Thursday, July 4, 2013

Week Ending July 5, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 5 July 2013


Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
China implements measures to appoint political monks in guise of spiritual teachers - TCHRD
5 July | Despite verbal news of 'experimental' policy changes regarding displaying the Dalai Lama's portrait, no written permission in the form of documents endorsing a policy change was distributed among these monasteries indicating that the authorities are unsure of how the trial measures on the Dalai Lama will play out over time. Now new regulations give Party authorities the power to appoint Buddhist instructors.
http://www.tchrd.org/2013/07/china-implements-measures-to-appoint-political-monks-in-guise-of-spiritual-teachers/

Tibetan Monk Detained After Disrupting Government Celebration - RFA
2 July | Chinese authorities in Tibet have detained a young monk, Lobsang Gendun (20) after he disrupted official celebrations of Chinese Communist Party rule by shouting slogans calling for Tibetan independence in the Chamdo prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/disrupting-07022013144605.html

US Envoy Shown a 'Peaceful' Lhasa During Visit to Tibet - RFA
28 June | A visit to Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa by a senior U.S. diplomat was highly staged, with all signs of a typically heavy security presence removed from central areas in the city before his delegation’s arrival, according to a source inside Tibet.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/shown-06282013155437.html


News
As Tibetans celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 78th birthday, a video snapshot of Tibet Lobby Day - BoingBoing
3 July | Xeni Jardin traveled to Washington, DC to document a group of Tibetan-American activists asking lawmakers to open up immigration doors for political refugees, and hold China accountable for human rights.


Contested renovation in Tibet capital complete - Fox News
2 July | Chinese state media reported that the 1.5 billion yuan ‘renovation’ project in Lhasa around the Jokhang Temple is ‘complete’.


Embassy Row: Unlocking Tibet - Washington Times
2 July | The American embassy in China released photos of US Ambassador Gary Locke’s three-day visit to Tibet with family and embassy staff.


Opinion and Analysis
Show solidarity with Tibet, EU urged - Public Service Europe
3 July | According to Elena Gaita, the people of the Baltic know what it is to face political persecution, so the Lithuanian EU presidency would be an appropriate time to facilitate engagement between the Dalai Lama and China.


The ‘Mani Stones’ in an ‘Environmental Migrants Village’ by Woeser - High Peaks Pure Earth
1 July | Woeser writes about her encounters with the people directly affected by the Chinese government aims since 2006 to “Build a New Socialist Countryside”, with the policy of re-settling nomads and herdsmen, based on her travels in 2007 and also 2012.


Conversing with Clare Harris, Author of “The Museum on the Roof of the World” - Cerise Press
1 July | Dechen Pemba interviews Clare Harris about her research on Tibetan artefacts in museums, the relationships between art and politics and representation, and the contemporary international Tibetan art scene.