Thursday, October 17, 2013

Week Ending October 18, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 18 October 2013

Protests and Restrictions in Tibet
WeChat leads to Tibetan woman’s arrest in Driru - Phayul
17 October | A Tibetan woman named Kalsang from Tsala township in Driru was arrested by Chinese police on October 11, 2013, a Tibetan source with reliable local contacts said. The Chinese police arrested her from Dejang Hotel on Nagchu highway around 11 AM last Friday.

“Please extend hospitality”: Police codes in Tibet exposed - Free Tibet
16 October | Police stations in Lhasa have been sent a notice outlining how they should monitor and control movements of Tibetans from Nagchu Prefecture, where peaceful protesters were shot and severely injured earlier this month.

New images of deepening crackdown in Nagchu, Tibet - ICT
15 October | New images show a broadening crackdown in Driru, Nagchu, Tibet Autonomous Region, and protests by local Tibetans at the detentions of a monk and young writer.

Tibetan monks march on police station to demand friend’s release - RFA
14 October | Hundreds of Tibetan monks marched to a police station in western China’s Sichuan province at the weekend to demand the release of a colleague detained for spreading word of a fatal police crackdown last week in a neighboring region.

News
China growth rebounds after Li stimulus to meet target: Economy - Bloomberg
18 October | China’s economic growth accelerated for the first time in three quarters, as Premier Li Keqiang spurred factory output and investment to meet the government’s expansion goal for 2013.

Tibet self-immolations: Tsering Woeser and Ai Weiwei collaborate on book - The Guardian
17 October | Tibetan poet Tsering Woeser and dissident artist Ai Weiwei have collaborated on a book about Tibetan self-immolations, attempting to explain the suicidal protests that have gripped the Himalayan region since 2009. The book, Immolations in Tibet: The Shame of the World, is written by Woeser with cover art by Ai.

In defence of truth: detained Tibetan writer’s poems translated - TCHRD
17 October | TCHRD translated two poems composed by the versatile young Tibetan writer Tsultrim Gyaltsen aka Shogdril who was detained late last week in the middle of night from his home at Tengkhar Village in Shamchu Township in Diru County, Nagchu Prefecture, TAR.

Spain to proceed with indictment of China’s ex-president - New York Times
11 October | The Spanish lawsuit was filed in 2006 by a group of exiled Tibetans and also targets other former leaders of China’s ruling Communist party, including Jiang Zemin, Mr. Hu’s predecessor as president. It was filed in Madrid because the plaintiffs also hoped to take advantage of the fact that Spain’s judiciary has long been at the forefront of efforts to apply universal jurisdiction to crimes involving human rights abuses.
Related
China denounces Spanish court’s Tibet case against ex-president - Reuters
14 October | "We firmly oppose any country or person attempting to use this issue to interfere with China's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.



Opinion and Analysis
Xi Jinping’s tribute to his father seen as a bid to shore up his position - SCMP
16 October | Analysts said the flurry of activities illustrated the president's need to consolidate power by reminding people of his family's connection with the formative years of the Communist Party ahead of the party's autumn plenary session, at which leaders are expected to lay down the reform blueprint of Xi's administration.

Hu Jintao’s genocide indictment: what does it mean? - TPR
13 October | An imagined conversation between Hu Jintao and his personal secretary in Beijing, the day after his indictment in Spanish National Court for genocide.

Week Ending October 11, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 11 October 2013

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Tibetan handed 10-year term for supporting self-immolation - RFA
10 October | Washul Dotruk, 51, a resident of Dungda township in Pema county in Qinghai’s Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, “was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a court in Huzhou, near [the provincial capital] Xining,” a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service.

Troops open fire on Tibetans in escalating crisis in Nagchu - ICT
8 October | Exile sources have named four Tibetans who were seriously injured; Tagyal (Tashi Gyaltsen) was shot in the leg, breaking his thighbone. Tsewang had both his jawbones broken, and one source said the bullet penetrated his face. They were both taken to Lhasa for medical treatment and believed to be in critical condition. Lobsang Wangchen and Pador were also named as being injured, with many more people losing consciousness after tear-gas was fired.

Chinese Security Forces Shoot at Tibetan Protesters: Rights Group - Reuters
8 October | Chinese security forces fired into a crowd of protesters in Tibet, injuring at least 60, an overseas rights group said on Tuesday, in a further outbreak of unrest in the remote mountainous region.

Chinese Fire At Tibetan Protesters - USA Today
8 October | A U.S.-backed broadcaster says Chinese security forces fired into a crowd of Tibetan protesters demanding the release of a fellow villager.

Related
Network Joint Statement on Driru Shootings - International Tibet Network
10 October | Joint Statement from Member Groups.

News
Tibetan monk who helped bring Buddhism to West murdered in China - CNN
10 October | Tarap Shetrup Akong, who has British citizenship, was killed along with his nephew and another man in Sichuan province on Tuesday.

Tibetan Lama is Killed in Chengdu - Wall Street Journal
9 October | British officials were dispatched to the western Chinese city of Chengdu on Wednesday in response to the killing there of a prominent Tibetan lama who was a British national and one of the first people to establish a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the West.

Opinion and Analysis
China: End Outrageous Police Violence Against Tibetan Protesters - Amnesty International (ICT)
10 October | Chinese authorities must end excessive use of force against peaceful Tibetan protesters, Amnesty International said after police fired on and injured dozens of demonstrators.

Former Chinese president Hu Jintao is indicted for genocide in Tibet - Tibetan Political Review
10 October | In a writ issued on 9 October 2013, Section 4 of the Criminal Court of Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) ruled in favour of the CAT (Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet) and decided to indict former Chinese president Hu Jintao for genocide.

I Solemnly Swear by the Flag of Tibet- Rangzen Alliance
8 October | Tenpa Gashi writes “We are said to be enjoying a full functioning democracy but we have no opposition party representing the voice of an important section of the people, and it is considerable, that supports Independence. If there is no opposition party, then it is a one party system and not a democracy by definition.”

Week Ending October 4, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 4 October 2013

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Tibetan father of two sets fire to himself and dies in Ngaba - ICT
29 September | Shichung set himself on fire outside his house and ran along the road shouting in protest against the Chinese authorities before he collapsed to the ground in flames and died, according to Kirti monks in exile in Dharamsala. The monks said before he self-immolated, he lit a butter-lamp before an image of the Dalai Lama.

Tibetans clash with police over Chinese flag campaign - RFA
2 October | Tensions in Nagchu prefecture’s Driru county following the clashes last week have led to a closure of local schools and a security clampdown, with the township at the center of the protests under complete police control, sources said.

Ngaba: Remains of Tibetan self-immolator forced into river - Phayul
1 October | Local Tibetans confronted Chinese security forces numbering over 150 trying to stop Shichung’s (age 41) body from being taken away. A major confrontation was avoided, sources said, after local Tibetan elders present there calmed the situation down. However, the Chinese authorities confiscated his body and drove with it towards Ngaba County.
News
China’s rights record scrutinized by UN Committee - ICT
2 October | The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed China’s record, including in Tibet, as part of its compliance review under the UN Child Rights Convention on September 26 and 27, in Geneva, Switzerland. [includes link to informal transcript]

Gu Chu Sum changes its political stance to Middle Way, elects new representatives - Phayul
30 September | Members of the organization changed its original political stand of complete independence to ‘Middle Way Approach’, a political stand in line with the exile Tibetan government's policy of seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet within the framework of the People's Republic of China.

Prominent Tibetan writer released after completion of 3 year prison term - TCHRD
30 September | Jolep Dawa, the founder and editor of a Tibetan language journal called Durab Ki Nga (This Century’s Self) was released at around 9 am on 30 September 2013, after being imprisoned in Mianyang for three years on trumped up charges of “separatism”.
Related
Tibetan writer walks out of jail after serving prison sentence - VOA
30 September | Chinese authorities have freed a prominent Tibetan writer and animal rights campaigner after he completed a three-year jail term in Sichuan province.

Opinion and Analysis
Non-refugee refugees: Tibetans’ struggles for visibility in bureaucratic India - Lhakar Diaries
2 October | Dawa writes on the contemporary obstacles and difficulties Tibetans face as they navigate bureaucratic systems in India with uncertain status.

‘Please stop your stupid nobility act, respect ethnic culture’ - High Peaks Pure Earth
1 October | Tibetan blogger Gyatso criticizes Chinese singer Sa Dingding for misusing Tibetan cultural icons and disrespecting Tibetan Buddhism.

Authorities must end their crackdown on Tibetan Buddhism - FIDH
30 September | In a joint report published for the People’s Republic of China’s second Universal Periodic Review, FIDH and ICT urge Chinese authorities to end their on-going crackdown on Tibetan Buddhism. The report highlights numerous violations of principles set in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a result of increasingly systematic measures set by the government since 2008. [includes link to report and summary]

Ideological Crackdown Reaches the Strongholds of Reform - Jamestown Foundation
27 September | Willy Lam writes, “The Xi Jinping leadership has started an ideological movement among party members and citizens that is geared toward promoting hard-line socialist values and absolute obedience to Beijing’s edicts.”

Week Ending August 23, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 23 August 2013

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Death penalty for Tibetan after death of wife in Ngaba - ICT
21 August | The Intermediate People’s Court in Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture sentenced a Tibetan man, 32-year old Dolma Kyab to death for ‘killing his wife and burning her body to make it look as if she had self-immolated.’

Tibetan anti-mining protesters face violence under China & foreign corporate interests - Womens News Network
21 August | Clashes began on Tuesday August 13 and continued into Friday August 16 as government sponsored construction workers began working on 3 separate mining sites in the region.
Related
Mining Protest, Yushu Prefecture, August 2013 - Free Tibet
20 August | A collection of photos received by Free Tibet depicting the anti-mining protests and police conflicts taking place in Yushul.

New information on Tibetan monk who self-immolated in Nepal - ICT
19 August | In an interview from 2011, Karma Ngedon Gyatso said that due to restrictions by the authorities on numbers of monks at his home monastery in Tibet, he was not able to register officially and was often harassed by officials as a result. He spoke about mining in his home area, and his fears about the extinction of Tibetan culture.

News
Nephew of Tibetan self-immolator among two missing - Phayul
22 August | Tashi Chowang, a nephew of Gudrup who died after setting himself ablaze on October 4 last year, and his friend Aphu Sonam were arrested by the officers from the Public Security Bureau on October 6 last year.

Tears of the past: Imprisoned Tibetan writer Gangkye Drupa Kyab in translation - TCHRD
20 August | TCHRD has translated and edited two short poems composed by Drupa Kyab. The poems reveal the suffering and pain endured by Tibetans during the crackdown on 2008 protests, and the hardships faced by ordinary Tibetans trapped in the web of official corruption and profiteering.

Opinion and Analysis
A no-win situation for Tibet - NITI Central
20 August | Claude Arpl reflects on French journalists’ past impressions of Tibet and questions the future of Chinese ‘development’ inside Tibet.

The Middle Way: A Highway for Solving Tibet’s Agony - Phayul
19 August | Nawang Phuntsok argues in support of the Middle Way policy, “Crafted with logical precision and legal clarity, the Tibetan Memorandum of Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People (2008) is the blueprint for the implementation of MW within the PRC’s Constitutional framework.”