibetan freedom. “India has changed the course of history by showing that war and violence

Dr Lobsang Sangay hoisting the Indian National Flag at the ceremony to mark India’s 67th Republic Day, at the Kashag secretariat of the CTA, in Dharamshala, India, on January 26, 2016. Photo: TPI/Dawa Phurbu

is not necessary to regain freedom and independence,” he added.

Sikyong also welcomed the visit of President Francois Hollande of France who is the Chief Guest at the grand Republic day parade at New Delhi.

Following the brief ceremony at Kashag, Sikyong took part in the official ceremony organised by the local Indian administration of Kangra district at the police ground in lower Dharamshala.

Sikyong, accompanied by Shri Kaul Singh Thakur, health minister of Himachal Pradesh, first visited the war memorial and laid a wreath in honour of the Indian soldiers who have been

martyred.

Sikyong then proceeded to attend the ceremony at police ground, where a parade and cultural performances were held to celebrate the occasion.

The celebrations began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi driving to the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial at India Gate and laying a wreath in honour of the countless Indian soldiers who have died in battles since World War I. India’s military prowess and diverse cultural heritage were on display at the special day parade. For the first time, a contingent from the French 35th Infantry Regiment was given the honour of leading the marching contingents.

Sikyong meets with Japanese lawmakers on critical situation in Tibet

By Jake Thomas: December 15, 2015 Ms Tsai Ing-wen was surrounded by reporters after casting her vote, Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on January 15, 2016.

Photo: Taiwan Times

By Jake Thomas: January 17, 2016

Taipei — The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a landslide victory in Taiwan’s presidential election on Saturday and sending a strong message to China about Island’s separate Identity.

Ms Tsai Ing-wen’s commanding victory brings to power her Democratic Progressive Party , which espouses Taiwan’s formal independence from China, a red line for Beijing, which claims the island as its territory.

Making her the island’s first female president, the 59-year-old former law professor immediately called for unity between Taiwan’s political parties and repeated a campaign pledge to maintain the status quo and avoid surprises in relations with mainland China.

Ms.Tsai then launched into a robust defense of Taiwan’s democracy, which has become a source of pride for Taiwanese and stands in contrast to China’s one-party rule.

“Our democratic system, national identity and international space must be fully respected,” Ms Tsai told a news conference at her campaign headquarters, as tens of thousands of supporters rallied outside in celebration. “Any suppression [of those] will harm the stability of relations” between China and Taiwan, she said.

While expected, the election result is a blow to the Chinese government, which seeks reunification with Taiwan and had forged

a good working relationship with Taipei under departing president Ma Ying-jeou, a politician from the long-ruling Kuomintang or Nationalist Party. The result could also complicate Beijing’s ties with Washington, which is obliged by U.S. law to help Taiwan defend itself.

During the campaign, Ms. Tsai, spoke to concerns among many Taiwanese about Beijing’s rising influence during Mr. Ma’s eight years in office and the effect China’s economic heft was having in enriching a Taiwanese business elite, while drawing away jobs and investment from the island’s economy.

Her ability to tap into those concerns proved decisive in the election, analysts said. “A Taiwan identity won,” said Yen Chen-shen of the Institute of International Relations at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University.

“There is a generation of pro-independence people,” he said, referring to young voters who rallied behind Ms Tsai.

Ms Tsai may also have gotten a boost from an outpouring of sympathy for a 16-year-old Taiwanese singer in a South Korean pop group who was excoriated by the Chinese on social media after she was seen waving a Taiwan flag in an online broadcast. The singer then issued an apology, in an apparent concession to the size of the mainland market, that angered many young Taiwanese.

Tokyo — During a meeting with several members of the Japanese Parliament in Tokyo, on January 13, Sikyong or Tibetan political leader Dr Lobsang Sangay has briefed the critical political situation prevailing inside Tibet. The Japanese lawmakers strongly expressed their solidarity and assured their

continued support towards the Tibet issue.

The breakfast meeting was held at the House of Representatives building in Tokyo. Dr Sangay briefed the lawmakers about the critical political situation prevailing inside Tibet and the rapid environmental degradation including melting of glaciers on the Tibetan plateau. He said that the melting of glaciers which are the

Dr Lobsang Sangay with Japanese Parliamentarians at the breakfast meeting, in Tokyo, Japan, on January 13, 2016. Photo: CTA/DIIR

Tibetans in Dharamshala pray for His Holiness the Dalai Lama

By Jane Cook: January 29, 2016

Dharamshala — Thousands of Tibetans, including monks, nuns, and civil servants gathered at the main Tibetan temple on Wednesday to pray for the quick recovery of His Holiness the Dalai lama, who is undergoing prostate treatment in the US. The daylong prayer service, was organised by the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Addressing the prayer service, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay called for calm and urged Tibetans not to be alarmed at the news of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s treatment.

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the irreplaceable spiritual leader and the jewel of refuge for the entire Tibetan people. Therefore, I understand the general public’s anxiety regarding His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s health,” Sikyong said.

“However, as we have said a few days ago, there are no major concerns with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s health and he will fully recover after treatment. This has been confirmed by His Holiness himself as well as the doctors who are looking after

The Central Tibetan Administration organized a prayer service for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s health, Dharamshala, India, 27 January 2016. Photo: CTA/DIIR

His Holiness,” Dr Sangay assured the anxious public.

“Prostate treatment is a common condition for people

above the age of 60. Generally, doctors in the US advise public for regular prostate checkups after the

age of 40. Therefore, considering His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is undergoing prostate treatment at 80 years of age, is a sign of robust health,” he added.

“Having said that, the Kashag is in constant touch with the Mayo Clinic where His Holiness is undergoing treatment for any updates on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s health. Therefore, I urge Tibetans inside and outside Tibet to remain calm and not to worry,” Sikyong said.

Sikyong further called on the Tibetan public to preserve the sacred bond of Samaya between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, and collect merit through prayers to ensure a swift recovery for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Similar prayers were organized by the Tibetan people around the world, for early recovery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Over a thousand Tibetans in Karze County, eastern Tibet gathered on January 25-26, at a Buddhist monastery to pray for the long life of the spiritual leader of Tibet.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama left Dharamshala on 19 January for prostate treatment at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, US.

source of Asia’s major rivers could have severe implications on downstream countries like Bangladesh and India.

Sikyong also spoke about the wave of selfimmolation protests that have taken place inside Tibet since 2009 and described the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans as their unanimous demands.

Dr Sangay also spoke about the growing support for the Middle Way Approach pursued

by Central Tibetan Administration to resolve the Tibet issue. He said that world leaders including US President Barack Obama and EU President Donald Tusk voiced their support to the Middle Way Approach.

The Japanese parliamentarians, on their part, expressed their solidarity and assured their continued support towards the Tibet issue.

They also called for more such visits from the Tibetan leadership to garner more support for the Tibetan struggle in Japan.

Following the breakfast, Sikyong held a meeting with the Chairperson and members of Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a reputed Japanese think-tank led by Ms Sakurai Yoshiko, a staunch Tibet supporter and a wellknown Japanese TV personality.

At the meeting, Sikyong discussed the dangers of China’s political mindset with its tendency of Han Chauvinism and right-wing aggressive nationalism.

Dr Sangay called for a civilizational shift in China to transform its aggressive mindset to a more pacified Buddhist mindset to avoid the dangers that it could cause both to itself and its neighbors.

Sikyong also talked about the lack of artistic liberties in Tibet as well as in China citing several examples of popular artistes who have voiced their concern.

He further talked about the growing number of Buddhists among the Chinese people and the fact that an increasing number of Chinese Buddhists come to the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India, remarking hopefully that change could be ushered in China through the agency of Buddhist philosophies such as non-violence and compassion.

He also expressed gratitude to the international community for their financial aid and moral support to strengthen the Central Tibetan Administration and other Tibetan institutions, adding that freedom for the Tibetan people and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet remain the present Kashag’s two major objectives.

This is Dr Lobsang Sangay’s second visit to Japan as Sikyong. His visit included a series of talks at Japanese colleges and a visit to the new Office of Tibet building. Sikyong last visited Japan in April 2012.

4

TPI NEWS

January 31, 2016

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Tibet strives to expand medical service to all monasteries: State-run media Lhasa - The Chinese Communist Party propaganda “Xinhua” claimed that the Tibet Autonomous Region is determined to expand medical services to its 1,700 monasteries and saying benefiting over 46,000 monks and nuns in next five years.

‘The regional commission of health and family planning said at the annual meeting of the regional legislature, which opened Wednesday, that health care clinics will be set up in monasteries across the region while monks and nuns with medical skills will also be sent there,’ the report claimed.

Ngawang Chozin, a monk from the Drepung Monastery in west Lhasa, told Xinhua that the government frequently sends medical teams to provide free clinics in monasteries during festivals, however, monks do not have access to immediate medical care in the case of urgent emergencies. He said he was pleased that onsite doctors may soon become available.

The report said the region launched the project to construct clinics in monasteries and train monks and nuns medical skills at the beginning of 2015.

‘Monks and nuns are encouraged to study medicine in Tibet,’ it said, adding that the commission has ordered hospitals, medical schools and medical institutions across the region to offer free basic medical training to all monks and nuns.

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At the end of the year, she returned to her temple and helped set up a clinic, which is well-equipped with stores of medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine and Tibetan medicine.

“During the eight-month training, I learned some basic knowledge of Western medicine, such as medicine dosage, transfusion therapy and how to use the oxygen generator,” said Chokyi.

The clinic will not only provide medical service to nuns in the temple, but also to worshippers, Chokyi said.

The Party propaganda also claimed that the ‘regional government has earmarked 13 million yuan (1.98 million U.S. dollars) annually since 2011 to ensure all monks and nuns are included in the basic medical insurance system.’

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The Tibet Post International

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) Take your time; do not make any decisions in haste.

You might not be as reserved on an emotional level as you’d like. You will be encouraged to get involved in a moneymaking venture. You mustn’t give too much to your children. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Sunday.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21) If you’re preoccupied, be careful while operating a vehicle or any kind of equipment or machinery. You need to be active and spend time with friends you enjoy. Don’t push your luck with authority. You can bet that you’ll draw attention to yourself. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Thursday.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21) Travel could bring you the adventure and excitement you require. Children will be of major concern if you haven’t kept the lines of communication open. You are better off visiting friends or relatives than entertaining at home. Your emotional stability may influence the changes taking place in your personal life. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

CANCER (June 22-July 22) Health problems may prevail if you haven’t been getting enough rest. You need to spend some time with individuals who have more experience than you. Don’t expect anything for nothing and you won’t be disappointed. It’s hard to stay mad if the object of the anger refuses to react. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Thursday.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) However, you must not neglect your family. Family members may want you at home, when your heart is telling you to spend time with someone you recently met. Personal problems may be hanging over your head but don’t confront the situation. You’re likely to encounter new partners if you take short trips. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Tuesday.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Your mate may want to pick a fight but if you’re persistent with your affections their anger should dissipate. Entertainment should include the whole family or a lot of your friends. Later in the week your boss will pat you on the back for a job well done.

Talk about your intentions and confirm that you both feel the same way. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Coworkers may not be completely honest with you; try not to rely on help from others. Financial difficulties may be worrying you. Do yourself a favor and leave your plastic at home. Work at home if at all possible. Be prepared to encounter new friendships that will provide you with valuable information. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Make changes regarding your friendships.

Exercise is always a good way to relieve stress.

You may find yourself in an emotional fix if you interfere in other people’s problems. Your changing philosophies may lead you into new circles and open doors that will give you a unique outlook on life. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Thursday.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) You will be popular with acquaintances; however, loved ones could feel left out and insecure. The knowledge you have will enhance your reputation.

You need to look into new philosophies. Make sure any presentation you have is ready. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Sunday.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) You can win points if you present your ideas this month. You can invest in profitable ventures.

Organize social events or family gatherings.

Romance can develop; however, it will most probably be short-lived. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Thursday.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) Look into attending seminars that can expand your perception. Try to join groups of interest such as ballroom dance classes or perhaps an internet organization. A romantic infatuation from your past may surface if you frequent places that you both used to go. You will have to put those you live with in their place if they try to interfere with your work. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Saturday.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) You should check out prestigious clubs or groups that have a cause you believe in. Look into joining groups that can give you hands-on advice about business. You will have a greater involvement in groups; however, they may not be to your advantage.

Travel will also entice you. Your luckiest events this

The Tibet Post International

TPI NEWS

His Holiness the Dalai Lama leaves for US for prostate treatment

His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery’s Assembly Hall in Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India on January 1, 2016. Photo: TPI/Yeshe Choesang

By Jane Cook: January 19, 2016

Dharamshala — The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama Wednesday left for the US where he will be for a month for his prostrate treatment, although the Tibetan leader said he has no specific health complaints.

A statement by the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “The Dalai Lama is departing Dharamshala today for the United States where he is scheduled to undergo prostate treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, followed by a period of rest from the end of January 2016 for approximately one month.”

“His regular engagement schedule will resume in March,” the statement said.

Dr Lobsang Sangay, Sikyong or the political leader of

Tibetans and other top officials of the Central Tibetan Administration bid adieu to the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate at the Kangra airport in Dharamshala.

Replying to the media queries, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said there was no major health issue, but he was having problem in the right eye.

“You can touch my face and see there’s no problem,” he said in a lighter vein, adding that he had been going to Mayo Clinic for regular health evaluation and doctors there had advised him for precautions in certain things.

“I would probably return in the second week of March,” he said. He is also scheduled to attend a scientists’ meet at Wisconsin University. In September last year, the Tibetan spiritual leader had cancelled his programme to the US after doctors at Mayo Clinic advised him rest.

H IS H OLINESS

New Delhi — A daylong photo exhibitions on His Holiness the Dalai Lama Biography and Indo-Tibet Relations, held at FICCI, Near Mandi House, New Delhi, on January 25, 2016.

At the invitation of the BIGNNING – the organizer of the Connect Northeast – the Culture and Business Fest 2016, the event was organized by the Tibet Museum of the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration, according to the Tibetan administration media.

The festival and exhibition was inaugurated by Mr Indresh Kumar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Think Tank and Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space.

The event was held to bring together the diverse culture and heritage of the North East on a common platform and connect it with the rest of India. It was also aimed to attract investment in all sectors and economic activities in northeast region.

Around one thousands participants consisting of students and entrepreneurs joined the daylong festival and also visited the Tibet Museum’s exhibitions on His Holiness Biography and Indo-Tibet Relations.

“Excellent portrayal of Dalai Lama’s momentous journey of life and his ideals. May god bless him for many more years of life and health so that he continues to guide us,” Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region.

Special word of appreciation for “Bignning” and its team for having organized this exhibition with the objective to promote and propagate a noble cause,” he added.

“It is a privilege for me to have this opportunity to view this photo exhibition of world leaders supporting the cause of Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” said Mr Indresh Kumar.

By Jake Thomas: January 19, 2016

Dharamshala — His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Sikyong or the political leader of Tibetans and Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in-Exile congratulated Ms Tsai Ing-Wen, the new President-elect of Taiwan.

Ms Tsai, a staunch Tibet supporter and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) swept the recent Taiwanese elections defeating the incumbent Kuomintang Nationalist Party in both the presidential and parliamentary elections.

In a letter to Ms Tsai Ing-wen, PresidentElect of Taiwan, His Holiness the Dalai Lama congratulated her on her remarkable victory in the Presidential election, saying “It is indeed encouraging to see how firmly rooted democracy has become in Taiwan. It is a model and source of inspiration to those who aspire for freedom and accountable leadership. As someone dedicated to promoting democracy, I salute what the people of Taiwan have accomplished.”

The Tibetan spiritual leader said that during his visits to Taiwan, including that in 2009 when he met Ms Tsai Ing-wen, he was able to see for himself the progress the people of Taiwan have made in the fields of economics and education. Noting that business and trade are areas in which successful links have been established with mainland China.

“It is important that such links should grow and be extended to include increased people to people exchanges,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said, His Holiness ended by wishing Ms Tsai Ing-wen every success in meeting the many

“The exhibit is very moving and refreshing. However in last several years, people of India and abroad have come out on the roads and streets in large numbers in support of Tibet. It would be good to have some additional panels with their photographs and their wishes for Tibet. My heart felt congratulations for the wonderful exhibition,” said Mr Kumar added.

Dharamshala - Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile or Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay has condemned the Chinese government’s spiritual cataloguing system, while terming it an attempt to control the reincarnation system of monks in Tibetan Buddhism.

Highlighting China’s track record of destroying 98 percent of monasteries and nunneries in Tibet as well as disrobing monks and putting them behind bars, Dr Sangay said the Chinese government, Communist Party of China in particular, has no business in interfering in the reincarnation system, Hindustan Times reported on 23 January 2016.

The Chinese government recently launched an online database of legal living Buddhas to counter fake living Buddhas that were using donations to support proindependence activities in Tibet, which Tibetans view as a broader struggle to control the legacy of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Speaking on the issue, Dr Sangay said the Chinese government lacks credibility and legitimacy in spiritual matters.

“So, I am sure they have plans to control the reincarnation system and the reincarnation lamas. But, it will not be credible because neither they have the legitimacy nor credibility in the spiritual matters,” said Sikyong.

Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama, or monk, is reincarnated in the body of a child who would then grow up to become a so-called living Buddha, the report said.

Ms Tsai Ing-wen with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Photo: File

challenges ahead.

Expressing his earnest greetings to the President-elect, Sikyong wrote: “I, on behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration, would like to congratulate you and your Democratic Progressive Party’s landslide victory in the recently concluded Taiwanese presidential and parliamentary elections. Your Excellency’s personal victory and your party’s victory are a reflection of the robust democratic institution that is in place in Taiwan and is a source of great inspiration for the Tibetan people.”

“Your commitment, visions and willingness to serve the people of Taiwan have won the trust of the majority. As you embark upon the responsibility of the first female president of Taiwan, I wish you all the luck and success in your endeavors,” Sikyong said.

“Moreover, as a longstanding friend of the Tibetan people, you have repeatedly expressed your concern at the deteriorating situation inside Tibet under Chinese rule for which we are truly grateful. We hope you will continue your pivotal support to peacefully resolve the Tibet issue as the President of Taiwan,” Dr Sangay added.

The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile also congratulated Ms Tsai for winning the

presidential and the general election of Taiwan.

She is poised to become the first female president of Taiwan.

“On behalf of all the Tibetan people in and outside Tibet, the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile would like to heartily congratulate Your Excellency and your party on this historic victory. It is also a landmark in the democratic history of Taiwan that Your Excellency is first female elected to the office of the Presidency,” Mr Topgyal, the Tibetan Parliament secretary wrote.

“This is a victory of the people of Taiwan, who voted for Democratic Progressive Party under your dynamic leadership and it is an inspiration to all the democratic societies throughout the world.”

“It is extremely important to note that Your Excellency had met our most beloved and dynamic leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the past and, your party had been very supportive to the just cause of Tibetan people.

We are sure that this “New Era” under your efficient and dynamic leadership will bring freedom, prosperity and peace in Taiwan. We sincerely urge Your Excellency to consider the issue of Tibet as one of the core issues of new government in Taiwan under your leadership,” he added.

By Yshi Choesang: January 29, 2016

cease de facto to be news media.”

Ismaïl added: “In view of their growing international role – seen in the increasing number of partnerships with CCTV and the many international media subscribing to Xinhua’s service – these two organizations represent a threat to freely produced news in the public interest. We call on the European Union to urgently adopt a resolution sanctioning these practices, which are part of the Chinese government’s repressive system.”

RSF already called on the European Council to adopted sanctions against CCTV and its executives in August 2014.

Such sanctions would be in line with a previous European Union measure. In decision 2013/124/PESC of March 2013, the European Council found that certain Iranian officials – including Press TV’s CEO and news director – had violated the right to a fair trial by their use of forced confessions and were complicit in the use of violence to make detainees “confess.”

Other recent victims of this practice in China include Gao Yu, a journalist who disappeared on 23 April 2014 and who was shown on CCTV two weeks later confessing to having made a “big mistake” and admitting her “guilt.”

She was accused of “disclosing state secrets to sources outside of China.” During her trial in November 2014, she said she made the confession under duress, because threats had been made against her son.

Xiang Nanfu, a regular contributor to the New York-based news website Boxun, was showed on CCTV 13 in May 2014 confessing to having “smeared the Party and government.”

When he was released on 19 August 2014, the police said it was “because of his poor health and above all because of a relatively good attitude in pleading guilty.”

Designed to discredit independent news providers, this practice was also used in November 2013 against Chen Yongzhou, a reporter for the Xinkuai Bao newspaper.

CCTV producer Wang Qinglei was fired the same month after criticizing CCTV for broadcasting well-known social network commentator Charles Xue’s forced confession. “Televised confessions serve political needs,” Wang said in an open letter that was quickly removed after being posted online.

China is ranked 176th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

World Media-Watch-Dog RSF reiterates call for EU sanctions against CCTV and Xinhua

Hundreds of students from Indian universities and colleges came to see the exhibition. Photo: CTA/DIIR

China has no business in Tibetan reincarnation system: Sikyong

By Jake Thomas, January 25, 2016

5

Spiritual and political leaders of Tibet congratulate Taiwan’s Pres-Elect

Photo exhibition on ‘Indo-Tibet Relations’ at Connect Northeast Festival

By Thomas Jake: January 29, 2016

January 31, 2016

The first list of 870 government-certified reincarnations in mainland China was unveiled by the Buddhist Association of China.

Beijing says the move will prevent fake living Buddhas from cheating believers and swindle money from them.

As of 2007, there were more than 100 living Buddhas in Tibet, according to the official China Daily.

However, Tibetans living in exile decried the move calling it interference by China in the intricacies of Tibetan culture and religion.

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay. Photo: TPI/file

Paris, France — The Paris based International mediawatch-dog “Reporters Without Borders” (RSF) calls for European Union sanctions against state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) and the official news agency Xinhua for broadcasting and publishing what are presumably forced “confessions.”

RSF is appalled by the growth of this practice by China’s state media, which poses an alarming threat to freely reported news and information.

The latest victims include Gui Minhai, the owner of Mighty Current, a Hong Kong-based company that publishes books critical of the Chinese Communist Party. After disappearing in Thailand in October in circumstances that led many to suspect he had been kidnapped, Gui delivered a tearful “confession” on CCTV on 17 January, saying he wanted to be tried in China despite having Swedish citizenship.

Yesterday, it was the turn of Peter Dahlin, a Swedish citizen working for the NGO Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, to make a “confession” on CCTV, while Xinhua published a dispatch about his “confession” and reported that he had been arrested for “encouraging the masses to oppose the government.”

“We are outraged by the dissemination of forced ‘confessions’ that have no informational value,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “By knowingly peddling lies and statements were presumably obtained under duress, CCTV and Xinhua become mass propaganda weapons and

Chinese Communist Party propaganda “CCTV” logo was designed by the employee of CCTV, Zhang Desheng in 1979. Photo: CCTV

6

January 31, 2016

TPI NEWS

Back Page Focus

The Tibet Post International

Saving Tibet from the Tibetans; saving Tibetans from Tibet

By Gabriel Lafitte, December 26, 2015

Tibetans live in Tibet, to state the obvious.

NonTibetans struggle with the altitude and extreme cold of the Tibetan Plateau, and a diet that has little to offer beyond fatty meat, dairy products and barley, surely conducive to heart disease.

Han Chinese struggle to survive in Tibet, and struggle even harder to not only survive but thrive, and live productive lives, in air so thin that each breath seems fearfully to be one’s last. At least ten percent of lowland Han Chinese sent to Tibet, or migrating to seek their fortune, never adapt to the altitude, suffer severe mountain sickness, for which the only remedy is to return to a lower altitude. This is true of Han soldiers too, meant to be fighting fit, not exhausted by just taking a few steps.

For foreigners visiting Tibet, it’s a similar story. Even when people take care to gradually acclimatize to air one third thinner than at sea level, with one third less oxygen and everything else, many still get altitude sickness so strongly that they cannot stay.

So it’s not quite so obvious that Tibetans live and thrive in Tibet, daily doing the heavy work of milking, churning, spinning, weaving, cooking, caring for children, piling up the yak dung patties into mounds, energetically mixing and drying them to provide the only combustible fuel available on the treeless high plains. Nomad women especially work all the time, without a break, from the first milking of tethered animals before dawn, through into the next night.

The men get more periods of relaxation, but also intense bursts of activity, rounding up wandering animals, herding them back to camp, hunting prowling wolves, riding to distant market towns, with no food other than dried meat, roasted barley flour and maybe a ball of butter to sustain them when far from the home tent.

Tibetan nomads like hard work. They know it is good for them. On the few occasions that nomads get to speak directly to the wider world, they make it clear that being a pastoral livestock producer is indeed hard work, and that’s good.

HOW TO LIVE AN ACTIVE LIFE IN TIBET So how Tibetans manage to live energetically in Tibet is not at all obvious. What’s the trick?

This is a question that has nagged at Chinese scientists for decades, resulting in dozens, probably hundreds of scientific research publications trying to identify the secrets of Tibetan physiology and metabolism. For China, this research program served the obvious political need to make Tibet habitable, for politically reliable lowland Han, to balance or even outnumber the natives, just as China has done in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

It has taken decades of experimenting and testing, but now a picture has emerged, of how the Tibetans have, not only as individuals but as a people, adapted to active life at 4000 to 5000 metres above sea level.

This new understanding, of Tibetan energy physiology, is not at all what China hoped to find. That may be why, even among educated Tibetans, there is as yet little awareness of the fruits of all that research (mostly in Chinese). China did not find a way to make the Tibetan Plateau habitable for lowlanders, other than to throw money at creating urban enclaves of mechanised comfort that require little physical exertion. China never found the “trick” enabling mass Han colonisation; and it still eludes them, which is why the four million nonTibetans living on the Tibetan Plateau are so heavily clustered in and around Xining, the boom city of Amdo (Qinghai in Chinese), at the much more manageable altitude of 3200 metres.

Not only did the scientists not find some magical solution enabling Han to live long in Tibet, they actually found what they least wanted to know: that over thousands of years Tibetan physiology has adapted, in complex ways, to the cold and the thin air, so much so that the landscapes shaped by the nomads and farmers, and the hearts of the Tibetans evolved over time together, in ways that are unique to Tibet. The only other people able to live at such

high altitude, in the Andes, took a very different route of adaptation.

Far from extracting from those thousands of Tibetan blood samples a scientific magic bullet enabling lowlanders entry to all areas of Tibet, the research adds up to the strongest of arguments for the collective rights of populations, as peoples, to access the places with which they have co-evolved. The biological argument about the unique Tibetan energy metabolism is equally an argument about the co-evolution of place and people, belonging to each other.

SAVING TIBETANS FROM HAVING TO LIVE IN TIBET This is an argument of crucial importance, coming at a time when Tibetans are increasingly being removed from their lands and pastures, in the name of carbon capture, remediating degraded landscapes, biodiversity conservation, and even poverty alleviation.

In the 13th Five Year Plan, covering 2016 to 2020, China has announced it will “relocate” at least 10 million people of the 70 million officially deemed to remain poor, arguing that relocation is the only solution to the chronic, endemic poverty inherent in having to live in terrible places such as Tibet. To Chinese central leaders it is self-evident that Tibetans are poor because they live in Tibet, scattered over vast areas, suffering unnatural cold and life threateningly thin air. No-one in their right mind would choose to live in Tibet if there is any other choice. Thus the solution is obvious: the Tibetans must be saved from Tibet, by relocating them. It is for their own welfare.

Economists from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences define Tibet solely in terms of what is lacking: “The border areas lie at the bottom of the economic system in China, where the poverty pressure is huge. Border areas are mostly characterized by poor natural conditions, vast territories with a sparse population or huge mountains, high traffic cost, lagging infrastructures, and backward economy. These areas are also the major regions where the impoverished population in China is concentrated with a high occurring frequency of poverty and harsh natural environment.”

“These areas have a cold climate, high mountains, deep valleys and poor infrastructure.

The Tibetan-inhabited regions have also historically lagged behind the national average, in terms of social and economic development.

This gap has still not been bridged. In the Tibetan inhabited regions, about 70% to 80% of labourers make a living through planting crops, undertaking pastoral activity, collecting and other temporary jobs. The incidence of poverty among the farmers and herdsmen is noticeably higher than the national average.”

The latest research on Tibetan energy metabolism shows that the energetic, hard work of pastoralism and farming is not only humanly possible but in fact essential to human health.

Hard work, and the aerobic exercise generated by working hard, are central to the health of the Tibetans. To sedentarise Tibetans in urban fringe concrete settlements, with nothing to do beyond subsisting on rations, no longer active, reliant on sugary drinks from the local store, is a death sentence.

SECRETS OF TIBETAN METABOLISM These are not the conclusions of the Chinese scientists, instructed to stay well clear of politics. But European scientists, summing up all the available evidence, paint a complex picture of how the Tibetans do thrive, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) marked international mountain day in December 2015 by publishing their report. In an article called Metabolic processes in populations living at high altitudes, Paola Virginia Gigliotti and Francesco Coscia, of the Laboratory of Physiology of Sport, at the University of Perugia explain: “Elevation, slope and temperature do affect the productivity of the soils and their nutrient supply and, thus, the nutrient properties of harvested food. As a consequence, mountain people have adapted over the centuries and developed unique metabolic processes.

“People who are born and raised in villages at high elevations, up to about 5 100 m, have

adapted to the altitudes over generations.

They are genetically able to carry out normal daily activities in conditions that would not be amenable to the health of lowland people.

“The environmental characteristics of mountains – namely dry air, low temperatures and reduced oxygen pressure – are key factors to human adaptation to life in mountains. In fact, the genetic adaptation patterns of the two“highest” populations of the world, the Tibetans and the Andeans, cannot be found in any other populations.”

To create and sustain an entire civilisation at such extreme altitude is to adapt, in profoundly embodied ways, to the evolutionary pressures –dry air, intense cold, low oxygen pressureinherent to the circumstances of the Tibetan Plateau. Those pressures cause physiological and biochemical effects, and the entire human organism must find ways of dealing with those effects, which could be toxic.

“Adaptation to mountainous environments means the optimization of oxygen use under the conditions of chronic hypoxia (low levels of blood oxygen). Oxygen is used in metabolic processes, both to maintain the basal metabolic rate and body temperature and for the oxidation reactions of the energy substrates that are needed for physical activity.

“Hypoxia also affects protein synthesis and thus the maintenance of muscle mass. Protein synthesis at high elevation is, in fact, reduced by the action of hypoxia on enzymes. This results in a need for meat and milk proteins, enzymes from various vitamins, and amino acids such as arginine, the substrate that allows for the synthesis of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide acts on vascular walls, causing decreases in peripheral resistance and thus vasodilation, better tissue oxygenation and a decrease in blood pressure. An increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, on the contrary, would lead to pulmonary edema. “ Ti b e t a n s w h o l i v e a t h i g h a l t i t u d e s have a greater amount of nitric oxide in their muscle tissue than other mountain populations. They have less mitochondria than usually required for normal activities, and they remain very active.”

Mitochondria are subcellular structures that contain the energy metabolism machinery.

Remaining very active while having lower capacity for generating energy, implies Tibetans have extreme efficiency in energy metabolism. Tibetans are uniquely able to make full use of all of the oxygen that is available to them.

“All the metabolic activities described above require catalysts, i.e. vitamins, for the redox (oxidation-reduction) reactions of the energy substrates (proteins, fatty acids, carbohydrates).

People living at high altitudes practice mainly aerobic activities. This helps to optimize the exchange of oxygen for the tissues and lungs.

Aerobic activity can use substrates glucose, fatty acids and amino acids as energy, the latter also being essential to maintain protein mass.

“Fatty acids have higher energetic potential than an equal amount of glucose. During a maximal exercise performed at high altitude by local mountain people – people chronically exposed to hypoxia – lactate concentration progressively decreases. This phenomenon is known as “lactate paradox”.

Aerobic activity generates energy for the muscles, for example, when you push yourself, in a gym workout, to the point where you start puffing. Anaerobic activity is comparatively slower. It too generates energy for the muscles, but also produces lactate, which is eventually excreted, thus wasting some of the food energy supplied by the diet. Lactate buildup is why you may experience sore muscles after a gym workout. Because oxygen is so limited in Tibet this results, in most visitors to Tibet, in a lactate buildup, but this does not happen to Tibetans: that is the “lactate paradox.” This is because Tibetans make full and efficient use of all the limited oxygen available, so there is never oxygen to spare that becomes lactate.

“Altitude usually increases oxidative stress with related substance degradation. However, the Tibetan populations have proven to be an exception. Their muscles show low accumulation of lipofuscin, a substance that

reflects the damage caused by free radicals to the body cellular structures, and a significant increase in protein with high antioxidant action. This feature is only present in the native Tibetan populations, living at altitudes up to 4 800 m. Tibetans also have a higher concentration of nitric oxide.”

Oxidative stress is the damage caused by halfdegraded energy substrate remaining in muscle tissue. Tibetans are uniquely able to neutralise these damaging molecules.

“While Tibetans adapted by developing these genetic protection factors, this is not the case for other populations, such as those living in the Andes. Their adaptation happens through ventilation mechanisms and through an increase in hemoglobin concentration and oxygen transportation.

“Tibetan women during pregnancy have an increased blood flow to the placenta due to the protective effect of nitric oxide. Andean women’s bodies ensure oxygenation to the fetus through an increase of haemoglobin concentration and ventilation.

“These scientific observations are consistent with the centuries-old history of survival of these populations, which is directly linked to the history of their agricultural and livestock production. Agricultural production in Tibet has always been based on a combination of agriculture, especially wheat and barley, as they are very resistant to cold, and animal husbandry. Their pastoralism activities include yak, sheep and Tibetan goat breeding. The yaks provide abundant milk and meat.”

Yak herding, milking and all the daily activities of a pastoral production landscape require prolonged aerobic activity, even to be able to walk at the pace of a yak. Tibetan civilisation, based on the yak, provides exactly the specific food requirements needed for living at altitude.

The Tibetan mode of production likewise requires particular forms of physical activity, and muscular contraction rates, resulting in a distinctively Tibetan metabolism that has coevolved with the pastoral land use of Tibet.

“Tibetan monasteries and, in more recent times, small Tibetan schools have ensured protein availability with their small herds. Tea with yak butter is in fact the national drink of Tibet.”

High altitude dwellers in the Andes have physiological responses that adapt them to living at such a height. Tibetans, however, have evolved a metabolic response to the pressures of altitude; requiring hundreds of human generations of evolution, at the most profound level of embodiment. This is a genetic evolution, unique to Tibetans.

“Historically, Andean peoples have always had a diet comprising corn, potatoes, tubers and a special meat, the “cuy” (guinea pig), which is high in protein and low in fat, plus river fish.

In the pre-Columbian era, the central Peruvian Andes were the largest cultivation centre of the ancient world for grasses, legumes, many types of fruit and aromatic herbs.

“Both scientific and historical anthropological studies have supported the assumption that for populations living at high altitudes, food quality is more important than food quantity. Unfortunately, migration and “food globalization” often meet the quantitative but not the qualitative criterion.”

The Tibetans are not a people who happen to occupy a place which, for want of a more comfy alternative, is all they have. The Tibetan Plateau is a co-evolved people-place.

The Tibetans belong to the land, in the most profound way, at the deepest possible level of human body forms.

To now remove Tibetans from the land, in the name of carbon capture, poverty alleviation, land degradation neutrality, payment for environmental services, or other current intellectual fashions, is to deprive Tibetans of life.

Tibet does not have to be saved from Tibetans by pasture closure; nor do Tibetans have to be saved from Tibet, by relocation in the name of “poverty alleviation.” To resettle Tibetans in concrete cantonments on urban fringes, condemned to inactivity, is to condemn them to wasted lives, in the name of realising “the China dream.” Tibetans have a right, as a people, to access the places with which they have co-evolved. This is a collective right of the entire six million Tibetans.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and does not necessarily reflects the editorial policy of The Tibet Post International.