Huffington Post: To Die With Dignity in Your Own Land: Tibet, China, and the Politics of Disaster

Please read & share the Huffington Post article To Die With Dignity in Your Own Land: Tibet, China, and the Politics of Disaster by Josh Schrei, former SFT board chair and lifelong Tibet support.

Josh gets to the heart of the issue of the international media’s ongoing misrepresentation of where the quake hit. Article after article refers to the earthquake zone as “western China” or “Qinghai province bordering Tibet.” In reality, Kyegundo is located in the historical Tibetan province of Kham:

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, control over Kham and the wide, sparsely populated region of Amdo vacillated between Chinese and Muslim warlords and the Tibetan government in Lhasa. Finally, after a period of Tibetan independence the area was invaded and occupied by the People’s Liberation Army along with the rest of eastern Tibet in 1950. The entire region was divided by the government of the People’s Republic of China into its current provinces in 1965, but years of occupation and the migration of Han Chinese west into Tibetan provinces have not diminished this region’s Tibetan identity. Even China refers to the area as a “Tibetan area,” and the particular province — Yushu — is 97% Tibetan.

Background information on the region: This area  has a long history of resistance to Chinese rule. In 2008, as protests raged across Tibet, Tibetans in Kyegundo and the surrounding areas also took to the streets to demand their independence and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

From Woeser’s 2008 Protest Updates:

March 20, 2008

A great number of students in Yushul County in Kham (Yushul [Ch. Yushu] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held a protest, but at present we do not know what actions the authorities are going to take.

Three days ago (April 6, 2008), outside of one of the monasteries in Yushul (Ch. Yushu) County in Kham (Yushul Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province), over 100 Tibetans shouted such slogans as “Free Tibet” and “Let the Dalai Lama Come Home.” At that time the monastery was holding Buddhist ceremonies. The protesters were immediately suppressed by a large number of the armed police, and many people were arrested. An insider said that protests have erupted frequently in the county after the Lhasa Incident, each one suppressed by the armed police. Authorities have not announced the number of protesters who were arrested or whether there were any deaths or injuries.

Tibetan & Supporters hold vigils for victims of Tibet earthquake

Keep checking here for updates on prayer vigils and other events being planned by Tibetan communities around the world to mourn the loss of life in Kyegundo.
USA

New York, NY

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Time: 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Deki Day Care Center (30-81 Steinway Street, Astoria, Queens)
Organized by: TCNY&NJ, TVA, Deki Day Care Center
Contact: Deki Day Care 718-278-1570, Thupten Sherab of TVA 718-726-2434, TCNY&NJ 917-721-6404

Saint Paul, MN

Date: Friday, April 16, 2010
Time: 5:00-8:00pm
Location: Tibetan Community Cultural Center (1096 Raymond Avenue)
Organized by: TAFM, RTYC of MN, RTWA of MN, SFT MN, Gyuto Dhama Center
Contact: Ngawang Dolker 763-639-4616

San Francisco, CA

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Nechung Buddhist Center ( 1224 Rivera St, El Cerrito)
Organized by: TANC
Contact: 510-666-1355; contact@tanc.org

Date: Friday, April 16, 2010
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: BFUU, Connie Barbour Hall (1924 Cedar Street, Berkeley)
Organized by: TANC
Contact: 510-666-1355; contact@tanc.org

CANADA

Toronto

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Location: Parkdale Collegiate Institute (209 Jameson Avenue)
Organized by: SFT Canada, CTA of Ontario, TWA Toronto, CTC Toronto, Chushi Gangdruk Canada, TYC Toronto
Contact: Tenzin Lobsang; lobsang@studentsforafreetibet.org

UK

London

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Jamyang Buddhist Centre (43 Renfrew Road, London)

Devastating earthquake hits eastern Tibet – Please Help

Early this morning local time, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a number of powerful aftershocks struck in Kyegundo སྐྱེ་རྒུ་མདོ།  (spoken as Jyekundo) in Kham, eastern Tibet (Ch: Jieguduo or Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province). At least 600 people are reported dead and more than 10,000 injured by Chinese & Western media, but Tibetans with contacts in the area have heard the death toll may be as high as 4,000. We will continue to post updates on SFT’s facebook page and twitter feed.

All of us at SFT send our heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in the earthquake. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Kyegundo and the surrounding area.

How you can help:

1) Donate to organizations working in the region and help support emergency relief efforts:

Tibetan Village Project:  http://www.tibetanvillageproject.org/ (Note: you can also donate via Causes at:
http://www.causes.com/causes/472609)

Tibetan Relief Fund: http://www.tibetrelieffund.co.uk/

Machik: http://www.machik.org/index.ph

Tibet Foundation: http://www.tibet-foundation.org/news/urgent_emergency_appeal_-_kyekudo_yushu_earthquake/

Thrangu Rinpoche Trust: http://www.thranguemergency.org/

2) Help spread the word that this awful tragedy occurred in Tibet not in Western China as the media is reporting:

• Change your Facebook status and tweet: Quake in Tibet. Please help. Donate here: http://www.causes.com/causes/472609(Please RT)

• Read and share a moving blog post about the earthquake with reactions from Tibetans in Tibet on High Peaks Pure Earth
  
• Read and share the statement issued by the five leading Tibetans exile organizations in Dharamsala (including SFT India).
  

• Write to the editor of your local newspaper to educate him/her that the earthquake struck Chinese occupied Tibet, which is at a minimum disputed territory. Kyegundo is in the Tibetan province of Kham, annexed into China’s present day Qinghai Province..

From High Peaks Pure Earth: Chinese media refers to the affected area as the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu (玉树) in Qinghai province, Western media has been calling it Western or South Western China inhabited by “ethnic Tibetans” or part of the “Tibetan plateau”.

Although spelled Kyegundo, when spoken it sounds more like Jyekundo. This Google map shows the position of Kyegundo in relation both to Lhasa and also to the provincial capitals of Qinghai and Gansu, Xining and Lanzhou, to the north east.  Here is the link to the map on the website of Tibetan and Himalayan Library, an excellent resource site.

Fears over potential dam burst:

The BBC has  reported that a massive dam at the headwaters of three rivers in the area has been damaged and that people have fled for higher ground in fear that the dam might burst.  A crack in the dam wall has prompted Chinese officials to drain the reservoir.  The Chinese government has plans to build several more dams in this earthquake prone area.  View a map posted on the Tibetan Plateau blog: http://tibetanplateau.blogspot.com/2010/02/dams-on-upper-reaches-of-yangtze-mekong.html

Also, according to an NPR report 85% of the buildings in the town have collapsed and the Red Cross is reporting that 70% of schools have been destroyed. The area is home to Tibetan nomads and farmers who traditionally live on the grasslands of the plateau.  A Newsweek blog post from April 14th documents the Chinese government’s massive push to forcibly settle Tibetan nomads into concrete housing projects like the kind we see lining the streets of Kyegundo. China plans to settle all of the nomads in Qinghai Province within 5 years.

The media is reporting that relief efforts by the Chinese army are underway, but we’re also hearing that many people in the surrounding areas are without food and water. A Tibetan was able to send word out that:  people as far away as Denma (5-6 hrs drive from jyeku) sleeping outside right now. People don’t have food and troops are apparently only going in by road, so it could take 2-3 days for relief to get here.

Please check back for updates and more ways that you can help the people of Kyegundo.

Read more:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama sends his condolences to the earthquake victims: http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/520-his-holiness-offers-his-condolences-to-the-victims-of-the-earthquake-in-kyigudo

Statement by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=1629

Free Tibet (UK based Tibet Support Group): http://www.freetibet.org/newsmedia/earthquake-eastern-tibet

International Campaign for Tibet (Washington, D.C. based Tibet Support Group): http://savetibet.org/

World News Blog (The sensitivity behind the latest Chinese earthquake): http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2010/04/14/the-sensitivity-behind-the-latest-chinese-earthquake/

BBC (China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8619593.stm

NPR (Earthquake In China Kills 400; Thousands Injured): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125930694

Free Tibet (UK based Tibet Support Group): http://www.freetibet.org/newsmedia/earthquake-eastern-tibet

New York Times (Strong Quake Kills Hundreds in Western China): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/asia/15quake.html

SFT: Tibetans, Supporters Protest Chinese President at Nuclear Security Summit

STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12th, 2010

Contact:    Kate Woznow (in Washington, D.C.), +1 917 601 0069
Tenzin Dolkar (in Washington, D.C.), +1 917 664 5530

TIBETANS, SUPPORTERS PROTEST CHINESE PRESIDENT AT NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT
Call on President Obama to press President Hu on Tibet resolution as part of global security agenda

Washington, D.C. ­– Tibetans and their supporters are protesting Chinese President Hu Jintao’s arrival to the United States today, starting at 10:00am at Samuel Gompers Memorial Park (11th St. NW and L St. NW) near the Walter E. Washington Convention centre. President Hu will join more than 40 heads of states for the Nuclear Security Summit and will also meet with President Obama today, the first meeting between the two leaders since the U.S. President met with the Dalai Lama in February. Demonstrators are calling on President Obama to press the Chinese leader on a resolution for Tibet amidst reports of new protests by Tibetan students in eastern Tibet.

“We urge President Obama to go beyond the rhetoric and to press President Hu for measurable progress in negotiating a just and lasting resolution for the Tibetan people,” said Tenzin Dolkar, U.S. Grassroots Director for Students for a Free Tibet. “An end to China’s military occupation of Tibet will not just give the Tibetan people the freedom that is their birthright, but would greatly contribute to the goals of peace and security being pursued by President Obama at the nuclear summit. An independent Tibet would create a buffer zone between Asia’s nuclear powers of Pakistan, India and China, and would help ease tensions in the region.”

President Obama angered China when he met the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual and political leader and fellow Nobel laureate, at the White House in February. Tibet activists have launched a global campaign calling on the President and leaders of free countries to take bold and coordinated approaches to resolving the Tibetan issue, including heads of state publicly offering to personally facilitate a meeting between the Dalai Lama and China’s leaders. Tibet is situated at the roof of the world, surrounded by Asia’s great nuclear powers of China, India, Pakistan, and Russia. Since the early 1980s the Dalai Lama has been advocating for Tibet to be a nuclear free zone in order to achieve regional and global security.

“The recent series of student-led protests in Tibet shows that a new generation of Tibetans is uncowed by China’s violent military repression,” added Dolkar. “Tibetans from every corner of Tibet are calling for freedom and by demonstrating here today we will ensure President Hu hears their voices.”

Tibetans and Tibet supporters will protest today, April 12th at Samuel Gompers Memorial Park on the northwest side of the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre (11th St. NW and L St. NW) starting at 10am. President Obama is scheduled to meet President Hu Jintao at 2:30pm. Protests are also scheduled at the same location tomorrow, Tuesday, April 13th.
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Protest Hu Jintao in Washington, D.C. – April 12 & 13

TAKE ACTION: Chinese President Hu Jintao at Nuclear Security Summit
Washington, D.C. * April 12-13

PROTEST DETAILS:
MONDAY, APRIL 12TH
Meeting Spot: Samuel Gompers Memorial Park [11th St NW, between L St NW & Mass Ave NW]
Time: 8:30am at meeting spot
9:00am – 3:00pm [protest location to be confirmed]
Summit venue: Walter E. Washington Convention Centre
Address: 1207 9th Street NW
Other tentative protest locations: Chinese Embassy & Mandarin Oriental Hotel where we expect Hu Jintao will be staying  (to be confirmed- check back for updates)

Note: President Hu is scheduled to meet with President Obama on Monday morning.

TUESDAY, APRIL 13TH
Same details as above. Check back for updates!

TRANSPORTATION FROM NYC: Buses will depart from NYC on Monday, April 12th at 3:00am (there may also be bus transports from NYC to DC on Tues, April 13th). If you’d like to reserve a seat, please contact 646-270-4495 or 646-409-6444 or email tdolkar@studentsforafreetibet.org

SPEAK OUT FOR TIBET – PROTEST HU JINTAO!
Please join us to make sure Hu Jintao hears loud & clear from Tibetans and Tibet supporters during his visit to D.C.

President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington, D.C. comes at a time of escalating tension between the US and China. In a phone conversation last week between President Obama and Hu Jintao, the Chinese leader stressed the importance of a healthier relationship between the US and China, and once again emphasized Beijing’s position on Tibet and Taiwan. Clearly, international support for Tibet continues to be a thorn in the side of China’s leadership.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/world/asia/03briefs-Phonecall.html

By mobilizing Tibetans and Tibet supporters to Washington, D.C. next week, we can ensure the Tibet issue is front & center during Hu’s visit. Please help spread the word! Forward this message to your friends and family in the NY & DC area!

Please continue to check this page for final protest schedule.

Organized by Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of NY&NJ, Tibetan Association of NY&NJ, Tibetan Women’s Association of NY&NJ, Students for a Free Tibet, Capital Area Tibetan Association

Get updates on your phone:

BBC World Interviews Tenzin Sonam & Ritu about The Sun Behind the Clouds

Watch this fantastic interview with Tenzin Sonam & Ritu on BBC World about the making of The Sun Behind the Clouds and the future of the Tibet movement. The interview also includes a clip from the film of Lhadon speaking.

The film premieres in the N.Y. tomorrow, Wednesday, March 31st. Tix are still available but going fast – buy yours now!

Go Daddy: “Won’t Act as agent for the Chinese Gov”

Following Google’s historic decision to stop censoring search results in China, effectively ending the company’s business in the world’s largest Internet market, two of the largest domain registration and hosting companies in the world, Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com) and Network Solutions (www.networksolutions.com) have announced their plans to stop registering domain names in China. Go Daddy’s executive VP and general counsel Christine Jones said in a prepared statement, Jones reportedly said that Go Daddy

“made a decision we didn’t want to act as an agent for the Chinese government.”

Network Solutions announced Wednesday that it had stopped hosting new websites with the .cn China domain in December, for much the same reasons as Go Daddy.

The China Internet Network Information Center authorizes companies outside China to sell .cn domain names but in December, the organization changed its policies to require registrars to collect color head-shot photographs, detailed business information, and other details about all domain registrants.

Both companies said they would continue to support domains already registered, but had ceased to seek out new business in China.

While the decision has obvious privacy, expression, and human rights issues attached, the cost of doing the complex “fact-gathering”, now required by the Chinese government is another major consideration in the domain business.

Good job Go Daddy!

An Action for Tibet’s Water

March 22nd was World Water Day and the theme for 2010 was “Clean Water for a Healthy World.” Tibet, known by many scientists as the “Third Pole,” is home to some 40,000 glaciers, storing more freshwater than any region aside from the North and South poles. These glaciers feed Asia’s great rivers, providing water to six million Tibetans and more than one billion people downstream.

This year for World Water Day please take action to help protect Tibet’s water resources for the Tibetan people, and for all those who rely on freshwater from Tibet.

Take Action!

Send a letter to China’s Minister of Environmental Protection, Zhou Shengxian, calling on the Chinese government to immediately stop harmful resource extraction projects, including mines and dams, that compromise Tibet’s critical water sources. Your letter will also be copied to UN-Water Chair Zahar Adeel.