What’s going on in the Tibetan Blogosphere? Ask Dechen Pemba

A Tibetan netizen in her own right, Dechen Pemba, publisher of High Peaks Pure Earth (the remarkable blog that translates the writings of Tibetans living in Tibet and China) provides insight into the importance and the vulnerabilities of the Tibetan blogosphere in her following post:

The Virtual Sweet Tea House: An Overview of the Tibetan Cyberspace

As a place to meet, share and exchange, the Tibetan blogosphere has created opportunities for Tibetan netizens that would be unimaginable in the offline world. Keeping in mind the state of internet censorship in the People’s Republic of China today, these new spaces can be seen as new outlets but also as new areas involving personal risk. Tibetan cyberspace has opened up a new opportunity for expression, which has also brought new risks to this community.

There are several blog-hosting sites, both Tibetan and Chinese, that are favoured by Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) today. One of the of the most popular Chinese language sites is called Tibetan Culture Net or simply TibetCul. TibetCul was started by two brothers, Wangchuk Tseten and Tsewang Norbu, and their head office is in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province. According to Alexa, the web Information Company, TibetCul receives over 400,000 hits every month. TibetCul is primarily a news and blog-hosting site but there are many different sections on the site related to Tibetan music, literature, films and travel. There is a BBS forum (bulletin board) and there is even a section dedicated to “overseas Tibetans”.

For all Tibet related news, blogs and cultural activities, TibetCul is an invaluable resource and source of information. Many posts translated into English by High Peaks Pure Earth come from TibetCul, such as the translation of the popular Tibetan hip-hop song “New Generation” by Green Dragon that was first featured on the group’s TibetCul blog in February 2010 in which a gang of Amdo rappers boldly proclaimed:

“The new generation has a resource called youth
The new generation has a pride called confidence
The new generation has an appearance called playfulness
The new generation has a temptation called freedom”

In a similar surge of pride in Tibetan identity that featured on Tibetan blogs post-2008, TibetCul blogs featured many poems and prose articles with the title “I Am Tibetan” and new posts are being written even today.

Heated discussions and debate take place on TibetCul every day about all matters of concern to Tibetans. One major example would be the online vilification of well-known Tibetan singer Lobsang Dondrup following photos posted on blogs of him and his wife both wearing fur at their wedding ceremony in early 2009. The photos were quickly re-posted across many blogs, incurring the wrath of angry Tibetan netizens and comments criticising the couple flooded the internet forums both in Tibetan and Chinese. This must all be seen in context, in 2006, after the Dalai Lama’s injunction against the wearing of animal fur, a wave of fur burning protests took place in Amdo and Kham. Hence the netizens anger and loathing for the couple. Shortly after, Lobsang Dondrup posted an apology online through his friend’s TibetCul blog.

The above observations on TibetCul demonstrate the nature of cyberspace in the ability to bring people together in discussion and debate and also the ability for the online content to transcend national borders, “New Generation” has gone on to become a popular song amongst Tibetans all over the world and the “I Am Tibetan” poetry and spirit has sparked Tibetan exile groups to hold events to amplify voices from Tibet.

In a paper from 2004, Tibetan scholar Tashi Rabgey referred to the Lhasa tradition of the Sweet Tea House: “Throughout the 1980s, sweet tea houses had served as important gathering places for Tibetans to exchange news, air opinions and discuss ideas.” However, “with the tightening of political controls in the early 1990s [...] this unusual space of lively, open debate was brought to an end through constant surveillance.” The new virtual Sweet Tea House contains Tibetans who are literate in many languages but mainly in Tibetan, Chinese and English and Tibetans from Central Tibet, Kham, Amdo, India, USA and beyond, all in contact and dialogue.

Whilst the potential for contact and dialogue in the Tibetan cyberspace is great, control of the internet and the politicisation of the blog content poses difficulties and risks. Monitoring Tibetan blogs reveals that throughout the year, at times deemed “sensitive” by the Chinese government, Tibetan blog-hosting sites will suddenly with no explanation or prior warning either be taken offline or be offline “for maintenance”. This happens typically for Tibetan blogs around the time of March 10, the anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. See this link for an example of TibetCul suddenly disappearing offline and this link for Tibetan-language blogs being taken offline.

Similarly, individual bloggers are in danger of being targeted by the state for blog content deemed to be dubious. The most famous example is the Tibetan poet, writer and blogger, Woeser, who was writing two blogs, one on TibetCul and another on a Chinese blog hosting site but both of which were suddenly shut down on 28 July 2006. Woeser then had no choice but to start a new blog on a server hosted outside the PRC but has since faced a new set of problems such as server cyber-attacks by Chinese nationalists, both to her blogs and her Skype accounts.

Tibetan language blog-hosting sites have been even more vulnerable than TibetCul and two previously very popular sites have been inaccessible since 2009, http://tibettl.com/ and http://www.tibetabc.cn/ The latter was particularly a great loss as prominent singer and blogger Jamyang Kyi’s blog had previously been hosted by Tibetabc but she seems to have stopped blogging altogether since the site was closed down.

Two recent examples of individuals using blogs and the internet for purposes of social justice have been Dolkar Tso and Shogdung. Dolkar Tso, the wife of environmentalist Karma Samdrup, was blogging almost daily in June and July 2010, documenting the events of her husband’s trial and expressing her personal feelings about the injustice of his sentencing to 15 years in prison. Amazingly, Dolkar Tso persistently kept blogging on Chinese blog-hosting site Sohu and, at the last count, is on her fifth blog as the others kept being shut down rapidly.

Tagyal, a writer and intellectual who used the pen name Shogdung meaning “Morning Conch”, openly spoke out in April 2010 following the devastating earthquake that hit Yushu. He, along with several other intellectuals, published an open letter on Tibetan language blog-hosting site http://www.sangdhor.com in which they expressed condolences and at the same time were critical of the Chinese government in their handling of the earthquake relief efforts. Following this open letter, Shogdung was arrested and is still facing trial. Following Shogdung’s arrest, the site Sangdhor was taken offline for several months and has only recently come back online.

The last two examples of Dolkar Tso and Shogdung illustrate the importance of Tibetan blogs as sources of information and as ways to highlight injustice but evidently this comes at a great price for the individuals involved. The virtual Sweet Tea House is ultimately as vulnerable as the Lhasa tea houses of the 1990s were and is likely to remain so as long as Tibetan blogs remain behind the Great Firewall.

______________________________

Dechen Pemba is a UK born Tibetan, based in London.  She is the editor of the website High Peaks Pure Earth, which provides insightful commentary on Tibet related news and issues and translations from writings in Tibetan and Chinese posted blogs.

Renaissance Series: Amplify Tibet’s Revolutionary Beats

Watch all videos from Revolutionary Beats in the above player.

The second installment in SFT’s Renaissance Series explored the rhythms and beats of Tibetan resistance and dissent in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Program to include performances of Tibetan songs banned in Tibet, commentaries on resistance through music, “reactionary ringtones” sharing and much more.

The program highlighted the popular Tibetan singer, Tashi Dhondup, who was sentenced to 15 months of “re-education” through labor on January 5, 2010 for including revolutionary songs on his album titled  “Torture Without Trace”.

To download the pamphlet from Revolutionary Beats, click here.

Videos translated by SFT into English for Revolutionary Beats:

Kunga’s Yi Re Kyo with English subtitles

Kunga’s “Ghangdruk Ghi Dhunlam” (Son of the Snow City) with English subtitles

Jamyang Kyi’s “You and Me” with English subtitles

Jamyang Kyi’s Phayul Dren Lu with English subtitles

View the complete collection of translated music videos here.
*Special thanks to Khenrap Yeshi and Thupgon for their translations and Jigdo for HQ videos.

To view translated music videos from Revolutionary Beats, click here.

Background on these revolutionary beats:

Banned Lyrics, Reactionary Songs by Bhuchung D. Sonam, a young Tibetan writer & activist living in Dharamsala, India

Tibetan singer Tashi Dhondup detained report issued by International Campaign for Tibet

The Times Online: Tibetan singer Tashi Dondrup arrested over ‘subversive’ CD

Download Music & Ringtones Banned in Tibet:

Son of the Snow City by Kunga:

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Yi Re Kyo by Kunga:

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Torture Without Trace by Tashi Dhondup

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Unable to Meet by Tashi Dhondup

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1958-200 by Tashi Dhondup

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Let’s Go by Tashi Dhondup

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For That I Shed My Tears by Tashi Dhondup

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No Regrets by Tashi Dhondup

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Tibet Has Good Karma by Tashi Dhondup

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Phayul Dren Llu by Jamyang Kyi

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You and Me by Jamyang Kyi

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New Generation by Yudrug:

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A Digital Celebration of HHDL’s 75th by Tibetans in Tibet

Beginning on July 6th, the 75th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibetan web users in Tibet and China flooded popular Chinese language social networking websites with images of the Dalai Lama. Contained in status updates, profile pictures, and photo albums, images of  the Dalai lama and the banned Tibetan national flag filled popular networking sites 51.com and Qzone. This outpouring of expression and protest, largely by young Tibetans comes as China intensifies it’s crackdown on vocal Tibetans.

This “digital celebration” of His Holiness’s birthday from inside Tibet is joined by reports that thousands of Tibetans in Tawu, Kham South-Eastern Tibet, held a massive long life prayer where His Holiness’s portrait was honored followed by cultural performances and a traditional horse racing competition. As well as a video showing thousands of Tibetans in Golok Amnye Machen, Amdo North-Eastern Tibet, offering prayers and dedicating songs to their spiritual leader.

Bellow is a collection of images posted by Tibetan web users inside Tibet and China.

Banned in Tibet, SFT’s Summer 2010 Newsletter online!

We are proud to release the latest edition of SFT’s official newsletter “Banned in Tibet,” online! You can view it below, download it in PDF format, or view the high-res JPEG photos of each page for viewing or printing!

Featured articles include:

• Monks Lead Kyegundo Quake Relief Efforts

• Tibet’s Own Satayagraha

• March 10th 2010 & Losar: Because I’m Tibetan

• A Letter from SFT’s Executive Director, Tenzin “Tendor” Dorjee

• Breaking Boundaries on the Web: Thoughts from Blogger Activist, Dechen Pemba

• The Rise in Student Protests in Tibet

• SFT Takes the Capital by Storm at the 2nd Anual Tibet Lobby Day

• Google Breaks up with China

Please spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else interested in reading more about SFT’s creative work over the past year. In addition to the digital edition of Banned in Tibet, we also have print copies available. To order copies of the newsletter, please contact tdolkar@studentsforafreetibet.org.

Banned in Tibet is more than just an overview of Students for a Free Tibet’s activities — it’s a voice for the Tibetan people and a call for freedom from China’s brutal occupation of Tibet.

Amplify the Beats of a Silenced Nation

As China continues it’s crackdown on Tibetan artists and writers, a form of digital resistance is gaining popularity in Tibet. In February 2009, NPR reported on what China calls “Reactionary ringtones” and recently, RFA reported a list of 23 songs from Tibetan artists which have been banned in Tibet. In one school in Tibetan city of Shigatse, officials called these songs “unhealthy” and stated,

“If you have any of these songs as your ringtone, please will you delete them; if you own any of the above discs, please will you destroy them by melting or burning them.” “Anyone possessing the illegal music or videos will be severely dealt with.”

A powerful phenomenon in Tibet is that whenever China bans a piece of music or writing, it becomes more popular. Therefore, in this spirit we are releasing several of these “reactionary ringtones” for free download. Please share and spread these songs to amplify the beats of a silenced nation.

The Hope of the Son of the Snow City by Kunga:

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Yi Re Kyo by Kunga:

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watch video | Send ringtone to your phone

New Generation by Yudrug:

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Torture without Trace by Tashi Dhondup:

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watch video | Send ringtone to your phone

*After sending ringtones to your phone, help spread these “reactionary ringtones” by forwarding the download links to your friends.

The complete list of 23 newly banned songs:

1. Happy Shambhala
2. Wait I
3. Wait? – Mentoring album
4. Snow son’s hope
5. Merit (Tibetan version)
6. Colored streamer (Tibetan version)
7. Snow man (Tibetan version)
8. Lotus Love (Tibetan version)
9. Butterfly wings, album
10. The glow of peace
11. The girl I love you
12. Waiting for the girl
13. Tsenpo angels
14. South Cone Lake fertile
15. Expect
16. Distant Qin Ge
17. Magic snow
18. Lovers
19. Waiting for hope, Kunga album
20. The wheel of wonderful sounds
21. Peace in the sun
22. Wonderful sounds a lengthy
23. Life is the future

*If you have the URL of any of the above music, please add it in the comments below.

Breaking Boundaries on the Web: Thoughts from a Blogger Activist

For the most recent edition of SFT HQ’s newsletter Banned in Tibet we interviewed Dechen Pemba, a Tibetan blogger activist who runs the exceptional site: http://www.HighPeaksPureEarth.com

Thoughts on being deported from Beijing
I found 8 Chinese security officials waiting for me outside the door of my flat in Beijing on the morning of 8th July 2008. They asked to see my passport and resident permit first and then took away my mobile phone. I was then told that I had broken the laws of the country and according to those laws had to leave immediately. When I asked why I was being made to leave, I was told that I ought to know what I had done wrong. I asked to contact the British Embassy, this was denied. Two of the security officials were filming every moment, my flat was searched and some of my personal belongings were confiscated. They all took the details of my bank account, including my PIN number.

At first I didn’t think that it was strange that they wanted to check my papers. It was almost the Olympics after all and Beijing was in a fervour of paranoia and security clampdowns. If you ask any foreigner who was in Beijing at the time, they will tell you that it was a crazy time. It was routine for local public security bureaus to go around checking resident permits of all foreigners in the city at any time.

Of course when I realised what was actually happening, it was a much more alarming situation. I wasn’t worried for my personal safety as the people dealing with me were civil and not threatening. If I was really being deported back to London, although unjust, I thought that it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to a person…my Tibetan friends or anyone in Tibet would not have been as fortunate as I was with my British passport.
Since the protests in Tibet that started on March 10, 2008, all Tibetans were under close surveillance. This also wasn’t the first time that I had been visited by Chinese security officials, I had been detained for a short time at Beijing airport in April 2008 for being Tibetan. I was questioned for a short while but that time they let me back into the country. Also, 5 security officials came to my flat at the end of May 2008 to ask more questions and to check my papers. In China, it’s easy for authorities to keep an eye on someone. It was 9am when they came to deport me and at 1:30pm I was on an Air China flight bound for London.

Thoughts on Blogging
At present I run a translations blog called High Peaks Pure Earth that monitors blogs from Tibet and translates internet writings from Tibet. Following the intense security crackdown in Tibet in 2008, there was in effect a media blackout and very little information coming out. Woeser’s blog was the most important source of information at the time. Through her contacts and her blogging, it was possible to find out about arrests, detentions, deaths, protests and the thoughts and wishes of ordinary Tibetans. As Woeser blogs in Chinese, it was essential for the blog to be translated into English in order to reach a larger audience. This kind of information is crucial and several individuals worked very hard to have Woeser’s Tibet Updates translated quickly into English and published online on China Digital Times.

However, Woeser is not only an important voice in times of great crisis, as 2008 was. Once the protests in Tibet seemed to be over and the Olympics had been and gone, the spotlight off China, Woeser continued to write articles, commentaries, travel diaries of journeys through Tibet and Lhasa and, of course, poems. There was no forum anywhere online dedicated to regularly translating her work. In fact, Tibetan blogs were being overlooked as a source of not only information but also a place full of much debate and literary wealth. So the motivation behind setting up High Peaks Pure Earth in September 2008 was very much to introduce the Tibetan blogosphere to an English language audience and to give voice to Woeser and other Tibetan bloggers in Tibet.

Thoughts on Technology
Internet is very much a double edged sword for Tibetans. On the one hand it’s an amazing source of information for us but internet writings can come at a heavy price for the writer. We’ve had the experience several times where we’ll find an article and we’ll save the link and we’ll want to have it translated so we’ll send the link to the translator and it’s gone or it’s been blocked. Also, quite often, an entire website will be suddenly inaccessible. Several of the main Tibetan blog hosting sites are closed down during any sensitive period. Many Tibetans have gone to prison for “communicating with the outside world”.

The axe really comes down based on the political climate, and any time there are sensitive anniversaries. For instance, in the run up to 10th March, usually nothing can be uploaded. Also, all the main Tibetan blog sites were blocked for the entire month of August 2009. When the blogs came back up we discovered that a lot of content that was deemed political had been removed.

Having said that, blogposts don’t always need to be overtly political, you can find many different kinds and styles of writing, anything from nuanced, subtle political commentary to the standard boring stuff someone did that day. For me the best, most defiant blog posts are the ones which are clever and creative. For instance, during the Dragon Boat Festival which everyone has to celebrate all over China, a Tibetan wrote that we should celebrate, but if you read further he said, let us celebrate a festival our forefathers had never heard of and let’s celebrate by eating something our forefathers had never tasted before! So through humour, through irony, you can really say a lot. Also many bloggers will write poetry and use metaphors to only hint at the things they want to say but it’s very powerful anyway, if you know what signs and signals to look out for.

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!

Losar 2010: Because I am Tibetan

Dear friends and supporters of Tibet,

Tibetans will mark Losar – the Tibetan New Year – on February 14th, 2010. In the Tibetan lunar calendar, this day marks the beginning of the Iron Tiger Year 2137, a time for change, hope, and renewal. On this day, we celebrate our history, our culture, our religion, and our future – because our history is great, our culture beautiful, our religion profound, and – in spite of our present suffering – our future is bright.

Since 2008, following the Tibetan uprising in all three historical provinces of Tibet, we witnessed an escalation in the imprisonment, torture and death of our fellow countrymen and women under Chinese rule. Because of this, last year, Tibetans united around the world and did not celebrate Losar.

This year, many Tibetans are planning to observe Losar for one reason only: because we are Tibetan. We will speak Tibetan language, wear Tibetan dress, and observe Tibetan customs, thus strengthening our identity and our spirit. Through this observance we will find new courage and opportunities to advance our struggle. In observing Losar with family and friends, Tibetans will reach for happiness, which, as much as suffering, is an integral part of a freedom movement.

Through all these years of occupation one thing is clear: the oppressor envies the spirit of the Tibetan people, which cannot be crushed by violence. This year Tibetans worldwide will nourish this spirit with the observance of Losar.

While observing this important cultural tradition, we ask Tibetans and supporters to light butter lamps and candles on their altars and in their windows on February 14th to honor the courage of the Tibetan people in Tibet who continue to resist the Chinese government’s illegal occupation of their homeland.

Tibet will be free.

With hope,

Tenzin Dorjee,                              Lhadon Tethong,
Executive Director,  SFT            Director, Tibet Action Institute

Please watch this inspiring video from Amdo, Eastern Tibet, where Tibetans, young and old, declare the myriad ways they are Tibetan.

Included in the video are these statements:
I am Tibetan because I love Tibet.
I am Tibetan because I learn Tibetan.
I am Tibetan because I love my culture.
I am Tibetan because I wear only Tibetan dress.
I am Tibetan because Tibetan blood flows in me.
I am Tibetan because my mother is Tibetan.
I am Tibetan because I sing Tibetan.
I am Tibetan because I am a Tibetan nomad.
I am Tibetan because I love my land.
I am Tibetan because I am a herder on the plateau.
I am Tibetan because I never forget Tibet.
I am Tibetan because I love my Tibetan brothers and sisters.