Dharamsala, Sept 25: In a new video interview from Tibet released Friday, Tibetans say there was more freedom and happiness in old Tibet prior to China’s rule and blame Communist China of causing unprecedented misery to the people of Tibet during the last five decades of its rule.

Ven. Golog Rinchen Sangpo speaking on the making of his interview video in Tibet during a press conference organised by DIIR in Dharamsala, September 25, 2009,(Photo: TibetNet/Sangay Kep) The video, based on interview conducted by a 39-year old Tibetan Buddhist monk following the 2008 unrest in Tibet, shows elderly Tibetans speaking fearlessly against China’s repressive and discriminatory policies against Tibetan people since China took complete control over Tibet in 1958.

An edited version of the video was released by the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile at a press conference here this morning.

The video interview was conducted by Rinchen Sangpo, a monk of Tongkyab Monastery in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP) in Amdo (Ch: Qinghai) Province. Rinchen, who presided over the press conference, said he interviewed a large number of Tibetans from all walks of life in Machen (Ch: Maqin) County and Gade (Ch: Gande) County in Golog throughout October 2008.

Rinchen, who spent his entire life in Tibet before escaping into India last year, said he was encouraged by his conviction to tell the reality and truth about Tibet to the outside world “after experiencing and witnessing decades of repression, economic marginalisation and ecological negligence of Tibetan areas” under the Chinese occupation. He said he finally sought the views of 15 interviewees on three issues: ‘What was the old world look like?’, ‘What sufferings they endured under the current Chinese government?’ and ‘What actually happened in 1958?’

In the video, the interviewees, all aged between 57 and 87, say the people of Tibet comparatively enjoyed more freedom and comfortable life prior to Chinese invasion of their country. They say their situation deteriorated dramatically under the Chinese rule. They complain that in the name of economic development, the Chinese government is carrying out systematic destruction of Tibet’s unique culture, language, religion and natural resources.

In the video, the interviewees even recount untold suffering, saying hundreds and thousands of Tibetans, including their near ones, either went missing or were killed under Communist China’s invasion.

As China mounted systematic oppression on Tibetans over the years, interviewees say, thousands more died due to torture, starvation or were driven to under extremely unbearable situation.

Speaking against China’s propaganda on Tibet, particularly the campaign of denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the interviewees openly express hope of Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet and reunion with their compatriots in exile.

A press release by the DIIR said the video is a “fresh testimonies of Tibetans living in Golog, Tibet’s Amdo Province detailing China’s repression on every aspect of Tibet’s identity for the last five decades of its rule”.

Rinchen arrived in India with his interview video at the end of December 2008. He said he was forced to escape Tibet before even completing his video interview entirely. According to him, Chinese government became aware of his secretive work and had issued an arrest warrant against him.

He said his video interview is a result of “whatever little work that he could accomplish in Tibet”.

“The ultimate objective and hope of the Tibetans inside Tibet is that they are eagerly awaiting reunion with their compatriots in exile and the day when His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to Tibet,” Rinchen said in his local Golog dialect.

“Tibetans in Tibet don’t follow the Chinese government’s propaganda that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibetans in exiles are not separatists. They know that Chinese communists are the real separatists dividing Tibetan people,” Rinchen said at the press conference.

“In Tibet, Tibetan people pray everyday to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama and hear his voice,” Rinchen said.

Rinchen said that Tibetans took to the street in March last year in a “sincere gesture of opposing the Chinese government’s wrong policies” in Tibet.

“Therefore, when Chinese authorities set up false campaign accusing His Holiness the Dalai Lama of instigating the unrest, Tibetan people could not take it any longer. So Tibetans from all three provinces of Tibet voluntarily and in unison rose up against the Chinese government,” Rinchen said.

Rinchen Sangpo was born in Akyong, village in Golog, Amdo. In 1965, he went to the village primary school as a child. At 14, he was ordained as a monk at the Tongkyab Monastery and remained there until 2008.

Rinchen Sangpo is credited with setting up two primary schools in Tibet’s Amdo Province. He said Chinese authorities closed down one of the schools two years ago.

Thupten Samphel, information secretary at the DIRR, commended Rinchen for his selfless work. By conducting the video interview and bringing it out of Tibet, Samphel said Rinchen had sacrificed everything and even risked his own life for the cause of Tibet.

A short video posted on NanDu.Net, a Chinese news website, featuring a six year old girl from Guangzhou City has become the talk of China. When asked about her ideal life, the first grader proudly announced that she dreamed of becoming “a corrupt official, as they have lots of property.” The video was soon being discussed throughout the major media and Internet forums.
By late Sept. 2, the video had already received 14,000 hits, but was soon blocked and later deleted by the website. NanDu.Net had set up a poll for viewers to vote on how they felt about the video; the majority said it “accurately reflected the reality of Chinese society.”

”This six-year-old girl can see the nature of our society,” said Guangzhou attorney Liu Shihui in an interview with The Epoch Times. “I very much admired her vision. She got right to the point. Unfortunately, it also shows how poisoned the next generation of the country has become. These little souls have been led astray; this is awful.”

An anonymous writer from Guangzhou doesn’t believe that the video is that unusual for China nowadays. He believes that the little girl’s parents probably have shown envy towards China’s corrupt officials.

“There is a popular saying nowadays: ‘being a corrupt official is equal to winning the lottery,’ said the writer. “As a Chinese Governmental official you can have anything you want. Your privilege knows no limits.”

He also mentioned that most officials don’t even need to touch money. Instead, they simply accept houses or vehicles, which is even easier.

“Ordinary people can tolerate these corrupt officials much more than they used to. Now, if you mention to someone how much an official was bribed, this person won’t be shocked at all. This kind of thing has become perfectly normal,” he explained.

“Corruption in China … everyone knows this happens, but no one talks about it,” said one video viewer. “This kid is extraordinary. She’s so young but she already understands the situation.”

“Super! She’s that young, and already understands how the world works. She will be someone when she grows up,” said another viewer commenting on the video.

“She’s right! Being a corrupt official is a good life. I want to be one too. Low risk, high profit. Who wouldn’t want that life?” another viewer said.

“Isn’t this how our country really is? Everybody hates and curses these corrupt officials, yet they all want to be just like him,” remarked one viewer.

“This is so sad! Our morality has fallen so low, and our society is on the brink of collapse. Just look at how severely it has impacted the mental health of the children,” another viewer replied.

“It’s so nice to be a corrupt official. You can have a car, house, money, enjoy high social status, and all the right connections. You can have more women … you may even have someone birth a son for you when you’re 60 years old,” mentioned one viewer.

Read the original Chinese article.

Last Updated
Sep 7, 2009

Dharamsala, July 27, 2009 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama will deliver a keynote address to a ‘unique’ conference that will be attended by Chinese and Tibetan scholars, writers, journalist, advocates in Geneva, Switzerland, on August 6, 2009, a press release issued by the conference organizers said.

Convened by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association, “the International Sino-Tibetan Conference” from August 6 to 8 will be attended by over 100 Chinese and Tibetan delegates from all over the world.

“The objective of the conference is to create a better understanding between the two communities and to explore ways for a peaceful solution of the Tibetan issue,” said Mr. Jonathan Sisson of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.

“This is in the interest of both the Chinese and the Tibetan peoples,” said Dr. Tashe Thaktsang of the Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association. “In addition, it will serve the long-term development of China and contribute to peace and stability in Asia,” Thaktsang added.

Mr. Yan Jiaqi, a leading Chinese liberal scholar who had served in the Political Reform Commission under the leadership of then Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang in the 1980s, will be a guest speaker. Mr. Yan Jiaqi also served as Director of the Institute of Political Research of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and has written several books, including A Ten Year History of the Cultural Revolution.

The conference is expected to be a platform for clarification of views and opinions held by both the communities, especially in the wake of last year’s protest across Tibet, and its projection by the Chinese government as an ‘anti Chinese protests’.

To interpret these events as “anti-Chinese” agitation orchestrated by the “Dalai clique”, as Chinese authorities have done, is to misunderstand the reasons of the demonstrations, said the organizers.

In his 10 March 2009 statement, the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “We need to look to the future and work for our mutual benefit. We Tibetans are looking for a legitimate and meaningful autonomy, an arrangement that would enable Tibetans to live within the framework of the People’s Republic of China.”

As primary stakeholders, representatives of Chinese and Tibetan civil society have an important role to play in the efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Tibet question, the organizers said in their press release. “In the recent past, concerned Chinese and Tibetan individuals have taken steps to encourage a better mutual understanding. This has had a positive impact and a need was felt to have a larger gathering to be held in Switzerland given its history of hosting numerous reconciliation events.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will meet the press on the same day at the Hotel Intercontinental, Geneva.

Written by scholars in Beijing, the report has
been hailed by both Tibetans and Chinese as a
revealing look at the troubled region.

It says that a new Tibetan ‘aristocracy’ has
seized power in the region. Unlike Tibet’s
previous rulers, who were supported by the tribes
and by the monasteries, the new Tibetan ruling
cadres are funded by Beijing in return for absolute loyalty.

They have spread propaganda blaming the Dalai
Lama for Tibet’s social problems to mask their
shortcomings and reinforce their power, the report concludes.

“They use every opportunity to play the
separatism card,” The Telegraph quoted Phun
Tshogs Dbang Rjyal, a Communist party member in Tibet, as saying.

As part of the research, four Beijing University
students traveled through Tibet in the aftermath
of widespread riots in March 2008.

Commissioned by Gongmeng, or the Open
Constitution Initiative, the report’s conclusions
provide a more balanced look of Tibet’s social
problems, highlighting problems in the local
government and the education system.

“This is the first independent analysis of the
situation in Tibet from within China. This is a
factual analysis of the underlying social
factors,” said Nicholas Becquelin, a research director at Human Rights Watch.

An unrest began in Lhasa last year that quickly
spread through Tibet, leading to an armed
response by Chinese soldiers and the loss of over
140 lives, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile.

China blamed the Dalai Lama for fanning the
violence, and said that over 100 agents of
Tibet’s religious leader had organized the protests.

The report highlighted the tensions caused by a
drive to industrialize the region and move
Tibetans from farms into the cities, where they
find it hard to compete for jobs with better-educated Han immigrants.

The report had won support on internet forums,
but has not yet been published formally. ‘We are
not sure how it will be received,’ the report’s editor Yang Ziyun said. (ANI)

Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama
urged his countrymen on Tuesday not to be
provoked by any Chinese military crackdown
coinciding with the Tibetan New Year this week.
With this year marking the 50th year of his exile, the Dalai Lama said ther

The report, written by scholars in Beijing, has
been hailed by both Tibetans and Chinese as a
revealing look at the troubled region.

It suggests that a new Tibetan “aristocracy” has
seized power in the region. Unlike Tibet’s
previous rulers, who were supported by the tribes
and by the monasteries, the new Tibetan ruling
cadres are funded by Beijing in return for absolute loyalty.

To mask their shortcomings, and reinforce their
power, they have spread propaganda blaming the
Dalai Lama for Tibet’s social problems, the
report concludes. “They use every opportunity to
play the separatism card,” said Phun Tshogs Dbang
Rjyal, a Communist party member in Tibet who is quoted by the report.

Four students at Beijing University, China’s most
prestigious academic institution, travelled
through Tibet in the aftermath of widespread
riots in March 2008. Their conclusions provide a
more balanced look of Tibet’s social problems,
highlighting problems in the local government and
the education system, than any account previously published in China.

It was commissioned by Gongmeng, or the Open
Constitution Initiative, a think tank founded in
2003 by some of China’s most prominent liberal
lawyers and university professors.

“This is the first independent analysis of the
situation in Tibet from within China,” said
Nicholas Becquelin, a research director at Human
Rights Watch. He added that the report was a
break from a series of “highly ideological”
reports. “This is a factual analysis of the
underlying social factors,” he said.

Last years unrest began in Lhasa but quickly
spread through Tibet and its neighbouring
regions, leading to an armed response by Chinese
soldiers and the loss of over 140 lives,
according to the Tibetan government-in-exile.

China has previously blamed the Dalai Lama for
fanning the violence, and said that over 100
agents of Tibet’s religious leader had organised the protests.

Senior Communist Party figures, such as Feng
Lanrui, a former State Council strategist, are
part of the think tank’s circle of advisors.

It also highlighted the tensions caused by a
drive to industrialise the region and move Tibetans from farms into the cities.

Once unskilled Tibetans have moved to Lhasa, it
concludes, they find it hard to compete for jobs
with better-educated Han immigrants.

Yang Ziyun, the editor of the report, said the
report had won support on internet forums, but
has not yet been published formally. “We are not
sure how it will be received,” she said.

Carlos Mundy, author of The Rainbow Warrior, a
novel whose main character is inspired on His
Holiness The Dalai Lama
(www.therainbowwarrior.net) has launched a
website www.tibet-in-peace.org where there is a
petition to President Obama to host face to face
talks in Washington between H.H.The Dalai Lama
and President Hu Jintao and also requests that
President Obama secures the immediate release of HH The Panchen Lama.

The aim is to get one million signatures before
the Petition is sent to the White House.

Please visit www.tibet-in-peace.org, sign the
petition and send the link to as many people as possible

http://www.tibet-in-peace.org/home.html

Text of the Petition:

President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington DC
USA

Dear President Obama,

Your Presidency has bought to the world a ray of
hope and a new open style of government. Your are
looked upon by people all over the world to lead
us into a new era of peace and prosperity as the
head of the most powerful nation in the free world.

We the signatories of this petition are very
concerned by the gross abuses of human rights in
Tibet that are well documented by the United Nations and many NGO’s.

The stubbornness of the Chinese government in
accusing the Dalai Lama of seeking independence
for his country while at the same time refusing
to have meaningful peace talks without any
preconditions is only increasing to the tensions
in Tibet and to more human rights abuses.

We are certain that the solution to this deadlock
is that as leader of the Free World, you
host, direct face-to-face talks in Washington
between His Holiness The Dalai Lama, a man of peace, and President Hu Jintao.

We also request you secure the release of H.H.
The Panchen Lama Gedhun Choeky Nyima who has been
incarcerated by the Chinese regime along with his
whole family for over 14 years and since he was only 6 years old.

We believe that this meeting will be very useful
to finding an everlasting solution to the plight
of the Tibetan people and save Tibet and its ancient culture from extinction.

Human rights must be given priority over any
economical interests but having said this, the
solution of this problem that is now over five
decades old will be also very beneficial to the
world economy, as it will ease many tensions.

We are quite sure that as soon as you meet His
Holiness The Dalai Lama you will feel the need to act.

Yours sincerely,

http://www.tibet-in-peace.org/sign.html

“Tibetans have historically worshiped the site”
explains a May 24 report by Radio Free Asia
(RFA). But now the Chinese mining and timber
company, Zhongkai Co., has been authorized to go
ahead with their proposed gold mine.

The villagers have declared that they are “ready
to die” to protect the sacred site.

RFA recently interviewed several local villagers,
who provided some detail on the otherwise unreported situation.

According to one villager, the standoff began
after “a contingent of police and security forces
arrived” on May 16. The Tibetans began protesting several weeks earlier.

When the security forces appeared, the villager
continues, as many as 500 Tibetans gathered on
the road that leads to the mine site and have stayed there ever since.

Another villager explains that all cellphones and
landlines have been blocked and the protesters
have been isolared from the rest of the village.
“We can’t reach any of the protesters,” the villager states.

“Today another four vehicles with roughly 30 to
40 soldiers in them went to the protest site. But
the Tibetans all put religious books on their
heads and are vowing to resist even if it means
sacrificing their lives,” he adds.

The villagers also say that the soldiers and
police have declared that they are willing to
“force their way through” to get to the site.

Ransacking Tibet

This ongoing standoff is connected to a much
wider scheme to ransack Tibet of its mineral resources, particularly its gold.

According to a 2007 report by Students for a Free
Tibet (SFT), there are at least seven foreign
mining companies in Tibet right now: five of them
from Canada and two from Britain.

The People of Tibet have absolutely “no voice
when it comes to how their natural resources will
be used,” says the SFT’s Stop Mining Tibet campaign website.

This ongoing standoff is unfortunate proof.

Based in Canada, Stop Mining Tibet is pushing for
a moratorium on all resource extraction in the
occupied region “until the Tibetan people can
freely determine the use of their own resources -
particularly non renewable resources.”

It is an immense challenge, but also one that we
must take on as diligently as those Tibetans who
are putting their lives on the line right now: in
the name of justice and the preservation of their way of life.