January 2022

འབྲེལ་གཏུགས་གསར་འཕྲིན།

Contact

A Digest of Tibetan Issues and News from Inside and Outside Tibet RGD No. HPENG/2013/51798 | Volume: XXIV Issue:01| January 31, 2022

Crackdown on Drago County Continues

by Tenzin Samten A severe crackdown has been imposed in Tibet’s Drago [Ch: Luhuo] County in Kham Karze by the Chinese authorities, with the demolition of statues of the Buddha and of prayer wheels, together with the removal of prayer flags and the arrest of a dozen Tibetans this month.

Following the destruction of a 99-foot high Buddha statue in

December last year, another three-storey high Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the future, also known as the Buddha of Jetsun Jampa Gonpo has been demolished this month. The statue stood inside Drago Monastery. After two attempts to demolish it failed, the authorities deployed bulldozers to complete the demolition. “They demolished the whole three-storey temple that housed the statue,” reported local sources. Both monks and civilians have been detained and tortured for objecting to the demolition.

According to a report by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), those arbitrarily detained were known as Paga, the Abbot of Drago Monastery; his assistant Nyima, another monk by the same name, Tenzin Nyima and Tashi Dorje, both from Drago Monastery. Lhamo Yangkyab, a local sculptor, and another man, Norpa Tsering Samdup, were also taken away and detained for unknown reasons.

“The demolition of school, Buddha statues, and prayer wheels in Drago, Kham, and the cases of subsequent arrests and detention of Tibetans by the Chinese authorities are the showcase of China’s belligerent attitude towards Tibetan Continued on page 3

Beijing Olympics: Worldwide Calls For Boycott

by Mary Trewartha The focus of the world is on Beijing as athletes and their entourages congregate in Beijing ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 4. Despite the clear message from around the world that awarding the Games to the Olympics is against everything the Olympics stands for, the Games are going ahead. Global governments and leaders, as well as www.contactmagazine.net

Contact News

human rights organisations, all mention Tibet when speaking of China’s human rights atrocities.

And in Tibet, there are reports of heightened security in the runup to the Games, with large numbers of police deployed in Lhasa and restrictions imposed in other areas on Tibetans’ movements, says Radio Free Asia, citing local sources; visitors to Lhasa are being “closely questioned”, and in some areas “household inspections” are taking place, searching for hidden pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said, “The International Olympic Committee (IOC) failed to punish Chinese leaders for breaking their empty Olympic promises of 2008 […] Since then, President Xi Jinping’s government has arrested journalists, women’s rights activists and lawyers; dismantled freedoms in Hong Kong; and committed crimes against humanity […]

Crimes against humanity are among the gravest human rights abuses under international law, making the Chinese government the wrong host for an event the IOC claims will ‘celebrate

Continued on page 4,5

Contact News

Contact magazine

CONTACT IS PUBLISHED BY LHA CHARITABLE TRUST

Lha is an award-winning, grassroot and non-profit institute for social work and education based in Dharamshala, India. It is one of the largest social work organisations providing vital resources for Tibetan refugees, the local Indian population and people from the Himalayan regions.

Lha offers free language classes, livelihood skill trainings and many other programmes and activities.

For more information about Lha, please visit: www.lhasocialwork.org Lha Charitable Trust, Institute for Social Work & Education Lha Charitable Trust Lha contacts: office@lhasocialwork.org (0) 98823-23455 / 1892-220992 Please also see Lha’s additional websites: www.tibetnature.net www.samdhongrinpoche.com www.contactmagazine.net Contact Newsletter is published monthly by Lha Charitable Trust. It has been a popular source of news and information on Tibetan issues, and the Dharamshala community, for 22 years and is acknowledged in Lonely Planet and other international travel resources. It is available free of charge and distributed around Dharamshala, Delhi and various diplomatic missions in India. Copies are sent to Tibetan schools, settlements, offices and NGOs in India and abroad. Contact is updated daily on our website www.contactmagazine.net and Facebook page. Contact is registered under the Registrar Office of the Newspaper, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India; registration number HPENG/2013/51798.

Please Note: The articles, stories and other material in Contact represent the views of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the Contact staff or Lha Charitable Trust.

If you would like to contribute to Contact magazine please email us at editor@contactmagazine.net Contact reserves the right to edit all articles and contributions. www.contactmagazine.net Contact News Contact Magazine

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Editor’s Word The news is not good this month. From inside Tibet we hear news of China’s continued stamping out of Tibet’s precious religion and culture, now they are demolishing statues and sacred objects, major projects which Tibetan people have built, paid for and obtained permission for, with no respect for people’s beliefs, traditions or way of life. This despite their own constitution which mandates them to respect the various cultures under their régime, and worldwide objections to the way they treat their subjects.

There is news of more arrests, torture, interrogations and of people being held incommunicado for months and years with no trial, no access for their families, no information given to their families about where they are, how they are, or what is happening. This often because they have committed the “crime” of doing what we so freely take for granted in the West: owning a photograph of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, of flying prayer flags, of speaking our mind, of gathering to protest peacefully, of approaching the authorities to acquire what has been promised to us.

And with the approach of the Olympics in just one week, the campaign which has been building up over the last years reaches a head. It is as if the whole world is saying that this should not, must not happen. That China should never have been granted the Olympics - again - as this runs counter to everything that the Olympics is about. But the Olympic Committee turns a deaf ear and the Olympic momentum carries on regardless, albeit with the diplomatic boycott joined by many major western countries.

China has announced that three Tibetans are to compete: what, I wonder, is in the minds of those young people who must represent their oppressors and not their own country?

The world is remembering the wonderful Thich Nhat Hanh who died this month and has left us such a rich legacy of teaching and of a better, more peaceful, way for the future.

Contact Magazine Managing Director : Dorji Kyi Editor-in-Chief : Jenny James Editor : Tenzin Samten Circulation Manager : Tsering Wangdue Designed by : Karma Ringzin Topgyal Published by Lha Charitable Trust

Contact newsletter is sponsored by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD). TFD’s kind contribution has made this publication possible. We thank TFD for their continuous support.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 2

Email:editor@contactmagazine.net Facebook: ContactNews Instagram : tibetan_news_brief Printed at Imperial Printing, Dharamshala Phone:01892 -222390 Email: ippdsala@gmail.com

News Features Crackdown on Drago County Continues where they have been running informal classes for local culture, tradition and identity. Such are serious violations Tibetans, teaching them Tibetan language, culture and of human rights, including religious freedom. The Central religion.

Schools and individuals that focus on education Tibetan Administration condemns China’s ongoing atrocious policies in Tibet,” said Tenzin Lekshay, the involving Tibetan language, culture and religion are CTA’s official spokesperson in a statement published by increasingly being targeted by the Chinese government, and subject to surveillance and pressure. tibet.net, the CTA website.

The tense situation in Drago started last month with the “This sacrilegious act by an atheist state has caused deep anguish among Tibetans in the region. The demolitions destruction of the 99-foot high Buddha statue. The statue are a direct assault on the religious freedom of the Tibetan had been built with money raised by local Tibetans at a Buddhists and an attempt to wipe out their history in the cost of 4,000.000 Yuan ($US$630,000 / £470,000) and with the full approval of the local region. They contradict Chinese authorities. 45 nearby huge prayer claims of protecting Tibetan wheels were also destroyed and cultural and religious heritage,” large vertical prayer flags removed said Bhuchung K Tsering, Interim and burned: this has been confirmed President of the International in another report by Tibet Watch.

Campaign for Tibet, referring to The authorities invalidated the the ongoing religious crackdown in documents for the statue, claiming Drago County. that statues of this height are In a separate report by UK-based prohibited – although this fails Tibet research and advocacy group to justify the destruction of the Tibet Watch, it is reported that at least Photo: Tibet Watch prayer wheels and other religious ten Tibetans were arrested in Drago County in Tibet in November last year. Tibet Watch says that structures which, although large, are considerably smaller the news of these arrests has only just emerged from Tibet than the statue.

CTA’s Human Rights desk has said that tearing down due to the communication restrictions imposed in the area.

The ten were arrested on suspicion of sending information Buddhist statues and structures is a “direct attack” on outside Tibet, and for objecting to the construction of a centuries-long Tibetan traditions, these traditions include poultry and pig farming project in Yinya Township. They flying prayer flags to lift one’s luck, erecting religious structures to ward off misfortunes and spinning prayer have been interrogated and severely beaten.

Tibetans arrested on suspicion of sharing information wheels to accumulate mantras for the well-being of others.

In November last year the Chinese authorities ordered about what is happening in Drago have been subjected to beating and torture which includes being given inadequate the demolition of Drago Monastery’s Gaden Namgyal food and being forced to stand outside in freezing cold weather Monastic School after accusing them of violating the rules and not having proper documentation. without adequate clothes, says Tibetan sources believe that Tibetan the report filed by the CTA. schools are being targeted in the recent There is also concern for surge of the Chinese government’s the fate of two brothers, Tenzin drive to sinicise Tibetan language, Norbu and Wangchen Nyima, culture and religion. both Tibetan monks who were “The forced closure of the Tibetan arrested five months ago on schools has not only deprived Tibetan August 15. They are both children of their right to learn from Nenang Monastery in their language and culture, but has Drago where their uncle, Tulku Tenzin Norbu (L) and Wangchen Nyima (R) Photo: Tibet Watch also coerced them to join Chinese Choekyi Nyima, is a respected and revered abbot of Nenang Monastery. The brothers are government schools resulting in the continuation of being held incommunicado and reasons for their arrests cultural assimilation and language oppression,” said the have not been given. They are currently being held in Human Rights desk at the CTA. Large numbers of Tibetan Tawu County Prison in Karze. Though officials have not children are now sent to boarding schools, at a distance given any reason for their arrests, local sources report that from their families, where they are taught Chinese they suspect that it is their involvement in the monastery, language and culture.

Continued from page 1

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 3

News Features Beijing Olympics: Worldwide Calls for Boycott Continued from page 1

humanity’. The IOC has uttered not a word about these abuses.”

There is concern for athletes who choose to speak out.

The IOC has declared, “athletes will have freedom of speech

when speaking to journalists or posting on social media”, within the Olympic bubble, as long as it is not during competition or medal ceremonies, but athletes at a briefing hosted by HRW have been warned that the IOC has not publicly committed as to how athletes who speak out would be protected, and that athletes risk being charged for “provoking trouble” or “inciting subversion”.

Aljazeera also warns of the dangers of speaking out by quoting a “Beijing official” as saying, “Behaviour by athletes that violates the ‘Olympic spirit’ or Chinese rules could be subject to punishment”, in response to rights groups’ concerns.

Rob Koehler, Director General of the Global Athlete group, said, “There’s really not much protection that we believe is going to be afforded to athletes […] So we’re advising athletes not to speak up. We want them to compete and use their voice when they get home.”

Amnesty International says the international community must avoid being “complicit in a propaganda exercise”. Amnesty’s China researcher, Alkan Akad, said: “The world must heed the lessons of the Beijing 2008 Games, when Chinese government promises of human rights improvements never materialised”.

No spectator tickets will be sold to the public – China is using the Covid pandemic as a reason to prevent local Chinese people from attending the Games. And on the international stage, Reuters reports the nearly 20 official international and national Olympic sponsors are holding back on the advertising blitz that typically kicks off months ahead of the Games, and that “Corporate sponsors and advertisers […] have come under fire for what human rights groups say is the enabling of China’s alleged abuses.”

The No Beijing 22 campaign, whose message is “The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is set to happen amid one of the world’s worst crackdowns against freedom, democracy, and human rights”, has been spearheading the international calls for a boycott. Their website includes reports and a map of protests taking place around the world and a global “Day of Action toolkit” with practical advice and resources for organising a demonstration.

UN chief under fire United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has come under fire for accepting his invitation to Beijing; Phayul reports that over 250 right groups have written to him saying his acceptance is “highly inappropriate” and that it “grossly undermined the UN’s commitment to human rights”. The coalition includes global civil society groups representing Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Konger, Chinese, Southern Mongolian and Taiwanese communities. The letter continues, “Your participation would […] go against the core principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [...] your attendance will be seen as credence to China’s blatant disregard for international human rights laws”.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 4

Guterres has called “on everyone to observe the Olympic Truce” which came into force from January 28 and calls on all parties to stop hostilities throughout the course of the Games.”

In his Lunar New Year message on January 28 Guterres thanked China and the Chinese people for their “commitment to multilateralism and to the United Nations”, adding, “Soon, I will attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Olympic spirit shines as a beacon to human solidarity.”

Tibetan athletes participate Three Tibetan athletes are to compete in the Games. The official Chinese media outlet chinadaily.com.cn has quoted Yangjin Lhamo, 18, a Tibetan ski competitor, as saying, “I will try my best in the competition to win glory for my country.” Ciren Zhandui, 18, is another Tibetan competitor, the third has not been named.

Students for a Free Tibet plea to athletes Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibetan organisation campaigning for freedom for Tibetans, has written an open letter to athletes, “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities of our generation […]the IOC has failed us, and failed you”. The letter continues, “We are asking you to stand in solidarity with us and our communities – some of the most highly oppressed peoples in the world today.

We are asking you to take a stand against the Genocide Games”.

Broadcasting In the UK, John Nicholson, a Scottish MP has written to Tim Davie, Director General of the BBC, saying, “The Olympic Games ethos is in danger of being undermined by China’s behaviour. Beijing is currently committing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, enforcing harsh crackdowns on human rights in Hong Kong, and continuing its brutal, decades long persecution of occupied Tibet … I believe that the BBC should not permit the Chinese state to sportswash these Olympics”.

At a demonstration on Janurary 29 in Boston, US, a coalition of Boston-based human rights organisations called on NBC to drop their broadcasting deal and urged the public to boycott NBC’s broadcast and not to watch the Games.

Olympic boycotts Many Western countries have announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games. The Tibetan Review reports, “The United States, Canada and most of the 27 European Union countries, followed

by Canada, Great Britain and Australia have announced their diplomatic boycott of the Games’ opening ceremony” and says that other countries are not sending a diplomatic representative but are not describing their absence as a “diplomatic boycott” – these include many European countries, Japan, and India.

New Zealand has cited the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for its diplomatic absence. The Tibetan Review comments, “The absentee list will represent the most significant shunning of an Olympics since the 1980s” and that those leaders who do attend will be “sharing stage with the who’s who of authoritarian leaders”, notably Russian President Vladimir Putin who will be

News Features Beijing Olympics: Worldwide Calls for Boycott Continued from page 4

there as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s personal guest.

Sixty six European parliamentarians from 16 EU countries have called for EU countries to take a “common stance” and to “refrain from attending in any capacity” as a “way to denounce the Chinese government for its human rights record especially in Tibet” in an opinion piece published by Euractiv.com which says that, despite China’s 2008 promise of progress in human rights and social conditions, the situation there, and in particular in Tibet, has only deteriorated.

China is reported to be employing US media firm Vippi Media in a US$300,000 contract to “boost its image for the Beijing Winter Olympics. There are reports that China has spent tens of millions of dollars over the last decade on an overseas social media campaign.

Demonstrations around the world National Basketball Association (NBA) player Enes Kanter Freedom, 29, a professional basketball player with United States Boston Celtics, has called for a boycott. Kanter has publicly criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him a “brutal dictator” and called on the Chinese government to “Free Tibet” which, he says, “belongs to Tibetans”. He has now called on his fellow athletes to “provide a voice for the voiceless”, and said that Olympic gold medals are worth “less than moral values”. Kanter says that he takes inspiration from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Former Tibetan political prisoner and activist, Ven Golog Jigme, who now lives in Switzerland, has urged the Swiss Government to issue a public boycott saying, “My appeal to the Swiss government is to boycott these Games, this is my hope. So most importantly, they should publicly declare the boycott of the Winter Olympics in China, that is my request.”

Golog Jigme’s compatriot, the well-known Tibetan filmmaker and former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen, has been campaigning at a rally in Vienna, Austria, held by the local Tibetan and Uyghur communities. He criticised Vienna for not taking part in the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, saying that awarding the Olympics to China is illegal.

In Berlin, Tibetan and Jewish activists chained themselves to the doors of the Allianz headquarters – the multinational financial services company who are sponsoring Beijing 2022 –displaying a large banner which read “Allianz: Drop the Genocide Games!”.

A global day of action on January 4 saw a coalition of over a hundred human rights groups,and joined by Tibetan activists and supporters worldwide, demanding a boycott of the Games as a“stand against one of the worst human rights crises of our times” and calling for the IOC to “acknowledge these human rights

violations by China”. In Dharamshala, activist organisations jointly staged a protest, calling on India and governments around the world to join the boycott “as a way to build pressure on China to take positive, tangible steps to end the overwhelming human rights situation.”

And in Ladakh in northern India, the Ley chapters of the Tibetan Youth Congress and the Tibetan Women Association’s protest urged all Tibetans to observe a “black day” on February 4, the day of the Olympic opening ceremony, to protest against the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights violations in Tibet, East Turkestan and Hong Kong and its “role in slaughtering millions of Tibetan, Uyghur, and Inner Mongolians”.

In a second Swiss protest,Tibetan musician Loten Namling has embarked on a march from Bern to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, calling on the Swiss government to announce a boycott and urging Swiss athletes to boycott the Games. He says he wants to draw the attention of athletes in Switzerland to the oppression of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolian and Hong Kongers by the Chinese government. He is wearing ski boots to“appeal to the sportsmen and women of Switzerland to kindly think of the suffering that the mountainous people of Tibet and others are experiencing under the oppressive Chinese regime and to do the right thing in boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics”.

January 29 saw a global day of action to launch a week of protests leading up to the Opening Ceremony on February 4.One open letter to the athletes asks, “Surely human life is worth more than medals? We urge you to choose the right side and stand against genocide.”

As participants and sponsors of the Games have begun to arrive in Beijing, protestors continue to push them to speak out. During a virtual press conference hosted by Human Rights Watch, Lhadon Tethong, co-chair of the International Tibet Network, said, “Your silence is their strength, this is what they want more than anything: that the world will play by China’s rules, that we will follow China’s lead, that we will look away from these atrocities and crimes for the sake of business as usual.”

China has retaliated to the calls for a boycott by claiming that the boycott is motivated by “ideological prejudice and based on lies and rumours,” and that it violates the Olympic principle of political neutrality.

UN to Visit East Turkestan?

China is reported to have agreed to a visit to East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang] by the United Nations head of human rights Michelle Bachelet “after the Olympics” – on condition that the visit is “friendly” and not “framed as an investigation”, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The UNHCR has been pursuing negotiations with Beijing to allow a visit since 2018; Ms Bachelet’s office has said that any visit must be “meaningful, with unsupervised access”. East Turkestan is the area in northwestern China inhabited by the Muslim minority population of Uyghur people, Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch, speaking to Reuters, has said that no one should be fooled by China’s attempt to distract from its crimes.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 5

News Features China Breaches Ethics on DNA Collection

by Mary Trewartha A Chinese research paper published in the science journal Human Genetics has been taken down following revelations that the research used DNA samples taken from Tibetans, Uyghurs and Kazakhs whose consent, said the journal website, was “most likely ignored during the research process”. Their retraction note stated that it, “has not been able to fully verify whether appropriate informed consent was obtained from all study participants in this article.”

The research was looking at genetic variation in ethnic groups.

The Intercept has reported that “the research paper was based on DNA samples from nearly 38,000 men in China, including Tibetans and Uyghurs who almost certainly did not give proper consent”. The Intercept’s report continues, saying the retraction “follows a two-year crusade by a Belgian scientist [Yves Moreau] to push publishers to investigate research that he and others say is complicit in human rights violations”.

The Intercept also says that “at least nine of the paper’s 30 co-authors are affiliated with Chinese police departments or police academies”, and that it is “likely that at least some of the Chinese samples were collected by police”.

There has long been concern that China routinely collects data from people without their consent to facilitate organ harvesting. In June last year the United Nations

Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner published a report China: UN human rights experts alarmed by ‘organ harvesting’ allegations saying that UN human rights experts were “extremely alarmed by reports of alleged ‘organ harvesting’ targeting minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians, in detention in China”.

The report continues, “The experts said they have received credible information that detainees from ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities may be forcibly subjected to blood tests and organ examinations such as ultrasound and x-rays, without their informed consent; while other prisoners are not required to undergo such examinations.

The results of the examinations are reportedly registered in a database of living organ sources that facilitates organ allocation.

“Forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities held in detention, often without being explained the reasons for arrest or given arrest warrants, at different locations,” they said. “We are deeply concerned by reports of discriminatory treatment of the prisoners or detainees based on their ethnicity and religion or belief.” Organs harvested are reported to include hearts, kidneys and livers.

Rinchen Kyi: Still in Detention

by Tenzin Samten More information has emerged about the detention of Rinchen Kyi, in her 40s, one of the longest serving teachers at the renowned Sengdruk Taktse Tibetan Middle School in Darlak county, Golog in eastern Tibet. It was earlier reported that Kyi was ill and hospitalised, it now appears that although her family was summoned to the hospital at short notice, when they arrived she was not there; they do not know where she is, and in fact it now emerges that she was never diagnosed with an illness.UK-based Tibet research and advocacy group Tibet Watch has confirmed this new information.

Tibet Watch say her family was given two minutes notice of their summons to the hospital if they wanted to see her. Five minutes later, when they arrived, they were told she had already been taken to another place and were blamed for making the officers in charge wait.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 6

Rinchen Kyi was arrested last year for helping and providing shelter to orphan students from her school when it was forcibly shut by the Chinese authorities on July 8.

The school was known for looking after students from financially disadvantaged families.

Tibet Watch’s new findings about Rinchen Kyi confirm that no one knows where she is being held. Her family of five, including her 13-year old daughter and her grandmother aged 79, has been repeatedly requesting the provincial authorities to provide information about her well-being and whereabouts.

“The shutdown of Sengdruk Taktse not only caused the disintegration of the closely-knit community of students - leaving non-local students adrift without a certainty of school admission - but has also affected teachers, who have been forbidden from sheltering orphans,” said Tibet Watch’s report.

News Features Writer Held Incommunicado

by Mary Trewartha Gendun Lhundrub, 46, the Tibetan writer and poet who was arrested in December 2020 in Amdo [Ch: Qinghai] has been held incommunicado since then; his family know nothing of his whereabouts or his health. Lhundrub was a monk at Rongwo monastery in Rebgong; Radio Free Asia reports that he was “monitored by authorities for signs of political dissent over a long period of time before being detained”.

UK-based research and advocacy group Tibet Watch reports that Lhundrub was arrested while on his way from Rongwo Monastery to Rebgong County to attend a dialectics session, they report their source as saying that the only witness was a vegetable seller who saw him “being forcibly taken into a black car”. He has not been seen by anyone since then; his family was informed by telephone about his imminent trial on September 27 but no information about the trial or his whereabouts has been revealed to date. There are reports that his family have heard that he “is being forced to undergo political re-education”.

Before his arrest, says Tibet Watch, he had attended a workshop on the sinicisation of Tibetan Buddhism in Rebgong County; during the workshop Gendun raised questions to the facilitators, including asking them, “… how does one sinicise Tibetan Buddhism?”, which resulted in a verbal altercation between them.

RFA suggests his arrest may have been connected with his possible questioning of the order given to him by the authorities to help translate Tibetan Buddhist texts into Mandarin Chinese, as his arrest took place shortly after.

Tibet Watch reports that in October 2020, two months before his arrest, Gendun published a book entitled Khorwa and urged fellow Tibetans to support it. He claimed that the book presents the truth as it is, without bowing to orders.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has reported that a Tibetan language website that Gendun administered was recently shut down, amongst many others.

Gendun, also known by his pen name Lhamkok, is a prolific writer who has published numerous books since 1994. He is a highly revered intellectual who is known for his active involvement in the preservation and promotion of the Tibetan Language in the Rongwo Region. He was born in a nomadic family in 1974 in Rebgong County [Ch: Tongren], Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Amdo [Ch: Qinghai] Province.

Revered Monk’s Statue Seized, Tibetans Detained and Beaten

by Mary Trewartha A life-size statue of the revered Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in 2015 in a Chinese prison under mysterious circumstances, was seized last year by the authorities while it was being transported into Tibet from where it had been made in Shenzhen in China, reports Radio Free Asia. They also report that the people involved in making and transporting the statue have been arrested.

The news has only now emerged due to tight restrictions on communications into and out of Tibet. RFA reports that one of Tenzin Delek’s students, Tenzin Yarphel, who now lives in Europe has told them that the statue was commissioned by some of Tenzin Delek’s students. Yarphel continued, “The initial plan was to bring Rinpoche’s statue to India, but there were too many restrictions against sending it there, so it had to be brought to Tibet and hidden away until the right opportunity to move it arose.”

The statue, on its way to Lithang, Tenzin Delek’s home, was seized by police in Dartsedo in Kham [Ch:

Sichuan]. Kalsang Tsering, who had arranged to pick up the statue and bring it to Lithang, and his assistant, were both taken into custody. Yarphel reported to RFA that because nobody had heard anything of the detainees for many months, people began to ask questions. The Chinese then said they were in custody. Yarphel has heard that they have been interrogated and beaten, and ordered to “avoid any contact with Rinpoche’s family in Lithang”, and also to “promise not to involve themselves with any activity like this again in the future”.

Two others were also taken into custody and held for nearly 20 days, one a Tibetan, the other a Chinese man; they had brought the statue to Dartsedo. The man who made the initial arrangements for the statue’s construction in Shenzhen was detained for nearly a month. And in Lithang, Rinpoche’s younger sister Dolkar Lhamo had her house stormed and the family shrine ransacked by around 20 officers. She, along with two other family members, were then detained, said RFA, “for about 18 days and were beaten and tortured under questioning about the statue before being released”.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 7

News Features China’s Continued Provoking of India on Tibetan Issues

by Tenzin Samten China and India’s border row continues with China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs confirming their renaming of 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, the northeastern Indian state that China claims as its own territory, calling it “Little Tibet”. The Chinese Ministry announced that place names are standardised according to regulations on geographical names issued by China’s Cabinet. The renamed places include eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and one mountain pass, reports India Today.

This is the second time China has issued standardised names in Arunachal Pradesh, the first was in 2017, soon after His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to the state that year.

On December 31 last year, Zhao Lijian, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, announcing Photo: Zhao Lijian the authority of management in Arunachal Pradesh, said, “For standardised management of the area, the competent authorities in China in accordance with relevant regulations have published the names for the relevant area. These are matters that are within China’s sovereignty.”

In response to China’s action, the Indian Government’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.” He continued, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact.”

The Tibet-India border row between China and India continues, with the Daily Mail reporting on China using unmanned machine gun-mounted vehicles to patrol the border, saying these unmanned vehicles are aimed at combatting the problem of Chinese troops being unable to operate effectively at Indian Government’s External the high altitudes in Affairs Ministry spokesperson the Himalayan border Arindam Bagchi regions.

While China and India’s on-off border conflict continues, the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) has been revived following lobbying by a Tibetan Parliamentary delegation. The delegation

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 8

members reached out to 38 Indian lawmakers during a 10-day campaign. Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE), visited Delhi to meet the delegation members and the Director of the India Tibet Coordination Office (ITCO); the meeting was followed by the relaunch on December 22. APIPFT was first established in 1970.

The Indian Express reported that those Indian MPs who attended the launch event for APIPFT each received a letter signed by the Chinese Embassy’s political counsellor Zhou Yongsheng, urging them not to support Tibetans. The letter stated, the “so-called ‘Tibetan Government in-Exile’ is an out-andout separatist political g r o u p .

China firmly Tibetan MPs with the Indian MPs at the reception opposes any Photo: TPiE anti-China separatist activities conducted by ‘Tibetan independence’ forces in any capacity or name in any country and opposes any forms of contact by officials of any country with them.” It continued, “Understand the sensitivity of the issue and refrain from providing support to the ‘Tibetan independence’ forces, and make contributions to China— India bilateral relations.”

One recipient’s response was that he would treat the letter with the “contempt that it deserves” while the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile’s response slammed China for their illegal occupation of Tibet saying, “The Tibetan issue is not an ‘internal affair’ as China has repeatedly claimed but a critical concern on Tibetan existence. The violation of international human rights law and hegemony of the neighbouring nations by China should be a concern for the international community.”

TPiE’s statement continued, “It becomes evident that China is intimidated by the growing support for the Tibet movement around the world. The leaders of free countries have all their rights and responsibilities to support the just cause of Tibet and we vehemently condemn this move by China.”

Tibetan MPs further expressed that it is no surprise that the Chinese government has acted in this manner, as they have been repeatedly acting this way over the years.

Tibetan MPs say they would welcome an “equal and nonconditional” dialogue with the Chinese government to resolve the issue of Tibet.

News Features Tashi Wangchuk: Further Interrogation

by Choeyang Wangmo Tashi Wangchuk, the Tibetan language advocate who spent five years in a Chinese prison for “inciting separatism” when his New York Times video drew international attention to the restrictions on Tibetan language education in Tibet, and later released after completing his prison term, has again faced interrogation from the Chinese authorities.

He revealed details of the interrogation on his Weibo account, saying that following his recent appeal to the Chinese Government to allow the use of the Tibetan language in schools, government jobs and other public sectors, he was summoned and questioned by the local police on January 17.

Tashi Wangchuk says that one of the questions he was asked during the interrogation was “who had given me the responsibility to advocate for use of the Tibetan language?”.

He wrote on his Weibo account on January 3 that for Tibetans applying for government jobs, no qualifying exams are allowed in the Tibetan language, leaving young Tibetans with no choice but to study Chinese in schools,

thereby losing the opportunity to study their own language.

He added “the situation has become so bad that some of them later can’t even read or write in Tibetan”.

Tashi Wangchuk was released on January 28 last year after completing his five-year prison term and is now subjected to near-constant monitoring and surveillance from the Chinese authorities, says Radio Free Asia. With regard to his imprisonment and interrogation he says, “I think that the officials in Yulshul city and the police bureau are just using their power to stop the public from addressing these problems and advocating for the use of our own language.”

Wangdhen Kyab, a senior researcher at Tibet Watch, the UK-based research and advocacy group, speaking to Radio Free Asia said, “It had once been required that officials in government offices in Tibet learn and understand the Tibetan language, but now the situation has completely changed. The Tibetan language has become increasingly marginalised under China’s so-called Bilingual Education Policy.” He added, “Tashi Wangchuk has spoken up fearlessly about this, and we can see that he will continue to do so despite the Chinese government’s constant harassment and warnings.”

HH the Dalai Lama Congratulates the New EU President

by Tsering Wangdue His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has congratulated Ms Roberta Metsola on her being elected President of the European Parliament. In his message he expressed his gratitude for the support given by the EU parliament for the Tibetan people, while acknowledging her appointment as the youngest ever president of the EU Parliament and its third female president. He said, “If I may say so, I believe that women are more empathetic than men in providing genuine concern for the well-being of others. Therefore, women can be better placed to lead the world to a more peaceful level.”

His Holiness also praised the European Union as an inspiring example of a cooperative and peaceful coexistence of different nations and people. “In fact, it was with this spirit in 1988 that I formally proposed resolving the issue of Tibet through a mutually beneficial solution with the Chinese leadership. I had consciously chosen the European Parliament as a venue to present my thoughts

then to underline the point that a genuine union can only come about voluntarily when there are satisfactory benefits to all the parties concerned,” he added.

Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, expressed his greetings to Ms Metsola and in his message thanked the European Union for its support for Tibetan people in the past, saying he hopes for its continued support under her leadership. He continued, “The situation inside Tibet remains grim and hence I am hopeful that under your leadership we will see robust support to end the oppression in Tibet under the atrocious rule of China.”

He also thanked the respective countries in the EU for extending their support and help for the ever-expanding Tibetan diaspora community in Europe.

Ms Roberta Metsola won the election with an absolute majority of 458 votes out of 690 cast in the remote secret vote on January 18 in the first voting round. She will lead the EU for the second half of the current term until a new parliament in constituted in 2024.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 9

News Features Heightened Surveillance and Intimidation at all Levels in Tibet

by Mary Trewartha Human Rights Watch (HRW)* has published its annual review of human rights. Their World Report 2022 is their 32nd annual review of human rights trends around the globe, and reviews developments in more than 100 countries.

in the contest with autocracy only if democratic leaders do a better job of addressing global problems”. The general introduction continues, saying that if democracies are to prevail, their leaders need to “make a stronger, positive case for democratic rule”. It says they need to do “a better job of meeting national and global challenges” and “standing up for democratic institutions such as independent courts, Their report on Tibet is quoted here in full: free media, robust legislatures and vibrant civil societies even when that brings unwelcome scrutiny or challenges Authorities in Tibetan areas continue to severely restrict to executive policies”. Specifically mentioning China freedoms of religion, expression, movement, and assembly. here, it comments that: “The Chinese and Russian leaders They also fail to address popular concerns about mining did not even bother showing up at the climate summit in and land grabs by local officials, which often involve Glasgow.” intimidation and unlawful use of force by security forces.

HRW says that a “lack of democratic process leaves Following a November 2020 announcement tightening autocrats unaccountable to the public” which “makes them controls on online communications that “undermine more likely to serve their own political interests”. national unity”, there was a surge of reported detentions of Regarding China, the report says, “With President Xi Tibetans in 2021 for alleged online offenses. In particular, Jinping at the helm, the Chinese government doubled Tibetans who communicated with people outside China down on repression inside and outside the country in 2021. were harassed and Its ‘zero-tolerance’ punished, regardless policy towards of the content of their Covid-19 strengthened communications. the authorities’ hand, The government as they imposed harsh stepped up coercive policies in the name assimilationist of public health.” It policies.

Chinese comments on their language classes were policies in Hong Kong already compulsory and their “crimes for schoolteachers, against humanity as local officials, and part of a widespread vocational trainees. and systematic attack Photo: Screengrab from HRW website In July, authorities on Uyghurs and other announced that kindergartens in ethnic minority areas Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, including mass detention, must use Chinese as a medium of instruction. In August, torture, and cultural persecution. Tibetans continued to President Xi emphasised the subordination of minority be subjected to grave abuses, including harsh and lengthy identities to a single national identity at the national imprisonment for exercising their basic rights.”

“Ethnic Work” conference.

Authorities’ heightened surveillance and intimidation *HRW is an independent organisation which investigates at all levels, from online to neighbourhoods to schools, and reports on abuses happening around the world. and have rendered protests—such as those over the HRW’s team includes country experts, lawyers, journalists downgrading of minority language in Inner Mongolia in and others who work to protect the most at risk, directing 2020—virtually impossible in Tibetan areas. their advocacy towards governments, armed groups and At least eight Tibetan prisoners or suspects were businesses, pushing them to change or enforce their released due to ill health, some due to torture, four of laws, policies and practices. They ensure independence whom died soon after, though the true number is unknown by refusing government funding and carefully review due to extreme information controls in Tibet. all donations to ensure that they are consistent with their policies, mission and values. They partner with In the introduction to the full report, Executive Director organisations large and small across the globe to protect Kenneth Roth writes that “autocratic leaders faced embattled activists and to help hold abusers to account significant backlash in 2021, but democracy will flourish and bring justice to victims.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 10

News Features French Parliamentary Group Offers Support

by Tenzin Samten Tibetan Representative Tashi Phuntsok of the Bureau du Tibet, Brussels, met members of the French Senate Tibet Support Group, including its President, EustacheBrinio, on January 18, as France has assumed its rotating presidency of the European Union from this month. Tashi Phuntsok requested that the group confront China and state their position on the issue of the succession of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He also urged them to work on the issue of reciprocal access and travel to Tibet, saying that Chinese diplomats, students and tourists enjoy visiting the west and that it will help the Tibetan cause if the current situation of Tibetans living inside Tibet under the Chinese dictatorship is highlighted.

Agreeing to the request, President Senator EustacheBrinio said, “the Tibetan struggle is far more deep rooted and complex and historically resilient than other issues that confront China”. She added that “as a diaspora, Tibetan communities in the West are becoming larger, there was a need to strengthen and robustly support them”.

Representative Tashi Phuntsok also brought up the issue of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s importance as a world leader, particularly for the Buddhist world, and the institution of the Dalai Lama which protects the legacies of all the Dalai Lamas. He requested the group to urge France

to state their position on the succession of the Dalai Lama.

He informed the group of the situation inside Tibet, saying it is effectively a large prison under Chinese rule. He said that the situation of Tibetans inside Tibet under Chinese leadership can best be imagined when Tibetans say that “it is easier to go to heaven than to obtain a passport to travel outside Tibet”. He then updated the group, saying that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in good health and expressed gratitude by recalling the long association of the group with Tibet since their inception in 1988.

Tashi Phuntsok added, “France should lead the EU in the promotion of European culture and projection of democracies as mentioned in President Macron’s priorities.

Chinese encroachments on these areas in Europe are substantive and aggressive and the very fibre of the EU is threatened.” He requested that Tibet issues be “stridently brought out in the EU—China annual summits and human rights dialogues with China”.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama are both represented in France, and in most EU countries. With the large numbers of Tibetans migrating to the west, France has now become one of the countries where many of them are seeking asylum.

Thich Nhat Hanh

by Mary Trewartha The world renowned and revered Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh died on January 21 at the age of 95, peacefully at his home in the Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam.

Thich Nhat Hanh wrote many books which have been read worldwide as well as being a much loved poet, teacher and peace activist. He was exiled from his native Vietnam after he opposed the war there in the 1960s. He became fluent in English and French and travelled widely in Europe and the United States, teaching and becoming a major influence on the adoption of Buddhism in the West, particularly with his teachings on mindfulness; he also became a leading voice in the application of Buddhist principles to political and social reform. He established

Plum Village, near Bordeaux in southwest France and many others monasteries and practice centres around the world. He returned home to Vietnam in 2018.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has written, “In his peaceful opposition to the Vietnam war, his support for Martin Luther King and most of all his dedication to sharing with others not only how mindfulness and compassion contribute to inner peace, but also how individuals cultivating peace of mind contributes to genuine world peace, the Venerable lived a truly meaningful life. I have no doubt the best way we can pay tribute to him is to continue his work to promote peace in the world.”

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 11

Tibetan Headlines Stop Press: New Directive China is telling Tibetans to renounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama in order to get jobs, reports Radio Free Asia, quoting a local source. An official Chinese announcement says that Tibetans must first renounce all ties to His Holiness as a condition of employment in the state sector, and that “‘Trustworthy and loyal’ citizens must also pledge allegiance to the Communist Party”.

RFA quotes their source in Tibet as saying that this directive “violates China’s own laws”. The report continues, saying, “The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China clearly states that all citizens are equal before the law, so this new announcement denies Tibetans their basic rights.” Tenzin Lekshey, speaking for the Central Tibetan Administration, said the order is “a futile attempt by the Chinese government to force Tibetans inside Tibet to renounce the Dalai Lama Tenzin Lekshey and not respect their faith”, while Gonpo Dhondup, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, said “The loyalty and devotion felt by the Tibetans for the Dalai Lama has never faded”.

Jan 29: Scottish Parliamentary Tibet Group The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Tibet met virtually for their second quarterly meeting, chaired by Scottish Member of Parliament Mercedes Villalba. The group received updates on the situation inside Tibet, including people being held in detention, on Tibetan children being given a Chinese education, and on the Olympics campaign.

The members expressed deep concern and assured of their full support.

Jan 27: NZ Campaigns!

In New Zealand, Tibetans and supporters have joined the Amnesty International “Free the Five” campaign to highlight the Chinese government’s systematic violation of freedom of expression. The “Five” include a Tibetan, Rinchen Tsultrim, 29, who was arrested with two other monks in August 2019 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Jan 27: New Cultural Group At the prestigious Harvard University in the United

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 12

States, the Harvard Undergraduate Tibetan Cultural Association has been created to promote Tibetan culture and knowledge, and to bring Tibetan students on campus together in appreciation of their heritage. The group will promote Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism, and serve as a reminder of the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1950.

Jan 26: More Religious Bans In Amdo [Ch: Qinghai], Tibetan social media groups with any connection to religion are being banned from March 1 and group members warned that they will be investigated and jailed if they continue to use them. Social media groups in Tibet are used to share information about, and coordinate, religious activities such as pilgrimages. The ban does not include religious activities conducted inside monasteries.

Jan 26: Interim Local Justice Commissioner Joint Secretary Pema Sangpo has taken the oath as Interim Local Justice Commissioner for Ladakh. Pema Sangpo was born in Ladakh. He has served in the Tibetan Justice Commission as Ladakh Region’s Secretary / accountant, and has worked in the Department of Home as Joint Secretary, and then in the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission.

Jan 25: Matrix Resurrections Banned?

There are calls in China for Matrix Resurrections to be banned because its star, Keanu Reeves, is to be one of the performers at the upcoming annual Tibet House United States Benefit Concert scheduled for March 3. cbr.com quotes Taiwan’s Central News Agency as saying Chinese nationalists are calling for the boycott owing to Reeves’ support for Tibet, which is currently “controlled by the People’s Republic of China”.

Jan 24: Fire Destroys Shops The livelihoods of at least ten Tibetan families have been destroyed by a fire in the Tibetan market in Ambala in the Indian state of Haryana. Formerly there were around 20 Tibetan stalls trading in the market, mainly selling sweaters, but most have not been able to trade over the last two years due to the pandemic; now their remaining stock has been destroyed.

Jan 21: Paying for Food Loten, the young Tibetan arrested in December for speaking out against Chinese policies, is now in a re-education centre. It has now emerged that before being transferred there from prison, his family was ordered to pay for his food and other supplies while he was in detention. He had posted his views on social media about the sinicisation of the education system in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Tibetan Headlines Jan 20: Repression for Nomads Tibetan nomads in Amdo [Ch: Qinghai] are being forced to remove their prayer flags around their camps and replace them with Chinese national flags, reports Radio Free Asia, saying that Chinese flags are also being raised in “places where Tibetans usually perform traditional religious ceremonies”. People in the area are also required to attend political education sessions and to display portraits of Chinese Communist leaders in their homes.

Jan 20: CTA Twitter Account Hacked?

Central Tibetan Administration spokesman Tenzin Lekshey has raised the alarm that his Twitter account has apparently been hacked by China, according to reports in the Tibetan Journal and Voice of America Tibetan service.

Another CTA official’s personal network has also been hacked in the past; and Nirupama Rao, India’s former Foreign Secretary is one of many Indian officials whose Twitter accounts have been hacked.

Jan 15: Tsedrung Gyaltsen Choden The last surviving government official who served in independent Tibet before 1959 has died aged 102 in the United States. Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, said in his eulogy at the prayer ceremony held in Tsedrung Gyaltsen Choden’s honour, “We believe that he has lived a truly meaningful life serving the Tibetan people and fulfilling the aspirations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

Jan 15: Uzra Zeya Speaks Out The newly appointed United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya has spoken to Radio Free Asia about her role. She said that the US will “call upon the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) to engage in direct dialogue with HH the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions”. She expressed “deep concern” about the human rights abuses perpetrated by the PRC against the Tibetan people.

Jan 15: Prehistoric Remains Evidence of prehistoric human activity in western Tibet dating back 8 - 10,000 years has been discovered by archaeologists, reports China’s official news agency Xinhua. More than 5,000 relics at a site in Ngari Prefecture include stoneware, some animal bones, burnt stones, and fire and ashpits. In addition, a 4,000 year old prehistoric settlement is reported to have been discovered in Shigatse.

Jan 14: Meeting for Tibet In Switzerland theTibet Bureau Geneva met representatives from the Swiss—Tibetan Friendship Association to discuss Tibetan advocacy plans. Former Parliamentarian

and Mayor, René Longet, and Former Councilor of City of Geneva, Marguerite Contat, attended, along with Chhimey Rigzen of the Tibet Bureau Geneva and Bureau staff members Tenzin Choesang and Kalden Tsomo.

Jan 13: Young Tibetan Arrested Loten, 23, a college graduate, has been arrested after posting his views of Chinese language education policies in a WeChat group. Tibet Watch, the UK-based Tibetan advocacy group, reports that he said the Chinese policy aims to “cut off the link between the mother tongue (the Tibetan language) and Tibetan kids from a young age”.

He is undergoing “re-education training” in Xiling City, capital of Amdo [Ch: Qinghai].

Jan 11: Interfaith Prayer Meeting Tibetan Buddhism was represented at an Interfaith Prayer Meeting held in Limpopo, South Africa, held to mark the 110th anniversary of the day the African National Congress was founded. Geshe Lobsang Dhondup and Representative Ngodup Dorje participated, along with faith leaders from major world religions including Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and traditional African religious beliefs; the event was attended by South African and ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Jan 7: Nuclear Disarmament His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said he “warmly commends” the five recognised nuclear-weapon states who have issued a statement affirming that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. His Holiness said, “It is essential that all of us, including the UN and its member nations, make concerted efforts to end the threat of nuclear weapons and dedicate ourselves towards total nuclear disarmament.”

Jan 4: Local Justice Commissioner Tenzin Yonten, 31, has been appointed as the new local Justice Commissioner for Southern India on Monday.

Yonten, a law graduate, was sworn in by the pro-tem Chief Justice Commissioner Karma Dadul. Speaking to Phayul, Yonten said, “I saw the need to make my community legally aware of the rights and duties they are entitled to in a society like ours.”

Jan 3: Escort Dies Naren Chandra Das, the last surviving member of the squad of Indian soldiers who escorted HH the Dalai Lama into India when he fled to India from Tibet in 1959, has died at the age of 85 at his home in Assam in northeastern India. He was 22 when he escorted His Holiness into Arunachal Pradesh. His Holiness and Das met again after nearly 60 years in 2017.

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 13

People Story Telling Our Stories

Jamphel Dorjee of Jamphel Animation is a freelance 3D animator who has been working with the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Education for the past eight years, creating a series of short animations for Tibetan children in the diaspora.

Contact: Can you introduce yourself for us?

Jamphel Dorjee: I came from Tibet at the age of eight in 1997 and joined the Tibetan Children’s Village school in Patlikul. After finishing school, I continued my further studies in Bachelor of 3D Animation and Visual Effect in Chennai. Between 2013 and 2015, I worked with three animation studios gaining hands-on experience in the field of character animation.

In 2015, I came to Dharamshala and got this idea of starting an animation series for Tibetan children; I approached the department concerned at the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and since then I’ve been working on this project for better or worse.

Contact: How many series you have worked on and what are the names of those?

JD: I have been working on creating animation shorts based on a Tibetan comic book called A forgetful Uncle Pig, a story

by Gen Kalsang Khedup with art by Gen Sonam Dhondup. It is a well-known and popular Tibetan comic book for children and I myself read it many times when I was in school. It is the story of a pig who has a problem of forgetting things, and each episode tells us about incidents of his forgetfulness. So far I have completed six episodes from this book, they are available to watch for free on Sherig videos, which is the Education Departments Youtube channel, and other social media platforms; they are also available to watch on Jamphel Animation’s Youtube channel.

Contact: How many people work with you and how long does it take to complete one episode?

JD: In general, animation shorts and series are the work of a team involving many people working on different aspects.

There is no shortcut. 3D animation is a computer generated image, also called CGI, and people need to create the whole environment of the story and characters from scratch before animating them. Then animating them involves whole different levels of work in progress.

In our community, I think I am the only person with this professional background as I was not able to find any teammates to work with, so I have been working solo on this project, wearing the different hats as needed. The challenge of working solo on this seemingly simple, but big, project is that it takes so much time to complete one five-minute episode. It takes me almost a year to successfully complete one. My aim has always been to finish these series sooner so there is not too much of a gap between the release of one

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 14

episode and the next. But, as I said, there is no shortcut. I either need to have a huge budget to hire other freelancers or do the work myself at my own pace.

Contact: How is freelance life? Do you enjoy it? Or would you rather work in a team?

JD: From my experience, freelance life, especially in my kind of setting where one needs to sit at a desk and work for long durations, is a boring and lonely life. There is no growth that comes with sharing and exchanging ideas with other people. As for me, I feel that I am always trying to finish the project on time and there is no time to evolve or try to work on the quality.

I would definitely like to work in a team. Working with different people would give us more scope for growth and, as for the quality, when there is a team, you get to work on the parts you are good at and not be a jack of all trades.

When you work your best, there is satisfaction when the work is done. My specialisation in the field of animation is character animation but I don’t think I have had the opportunity to fully focus on this area so far.

Contact: What is the most challenging part of your journey so far?

JD: Since I work alone, I don’t have any guidance and I am not really satisfied with the quality of my work as I lack expertise and experience in the field of story telling through visual communication. I still need to study and learn so much in this field. The more I work, the more I realise how much I lack.

Contact: What is your advice for young people aspiring to take on this profession?

JD: Just study and study! Don’t rush to work. Technical skills can be learned through courses and these can give you a job. But if you really want to make a great film or shorts, or tell any story to the best of your ability, then you need to do further studies and to acquire the deep knowledge of the art of storytelling through animation. There is so much to study.

Another important aspect of this profession is that one needs to be persistent and patient! Making even a short clip of animation work can take months. Without passion, patience and hard work, the process can be daunting for many.

Contact: Any dream stories that you wish to work on in the future?

JD : Yes. There are many stories related to Tibet’s unique culture and tradition and one day, I hope to make a short feature or films on them, and to present them on international platforms for world audiences.

Films are a great way to connect and tell our stories, whether its animation or live shoots.

Tibet-Related Websites News:

contactmagazine.net - Contact magazine online news tibet.net - official website of the Central Tibetan Administration in exile phayul.com -Phayul is published in Dharamshala, has opinion, reviews, photos, etc rfa.org/english/news/tibet - Radio Free Asia’s mission is to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press thetibetpost.com - Tibet Post International online news tibetexpress.net - Tibet Express online news guardian.co.uk/world/tibet - the UK Guardian newspaper’s Tibet pages scmp.com/news/china - the South China Morning Post – one of the more independent news sources in China tibetanreview.net - Tibetan Review online news

News, information and campaigning:

dalailama.com - for broadcasts of His Holiness’s teachings, his schedule and information about Tibet and the Dalai Lama tchrd.org - Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy - a non-governmental organisation and a research centre to protect the human rights of Tibetan people and promote the principles of democracy tibetanyouthcongress.org - an international non-governmental organisation that advocates full independence for Tibet from China studentsforafreetibet.org - a global grassroots group campaigning for full Tibetan independence freetibet.org: - UK-based campaigning organisation, also a good news source tibetwatch.org - Tibet Watch works with Free Tibet to promote the human rights of the Tibetan people through monitoring, research and advocacy. savetibet.org - Website of the International Campaign for Tibet and a good resource for news, campaigns, fundraising and projects tibetnetwork.org/home - a coalition of more than 190 Tibet organisations dedicated to campaigning to end human rights violations in Tibet and restoring rights to the Tibetan people tibetanjournal.com - Tibetan Journal - news, reviews and opinions rukor.org - a discussion site on Tibetan nomads and their fate bitterwinter.org - A magazine on religious liberty and human rights in China

Writings:

highpeakspureearth.com/category/woeser - occasional translations of Woeser’s enormously popular blog – Woeser lives in Beijing and is continually harassed by the Chinese government for her courageous writings.

Contact is published by Lha Charitable Trust Institute for Social Work and Education We have moved! (see map on next page)

Lha Charitable Trust

Lha’s Language Classes

Contact magazine | January 2022 | Page No 15

DHARAMSHALA CONTACTS Delek Hospital Gangkyi, Central Tibetan Administration Hours: Outpatient services: 9am-1pm, Mon-Sat Specialist clinics: 2-4:30pm Emergencies: 24-hrs, daily Phone: 222 053,223 381

Mcleod Ganj Police Station: 01892 221 483 Kangra Airport: 01892 232374 Bhagsu Taxi Union: 01892 221034 Tourism Office: 01892 224430 223325 Rail Booking & Enquiry: 01892 265026 Police Superintendent: 01892 222244

McLeod Ganj Post Office Location: Jogiwara Rd Before the Peace Cafe Hours: 9:30am-1pm and 2-5pm Mon-Fri; 9:30am-noon, Sat Parcels and money orders can be sent in the mornings only Phone: 01892-221 924

Follow Contact on website, Facebook and Instagram, using QR scan codes below

www.contactmagazine.net

Contact News

Contact Magazine