TROUBLE IN TIBET – OPTIMISM AT BUSH CENTER, DALLAS – Simon Cyrene-The Bearer of the Cross

TROUBLE IN TIBET – OPTIMISM AT BUSH CENTER, DALLAS

‘Trouble in Tibet’ demands Justice and not vengeance says Tibet’s Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay while speaking at George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas on Friday, February 12, 2016. He expresses optimism which I do not share as his opinion is not based on reality of Tibet, the Land occupied by Red China since 1950. He demands Tibetan Autonomy and not Freedom or separation from China. But, to grant Tibetan Autonomy, we have to identify Land where Tibetans live. Prime Minister Sangay said that he always compares Tibet’s size to that of Texas(268, 580 square miles) and California(163, 695 square miles) combined. The area or size of Tibet includes Tibet’s three traditional Provinces, 1. Amdo, 2. Kham, and 3. U-Tsang, and it is about 965, 000 square miles or 2.5 million square kilometers.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Tibetan political leader expresses optimism during talk at Bush Center

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – OPTIMISM AT BUSH CENTER, DALLAS. PRIME MINISTER LOBSANG SANGAY DOES NOT KNOW SIZE OR AREA OF TIBET WHERE TIBETANS LIVE UNDER SUBJUGATION.**

Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor
June Rule (left) and Lizette Ayala, seniors at Booker T. Washington High School, presented Lobsang Sangay with prayer flags made by the school’s Tibet Club during his talk Friday at the Bush Center.

BY DEBORAH FLECK dfleck@dallasnews.com

Staff Writer

Published: 14 February 2016 11:07 PM
Updated: 14 February 2016 11:07 PM

Like his good friend the Dalai Lama, Lobsang Sangay has a sense of humor.

At a World Affairs Council program Friday at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Sangay said he always compares the size of Tibet to California and Texas combined. He’d been to California before, but never to Texas.

“Now, I’m finally here so I can say I know both places,” he said.

Sangay, prime minister of the Central Tibetan Administration, which represents Tibet’s displaced population, turned serious when talking about efforts to regain his country. Mao Zedong’s Chinese People’s Liberation Army took over Tibet in 1950.

Sangay is hopeful that the administration’s “middle way” approach will work.

“It doesn’t seek separation from China, just autonomy for the Tibetan people,” Sangay said. “It’s not land-focused, but seeks to allow us to govern ourselves and keep our language and culture.”

Tibet, he added, is a vital country that’s important not only as as a buffer zone between China and Southeast Asia, but also environmentally. Its name in Chinese means “Western treasure,” referring to its rivers and minerals.

Sangay, the first Tibetan to earn a Harvard Law School degree, said he is seeking support from the world.

“It’s my duty,” said Sangay, who lived in Boston for 16 years but now is based in India. “We don’t seek vengeance, but justice.”

Sangay is up for re-election as the administration’s prime minister next month. He said the latest polls show him with more than 70 percent of the vote.

Twitter: @debbiewfleck