17. Dec 2011
Monk Tabey is alive
(Tibet Post) According to blogger and poet Tsering Woeser the Tibetan monk Tabey, who set fire to himself in February 2009, is now believed to be detained in a Chinese military hospital. Tabey, a monk from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba (Chin: Aba) TAP in Sichuan province, was feared dead after Chinese security personnel allegedly fired shots at him. Both of his legs are said to have been rendered useless due to the gunshot wounds.
20. Dec 2011
India-China talks to resume
(IE) The Indian Express (IE) reports that the India-China boundary talks, which were called off at the last minute because of the Chinese objection to the Dalai Lama speaking at a Buddhist conference in Delhi around the same time, are set to resume. Beijing has indicated its willingness to hold the dialogue in mid-January 2012, and New Delhi is now working on specific dates. The understanding on resuming talks at the earliest, sources said, was possible after both sides agreed to not let the incident over the conference impact progress on a matter as sensitive as the boundary question.
22. Dec 2011
Beijing cancels EU-China dialogue
(Europa.eu) For the second year in a row, China has cancelled a planned human rights dialogue with the European Union (EU) without providing reasons. In a statement issued by the European Union Delegation to China, the EU "deeply regretted" the cancellation of the second session of the EU-China Dialogue on Human Rights for the year 2011. "It (the EU) is disappointed by the absence of an answer by the Chinese side to its proposals for dates in order to hold this session of the Dialogue before the end of the year", the statement said.
22. Dec 2011
US report links repression to self immolations
(CECC) A report by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) has found a direct relation between the worsening trend of religious repression in Tibet and instances of self-immolations by Tibetans. The report, "Tibetan Monastic Self-Immolations Appear To Correlate With Increasing Repression of Freedom of Religion" argues that there is an "apparent correlation between increasing Chinese Communist Party and government repression of freedom of religion in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, and 12 instances in 2011 of current or former monks and nuns resorting to self-immolation". The CECC observes that all the self-immolations, except the most recent attempt, took place in Sichuan province, outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and this may be because there has been a higher level of Tibetan political detention in Sichuan than in any other provincial-level area, including the TAR. The CECC points out that China's heavy-handed reaction to the popular 2008 Tibetan uprisings - including intensification of its long-established anti-Dalai Lama campaign; issuing regulatory measures that intrude upon and micromanage Tibetan Buddhist monastic affairs; and implementing aggressive "legal education"to monks and nuns - has significantly "worsened" the deteriorating human rights trend in Tibet.
25. Dec 2011
Nepalese DPM Gachchhadar leaves for China
(Republica) The Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar left for a visit to China at the invitation of the Minister for Public Security in China, Meng Jianzhu. During the visit, DPM Gachchhadar will hold talks with Chinese Minister Meng on matters of "mutual interest". The delegation is heavy with officials from various branches of Nepal's security services, with senior police and army officers and high-level Home Ministry and Foreign Affairs civil servants.
27. Dec 2011
Tibetan protest 'ringleader' jailed
(RFA) A Tibetan former monk, who was among leaders of protests against Chinese rule in 2008, has been jailed for five years by a Chinese court in Ngaba TAP, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA) sources. It was not known under what charges Tsering, a native of Raru village, Cha township, was convicted by the court in Sichuan province. He had allegedly participated in protests in the Cha township in March 2008, and then went into hiding to evade arrest, RFA reports. He remained in hiding until around April 2010, when he was arrested from a restaurant in Ngaba town.
29. Dec 2011
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's health deteriorating
(RFA) RFA reports that there are more concerns about the health of Tulku Tenzin Delek, who is currently serving a life-sentence in a Chinese prison in Tibet. RFA sources claim that Tulku Tenzin Delek is suffering from a heart ailment and severe pains in his legs. People who were given a rare prison meeting with Tulku Tenzin Delek made the revelations. The meeting reportedly lasted for only ten to fifteen minutes. Recently, John Kamm, founder of the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation, had raised hopes for the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek and Lobsang Tenzin - one of Tibet's longest serving political prisoners. Kamm told reporters that he had requested the release of the two prominent Tibetan political prisoners during his most recent trip to Beijing.
