Tibetan Govt. In-Exile Planning Talks With Beijing: Special Envoy

Dharamshala: Lodi Gyari RInpoche, the special envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, released a statement on December 10, 2009 detailing his reaction to China's actions and responses to Tibetan initiatives for China-Tibet Talks. He expressed that China's reaction to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's request for autonomy was initially positive, but that China's policies and press statements have been contradictory.

Questions for His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Dharamshala Teachings

His Holiness the Dalai Lama begins teachings in Dharamshala, emphasizes compassion

Tibetan PM speaks about Tibetan struggle and Gandhi's teachings

Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, gave a public speech in the city of Ahmedabad yesterday, after attending the 56th convocation ceremony of Gujarat Vidyapith. He addressed the topic of the Tibetan struggle, as well as recent tensions between India and China.

"Of late, China has become aggressive in its relations with rest of the world. Its dispute with India has also become a cause of concern," the Rinpoche stated, citing the 2008 Beijing Olympics as one reason behind China's current "offensive."

"The Chinese incursion into Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim in India are recent examples. Also, the 3,000-km-long border between India and China is still under dispute. But the Indian government has shown great maturity on this whole issue," he added.

Tibetan PM reaffirmed that stability in Indian-Chinese relations is of utmost importance to both international peace and the success of the Tibetan cause.

"But I don't believe that this tension between Indian and China will continue for long. I think slowly and gradually it will be resolved," he told reporters.

Samdhong Rinpoche expressed his satisfaction about the Indian government's stand on Tibet situation. He said, "In the last many years, several political parties have come to power at the Centre, but the official Indian position on Tibet has remained the same since the Nehru era."

The first democratically-elected Tibetan PM also praised Nehru's colleague Mahatma Gandhi. "Earlier, people used to make jokes by saying 'helplessness is the other name of Mahatma Gandhi'. Today the reality is that the world is helpless and needs to follow the path of nonviolence shown by Gandhiji," Rinpoche declared.

The Tibetan PM advised that Indians, especially those who believe in Gandhian philosophy, need to take the lead in making the world aware of the path revealed by their country's founding father.

In response to a question about the "growing impatience" among Tibetan youth, Samdhong Rinpoche stated, "People who are in favour of violent methods to resolve the issue of Tibet are in minority. Violence cannot bring a solution to these issues; it only complicates them. The eye-opening examples are of Sri Lanka, Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. We still believe in our nonviolent agitation for Tibet's autonomy and will continue with it."

After two recent events have strained relations between Taiwan and mainland China, Chinese tourists have reportedly been avoiding the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. Last week, Kao Koong-lian, vice-chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, appealed to his Chinese counterpart Zheng Lizhong to call off the boycott, reported Taiwan's Central News Agency.
17september200922On 22 September, a reporter for the German daily online news magazine FOCUS interviewed Zhu Weigun, the vice minister of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Chinese Communist Party, on the subject of Tibet and the Dalai Lama. In the interview, Mr. Zhu named three conditions for restoring the Sino-Tibetan dialogue: the Tibetan central government must explain their postponement of last year's talks; the Tibetan exile government must reform those of their policies which the Chinese strictly oppose; and finally, for the sake of China's friendly relations with other countries, the Dalai Lama must stop traveling abroad.
17october20091British MP James Gray, Lord David Steele, Lord Alton, and MP Derek Wyatt recently concluded a visit to Tibet and upon returning to London, their delegation addressed Parliament on the results of their discussions with Chinese officials.

15october20097This morning, Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama began his public teachings in Dharamsala, to an audience comprising 6000 followers from around 50 countries including Taiwan, France, Vietnam, Japan, US, Korea, Tibetan communities in exile and around the world. The subject was the Diamond Sutras, chosen at the request of the Taiwanese Buddhist community, about 1100 of whom enjoyed a rare opportunity to attend the teachings. His Holiness welcomed his Taiwanese Buddhists followers, thanking them for traveling such a long way to attend.

14october20092In September 2009, Chinese officials invited Mario Sepi, president of the European Economic and Social Committee, and two other EESC representatives-Peter Clever from Germany, and Sukdev Sharma from the UK-to visit Tibet for a special fact-finding mission, the first of its kind since the March 2008 protests. On 14 October, Clever discussed the mission's conclusions at a press conference in the Tibetan exile center of Dharamsala, India.