WholeDude

Whole Trouble – Remembering more than 1.2 Million Dead in Occupied Tibet

Trouble in Tibet – Remembering more than 1.2 Million Dead

The enormity of ‘Trouble in Tibet’ becomes apparent when we remember more than 1.2 million dead under oppressive rule of Red China.

TIBET’S MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION DEAD REMEMBERED AS 57th UPRISING ANNIVERSARY MARKED

March 12, 2016 1:10 pm

Tibetans across the free world, joined by their supporters, marked on Mar 10 the 57th anniversary of their uprising against the Chinese occupation of their homeland with protest rallies, flying of Tibetan national flags from prominent public buildings and private homes, and speeches.

(TibetanReview.net, Mar12’16) – Tibetans across the free world, joined by their supporters, marked on Mar 10 the 57th anniversary of their uprising against the Chinese occupation of their homeland with protest rallies, flying of Tibetan national flags from prominent public buildings and private homes, and speeches. They condemned the continued policy of violent repression of the Tibetan people and called on China to resolve the decades-old political issue through dialogue. The day was also marked as Tibetan Martyr’s Day, for the more than 1.2 million Tibetans who died since China began its invasion of Tibet in late 1949, especially the more than 400 who have self-immolated since Feb 2009.
In Dharamshala, India, both the executive head of the exile Tibetan administration, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, and Speaker Penpa Tsering of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, addressed thousands of people at the official function held on the Tsuglakhang courtyard, recounting 57 years of horror endured by Tibetans under China’s subjugation and emphasizing that resolving the issue through dialogue and granting an ethnically contiguous Tibetan territory autonomy under Chinese sovereignty would be mutually beneficial.
The official function concluded with a large rally of Tibetans snaking its way to the downtown district court complex area where speeches were delivered. The rally was jointly organized by the National Democratic Party of Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet, GuChuSum Movement and Tibetan Women’s Association.
Other commemorative events were held by Tibetans and supporters in cities across the world.
In India’s capital New Delhi, dozens of activists of the Tibetan Youth Congress were detained after they protested outside the Chinese embassy. Many had faces painted with Tibetan national flags, which they also carried in their hands, dressed in black. They shouted slogans such as “China go out” (of Tibet) and “Please support us” before being subdued and taken away in police buses, reported laprensasa.com Mar 10.
A much larger protest rally was held at Jantar Mantar, near Connaught Place, with the participation of a large number of Indian supporters as well.
In the south Indian IT hub of Bangaluru, around 600 Tibetans held a peace march on the eve of the uprising anniversary, said the laprensasa.com report. Commemoration and protest rallies were also held in numerous other towns and cities in India, both by Tibetans and Indian supporters.
* * *
A number of online reports also spoke about commemoration functions and protest rallies held in a number of US cities. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representative Jim McGovern published an op-ed in the USA Today on Mar 10. Describing their experiences in Tibet which they visited as members of a US congressional delegation in Nov 2015, they called on Chinese authorities to engage the Dalai Lama in dialogue as part of what they describe as a “narrow but real” opportunity for the Chinese government to re-evaluate its policy toward Tibet.
In downtown Santa Fe, in New Mexico State, dozens of Tibetans marched from the Tibetan Association of Santa Fe’s center to the state Capitol on Paseo de Peralta where a commemoration function was held, followed by a rally through the streets.
There were also media reports of similar events held in Utah, downtown Minneapolis (over 400 people), Ithaca, and numerous other places.
* * *
In Canada, dozens of people were reported to have gathered in front of Calgary’s city hall on Mar 10 to mark the Tibetan National Uprising Day. Waving the Tibetan flag and holding signs with slogans such as “Human rights in Tibet,” “Allow media in Tibet,” and “Stop torture in Tibet,” the group was reported to have finished their march in front of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China.
* * *
In Australia, a number of Tibetans had their heads shaved to pay tribute to 18-year-old Kalsang Wangdu and 16-year-old Dorjee Tsering, who had self-immolated the week before in Tibet and in India while commemorating the event in Sydney.
* * *
In Brussels, more than 250 Tibetans and European friends gathered in Schuman Square next to the European Commission and Council to commemorate the uprising day. Mr Thomas Mann, a German member of the European Parliament and chair of the Tibet Interest Group, a cross-party group of European Parliamentarians, issued a statement for the occasion. The crowd later marched to the Chinese Embassy, shouting slogans.
* * *
In UK, protesters gathered opposite the Chinese embassy in London and later marched through central London to the Westminster Cathedral Hall where later in the evening a Tibetan cultural event was held. Tibet Society, UK, called on Prime Minister David Cameron to meet with the Dalai Lama and urged governments to work multi-laterally to solve the Tibet crisis.
* * *
In France, the Mayor of the 2nd district of Paris, Mr Jacques Boutault, raised the Tibetan national flag in front of the city hall at a commemoration event attended by more than 400 Tibetans and supporters. Senator Andre Gattolin, Vice President of the Tibet Group in the French Senate, was among those who addressed the gathering. The crowd later marched to the Chinese embassy, shouting slogans.
* * *
In the Czech capital Prague, on a proposal by the Culture Minister Mr Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL), the Chamber of Deputies observed a moment of silence in commemoration of the victims of the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet. Later in the day, a crowd of about 150 rallied under the theme of Voice for Tibet with playing of Tibetan music and anthem outside the Chinese embassy. One of the banners carried by the protesters said “Czechs Support Tibet”; it featured a portrait of former president Vaclav Havel flanked by Tibetan Dalai Lama, reported praguemonitor.com Mar 11.
* * *
Members of Parliament of the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined Tibet supporters in issuing a joint statement, deploring the current situation in Tibet and calling on China to begin immediate and meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan administration in exile, given the fact that both were only seeking meaningful autonomy for Tibet within the People’s Republic of China.
* * *
In Japan, around 80 Tibetans and Japanese supporters gathered on Mar 6 at Shibuya Miyashita Koen (Park) to commemorate the uprising day. Their marching route was otherwise no available for Mar 10. As the march entered the intersection in front of Shibuya station, famously known as ‘The Scramble’ and referred as the world’s busiest, a statement on the current situation in Tibet and appealing for global intervention there was loudly read out many times. Mr Makino Sensei, former MP and Tibet supporter was among those who addressed the gathering.

**57th Anniversary Tibetan National Uprising Day Bengaluru**

Whole Trouble – Red China’s Propaganda Warfare to suppress Tibetan Identity

Trouble in Tibet – Red China’s Propaganda Warfare

**Whole Trouble – Red China’s Propaganda Warfare to suppress Tibetan Identity**

Red China uses Propaganda Warfare to deny basic human rights to Tibetans living under her subjugation. Modern technology provides vast array of tools to conduct effective Propaganda Warfare but no type of Warfare is a substitute for principles such as Freedom, Peace, Justice, Democracy, and Human Rights.

Tibet post International

PROPAGANDA MACHINE IN DICTATOR MAO’S CHINA FAILS ITS CAMPAIGN ON TIBET

Wednesday, 09 March 2016 16:43 Yeshe Choesang, Tibet Post International

Dharamshala — China’s iron-fisted policy has bestowed to Tibet occupation, colonization, political repression, cultural assimilation, and environmental destruction among other factors for more than half a century making the conflict in Tibet one of the long-standing global issues. There is no visible difference, whether they call it China’s third era, the end of reform, growth, or stability. What the people of Tibet know is that China wants Tibet, but not the Tibetan people.
The situation in the homeland of Tibetan people has only become worse with time. In the last eight years, over 150 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in protest of repressive Chinese policies that stifle basic freedoms including expression, faith and language. The Chinese government has left no stone unturned in systematically attempting to eradicate Tibetans’ cultural way of life and belief.
The international community must first understand that Chinese government is still a regime of authoritarian founded by Mao Zedong, known as the greatest mass murderer in world history, violating not only the rights of people of Tibet but also its own citizens— strengthening its terrorism suppression against the dissidents, human rights lawyers, and all kinds of religious and faith groups. It also strengthened its extreme acts of greed against freedom of expression, including blockade and control of the Internet, broadcasting, and print media.
China is one of the top ten worst nations in the world for decades, with pervasive and increased regime control on the freedom of press whether in form of censorship or with new surveillance tactics, is limiting freedom of expression and amplifying self-censorship among the internet users in the country. Leading Chinese state-run media initially had very few news articles about the Tibetans who set themselves on fire, only reporting that it was due to family or personal issues. Later China used its leading propaganda machines and shifted the blame to Tibetans in exile, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Tibetan self-immolation protests, without a single piece of evidence, claiming they have incited the “extreme acts” against Chinese rule.
However, the Central Tibetan government immediately responded, saying the fundamental reasons for the increasing number of self-immolations in Tibet, lies solely in China’s massive policy failure over the course of the more than 60 year rule, driving so many young Tibetans to self-immolation. These immolations, which in reality have been caused by political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, economic marginalization and environmental destruction, have been widely covered in the domestic and international media and in social media.
People care deeply about the values on which their nations were created: freedom, democracy and justice. Many nations in the world won their independence through a freedom struggle by different rebellions. However, India won based on the principles of nonviolence, non-cooperation and civil disobedience. This legacy of resistance has been a source of inspiration for independence struggles all over the world, and continues to motivate the people of Tibet in their freedom struggle. Tibet and India have shared a peaceful border for many centuries, owing to close cultural and spiritual ties. Following the illegal occupation of Tibet by China, the new Indo-Tibet border became one of the most highly militarized in the world.
The United Nations Security Council Resolutions No 1368 (UNSC, 2001a) and No 1373 (UNSC, 2001b) were passed in the days following the attacks on World Trade Centre and Pentagon. Both opened up new approaches to stop and prevent political violence. One direct result of the global efforts by states to fight “terrorism” is an expansion of the definition and use of the term “acts of terror”. Due to lack of consensus on what constitute “acts of terror” or who are “terrorist” these resolutions left it to each state to come up with their own definitions and use of such labels. In many cases, the definitions fail to draw up clear boundaries between “terrorists” and “freedom fighters”.
This ambiguity became an important opportunity for the Chinese regime’s efforts to delegitimize opponents by making ordinary political actions illegal and labeling them “terrorism.” Most of China’s recent new laws include tougher punishment, less rigorous civil rights, and that the burden of proof is less strict than otherwise. Party support is huge for a tough policy against anyone labeled ‘terrorist’ in China, particularly in Tibet and other occupied territories. No matter whether they are freedom fighters or dissidents, China went to the extreme to label oppositional voices as terrorists. However, China must know that many UN members have strongly expressed that human rights and the provision of fundamental freedoms must be ensured while speaking about fighting terrorism. “The main principles of international law, especially international humanitarian and human rights law, should be respected.”
When the Tibetans in exile decided to have their first democratic elections for their political leader in 2011, cam just after the devolution of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s political responsibilities to the democratically elected Tibetan leaders, the Chinese propaganda got a lot of governmental support for their criminalization of Tibetan people exercising their right to participate in elections. Similarly, a so called People Daily editor Li Hongmei, unhappy with the success of exile Tibetan democratic election, wrote an article four years ago titled, “Terrorist poised to rule “Tibetan government in-exile” labeling Dr Lobsang Sangay Tibetan Prime Minister-elect a terrorist for once serving as an executive member in the pro-independence Tibetan Youth Congress. It drew sharp reactions from international media, reminding the international community that Tibetan people continue to engage in peaceful and non-violent forms of resistance and have openly and defiantly expressed their reverence and faith in His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
China has completely failed in its efforts in labeling Tibetan people as terrorist. No one in the world calls the Tibetan people terrorists, or the Tibetan government a terrorist group. Instead, the world formally recognizes the people of Tibet as peace loving and non-violent people and their struggle for freedom and justice as a symbol of nonviolent and peaceful movement. As a result, there has been significant disagreement between the Chinese government and international community. Today, China is still a communist country. It is therefore logical for observers to simply understand its true nature as a monolithic communist authoritarian state or a totalitarian regime.
Starting in 1949, Tibet was invaded by 35,000 Chinese troops who systematically raped, tortured and murdered an estimated 1.2 million Tibetans, one-fifth of the country’s population. Since then over 6000 monasteries have been destroyed, and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned. It is estimated that up to 260,000 people died in prisons and labor camps between 1950 and 1984. China has also lost its international reputation and any remaining right to moral leadership by defending their failed policies with an iron fist in the past six decades. Chinese people must know that historically Tibet and China were two different entities as enshrined in the Treaty of 821-822, which states that “Tibetans shall be happy in the land of Tibet and Chinese will be happy in the land of China.”
Leading communist propaganda, particularly “Xinhua,” is considered to be one of the biggest news agency in China, but in hurry to discredit a proper historical background, claims “the titles of Dalai Lama and Panchen Erdini were conferred by the Central Government of the Qing Dynasty”, which later proved to be false. It drew sharp reactions from international media for several days. The simple historical fact accounts that the title “Dalai Lama” was offered by the Mongol Price Altan Khan to Sonam Gyatso in 1578, who became known as the Third Dalai Lama, while his two previous recognized incarnations came to be referred to retrospectively as the first and second Dalai Lamas.
The other claim that the Qing Dynasty originally conferred the title “Panchen” is similarly untrue. The title “Panchen” came to be accorded to the abbots of Tashilhunpo Monastery in the following way. Gedun Drup, who was retrospectively recognized as the First Dalai Lama, founded Tashilhunpo Monastery in 1447. When he met Panchen Choglay Namgyal, another erudite contemporary, Gedun Drup answered all the spiritual questions the great master put to him. Deeply impressed, Panchen Choglay Namgyal bestowed on him the title “All-knowing”.
Subsequently, Gedun Drup came to be known by the titles “All-knowing” and “Panchen”. The word Panchen is made up of the first syllables of two words, “Pandita”, a Sanskrit word meaning scholar, and “Chenpo”, a Tibetan word meaning great. In 1731 Manchu Emperor Kiang-shi offered the title Erdini to the Fifth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Yeshi. Erdini is a Mongol word meaning “Precious Jewel” and is merely a complimentary title shared with many Mongolian lamas. If respect for Tibetan Buddhist tradition and customary methods are the criteria for the legality and validity of the search and recognition of the reincarnation of the Tibetan Lamas, there are no grounds for opposing His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s decision.
The Chinese state-controlled propaganda of the longest-lasting repressive regime in Modern history continue to claim that Tibetans are happy in Tibet and enjoying a “socialist paradise.” In the past six decades, they have depicted happy smiling Tibetans in posters and propaganda as living in a “Maoist socialist paradise” where all their needs have been taken care of by the benevolent communist party. They took away our freedom and our country in the name of “liberation” and “development.” Which has been unacceptable to people of Tibet – as it has legally, historically and politically been independent. When China invaded Tibet, started from 1949, it promised the Tibetan people a “socialist paradise.” First, roads were built and, along these roads, Tibet’s untapped and abundant mineral and other natural resources were carted to China. Forests were logged. Countless and priceless statues and cultural artifacts housed in destroyed monasteries and temples made their way to China. In reality, the “socialist paradise” the Tibetans were promised turned into colonialism, with Tibet’s resources used to fuel China’s development. The Tibetan people resisted this development with determination but the resistance was crushed with military might. This is the Tibetan experience of China’s “Socialist paradise.”
In criteria of being unbiased, none of the state-run newspapers and channels fare well. During Barack Obama’s Presidential inauguration in 2009, the CCTV ran news censoring President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech, cutting references to “communism” and “dissent” from transcripts even as the speech was being broadcast. Some but not all, of the major news websites quickly followed suit, posting the full transcript of the speech but with offending words removed. Similarly on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech calling for China to lift their restrictions on citizens’ use of the internet, most of Chinese media dismissed the call, but the critical Chinese reports were then cut from websites.
The media in China has no history, which have been part of a long-lasting campaign of propaganda elaborated by the state-run press. In China, authoritarianism has reached a completely new level. Political analysts have used terms like “brainwashing” and “propaganda” to describe the main reasons explaining the survival of this autocratic system. While observing this, can’t we then see the reasons behind violent acts? By that criteria, every violent act by non-Chinese will be a terrorism and every confrontation between minority and Chinese a racial act. More shameful is the fact that Chinese media labels the guilty even before police registration.
To the peace-loving international community and the people of Tibet, the Western media has performed their every possible corresponding duties to the best of their efforts. It is the Chinese propaganda machines who have made obvious errors, especially in their coverage of the widespread peaceful protests in Tibet. For Tibetans, Chinese state-run media is the most dangerous propaganda group in the world.
It is true that the Chinese media has received widespread international criticism in their biased coverage. So many western and Tibetan media have done excellent analyses of the true nature of Chinese media in recent years, which focuses attention on the misleading, advertisements portraying Tibetan families before 1940s with other recent well-dressed family photos including a nice house with a big television, aiming to prove the improvements made in Tibet made by the Chinese government.
We the people of Tibet clearly know that Western media sympathize with the Tibetan side and not the Chinese government. This is no longer just an issue of Tibet, but an issue of free nations needing to uphold principles of democracy, peace, freedom and human rights. The Western media has made unavoidable errors in reporting news about Tibet. But, it is important to look at the reason for these errors. Had the Chinese government had not barred them from reporting, or even entering, areas in Tibet, they could have offered a completed information about the 2008 widespread peaceful protests against China’s rule, and could continue to report accurate news.
We all are now well aware of the harshest censorship in Tibet in history. Thanks to the information technology that has brought a new kind of revolution in journalism in most of parts of the world. However we understand that we are talking about a very dangerous and extremely effective propaganda machine which has existed for many decades, since dictator Mao era. Authorities in China have too long controlled the news that flows, however slightly, from within Tibet. In a hurry to change news angle in their own favor, they ignore the principles we value in democratic societies and the importance of independent media, making China the best example of the greatest enemy to press freedom.

COPYRIGHT©2013TPINEWS. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on these pages are copyrighted
by The The Tibet Post International.

Whole Trouble – Change Your Mind, Change the World of military oppression in Tibet

Trouble in Tibet – Changing Mind vs Military Oppression

**Whole Trouble – Change Your Mind, Change the World of military oppression in Tibet: Change Your Mind, Change the World. Great Masters of Nalanda, Atisha.**

**Whole Trouble – Change Your Mind, Change the World of military oppression in Tibet**

Finding ‘Inner Peace’ through mental practices like ‘Meditation’ entirely depends upon the precise, geographical location where the Subject practices Meditation. Prayer and Meditation are useful tools, but they have practical limitations. Mental practices by themselves do not change or alter external reality. At the most, the mental practitioner may develop tolerance and cope with external reality that remains unchanged. If the purpose of mental practice is that of resisting external reality, practices such as Prayer and Meditation can bring benefits like Patience and Perseverance that sustain mental resistance to unchanging external circumstances. Tibetans living under Subjugation have to cultivate an attitude of Patience and Perseverance for they have no other Choice. Oppressive Military Regimes must not be tolerated and to resist military occupation is the right thing to do.

MADISON MAGAZINE

There’s Something About the Dalai Lama | Lifestyle – Madison Magazine There’s Something About the Dalai Lama

Author: BRENNAN NARDI, MADISON MAGAZINE

Published On: May 16 2013 07:32:00 PM CDT

**Whole Trouble – Change Your Mind, Change the World of military oppression in Tibet Great Masters of Nalanda, Acharya Atisha.**

**Meditation_vs_Military_Oppression: Whole Trouble – Meditation to confront the problem of military oppression of Tibet. “Change Your Mind, Change The World.”**

His Holiness made a swing through town this week to headline the “Change Your Mind Change The World” conference hosted by his old friend Richie Davidson of the UW’s Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center and his new friend Jonathan Patz of the UW Global Health Institute. A star-studded affair, the daylong event featured heavy hitters Arianna Huffington (The Huffington Post) and Daniel Goleman (author of Emotional Intelligence) as moderators along with a high-end cast of thinkers and doers who could only be upstaged by someone like the Dalai Lama.

I attended the afternoon session, “Conversations on Science, Happiness and Well-being,” with His Holiness, Huffington, Davidson, Patz and renowned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, who has participated in Davidson’s research on the effects of meditation on the brain. To set the mood of this momentous occasion, UW Chancellor David Ward told the audience, “There is likely no other topic that has greater impact on the world than that of sustainable well-being.” Huffington concurred in her own words: “There is no more important conversation going on on the planet.” She went on to describe a perfect storm that’s brewing on earth right now:

After plugging Huff Post’s new stress-reducer app “GPS for the Soul,” she shared her recipe for changing the world: strength, serenity, and wisdom … “We all have this,” she said. “Most of us are not there.”

The next hour-and-a-half was a reflecting exercise of sorts—each of the three panelists (Davidson, Patz and Ricard) held forth on their own body of knowledge and research interests, and then Huffington asked the Dalai Lama to respond.

Davidson laid out five facts of well-being and cited studies that prove the extraordinary—and relatively new—findings on how little we know about or respect well-being’s effect on our health, both physical and emotional. According to one study, after just two weeks of training in compassion, a study cohort’s brains changed to become more cooperative and altruistic. Another study, this one on infants, found there is an innate disposition toward well-being and generosity.

The Dalai Lama’s curiosity piqued when Davidson explained a mind-wandering study revealing that forty-seven percent of the time the average American is not actually paying attention to what he or she is doing, and is feeling unhappy while doing so. At which point the Dalai Lama leaned over and began speaking with his interpreter, who eventually asked, “Can you explain what mind wandering is?” The Overture Hall crowd erupted in laughter, finding collective humor in the notion that a great practitioner of mindfulness would have a difficult time understanding the concept of distraction. It took a couple minutes for His Holiness to wrap his uncluttered mind around the idea and respond, “That is why it is so important to focus, to practice simple point of mind.”

After Davidson’s presentation on well-being, Huffington wrapped it up by asking the Dalai Lama: “What can we do to help these tools become more widespread?” His reply was a recurring theme throughout the session: education. “That’s the only way.” He also talked about the media’s obligation to inform the public about the positive, not just the negative, as well as his own commitment “to promote secular ethics, harmony.” Human nature is gentle, he explained, but that good nature becomes dormant due to our social environment and the deeply instilled values of money, greed and competition.

UW professor Jonathan Patz, who was among a United Nations panel that shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007, was up next. He opened with the sobering news of late that the earth has for the first time exceeded 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide, which is not good. “Grappling with climate change is a golden opportunity for human health and well-being,” Patz said before exploring the concept of the interdependence of our human species with the survival of the natural world. He did so by telling the story of a third-world village that eradicated malaria with a pesticide, only to weaken the food chain and unleash an epidemic of typhus. The lesson? “The importance of being mindful of the interdependence of life because unintended consequences outnumber our good intentions.” Other topics Patz and the Dalai Lama reflected on were measuring a country’s gross domestic product by more than financial capital—factoring in socio-political and environmental capital as well. Patz also shared with His Holiness that more than population growth, per-person consumption of natural resources is a threat to, well, natural resources and a clear link to climate change and worst-case scenarios.

Scary serious stuff, and the Dalai Lama himself seemed temporarily uncertain about whether humans have the capacity to overcome these challenges until Arianna Huffington asked a doozy of a question: “Is there a connection between burned out humans and burning out the planet?”

Matthieu Ricard’s comments were wide-ranging, from ideas like “voluntary simplicity” and “gross national happiness” to how greed has reduced human qualities to a single dimension. His answer to Huffington’s powerful doomsday question was, in the spirit of Buddhism and the Dalai Lama himself, quite simple: altruism. His Holiness agreed, but framed it quite differently. The opposite of altruism, or selflessness, is selfishness, and he told us there are two kinds of selfish: wise selfish and foolish selfish. If you think more about others’ well-being, he suggested, you will get the ultimate benefit.

At the end of the session, the speakers lined up and joined hands as the audience stood and clapped. But the Dalai Lama decided he wasn’t quite done yet. In an unscripted encore, he looked out on the crowd and began speaking about the masters of teaching in all of human history. Like Davidson and Patz’s modern scientific work, those teachings spread and multiply. “That’s the only way to change humanity’s way of thinking,” he told us. The previous century was marked by violence, “brilliant brains used for destruction,” he continued. “This century should not be that way … so, it is our responsibility.”

As he walked off stage, the Dalai Lama waved, then lingered, then walked toward the crowd and shook hands with several lucky front-row seat holders as John Lennon’s “Imagine” floated through the air.

I left feeling conflicted about whether the answers were this simple, but also moved simply by being in the Dalai Lama’s presence, an experience shared by many. There’s just something about a person whose real and tangible world power doesn’t rest in the hands of the government or the military but in his human capacity for kindness and compassion.
There’s something about the Dalai Lama.

Brennan Nardi is editor of Madison Magazine.

Whole Trouble – 1001 Manifestations of Trouble – Colonel’s Army invades Tibet

Trouble in Tibet – 1001 Manifestations of Trouble. KFC invasion of Tibet

‘Trouble in Tibet’ has over 1,001 Manifestations. Each time, I can describe one face of ‘Trouble in Tibet’. Now, Trouble arrived in Lhasa, Tibet in the form of ‘Colonel’s Army’ carrying ‘KFC’ Banner. The underlying cause for all these varied manifestations of Trouble is the same. Red China’s Dictatorial Regime exercises power suppressing the views of Tibetans. Red China uses authority in accord only with her own will or desire dominating every aspect of Tibetan way of life.

RIGHTS GROUPS WARN KFC OVER FIRST TIBET OPENING

By Rebecca DAVIS

KFC entered China in 1987, and now has just over 5,000 outlets in more than 1,100 locations across the country, most of them company-owned (AFP Photo/Jean-Francois Monier)

Beijing (AFP) – Campaign groups warned US fast food giant KFC Wednesday over the opening of its first restaurant in Tibet, more than a decade after the chain’s first attempt to establish a foothold ended in controversy.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader and Nobel laureate, condemned the idea when it was first mooted, and critics said the firm needed to address human rights and environmental concerns.

Pictures of the red carpet opening posted online showed long lines at the restaurant, at a shopping mall in the regional capital Lhasa.
“As a diehard fan of KFC I waited in line for ages, and felt like crying when I took my first lick of my ice cream cone,” said one elated social media user.

China, which has controlled Tibet since the 1950s, has been accused of political and religious repression in the mainly Buddhist region, and more than 140 ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in recent years to protest its rule according to rights groups and reports, most of them dying.

But Beijing insists Tibetans enjoy extensive freedoms and that it has brought economic growth to the area.

Alistair Currie, of London-based Free Tibet, told AFP: “Tibet is an occupied country and Tibetans have been squeezed out of business and economic development by Han Chinese immigration and China’s imposition of Mandarin as the language of education, business and government.”

KFC’s parent company Yum Brands needed to ensure Tibetans were hired and promoted fairly in the restaurant, and that the Tibetan language was used, he said.

The International Campaign for Tibet said it was asking Yum how it was complying with the US Tibet Policy Act, which requires investments to protect Tibetan culture and livelihoods, and its own pledges of corporate social responsibility.

“It is hard to see how they will be able to implement those principles given the political climate in Lhasa today,” said its president Matteo Macacci.
“Tibetans are largely marginalised, economically disadvantaged and subject to a social and economic agenda imposed from the top down in order to ensure the control of the Chinese Communist Party over Tibet.”

‘TOKENISTIC AND SUPERFICIAL’

KFC first entered China in 1987, and now has just over 5,000 outlets in more than 1,100 locations across the country, most of them company-owned, Yum Brands says on its website.
The Lhasa KFC opened Tuesday, a woman from the Shenli Shidai shopping centre property rental department confirmed to AFP.

Yum declined to comment on the opening, but the company previously said it would “provide employment opportunities and support the development of the regional supply chain”.
Images of the interior posted online showed a large image of the Potala Palace, the historic residence of the Dalai Lamas, and triangle motifs labelled with Tibetan mountain names in English, including Qomolangma, the local name for Everest.

Such design elements “may play well with Chinese and foreign tourists who want a little fast culture with their fast food but the onus is on Yum to show that its commitment to the community is not tokenistic and superficial”, said Currie of Free Tibet.

KFC had plans to enter region as early as 2004, but pulled the plug on the idea, saying it was not yet economically feasible.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, wrote a letter of protest to Yum at the time, declaring that the cruel treatment endured by chickens raised and killed for KFC “violates Tibetan values”.

In December, Xinhua reported that KFC also plans to build a 4.67-hectare frozen storage facility in Lhasa’s suburbs “to prepare for further expansion in the region”.

**Trouble in Tibet – KFC invasion of Occupied Tibet**

Whole Trouble – The importance of Tibetan Well-Being

Trouble in Tibet – The importance of Tibetan Well-Being

Trouble in Tibet – Problem of Tibetan Well-Being. It is easy to discuss Importance of Well-Being in General Terms. Can Dr. Richard J. Davidson Deconstruct Red China’s Evil Mind to secure Well-Being of Tibetans living under Chinese Repressive Rule?

I am asking for a Discussion About Importance of Tibetan Well-Being for there is Trouble in Tibet. I ask as to Who, When and Where will discuss Problem of Tibetan Well-Being. General discussions about Importance of Well-Being may have no material impact on Well-Being of Specific Communities who live under Occupation by repressive regimes. How to Deconstruct Red China’s Evil-Mindedness?

The Trouble in Tibet originates from Red China – Evil One. Her use of deception, craftiness, cunning, deceitful and wicked practices are ruining lives of innocent Tibetans without reason. Red China’s military occupation is detrimental to Tibetan Well-Being. Red China is Evil-Minded, and Evil-Hearted because of her malicious nature and she does Evil habitually. Is it possible to take ‘Evil’ out of Evil-Minded Red China?

DALAI LAMA AND OTHER LEADERS IN LIVESTREAM DISCUSSION ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF WELL-BEING

Posted by AMY BUCCI of National Geographic Staff on March 8, 2016

Trouble in Tibet. Red China Fools All People All The Time. Praying for descent of Swarm of Trillions of Honey Bees to sting and defeat People’s Liberation Army and force their withdrawal from occupied Tibet.

How might the world look 15 years from now if we choose well-being today? While economic prosperity has generally increased, why haven’t happiness and well-being?
How can we decrease the costs related to depression and stress-related disorders that are projected to double to U.S. $6 trillion by 2030? How can we learn to be happy, to be kind, and to be grateful?

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – PROBLEM OF TIBETAN WELL-BEING. DISCUSSION ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF WELL-BEING AT CAPITOL THEATER, MADISON, WISCONSIN**

Along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin is gathering world leaders in science, health care and media to alter humanity’s course by sharing how we can cultivate well-being in ourselves, our communities and the world.

You’re invited to “The World We Make” live-stream event on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m. CST with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The live-stream is brought to you by the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the National Geographic Society and the Mind & Life Institute.

The event will be moderated by ABC News correspondent Dan Harris.

What does well-being mean to you? How do you make the world a kinder, wiser, more compassionate place? Tell us using the hashtag #maketheworld on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and your post may be featured live at the event.

Please come back at 1:30PM CST/2:30PM EST on Wednesday, March 9 to view the livestream below.

HINDUSTAN TIMES
Dalai Lama to discuss global well-being with experts at US meet today

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Updated: Mar 09, 2016 12:50 IST

***His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the presenters of the morning session of the discussion “The World We Make” in Madison, WI, USA on March 9, 2016. Photo/Jeremy Russell/OHHDL***

The Dalai Lama, who is a regular at the university, has espoused concepts such as secular ethics – which states that all humans, regardless of religion or background, should treat each other with compassion.

The Centre for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and a panel of experts at a live-streamed event aimed at promoting global well-being on Wednesday.

The event, The World We Make, will be held in the Capitol Theatre at the Overture Centre for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin, at 1.30 pm central time. The panel, moderated by ABC News anchor Dan Harris, will focus on how the world will look if the concept of well-being is put into practice.
The event will be broadcast internationally through live streaming, thanks to a partnership with the National Geographic Society and the Mind and Life Institute.

“The science we are doing at UW–Madison is providing crucial evidence to support the idea that simple, secular mental practices can help people cultivate well-being,” says Davidson. “However, scientific research is not sufficient in itself. We need partnerships with global thought leaders like His Holiness the Dalai Lama to catalyse these conversations about well-being and inspire people to view it as a skill that can be learned.”

Concepts such as secular ethics — which states that all humans, regardless of religion or background, should treat each other with compassion — has been espoused by the Dalai Lama, who is a regular at the university.
The other panelists at the event include:

Richard Davidson: The founder of the Center for Healthy Minds, he is best known for his groundbreaking research on emotion and the human brain.

Sona Dimidjian: An associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, his research addresses issues regarding the treatment and prevention of depression – with emphasis on the mental health of women during pregnancy and postpartum.

Soma Stout: She is the executive external lead for health improvement of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the executive lead of 100 Million Healthier Lives, which brings together hundreds of partners across global communities to ensure healthier lives for over 100 million people by 2020.

Dan Harris: A correspondent of ABC News, he is the co-anchor for the weekend edition of ‘Good Morning America’, and a regular contributor to shows such as ‘Nightline’, ‘20/20’ and ‘World News Tonight’.

The sponsors of the event include PwC, a multinational professional services network; Steelcase, a professional firm; and ambassador sponsors Chade-Meng Tan, Jeffrey C Walker and Ready Set Productions.

**Trouble in Tibet – Problem of Tibetan Well-Being. Dr. Richard J. Davidson Expert on ‘Mindfulness’. Can he Change Red China’s Evil-Minded Nature?**

**Trouble in Tibet – Problem of Tibetan Well-Being. The Neuroscience of Leadership. Can Dr. Richard J. Davidson change Red China’s Evil-Hearted Nature?**

Trouble in Tibet – Problem of Tibetan Well-Being. It is easy to discuss Importance of Well-Being in general terms. I ask for a discussion that relates to a specific community such as Tibetans in Occupied Tibet and the plan to promote their well-being. Can Dr. Richard J. Davidson Deconstruct Red China’s Evil Mind to secure Well-Being of Tibetans living under Chinese Repressive Rule?

Whole Trouble – Trouble in Tibet leads to Mourning in India

Trouble in Tibet – Mourning in India

Exile Tibetans and supporters participate in a candlelight vigil to mourn and stand in solidarity with Lhamo Tsetan who died after setting himself on fire in Labrang in northeastern Tibet in protest against Chinese rule, in McLeod Ganj, India, on 26 October 2012.

‘Trouble in Tibet’ forces Tibetans to make hard choices. For this ‘Trouble’ is due to military occupation, Tibetans express sense of resentment to resist occupation as best as possible. Exiled Tibetan Community in India is mourning the loss of a teenager who sacrificed his life to oppose Occupation.

HINDUSTAN TIMES

Exiled community mourns as teenage self-immolator dies

**FILE – Dorje Tsering, 16, who died from a cardiac after setting himself ablaze at a housing settlement for Tibetan refugees in northern India, seen at his high school in Dehradun, undated.**

A swarm of saddened Tibetans on Sunday paid homage to Dorjee Tsering — the 16-year-old Tibetan boy, who immolated self at Herbertpur near Dehradun on February 29 — who was cremated as per Buddhist rites on Sunday.
All roads leading to McLeodganj were choked by Tibetans, who assembled to pay homage to the Class-10 student of Tibetan Homes Foundation School, Mussoorie, at Lha Gyari temple.
Dorjee’s mortal remains were brought from Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi to Dharamshala on Saturday. The coffin was placed at Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) office and was then shifted to Lha Gyari temple near Dalai Lama’s palace on Sunday morning, where Tibetans of all ages, including schoolchildren, monks, nuns and officials of Central Tibetan Administration, participated in a prayer session.
People cried as Dorjee’s coffin was brought to the temple courtyard. The body was taken to cremation ground in a procession attended by large number of Tibetans. Dorjee was cremated as per Buddhist rites, in presence of family members.
The teenager hailed from Manali and was the youngest among five siblings. He set himself on fire in protest against the Chinese rule over Tibet on February 29 and died on March 3.
“The reason I resort to burning myself like a choemey (butter lamp) is because Tibet was occupied by China since 1959 and I have always felt like I needed to do something for the Tibetan cause. Yesterday, I felt as if burning myself up was the only resort left,” he said in a video testimony a day before his death in the hospital.
He clearly committed the act for Tibet’s independence and to garner global attention to the Tibet issue, said Dorjee’s father Thupten Tashi.
Later in the hospital, Tashi said, “I told him that his sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
Recounting the horrific incident, Dorjee’s mother Nyima Yangkyi said he was shivering and asked for water.
“My child’s skin was dripping-off his body but he did not shriek in pain even once. He said he did it for Tibet,” Nyima said.
Dorjee’s elder sister Samden Dolma said the family never knew about his intention, though her younger brother always talked about doing something for Tibet.
“Though he took a wrong path, we are proud of his courage and sacrifice,” said Dolma as she tried to hold her tears.
Dolma said, “I want to urge the youngsters not to take such step as there are others ways to serve Tibet.
Copyright © 2015 HT Media Limited.

**Trouble in Tibet leads to Mourning in India**

Whole Trouble – Second Rail Line in Occupied Tibet

Trouble in Tibet – Second Rail Line in Occupied Tibet

‘Trouble in Tibet’. When this ‘Trouble’ is understood as that of Red China’s military occupation, the plan to build second rail line rings alarm bells.

I am hoping for that day of Liberation when Tibet uses the second rail line to ensure speedy evacuation of People’s Liberation Army from occupied Tibetan territory.

REUTERS

World | Fri Mar 4, 2016 9:24pm EST

China to build second rail line into restive Tibet

BEIJING

BEIJING China will build a second railway line connecting restive and remote Tibet with others parts of China that will link Tibetan capital Lhasa with the southwestern city of Chengdu, the government said on Saturday.
Tibet is a highly sensitive region, not just because of continued opposition by many Tibetans to Chinese control, but because of the region’s strategic position next to neighbors India, Nepal and Myanmar.
In 2006, China opened the railway to Lhasa, which passes spectacular icy peaks on the Tibetan highlands, reaching altitudes as high as 5,000 m (16,400 ft) above sea level, as part of government development efforts.
Critics of the railway, including exiled Tibetans and rights groups, say it has spurred an influx of long-term migrants who threaten Tibetans’ cultural integrity, which rests on Buddhist beliefs and a traditional herding lifestyle.
The new railway was announced in a draft of China’s new five-year development plan released at the opening of the annual meeting of parliament and carried by the official Xinhua news agency. It gave no other details.
Xinhua said it will take about 15 hours for trains to travel between Lhasa and Chengdu.
“We hope that the railway will be completed as early as possible. It will provide new momentum for our development, especially the tourism,” Wangdui, mayor of Tibet’s Nyingchi city, where the new railway will traverse, told Xinhua.
The Chinese government consistently denies any rights abuses or cultural disrespect in Tibet, saying Beijing’s rule has bought much needed development to what was a poor and backward region.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Eric Meijer)

THOMSON REUTERS is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency.

TROUBLE IN TIBET – SECOND RAIL LINE IN OCCUPIED TIBET. I am hoping for that day of Liberation when Tibet uses the second rail line to ensure speedy evacuation of People’s Liberation Army from occupied Tibetan territory.

Tibet Awareness: Nagqu- Lhasa- Qinghai Tibet Railway scene: *I am hoping for that day of Liberation when Tibet uses the second rail line to ensure speedy evacuation of People’s Liberation Army from occupied Tibetan territory.*

Tibet Awareness: Tibet is under Occupation. Nagqu – Lhasa section Qinghai Tibet Railway. *I am hoping for that day of Liberation when Tibet uses the second rail line to ensure speedy evacuation of People’s Liberation Army from occupied Tibetan territory.*

Tibet Awareness: Qinghai Tibet Railway. *I am hoping for that day of Liberation when Tibet uses the second rail line to ensure speedy evacuation of People’s Liberation Army from occupied Tibetan territory.*

Trouble in Tibet – Second Rail Line in Occupied Tibet. Railway Line in Damxung County. I am hoping for that day of Liberation when Tibet uses the second rail line to ensure speedy evacuation of People’s Liberation Army from occupied Tibetan territory.

Whole Sacrifice – Tibetan Resistance to Occupation

Trouble in Tibet – First Self-Immolation of Year 2016

Trouble in Tibet and its symptom is Self-Immolation, an act of Resistance and Self-Defense to oppose military occupation of Tibet.

FIRST SELF-IMMOLATION OF YEAR 2016 REPORTED IN TIBET

March 02, 2016.

Beijing: A Tibetan Buddhist monk set himself on fire and died in protest against the Chinese rule, in the first such action this year, a US government-funded radio station said on Wednesday.

Kalsang Wangdu self-immolated Monday afternoon near the Retsokha monastery in western Sichuan province’s traditionally Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Kardze, Radio Free Asia reported. It said the monk called out for Tibetan independence while he burned, then died on the way to a hospital in the provincial capital of Chengdu.

Tibetan exile sources say at least 114 monks and laypeople have self-immolated over the past five years, with most of them dying. Radio Free Asia puts the number of self-immolations at 144 since 2009.

Information from the region, which is largely cut off from the rest of the province by security checkpoints, is extremely hard to obtain, and local officials are reportedly under orders to remain silent about self-immolations. An officer who answered the phone Wednesday at Kardze police headquarters and gave his surname as Li said no such incident had been reported.
“We are now in a period of preserving stability. If such a thing happens, we will make it known to the public,” Li said over phone.

Radio Free Asia and other groups also reported that a 16-year-old Tibetan living in India also set himself on fire on Monday as a protest, but that he survived.

The protests are seen as an extreme expression of the anger and frustration felt by many Tibetans living under heavy-handed Chinese rule. Many protesters also call for the return of the Tibetans’ exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 amid an abortive uprising against Chinese forces who had occupied the Himalayan region a decade earlier.

Tibetan monks and nuns are among the most active opponents of Chinese rule in the region and the strongest proponents of Tibet’s independent identity, prompting the authorities to subject them to some of the harshest and most intrusive restrictions.

Last year, Tibet’s Communist Party chief, Chen Quanguo, demanded that Buddhist monasteries display the national flag as part of efforts to shore up Chinese patriotism.
Beijing blames the Dalai Lama and others for inciting the immolations and says it has made vast investments to develop the region’s economy and improve quality of life. The Dalai Lama says he is against all violence.

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – FIRST SELF-IMMOLATION OF YEAR 2016. IMAGE OF TIBETAN SELF-IMMOLATION IN NEW DELHI on MARCH 26, 2012.**

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – FIRST SELF-IMMOLATION OF YEAR 2016. TIBETAN JAMPA YESHI SELF-IMMOLATION PHOTO IMAGE.**

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – FIRST SELF-IMMOLATION OF YEAR 2016. SELF-IMMOLATION IS SYMPTOM OF RESISTANCE TO OPPOSE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF TIBET.**

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – FIRST SELF-IMMOLATION OF YEAR 2016 REPORTED. TIBETANS RESIST MILITARY OCCUPATION OF TIBET.**

Whole Trouble – The Military Occupation of Tibet is a symptom of Spiritual Wickedness

Trouble in Tibet – The Spiritual Wickedness of Red China

Trouble in Tibet arrived in the form of military occupation which is a manifestation of Red China’s Spiritual Wickedness. The 100 Most Spiritually Influential People of the World put together may not be able to treat Red China’s Spiritual illness.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet tops 2016 Spiritual 100 list

Tibet post International

Tuesday, 23 February 2016 18:13 Yeshe Choesang, Tibet Post International

TROUBLE IN TIBET – RED CHINA’S MILITARY OCCUPATION OF TIBET IS A SYMPTOM OF SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS. 100 MOST SPIRITUALLY INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF WORLD WHEN PUT TOGETHER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CURE RED CHINA’S SPIRITUAL SICKNESS.

Dharamshala — The spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the Dalai Lama again topped the 2016 list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, published by Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit Magazine.

Presented annually since 2011 in the spring issue of the quarterly publication, the list – also known as the Spiritual 100 – compiles the most spiritually prominent people of the past year.

“We are delighted to share with you Watkins’ 2016 list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People – spiritual teachers, activists, authors and thinkers that change the world,” the magazine said.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was recognised in front of Pope Francis and South African retired Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu who were placed second and third respectively. Others listed include German spiritual teacher and writer Eckhart Tolle (fourth), Indian American author and public speaker Deepak Chopra (fifth), Brazilian novelist and author of The Alchemist Paulo Coelho (sixth), American novelist, short story writer, poet, and activist Alice Malsenior Walker (Seventh), Australian television writer and producer Rhonda Byrne (eighth), Chilean filmmaker and director of El Topo Alejandro Jodorowsky (ninth), American talk show host Oprah Winfrey (tenth), Greek American author and co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Arianna Huffington (fifteenth) and British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion Karen Armstrong (twentieth).

The Magazine also said that “there are plenty of newcomers on this year’s list including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, psychologist and author Daniel Goleman, physicist and environmental activist Vandana Shiva and poet and philosopher Mark Nepo.”
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

This is just one of the many often-quoted statements from His Holiness the Dalai Lama that continue to land him on top of global lists of influential and inspiring world religious leaders. For several years now, Watkins Magazine has placed the Tibetan spiritual leader at the top of their list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He was #1 in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012. In their 2016 list, published earlier this month, the Tibetan spiritual leader is once again #1.

#21. Jon Kabat-Zinn: Also not a Buddhist per se, but Kabat-Zinn did study with a number of Buddhist teachers before developing the now wide-spread Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

#25. Sam Harris: One of the “Four Horsemen” of New Atheism, has taken up the practice of vipassana, derived from the early Buddhist tradition, and even teaches it – stripped of aspects he considers religious.

#34. Daniel Goleman: A well-known psychologist and long time scholar of meditation who has worked closely with the Dalai Lama for over a decade. One of his breakthrough books was Emotional Intelligence (1995), and later works include Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama (2003) and Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (2015).

#36 is Gary Snyder, #38 is Pema Chödrön, #50 is Robert Thurman, #65 is Thich Nhat Hanh, #66 is Jack Kornfield, #68 is Ajahn Brahm, #78 is Tara Brach, #82 is Huston Smith (another wonderful scholar of many world religions, including Buddhism), #89 is Richard Gere, #95 is Sogyal Rinpoche, and #99 is Sharon Salzberg.

The magazine states that the list is compiled based on three factors: “1. The person has to be alive as of January 1st, 2016. 2. The person has to have made a unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale. 3. The person is frequently googled, appears in Nielsen Data, and is actively talked about throughout the Internet.”

“By taking into account the amount of times that a person is googled or how many times their Wikipedia profile is viewed, the list gains a highly democratic parameter. In a sense, being googled is a form of digital voting, and illustrates just how often someone is being sought out,” it added.
According to Mind Body Spirit, the list is not a competition but “is meant to celebrate the positive influence of contemporary spiritual teachers.”
Watkins Mind Body and Spirit magazine is sold and published by Watkins Books, England’s oldest and largest esoteric bookshop that has been trading since 1893.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 February 2016 19:08 )

Whole Trouble – Red China’s Lhasa River Project

Trouble in Tibet – Red China’s Lhasa River Project in Occupied Tibet

Trouble in Tibet. Red China is damming Lhasa River to create about 20 artificial lakes to promote tourism. Red China is imposing trouble after trouble with no concern for well-being of Tibet or Tibetans. Tibet is no Shangri-La. Tibet is Prison Camp for millions of Tibetans.

**Lhasa, Potala und Medizinberg von Osten. My Prayers to Lhasa River. Trouble in Tibet – Red China’s Lhasa River Project in Occupied Tibet**

The 3.5 billion yuan ($620 million) project started in March 2013 with plans to build six reservoirs along a 20-kilometer-long section of the Lhasa River as it passes through Lhasa city. The completed Dam No 3 widened the river to over 300 meters and created a water storage capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters within 3 kilometers – virtually turning the river into a lake.

EXCLUSIVE: China Damming Lhasa River Into Artificial Lakes

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – RED CHINA’S LHASA RIVER PROJECT. ZANGMU HYDROPOWER STATION IN GYACA COUNTY IN LHOKA. THESE PROJECTS IMPACT ENVIRONMENT.**

Prayer flags hang before Zangmu Hydropower Station in Gyaca county in Lhoka, or Shannan prefecture, southwest China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region, Nov., 23, 2014.

YESHI DORJE

February 15, 2016 7:21 PM

Tibet’s Lhasa River is being turned into a series of artificial lakes, according to Chinese state media.

Launched in 2013, Beijing’s Lhasa River Project (LRP) aims to complete construction of six dams along a 20-kilometer stretch of river that edges the city center.
Unlike hydropower projects upstream from the Tibetan capital, the artificial lakes are designed to promote tourism, improve water quality, prevent sandstorms and create a “green environment.”

But some critics, including Professor Fan Xiao, a Chinese geologist with the Sichuan Geological Society, disagree.
“Dams can slow down the river flow and damage the water quality,” Fan told VOA’s Tibetan Service. “The water environment capacity will decrease and more easily be polluted … flowing water is much better than still water.”

Regarding tourism — LRP’s marketing slogan is “making Lhasa enjoyable” — Fan, former chief engineer at the Sichuan Bureau of Geology and Mineral Society, calls the dams “problematic,” explaining that they will cause sedimentation, which damages water quality.

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – RED CHINA’S LHASA RIVER PROJECT IMPOSES MORE TROUBLES WHILE CHINA WANTS TO PROMOTE TOURISM. SHOTON FESTIVAL AT ZHAIBUNG MONASTERY, LHASA.**

Tibetan Buddhists, tourists view a huge Thangka, a religious silk embroidery or painting displaying a Buddha portrait, during the Shoton Festival at Zhaibung Monastery in Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 25, 2014.

Tibet’s tourism industry, he adds, shouldn’t require an engineered landscaping project.

“The main attraction of Tibet is the ethnic culture and natural scenery,” he said. “It’s not about building an artificial lake, which affects the environment. It affects the local people as well, since the rising water level will cause [flooding] in certain areas, including farms.”

Agricultural Impact

Also known as Kyichu, the Lhasa River is a primary source of irrigation and drinking water for Tibetan farmers in nine counties, many of which have already been affected by construction of the two major hydropower dams northeast of Lhasa, in Lhundup and Maldro Gungkar counties. Built independently of the “making Lhasa enjoyable” campaign,Drikung(Ch: Zhikong) Hydro Power Station has been operational since 2006, while Phudo (Ch: Pangduo) Hydro Power Station — also known as “Pangduo Water Control Project,” which has been described by official media as “Tibetan Three Gorges Dam” — began operation in 2014.

According to China Tibet News, construction of the two hydropower dams is estimated at over $1 billion, representing the largest engineering project undertaken in the Tibetan Autonomous Region since the 1950s-era “liberation of Tibet” — China’s term for what many Tibetans call the “invasion of Tibet.” In 2013, China Central TV quoted local officials who said these two massive dams had significantly reduced water levels and stranded fish.

Changing City

Recent years have seen the Tibetan capital sprawl across the Lhasa Valley floor, its newer southern districts connected by bridges of gleaming steel and concrete. Thieves’ Island, long known as a popular picnic and outdoor recreation spot for locals, has been rechristened “Sun Island” as part of a redevelopment scheme that appears to be positioning the parcel as Tibet’s own Las Vegas, replete with open gambling venues and what writer Tsering Woeser calls “the most open red-light district of Lhasa.”
What is today known as “Old Lhasa,” the section of the city around Barkor district that surrounds the seventh-century Jokang Temple, underwent a substantial 2013 facelift that left it looking more like a movie set than an ancient Buddhist spiritual center, its traditionally dressed locals and pilgrims now looking as if they’ve landed in the wrong world.

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – RED CHINA’S LHASA RIVER PROJECT. JOKANG TEMPLE, LHASA.**

FILE – Pilgrims walk near Jokang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.

Some critics attribute the rapid changes to Lhasa’s Communist Party Secretary Che Drahla (Ch: Qi Zhala), an ethnic Tibetan whose political career got a boost after successfully securing millions in tourism revenue for the city Gyalthan (Ch: Zhongdian).
The county-level city in northwestern Yunnan province had been in a rivalry with another city competing for the privilege of calling itself the model for Shangri-La — the mythical Himalayan paradise at the center of James Hilton’s iconic 1933 novel, “Lost Horizon.” Che’s victory saw Gyalthan officially renamed Shangri-La on December 17, 2001.
Similarly, Fan and fellow critics say the recent development projects are designed according to what the Chinese officials deem necessary or attractive without considering Tibet’s cultural heritage and local opinion.
“This is a strategy undertaken by many Chinese cities these days,” said Fan, the geologist. “They build dams on the rivers going through cities to expand water surface and lift up water level. They think it will generate a pretty waterscape for the city. But we think it’s problematic.”

Earthquake Risk

He also says Chinese officials ignore the serious risk of triggering earthquakes. While prominent engineers and geologists have linked the 7.9 magnitude Sichuan quake of 2008 with construction of China’s massive Three Gorges Dam, bedrock micro-fracturing from the comparatively miniscule dams slated for Lhasa’s artificial lakes project nonetheless leave the Tibetan capital, which is situated in seismically active region, vulnerable.
“Building big dams could bring local governments more tax revenue and GDP, which is viewed as an economic driving force,” he said, adding that such strong economic interests eclipse government concerns about natural disasters or severe environmental consequences.

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – RED CHINA’S LHASA RIVER PROJECT. SICHUAN PROVINCE EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS MARCHING ON MAY 16, 2008.**

FILE – Survivor carries baby on his back as he and some 1,000 other survivors make a 9-hour walk from the village of Qingping to Hanwang, after earthquake, Sichuan Province, China, May 16, 2008.
According to Canadian author Michael Buckley, a longtime Tibetan river explorer, Beijing’s damming of the Lhasa River goes beyond mere landscape aesthetics.
“The concern is that eventually dams will become points for water diversion,” he said, explaining that he thinks Beijing is using Tibetan rivers to satisfy mainland China’s hunger for power resources and meet water demands in other parts of the country.
“If you can store the water, you can send it somewhere else,” he said.
According to China Daily, the TRP’s first operational dam — counterintuitively named “Dam No. 3” — has already widened the river more than 300 meters and created a water storage capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters within a 3-kilometer range. If all six dams are of similar size, they could hold about 9 million cubic meters of water in Lhasa Valley upon completion. Environmentalists are specifically concerned about how the remaining construction will impact Salmon migration, along with other ecological disruption.

**TROUBLE IN TIBET – RED CHINA’S LHASA RIVER PROJECT. DAM CONSTRUCTION ALONG LHASA RIVER INTEND TO CREATE 20 ARTIFICIAL LAKES.**

Aerial image from GoogleEarth shows section of dam constructed along Tibet’s Lhasa River, October 2015.

A China Daily article quoted an individual described as Dam No.3’s project manager making assurances that the project wouldn’t harm fish migration.
“The dam gate will open for the fish to propagate in due time; therefore, it won’t pose a threat to the ecology of river downstream,” the project manager said.
According to China Tibet News, Chen Quanguo, Chinese Communist Party chief in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, also defended the project while visiting a site slated for dam construction.
“By implementing the Four Comprehensives ideology,” he said, referring to president Xi Jinping’s philosophical directive that was unveiled in 2015, “the Tibetan mountains, valleys and rivers should be protected.”
He also described the project as a “project of people’s mind … a window to show the image of the city … and to beautify the environment of Lhasa City.”

Yeshi Dorje is a correspondent with VOA Tibetan Service.