Friday, April 25, 2014

Week Ending April 25, 2014

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 25 April 2014

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Tibetan Mine Protestors Detained in Palyul - Phayul
24 April | Thupga, Gade, Kyamo, and Jamyang were taken into custody on April 21 by Palyul county police in Barchung village in the Tromthar township of Kardze prefecture, allegedly regarding their refusal to sell land to Chinese gold miners.

China pressuring family to change Tibet self-immolator's story - Tibetan Review
24 April | The mother and elder brother of Thinley Namgyal, 32, who had torched himself in Khangsar Township, were summoned to the county offices and ordered to attribute a non-political reason for the self-immolation. Both refused, despite being offered money to go along with a story fabricated by the local authorities.

Tibetan Language Promotion Event Blocked by China - RFA
22 April | Chinese authorities have at the last minute blocked a move to hold a traditional Tibetan language competition in a Tibetan-populated county in Sichuan province, citing concerns over the “political implications” of the event.

News
TCHRD commemorates 25th birthday of Tibet’s disappeared Panchen Lama - TCHRD
25 April | The disappearance of the Panchen Lama demonstrates the extreme hostility and suspicion with which Chinese government views Tibetan religion and its clergy. The act also represents the manipulation of Tibetan Buddhism for political purposes as is evident in the Order No. 5 issued by the Chinese government to control and institutionalize the Tibetan reincarnation system.

Chinese officials "bribed" to destroy Tibetan brick factories, beat up workers - Phayul
25 April | Chinese authorities in Tibet’s Kyegudo area in the traditional Tibetan province of Kham have destroyed several brick factories owned by Tibetans and beaten up workers on the behest of Chinese brick factory owners on April 20, the Voice of Tibet radio reported.

Norway’s Politicians Shun Dalai Lama, Seeking Detente with China - Business Week
23 April | Olemic Thommessen, the speaker of the parliament, said he will avoid meeting with the 78-year-old religious leader, who is visiting at the invitation of the Nobel Institute to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his own Peace Prize.

Prisoner Cases: Dhondup Wangchen - Dui Hua
14 April | The Chinese government told Dui Hua and other concerned parties that Dhondup Wangchen’s sentence will actually end on June 5 after which he will begin serving a three-year sentence of deprivation of political rights.

Opinion and Analysis
Q&A with Lezlee and Stefan Halper: Tibet - An Unfinished Story - VOA
23 April | Lezlee Brown Halper and Stefan Halper have spent more than a decade researching Tibet’s struggle and putting it into perspective in their book, Tibet: An Unfinished Story.

Weibo, the Chinese censors enter the U.S. … stock market - ICT
23 April | ICT Executive Director Matteo Meccaci asks, “Would you find it ethical and legitimate to invest your money (to make money) in a service that is subject to official censorship according to the desires of the Chinese Communist Party? Would you support with your money a service that goes against the right to free speech?”