New York Times Profiles Dhondup Wangchen Ahead of Obama’s China Visit

Just weeks before U.S. President Obama makes his first presidential visit to China, Andrew Jacobs of the New York Times profiled detained Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen who is facing a secret trail for documenting the views of Tibetans in Tibet on the Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama and Chinese rule in Tibet.

Read the full article below:

China Is Trying a Tibetan Filmmaker for Subversion
By ANDREW JACOBS

CHONGQING, China — A self-taught filmmaker who spent five months interviewing Tibetans about their hopes and frustrations living under Chinese rule is facing charges of state subversion after the footage was smuggled abroad and distributed on the Internet and at film festivals around the world.

The filmmaker, Dhondup Wangchen, who has been detained since March 2008, just weeks after deadly rioting broke out in Tibet, managed to sneak a letter out of jail last month saying that his trial had begun.

“There is no good news I can share with you,” he wrote in the letter, which was provided by a cousin in Switzerland. “It is unclear what the sentence will be.”

As President Obama prepares for his first trip to China next month, rights advocates are clamoring for his attention in hopes that he will raise the plight of individuals like Mr. Wangchen or broach such thorny topics as free speech, democracy and greater religious freedom.

With hundreds of lawyers, dissidents and journalists serving time in Chinese prisons, human rights organizations are busy lobbying the White House, members of Congress and the news media. In some ways, the pressure has only intensified since Mr. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, raising expectations for him to carry the torch of human rights.

Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, said Mr. Obama had an obligation to press Mr. Wangchen’s case and the cause of Tibetan autonomy in general, given his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington this month.

That move, which some viewed as a concession to China, angered critics already displeased with what they say was Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s failure to press human rights during a visit to China in February.

“Beijing is emboldened by such moves,” Ms. Tethong said. “They see a weakness in the U.S. government, and they’re going to exploit it. This idea that you’ll gain more through some backroom secret strategy does not work.”

Until now, the case of Mr. Wangchen, 35, has received little attention abroad. Uneducated and plainspoken, he was an itinerant businessman until October 2007, when he bought a small video camera and began traveling the Tibetan plateau interviewing monks, yak herders and students about their lives.

Tsetring Gyaljong, a cousin who helped him make the documentary, said that Mr. Wangchen’s political awareness was sharpened nearly a decade ago, when he witnessed a demonstration in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, that was quickly broken up by public security officers.

“He saw how it was dissolved in two or three minutes and how everyone was taken away,” said Mr. Gyaljong, speaking from Switzerland, where he has lived in exile since escaping from Tibet. “There were no pictures, no testimonies, and he felt like the world should know that Tibetans, despite the Chinese portrayals, are not a happy people.”

Out of 40 hours of footage and 108 interviews came “Leaving Fear Behind,” a 25-minute documentary that is an unadorned indictment of the Chinese government. Although given the choice to conceal their identities, most of his subjects spoke uncloaked and freely expressed their disdain for the Han Chinese migrants who are flooding the region and their love for the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile since 1959.

In his own comments at the start of the film, Mr. Wangchen said the approach of the 2008 Olympics had compelled him to record the feelings of Tibetans, many of whom were less than enthusiastic about the decision to hold the Games in Beijing.

“We have no independence or freedom, so Tibetans have no reason to celebrate,” said one young woman standing by a road. “The Chinese have independence and freedom, so this is something they can celebrate.”

On March 10, 2008, Mr. Wangchen traveled to Xi’an in central China to hand over the tapes to Dechen Pemba, a British citizen who ferried them out of the country. That same day, a protest in Lhasa turned into a rampage that left at least 18 people dead, most of them Han Chinese.

On March 26, Mr. Wangchen and Golog Jigme, a Buddhist monk who helped him make the film, were arrested. Mr. Jigme was subsequently released.

“It really is a remarkable coincidence,” Ms. Pemba said.

Mr. Wangchen’s family hired a lawyer, but the authorities barred him from court last July, leaving Mr. Wangchen with a public defender.

Before he was forced to drop the case, the lawyer, Li Dunyong, said Mr. Wangchen had told him that he was tortured and that he had contracted hepatitis B while in custody. Since then, he has been held incommunicado. Officials at the Xining Intermediate Court in Qinghai Province, where Mr. Wangchen is being held, would not comment on his case.

Mr. Wangchen seemed acutely aware that his project could get him in trouble. Just before he began filming, he sent his wife and their four children to India, where they live along with his elderly parents.

In an interview from Dharamsala, where she works as a baker, Mr. Wangchen’s wife, Lhamo Tso, said she feared she might not see him again for many, many years.

“As a wife, I’m very sad to be without the person I love so much,” she said. “But if I can separate out that sadness, I feel proud because he made a courageous decision to give a voice to people who don’t have one.”

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Tibetans & Supporters in NY Protest the Executions

Braving the cold rain over 100 Tibetans and their supporters protested in front of the United Nations General Assembly building and the  Chinese Consulate to condemn the Chinese government’s executions of two Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, and the reported deaths of two other Tibetans, a woman named Penkyi and an unidentified Tibetan.

Members of SFT and RTYC NY & NJ began the protest at 12:00am and concluded with a candlelight vigil at 7:00pm. The protesters passed out over 1000 fliers and displayed coffins for the dead Tibetans.

Responding to the executions, Namgyal Tendol of RTYC  NY & NJ said, “These executions signal an alarming escalation in the Chinese government’s violent campaign to punish, intimidate, and silence Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule. “We urge President Obama to immediately condemn this travesty of justice and to help bring about an end to China’s violent occupation of Tibet when he visits China in November.”

Click here to see photos from the protest

Click here to see a video from the protest

SFT Canada Holds Vigil for the Fallen Four in Toronto

Urgent: Four Tibetans Executed in Tibet

It is with great sadness that we let you know Tibetan rights groups recently confirmed that three Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, and Penkyi were executed on October 20th, 2009 in Lhasa. There is a report that a fourth Tibetan may also have been executed. Read SFT's press statement.  

This is the first known execution of a Tibetan since 2003, demonstrating the lengths to which the Chinese government is now prepared to go in order to intimidate Tibetans and crush all perceived opposition to its occupation of Tibet.

Please join people worldwide in voicing outrage at this travesty of justice. Please take action and send a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to immediately condemn these executions in the strongest possible terms. 

We urge you to also call your Members of Parliament and let them know how serious this matter is and that you expect the Canadian Government to take immediate action and condemn these killings. 

If you are in the Toronto or Vancouver areas, please  join us for a candle light vigil this Sunday, October 25th, in memory of the 4 Tibetans killed.

Toronto: 5-7pm at the Toronto Chinese Consulate (240 St. George Street).  Contact: lobsang@studentsforafreetibet.org

Vancouver: 6pm at the Vancouver Chinese Consulate (3380 Granville Street). Contact: klaravrbova@yahoo.com

TAKE ACTION HERE!

Tibetans and Supporters in the UK Hold Vigil for Executed Tibetans

23^rd Oct'09, London-Following the executions of four Tibetan political prisoners, Tibetans and Supporters gathered for a candle-lit vigil outside the Chinese Embassy on Thursday evening organised jointly by the Coalition of UK Tibet Support Groups. Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, Penkyi and an as yet unidentified prisoner were executed in Toelung, near Lhasa on Tuesday 20^thOctober. As participants sang prayers and songs of solidarity together, the sadness and shock of all present was palpable.

The Coalition of UK Tibet Support Groups is united in its condemnation of this latest reminder of China’s appalling human rights record in occupied Tibet.

Tibet Society CEO, Philippa Carrick commented: "We call on the British government to issue an immediate statement condemning the executions in the strongest possible terms and we further call on the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to scrutinise the Chinese government's legal procedures that led to these shocking executions. In May the British government admitted it had real cause for concern about the death sentences meted out to Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak. Now it is time for the government speak out and act on these concerns and hold the Chinese government to account.”

Reacting to news of the executions, Director of Free Tibet, Stephanie Brigden, said: “The executions are an outrage. It is impossible to have any confidence that even the most basic legal norms were observed before the Chinese state sanctioned and carried out the killing of these four Tibetans.”

Campaigns Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet UK, Padma Dolma stated: “The world cannot sit by while China carries out politically motivated executions in Tibet. The UK’s government must take a lead in condemning these executions and in ensuring the safety of Tibetans in Lhasa during the current security crackdown.”

The Coalition of UK Tibet Support Groups are:

Tibetan Youth UK

Tibet Society

Tibetan Community in Britain

Students for a Free Tibet

Free Tibet

Photos by:Luke Ward

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New Video Messages from Tibet

Over the past few months, several videos recorded by Tibetans inside Tibet have been smuggled out for the international community. Recently a video recorded by Rinchen Sangpo shows Tibetans openly stating that in old Tibet (before 1958-9) there was more freedom and happiness prior to China’s occupation.  Rinchen Sangpo born in Akyong, a village in Golog, Amdo, was  ordained as a monk at the Tongkyab Monastery and remained there until 2008.

Below are two excerpts from that video.

A Tibetan man by the name of Kheru Deumo, born in Amdo Golog, Eastern Tibet.

A Tibetan Women by the name of Sersa Norbho, born in Amdo Golog, Eastern Tibet.

Another video recorded by Kalsang Tsultrim, from Labrang, Amdo Tibet appeals to the International Community to act swiftly on behalf of the Tibetan people.

According to the source who delivered the video testimony told the Centre that, “ Kalsang Tsultrim wishes to distribute this video as widely as possible inside Tibet notwithstanding a great personal risk involved.”

In the video Kalsang states, “So, many Tibetan people sacrificed their lives to protest against Chinese rule [over the past year], including myself here today, because we want equal human rights and freedom. We will never give up our fight for freedom and truth until Chinese policies change regarding the implementation of the Constitution.”

The video can been seen here.

JOINT STATEMENT BY THE GLOBAL TIBET MOVEMENT CONDEMNING THE EXECUTIONS OF TIBETANS IN TIBET

[22 October 2009] The 166 member organisations of the International Tibet Support Network condemn the government of China for the executions of four Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, Penkyi and a fourth unidentified Tibetan, in Lhasa on 20 October.

China's decision to execute these four Tibetans is an affront to international judicial standards. These executions are clearly politically motivated (see Notes 1 & 2), and concerns that those convicted did not have a fair trial are well-founded. Tuesday’s executions show that China will use all methods at its disposal to intimidate Tibetans and crush all perceived opposition to its occupation of Tibet.

Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak were sentenced to death on 8 April 2009. They had been charged with "starting fatal fires" in which, according to Xinhua, seven Chinese people died in Lhasa on 14 March 2008, when four days of peaceful protests by Tibetan monks in Lhasa escalated into city-wide unrest. A Xinhua statement on 8 April said they "have to be executed to assuage the people's anger". Judicial procedure calls for death sentence convictions to be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court before sentences carried out, but no information is available if such reviews occurred in these cases.

The identity of the other two Tibetans executed remains unclear. Three Tibetans received suspended death sentences on arson charges in April 2009. Gangtsu and Tenzin Phuntsog were given death sentences suspended for two years on the same day Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak were sentenced. In addition, a life sentence was handed to Dawa Sangpo. On 21 April, Xinhua reported that three Tibetan women had been sentenced for charges of arson which led to the deaths of six people. Penkyi from Sakya received a death sentence suspended for two years, another Penkyi from Nyemo was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Chime Lhamo from Namling was sentenced to 10 years.

In response to the executions, representatives of the Tibet movement made the following statements:

Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet said; "These executions, the first known executions of Tibetans since 2003, are a travesty of justice and signal an alarming escalation in the Chinese government's violent campaign to punish, intimidate, and silence Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule. Tibetans and their supporters worldwide will take to the streets in the coming days to condemn these executions and to demand immediate action on the part of our governments. We also call on U.S. President Obama to condemn these executions and to take bold and concrete action to help end China's occupation of Tibet when he makes his first presidential visit to China next month."

Paul Bourke from Australia Tibet Council said; "These brutal executions are more about China reinforcing political control in Tibet than about justice. The executions are meant to send a strong warning to Tibetans – any public display of dissatisfaction with China’s rule in Tibet will be dealt with in the harshest possible manner. Given this distressing news, it is all the more imperative that Prime Minister Rudd meet with the Dalai Lama in December to discuss constructive action the Australian government can take to help bring about a fair and just resolution for the Tibetan people."

Dhardon Sharling of Tibetan Women's Association said; "The members of the International Tibet Support Network sincerely hope that governments around the world will join in our condemnation of today's executions. The Tibet issue, and the associated human rights abuses and brutal crackdown inflicted by the Chinese Government will not go away unless there is a concrete and viable political resolution to the 60-year occupation of Tibet, yet the Chinese authorities have disdainfully rejected His Holiness' initiatives to bring about a mutually beneficial solution to both China and Tibet. We call on the international community to urge the Chinese leadership, in the strongest possible terms, to negotiate a peaceful solution to this long-standing injustice."

Stephanie Brigden of Free Tibet added; "Tuesday's executions are a particular outrage. Despite Chinese law providing that these cases should have been trialled in open court – where independent observers could have attended - these four Tibetans have been prosecuted behind closed doors. It is impossible to have any confidence that even the most basic legal safeguards were met. In December last year the UN confirmed that the use of confessions, obtained through torture to secure convictions is routine and widespread in China – even the Chinese Government officials have acknowledged that “ nearly every wrongful verdict in recent years relates to illegal interrogation.”

The member organisations of the International Tibet Support Network, a global coalition of Tibet campaign groups, demand that China:

* Not exacerbate this outrage by executing any more Tibetans, and immediately commute all remaining death sentences.

* Publish the names and whereabouts of the more than 1,200 Tibetans missing since the protests of March and April 2008.

* Agree to the demand made in November 2008 by the UN Committee Against Torture for a "thorough and independent enquiry into the reported excessive use of force, including against peaceful demonstrators".

* Reverse its rejection of the Dalai Lama's initiatives and negotiate a peaceful resolution to the 60 year occupation of Tibet.

The 166 members of the International Tibet Support Network call on all governments to condemn these executions and to secure from China guarantees that all trials of Tibetans be held in open court, defendants have access to independent legal representation, legal safeguards are adhered to, and consular staff and foreign journalists are permitted to attend such court proceedings, where requested.

The International Tibet Support Network
(see note 3 for full list of member organisations)

Notes:
1. A report released by Human RIghts Watch in March 2009 revealed a judicial system so highly politicised as to preclude any possibility for a fair trial for Tibetans. The report concluded that the "principle of independence of the judiciary is thoroughly undermined by leadership's demand that court and police tailor their actions to political requirements." For example, on 19 March 2008, prior to any determination by a court, the Lhasa procuratorate announced that the violence in Lhasa "was organised, planned, and premeditated by the Dalai Lama clique," and that in the cases of 24 criminal suspects formally arrested that day "the crimes were clear and the evidence sufficient" to determine that they had committed "state security crimes." http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/09/china-hundreds-tibetan-detainees-and-prisoners-unaccounted

2. During a meeting entitled “Working Commission to adjudicate cases involving 14 March Riot,” convened by the Tibet Autonomous Region's (TAR) Higher People’s Court in Lhasa on 2 April 2008, Pema Trinley, Executive Vice Governor of the TAR called on the judiciary to act fast and strike hard on the ‘Dalai clique.’ He said that stringent legal action should be taken in tune with Party policy so that the final verdict would gain political, legal and social dividends referring to achieving political and social stability. Source: Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

3. The International TIbet Support Network, http://www.tibetnetwork.org , is a vibrant coalition of 166 Tibet groups from all continents. The Network is dedicated to campaigning non-violently to restore the rights that Tibetans lost when China occupied Tibet 60 years ago. The International Tibet Support Network was created to strengthen individual member organisations and to make the Tibet movement as a whole more effective by coordinating powerful strategic campaigns on behalf of the Tibetan people.

The 166 members of the International Tibet Support Network are:

North America:
Association Cognizance Tibet, North Carolina
Bay Area Friends of Tibet
Boston Tibet Network
Canada Tibet Committee
China Tibet Initiative
Colorado Friends of Tibet
Committee of 100 for Tibet
Dhokam Chushi Gangdruk
International Campaign for Tibet
International Tibet Independence Movement
Los Angeles Friends of Tibet
Monadnock Friends of Tibet
Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association
Rangzen Alliance
San Diego Friends of Tibet
Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
Seattle Friends of Tibet
Sierra Friends of Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet – Canada
The Tibetan Alliance of Chicago
The World Tibet Day Foundation
Tibet Committee of Fairbanks
Tibet Justice Center
Tibetan Association of Ithaca
Tibetan Association of Northern California
Tibetan Association of Santa Fe
Tibetan Association of South California
Tibetan Cultural Association - Quebec
TIBETmichigan
Toronto Tibet Youth Congress
U.S. Tibet Committee
Western Colorado Friends of Tibet
Central & South America:
Amigos del Tibet, El Salvador
Asociacion Cultural Peruano Tibetana
Casa Tibet Mexico
Grupo De Apoyo a Tibet Chile
Grupo Pro-Cultura Tibetana, Chile
Centro De Cultura Tibetana
Le Club Francais
Pensando En Tibet - Mexico
Tibet Group-Panama
Tíbet Patria Libre, Uruguay
Asia:
Bharrat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, India
Circle of Friends (Philippines)
Core Group for Tibetan Cause, India
Foundation for Universal Responsibility of H. H. the Dalai Lama
Friedrich-Naumann Foundation
Gannasamannay
Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet
Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet
India Tibet Friendship Society
Lung-ta
Mahatma Gandhi Tibet Freedom Movement
National Campaign for Tibetan Support, India
National Democratic Party of Tibet
Raise Tibetan Flag Campaign
Roof of the World Foundation, Indonesia
SFT-India
Taiwan Friends of Tibet
Taiwan Tibet Exchange Foundation
The Youth Liberation Front of Tibet, Mongolia and Turkestan
Tibet Lives, India
Tibet Solidarity Forum, Bangladesh
Tibet Support Group Kiku, Japan
Tibet Support Network Japan
Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre
Tibetan Women's Association (Central)
Tibetan Youth Congress
SFT Japan
Students for a Free Tibet - Bangladesh
Australasia:
Australia Tibet Council
Friends of Tibet New Zealand
Students for a Free Tibet New Zealand
Tibetan Community of Australia (Victoria)
Tibet Action Group of Western Australia
Africa & the Middle East:
Friends of Tibet - Isamailia (Egypt)
Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People
South African Friends of Tibet
Tibet Support Group Kenya
Western Europe:
Aide aux Refugies Tibetains
Association Dorje
Association Drôme Ardèche-Tibet
Association of Tibetans in Germany
Association Rencontres Tibetaines - C.S.P.T. Midi-Pyrenees
Associazione Italia-Tibet
Austrian Committee for Tibet
Briancon05 Urgence Tibet
Caisse d'Aide aux Prisonniers Tibetains
Casa del Tibet - Spain
Comite de Apoyo al Tibet (Madrid)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain - Bretagne
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Les Lilas)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Switzerland)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain de l'Herault
Eco-Tibet France
EcoTibet Ireland
France-Tibet
Free Tibet Campaign
Games of Beijing, Switzerland
Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin, France
Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete, Portugal
International Campaign for Tibet Deutschland
International Campaign for Tibet Europe
International Society of Human Rights, Munich Chapter
ISCOS-CISL
Jamtse Thundel Association
La Porte du Tibet, Geneva
Les Amis du Tibet - Belgium
Les Amis du Tibet Luxembourg
Lions Des Neiges
Lions Des Neiges Mont Blance, France
Maison des Himalayas
Maison du Tibet - Tibet Info
Nos Amis de l'Himalaya
Nice Tibet, France
Objectif Tibet
Passeport Tibetain
Reseau International des Femmes pour le Tibet
Save Tibet, Austria
Society for Threatened Peoples International (Associate Member)
Solidarite Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet - France
Students for a Free Tibet - UK
Tibet 59 / 62
Tibet Democratie
Tibet Initiative Deutschland
Tibet Libertes, France
Tibet Society, U.K.
Tibet Support Group - Ireland
Tibet Support Group - Netherlands
Tibet Unterstutzung Liechtenstein
Tibetan Community Austria
Tibetan Community in Britain
Tibetan Community in Ireland
Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
Tibetan Youth UK
Tibetisches Zentrum Hamburg
TSG Free Tibet And You
Tsowa-Maintenir la Vie, France
Urgence Tibet
Vrienden Van Tibet
Northern Europe:
Association of Free Tibet
Friends of Tibet in Finland
Swedish Tibet Committee
The Norwegian Tibet Committee
Tibet Support Committee Denmark -
Tibetan Community in Denmark
Tibetan Community Sweden
Central & Eastern Europe:
TSG - Slovenia
Friends of Tibet Society St. Petersburg, Russia
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights - Tibet Desk
Lithuanian Tibet Culture Foundation
Polish Movement for a Free Tibet
Society for Croatia-Tibet Friendship
Students for a Free Tibet, Poland
The Foundation for Civil Society, Russia
Tibet cesky (Tibet in Czech)
Tibet Support Association - Hungary
Tibet Support Group - Krasnodar Region, Russia
Tibet Support Group - Romania
Tibet Support Group - Sochi Region, Russia
Tibetan Programme of The Other Space Foundation
Union Latvija Tibetai (Latvia for Tibet )
Zida Cels, Latvia

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