21. Nov 2009
Bonus for Tibet service
(Reuters) Guangzhou Daily reported that soldiers from the southern Chinese city who are newly assigned to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) will get a "special allowance" for serving there. There are 240 soldiers from Guangzhou in a contingent of 520 from Guangdong province assigned to the TAR. "The whole province has a laid down a preferential policy for soldiers going to Tibet, and soldiers registered in Guangzhou who are posted to Tibet, will be able to get a special allowance of up to 160,000 Yuan (UK£14,220; US$23,430; EUR€15,770)", according to the report. The "special allowance" is paid by the local governments of their home towns to the families of recently enlisted soldiers to compensate for the loss of their labour, according to China Military Online, a website sponsored by the People's Liberation Army Daily. It varies depending on where the soldier is from, and where they are posted.
24. Nov 2009
US thanks India for extending hospitality to Dalai Lama
(AFP) US Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, thanked India for its hospitality towards the Dalai Lama, saying: " I want to thank India for the hospitality it extends to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. India is recognised as a country that is values based." She made the remarks while receiving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Capitol Hill. Ms Pelosi invited the Prime Minister to revisit the US in the future and address a joint session of Congress.
25. Nov 2009
Chinese aid to Nepal
(Kathmandu Post; Himalayan Times; PTI) A 10-member high level Chinese delegation led by Hao Peng, executive deputy director of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) took part in what was labelled a courtesy visit and held talks with Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal as well as various top Nepali government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sujata Koirala and Home Minister Bhim Bahadur Rawal.
The talks were focused on the relations between TAR and Nepal, and Hao expressed his concerns about Nepal's stumbling peace process and "China's internal security matters".
China has pledged a range of financial assistance to Nepal, including military aid worth IRs100 million (UK£1.3m; US$2.1m; EUR€1.4m) for the supply of "non-lethal" security equipment and training for the Nepalese Army. China will also provide Nepal about IRs20 million (UK£263,000; US$433,00; EUR€291,000) to rebuild its consulate in Lhasa and increased its annual aid to the empoverished Himalayan country from IRs1,100 million (UK£14.4m; US$23.8m; EUR€16m) to IRs1,600 million (UK£21m; US$34.6m; EUR€23.3m). Additionally, China will supply IRs30.6 million (UK£402,000; US$662,000; EUR€446,000) in food aid.
27. Nov 2009
New arrival reports about Tongkhor shooting
(TCHRD) Dorjee Rinchen, a monk who recently arrived in India provided the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) a detailed testimony of how Chinese security forces indiscriminately fired at peaceful protesters in Tongkor (Chin: Donggu), Kardze (Chin Ganzi) in April 2008. The monk, who survived the shooting incident, said tensions had built up following the arrival of a “patriotic education” work team to the monastery on 02 April 2008. The next day, large contingent of People’s Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) reached the monastery. Along with the work team, these raided the monks’ quarters, and defaced photos of religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, triggering protests and two Tibetans, one a senior monk, were detained. Large numbers of monks and lay people marched to county government headquarters and this eventually led to confrontation. Chinese forces fired live ammunition at the unarmed protestors, reportedly resulting in at least 14 Tibetan deaths, with scores injured.
30. Nov 2009
Border road project deferred
(TibetInfoNet; Times Now) Chinese authorities have objected to the construction of a road linking two villages in Demchog region, Ladakh, India, close to the line of actual control which, since the India-China border war of 1962, separates the TAR from the Jammu & Kashmir state to which Ladakh belongs, arguing that any change of the status quo in the "disputed border area" was not acceptable. China objected to similar projects in Ladakh as well as Arunachal Pradesh, another area China officially considers to be disputed, in the past. In the present case, India's central government appears to have adopted a 'wait and see' attitude. The road project was stopped, albeit with the official explanation
that snowfalls have temporarily deferred continuation of the project.
03. Dec 2009
Three year sentence for Dalai Lama content on chat site
(Phayul) Two Tibetans from Sog (Chin: Suo) County in Nagchu (Chin: Nagqu) prefecture TAR have been sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a Chinese court, according to a report by Phayul. Gyalseng and Nima Wangchuk were among four Tibetans arrested on 01 October 2009, for posting the Dalai Lama's pictures and speeches on their internet profiles on the Chinese chat site qq.com. Yeshi Namkha and Aniy have not been sentenced yet. Their families were not allowed to visit them. The four young men were also alleged to have contacts with what the authorities described as "foreign separatist forces".
03. Dec 2009
Singer Tashi Dondrup arrested
(Times) Chinese authorities arrested a popular young Tibetan singer for composing subversive songs, Times Online reported. Tashi Dondrup was detained while in hiding in Xining, Qinghai province, where he had taken refuge after the authorities banned his music, the report said. Apparently the professional singer, a member of the Henan Mongolian Autonomous Region Arts Troupe, released an album titled Torture without Trace in October 2009. The album's songs express support for the Dalai Lama and commemorate the crackdown that followed the unrest in Tibet in March 2008. The 5,000 CDs sold out quickly among Tibetans in the Amdo region of eastern Tibet, where Tashi Dondrup is a local star, the report said. Chinese authorities immediately banned the album.
