PAST HEADLINES 2007-08

Reconstruction work began this month in the quake-devastated  region of Eastern Tibet. Last month, a quake variously estimated to be 7.1 or 6.9 in magnitude centered in Jeigu in the Kham-Amdo borderlands area of Tibet, destroyed most of the structures in the region. A foundation-laying ceremony was held for two new neighborhoods to be built in Trangu and Ganda villages. The rebuilding of the two villages will be a pilot project for the whole region's reconstruction program, according to the governor. Meanwhile, China Daily reports that at this critical moment in Yushu, the Dalai Lama, "in collusion with some ill-willed western media," stated that he wished to "comfort the people in Yushu", in an attempt to take advantage of the Han-Tibetan relationship and the suffering of the quake victims, only to attract more eyeballs.

China Daily

In an exclusive interview with certainly one of the largest outlets of the western media, The Associated Press, the Dalai Lama said The Tibetan exile movement must press forward with its talks with the Chinese government despite almost no progress from years of negotiations. He also warned that it could be decades before any benefits of such talks with China are obvious. He also said that increasing sympathy for the Tibetan cause among Chinese intellectuals indicates that Beijing’s policies could change. He also said there had been vague signs from Beijing that some of the top Chinese leadership might be ready to moderate its stand on Tibet.

Radio Free Asia

Another dissident, Sonam Tsering, who was featured prominently in Chinese official footage of the March 14, 2008 riots in Lhasa brandishing a knife, has been sentenced to death, suspended for two years. Five other Tibetans were sentenced to terms ranging from three to seven years for attempting to shelter him, according to a report in the Lhasa Evening News. .He is now the seventh Tibetan known to have been sentenced to death following the March 2008 protests, and of those, the fifth to have been given a suspended death sentence.According to the International Campaign for Tibet, suspended death sentences under the Chinese judicial system are usually commuted to life imprisonment after the two-year period of suspension has passed, with executions only known to have been carried out if the prisoner committed a particularly serious crime while in prison during the period of suspension, such as attacking a prison guard or killing another prisoner.
Since the riots, ICT reports that more than 30 Tibetan writers, artists and other intellectuals have been detained for song lyrics, essays, telephone conversations and e-mail messages deemed to pose a threat to Chinese rule.
And there are reports of several new regulations aimed at censoring communications or what is being called information security.
The New York Times reports that a regulation now in the works will require the operators of printing and photocopying shops to obtain a new permit from the government.  They will also be required to take down identifying information about their clients and the specific documents printed or copied, the newspaper said. China Daily newspaper reports that “Local police will regularly check how effective the new measures are being implemented
And according to Radio Free Asia, students and teachers at a high school near the Tibetan city of Shigatse have been told to delete certain popular Tibetan-language songs from their cell phones after they were designated "unhealthy" by local education officials, according to its Web site.
The school announced recently that owing to the "increasing complexity of separatism," a list of 27 popular Tibetan-language tracks had been banned, whether in audio or video disk format, or as digital media files on people's cell phones.
And  finally, the Financial Times reports that China is cracking down on online mapping that it considers a risk to national security.

Save Tibet

Radio Free Asia

New York Times

China Digital Times

China Daily

But technology goes both ways

The Dalai Lama, having only been a Twitter user since late February, is already using the platform to circumvent Chinese censorship. his month he  held a one-hour question-and-answer session via Twitter to respond to questions submitted by Chinese web users.
The Twitter chat was hosted by Chinese writer Wang Lixiong who met with the Dalai Lama in a New York hotel room. The Dalai Lama’s Twitter responses were translated by a Chinese interpreter. According to Agence France Press,
“Nearly 12,000 people selected the 250 questions by online voting done on a Google Moderator site.
It’s not known how many Chinese people were able to follow the tweets as Twitter is blocked in China. Still there are an estimated 150,000 people in China who use Twitter, and access to the Dalai Lama’s responses were accessible via third-party Twitter applications.

Google

Phayul

MADISON, Wis. — in 1992, After hearing about an American neuroscientist's  cutting-edge research on the brain and emotions the Dalai Lama invited  him to his home in Indiato pose a question.
Scientists often study depression, anxiety and fear, but why not devote your work to the causes of positive human qualities like happiness and compassion? the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader asked.
And so began Richard Davidson's partnership with the Dalai Lama's attempts to build a connection between Buddhism and western science. This month in Madison Wisconsin, the Dalai Lama marked the opening of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the university's Waisman Center, where more than a dozen researchers will study the science behind positive qualities of mind. Davidson said the center will be the only one in the world with a meditation room next to a brain imaging laboratory.

Google

Two Tibetans were executed in Lhasa for their alleged roles in the protests and rioting in Lhasa on March 14, 2008, according to reports by Tibetan exile organizations confirmed by the Chinese embassy in London. Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak were sentenced to death in April 2009 on charges relating to "starting fatal fires," according to a report in the Chinese state media. Though some reports said four were executed these two are the first confirmed executions of Tibetans in connection with the Lhasa riot on March 14, 2008

Save Tibet

Chinese authorities have also executed nine people in connection with the ethnic riots in Xinjiang (SHEN JONG)  in July of this year. According to the BBC, a total of 21 people have been convicted over the riots

BBC News

The Dalai Lama's visit to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh this month stirred up a storm of complaints from Beijing who claim part of the remote north-east region to be in Chinese territory. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responded by saying that the Dalai Lama was "an honored guest" in India and that he is "free to travel anywhere in the country."

Reuters

Reuters is reporting that on the eve of US President Barack Obama's visit to China, a Chinese government spokesman said he should be especially sympathetic to China's opposition to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence, as a black president who lauded Abraham Lincoln for helping abolish slavery.
President Obama's first visit to China will include a summit that will cover the two big powers' vast and sometimes tense economic, diplomatic and security ties.

Reuters

To read the ICT Board letter to President Obama regarding the US-China summit, please visit:

Save Tibet

Earlier this month Radio Free Asia reported that about 100 Tibetans protesting a Chinese company in the northeastern municipality of Tianjin  were gathered and taken away by police The workers were allegedly cheated by the company through a pyramid scheme.

Radio Free Asia

The Times of India reports that Deying Drolma, the grand-niece of the Dalai Lama, was made a Communist party member in June last year. In what is called "a curiously-timed announcement," the official Xinhua news agency made it known more than a year after she was accepted into the party.

Times of India

The BBC reports that China is running a number of unlawful detention centers in which its citizens can be kept for months, according to Human Rights Watch. The report says these centers - known as black jails - are often in state-run hotels, nursing homes or psychiatric hospitals.

BBC News

Human Rights Watch also says Chinese authorities should abolish secret jails used to unlawfully detain citizens who travel to the capital and other major cities to file complaints.

CNN

The Tibetan government-in-exile just launched a cable network  in Dharmasala to be known as Tibet TV.  Phayul reports that the network is designed to highlight the government's polices among the exiled community.

Phayul

Thaiindian News

Some 200 people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested as Chinese police put down riots in Xinjiang province.
China  blames exiled Muslim Uighar separatists for instigating the demonstrations though the exiles denied the charge. Both groups report that Uighars are bieng attacked and beaten by Han mobs and Chinese police.

unrest taken by foreign journalists and being spread by Chinese netizens

President Hu Jintao cut short a visit to Italy for the G8 summit to deal with the outbreak of ethnic violence

His Holiness released this statementNew Delhi, India, 8 July 2009 - I am deeply saddened and concerned with the worsening situation in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), especially with the tragic loss of lives. I earnestly urge the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the situation in a spirit of understanding and far-sightedness. I offer my prayers for those who lost their lives, their families and others affected by this sad turn of events.

The Website of The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Earthquake in China's Southwestern Yunnan Province Injures 300 on July 9th and toppled 10,000 homes

His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessed a new Sakya Monastery in Kaza
The Tibetan leader who turned 74 on Monday inaugurated the new Sakya Tenggyu monastery and blessed the Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh, reputed for being the Deva-Bhumi or the land of Gods.

Official website of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Tibetan Monks Tell Tale of Escape From China

Tibet drought worst in 30 years: Chinese state media

Police disperse protesters after clashes in China

Chinese TV employees suspended for Tiananmen broadcast

Foreign reporters allowed scripted trip to Tibet

Xinjiang-themed malware
We have been receiving numerous examples of Xinjiang-themed malware
over the past 48 hrs [social engineering - content to follow] from IPs
in China. We encourage people to continue to submit these to g.walton
at www.secdev.ca. IWM will release a threat report shortly.

Secdev

A unique and controversial new report by a group of Chinese scholars in Beijing concludes that China’s strategies to ensure ‘stability’ in Tibet have failed, and it challenges the official position that the Dalai Lama “incited” the protests that broke out in Tibet in March 2008. Translated from Chinese by International Campaign for Tibet, the first of its kind report also says that private-sector jobs in Tibet went to ethnic Han Chinese from other provinces, and public money flowed into the pockets of a new elite which systematically portrayed community discontent as "separatism"

Bold report by Beijing scholars reveals breakdown of Chinas Tibet policy

Exposed: Beijing's failure in Tibet

Late in May, in Prague at a summit that was previously delayed over the issue of Tibet, China warned the EU not to interfere in its affairs.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi traveled to  Beijing with the US Congressional Delegation and did specifically raise the  Tibet issue in terms of human rights despite predictions that she would shy away from any mention. She encouraged China to engage in conversation with the Dalai Lama or his representatives.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

China effectively disbarred as many as 20 lawyers known for taking sensitive human rights cases, according to the Associated Press in the runup to the 20th anniversary of the Tainanmen Square protests. . Also at the time of the anniversary WIRED reports taht authorities instituted censoring measures to block access to several internet sites and services. They have since been restored, but the Wall Street Journal reports that China now plans to require that all personal computers sold in the country as of July 1 be shipped with software that blocks access to certain Web sites, a move that could give government censors unprecedented control over how Chinese users access the Internet

China lawyers: Touchy cases could mean disbarment - AP

China Censors: The Tiananmen Square Anniversary Will Not Be Tweeted - wired

China Squeezes PC Makers - WSJ

Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia reports that talks have resolved a standoff over a planned gold mine in Tibet at a site considered sacred,by Tibetans.

In other protest news, the UK Guardian reports that 6 Tibetan women were shot at and wounded by Chinese security forces during a protest at the forceful relocation of "tens of thousands" of Tibetans to make way for a major hydroelectric dam in Sichuan.

Chinese police shoot dam protesters, Tibetan government-in-exile claims

Chinese authorities have made a rare admission in a report fromthe state run Xinhua news service that a Tibetan monk committed suicide due to ‘stress’.
The Xinhua report said that Sheldrup was found dead on March 9, 2009 in his monastery after hanging himself with two khatags (white blessing scarves).
The International  Campaign for Tibet says that according to information received from Tibetans who knew Sheldrup, he was detained following peaceful protests at his monastery on April 17, 2008, when he and several other monks demanded the release of monks detained during the initial wave of protests a month previously.

Official acknowledgement of suicide of monk after protests due to 'stress'

The BBC reports that His Holiness r the Dalai Lama has been made an honorary citizen of the French capital, Paris.China  called the Paris honour to the Dalai Lama a "grave interference" in Sino-French ties.

Dalai Lama made citizen of Paris - BBC News

New images received from Tibet depict thousands of dollars worth of wild animal pelts being burned in the Tibetan area of Amdo, eastern Tibet, according to the International Campaign for Tibet. . The photographs were taken in February 2009, during Tibetan New Year, at a time when Tibetans sought to mark the festival by mourning those killed in the protests. This was in defiance of the Chinese authorities' attempts to enforce celebration of the New Year. The images, along with the report, can be viewed at our website the tibetconnection.org

The Tibet Connection

New images of burning of wild animal pelts in dramatic act of dissent

Good news about Golok Jigme, a monk who helped filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen make the 2008 documentary Leaving fear behind. Dhondup Wangchen is still being held.

HighPeaksPureEarth.com has translated Woeser's recent blog post about the release of Lama Jigme Gyatso - The translation is available

Reporters Without Borders has expressed public concern about the physical safety of journalists and website editors who have been arrested in the past few months in Tibet and neighbouring Tibetan regions. The latest to be arrested is Dokru Tsuilrim, a monk who edited the magazine Khawai Tsesok and Kunga Tsayang, a monk from the Amdo Labrang Tashi Kyil Monastery who has written online political commentary.

CPJ concerned for welfare of detained Tibetan writer

The reported disappearance of Tsayang is part of an ongoing sweep of Tibetan online writers that began in March 2008 amid ethnic unrest in Tibet

Labrang monks stage protest during official media tour

The Associated Press says that Respected Tibetan abbot Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche went  on trial for weapons charges on April 21. Authorities claim they found a pistol, more than 100 bullets, and cartridges under a bed in his living room.  He faces prison if convicted, but his sentencing has been indefinitely postponed by a Chinese court.  

Tibetan lama on trial for weapons charge in China

The NY Times reported on the related arrests of nuns in two of the convents the abbot led. the nuns apparently refused to sign papers denouncing the Dalai Lama,  and according to Woeser the prominent Tibetan blogger, At least a dozen of the nuns have been sentenced for unknown crimes, and six are still being detained,

Senior Tibetan Cleric Faces Prison in China

International Campaign for Tibet reports that on May 1 The United States Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report, noting amid numerous other concerns about religious freedom in the People’s Republic of China that “In Tibetan Buddhist areas, religious freedom conditions may be worse now than at any time since the Commission’s inception.”

US Commission Condemns Religious Repression in Tibet

Tibetan discontent at Chinese rule has taken a new twist, with farmers refusing to till their fields in a show of passive resistance against Beijing. Asian News International reports that officials are have sent in troops from the People's Liberation Army to work with farmers - or in their place if need be - to carry out spring planting in mountainous regions able to support only one crop a year.

To protest Chinese rule Tibetan farmers refuse to sow spring crops

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet, turned 20 in  April. He has been missing for the past fourteen years since his abduction by the Chinese authorities at the young age of six. There has been no information about his  whereabouts since May 1995 although several recent reports have surfaced that the boy may have died  some years ago from "cancer or leukemia" Efforts are under way by the International Tibet Support Network and other Offices of Tibet to substantiate or debunk this claim.
 

Tibetan teenagers from Labrang Tibetan Middle School in Amdo made a bold protest on April 24 against continued vilification of the Dalai Lama and an 'anti-separatism' campaign in schools in the area, according to International Campaign for Tibet. While the students detained are now believed to have been released, some after being beaten, local Tibetans fear further retaliation by the authorities.

ICT Reports

Finally, Last month we brought you an interview with one of the University of Toronto researchers at the Information Warfare Monitor that uncovered a suspected  network of cyber spy servers - most of them based in China - This month the group launched a service  that allows people in China and other nations with government censorship of the Internet to get around the firewalls.
The system, called Psiphon,( “Sy-fon”) is the first to work on mobile browsers, such as those on cell phones.

Iranians and Others Outwit Net Censors

H.H the Dalai Lama concluded his recent visit to Europe where he met several European heads of state including French president Nicola Sarkozy . The Chinese government protested the visits and even cancelled a long planned EU meeting. According to the Associated Press, while on his visit to Poland His Holiness said that the struggle for Tibet can be solved 'within a few days'. A press release issued by the Tibetan government offered to continue the dialogue with China anywhere, anytime if the Chinese government chose to do so.

Herald Tribune

Phayul

Earlier this month the Dalai Lama had sent minor shockwaves through the global Tibetan community when he  stated that having already taken semi retirement it is quote  better if I retire completely and get out of the way of the Tibetan movement," He said that Prime Minister, Samdong Rinpoche would lead the future course of Tibetan movement.

Friends of Tibet

Meanwhile, the new Speaker of the 14th Tibetan Parliament in exile PENPA TSERING was sworn in on December 16th. He will hold the position for the next two and a half years.

Phayul

Internet service providers in China have pulled the plug on several prominent foreign and domestic Web sites in recent weeks, ending the limited freedom of access to "sensitive" sites that Web users in China enjoyed during this year's Olympic Games.

Radio Free Asia

In Taiwan over one hundred Tibetans whose visas were about to expire staged a sit in to publicize their  wish to remain in Taiwan legally and be allowed to work there.. The Democratic Progressive Party backed the protesters and asked the government to grant asylum to 110 refugees.
 
Meanwhile Taiwanese ,  President Ma Ying-jeou (Ma Ying-jeou)  nixed  a possible 2009 visit by the Dalai Lama. Taiwan Buddhist groups, who had suggested the visit  have   protested Ma stance He in turn insisted that Taiwan would extend a warm welcome to the Tibetan leader if he visited for religious activities at an opportune time, but now is not that time.

Reuters

Taiwan News

Phayul

Phayul

Finally, Reuters news service reports that ironically the new  Guns N' Roses album entitled "Chinese Democracy" will not be available to everyone in China. Fans in China will have to go underground to get their hands on a copy of the band's first album in 17 years China's culture ministry has the final say on such matters.

Reuters

British Foreign Minister David Miliband surprised many by announcing a sudden a change in the UK's position on Tibet. After almost a century of recognizing Tibet as an autonomous entity, Mr. Miliband said that Britain had decided to recognize Tibet as part of China, a move that a number of observers suspect is linked to Britain's trade deals with the PRC. Tibet scholar Robbie Barnett said that the shift in Britain's position "risks tearing up a historical record that could provide the basis for resolving China's dispute with Tibet."

Free Tibet Website

There are fears for the safety of a senior monk, Jigme Guri, (pronounced gig mee goo-ree) whose graphic account of detention and torture following the protests in Spring was widely viewed on Youtube. Jigme Guri was re-arrested and is now being held in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu province.

Save Tibet Website

High Peaks Pure Earth

55 more sentences were handed down for Tibetans who stood trial for their involvement in the March protests in Lhasa. According to China's official news agency, Xinhua (pronounced zhin-wah), sentences ranged from three years to life.

Xinhua Website

Tibetan government workers in China's Gansu province clashed with soldiers and police in an incident that seriously injured one soldier and one police officer, according to Tibetan sources who said that eighteen Tibetans were briefly detained.

Radio Free Asia Website

Severe snowstorms left at least nine people dead and trapped hundreds in Tibet, state media reported mid-month. Rescuers had evacuated almost 2,000 people in the worst hit counties of Lhunze (pronounced lhoon-dzey) and Tsona in Shannan district.

Phayul Website

The UN Committee against Torture expressed deep concern about allegations of routine and widespread use of torture throughout China and particularly in Tibet following the March protests. The Committee is giving China one year to provide a response. China's foreign ministry called members of the committee "prejudiced and politicized".

Reuters Website

Full report : The UN Committee on Torture's conclusions are available at:

Download pdf

The International Campaign for Tibet reported that a Tibetan woman in her thirties, Walza Norzin Wangmo, from Sichuan province has been sentenced to five years in prison for passing on news through the phone and internet about the situation in Tibet to the outside world. This according to two sources including the Tibetan government in exile.

Save Tibet Website

The Australian newspaper reported a heavy Chinese military presence in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, with snipers on rooftops and armed patrols passing through the Tibetan quarter every five minutes. In an interview with the reporters, the vice-governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Bai Ma Cai Wang, said, "For people's safety and desire for security and order, the Government has moderately adjusted the presence of the police force on the street".

The Australian Website

And finally, a Chinese lawyer known for his efforts for defending human rights has strongly supported the Dalai Lama's call for genuine autonomy for Tibet. Boxun news reported that Zhu Jiuhu, made the statement in a courtroom while defending a Chinese writer convicted for inciting separatist activities. He said that the Dalai Lama's appeal for meaningful and genuine regional national autonomy is consistent with the Chinese constitution.

Phayul Website

English translation of the DALAI LAMA'S STATEMENT. October 25, 2008

click here to download file

REUTERS: Dalai Lama Leaves Hospital After Successful Surgery

ICT: Report on Earthquake in Tibet

EPOCH TIMES: Tibetan Aids Activist Missing

VOICE OF AMERICA: Tibetan Envoy Warns of Violence if Talks Fail

THE DAILY MAIL (UK): Chinese Repression in Tibet is Like Cultural Revolution

PHAYUL: Tibetan Filmmaker Temporarily Released From Prison

RADIO FREE ASIA: Tibetans Jailed for Blasts

NEW YORK TIMES; Surveillance of Skype Messages Found in China

ICT: Evidence of Discrimination of Tibetans After Protests

PHAYUL: Tibet Accessory at Paris Fashion Show

Remembering Rangzen by Jamyang Norbu

The Dalai Lama's Pro-Independence Brother Dies in US

Tibetan to Unveil Autonomy Plan

China Slams Dalai Lama in Government Report

Chinese Migrants a Cause for Tibet Protests

Spanish High Court to Probe Chinese on Tibet Deaths

United States Senate Resolution: September 17, 2008

China Critizes US Senate Over Tibet Resolution

Tibetan Journalist Detained

Reporters Without Borders Express Concern Over Arrest of Tibetan Filmmakers

Chinese Armed Police Beat Tibet Monks

NEWSDESK

Tibetan nomad sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for "splittism"

Chinese impose blackouts for new Tibetan monk deaths

Nepal police break up Tibet protests, 118 held

China says it is 'sincere' in Tibet talks

Tibetans see little point in more talks with China: envoy

China Is Growing Unfriendly to Foreigners, Visitors Say.

Economist

OLYMPICS

Tibetan flags banned at Olympic equestrian event

China tightens restrictions on foreign performers

Similar report in NY Times

Xinhua report

Flights grounded during Olympics opening ceremony

Macau Daily Times

OLYMPICS - IOC & CHINA REFORMS

Olympic chief says committee won China rights reforms
The IOC says it has persuaded China to pass new laws on sensitive rights and environment issues ahead of the Beijing Games. Jacques Rogge outlined the "quiet diplomacy" it waged with China, which he said led to three new bills to protect child labourers, media rights and the environment plus a measure securing compensation for residents made homeless to make way for the games. "We carried out the only kind of diplomacy that works in China - silent diplomacy," Rogge said. "I could have earned instant popularity by mounting the barricades and rebuking (China). But it wouldn't have achieved anything." Instead, "we obtained a new law on the media which is perhaps not perfect, but is a remarkable step forward for China," he said. "For the first time, foreign media will be able to report freely and publish their work freely in China. There will be no censorship on the Internet." Rogge said the IOC had "achieved satisfaction" on the four issues.

AFP

OLYMPICS Journos come to grips with reporting restrictions

Emergency Beijing Olympic pollution scheme begins
Beijingers breathed easier on Sunday as traffic restrictions and factory closures came into effect in a last ditch attempt to turn the often smoggy Chinese capital into a pollution-free venue for the Olympics.

Reuters

Games hurdles for Beijing businesses
A look at the impact of the Olympics on China's economy and foreign investment.

The Australian Business

Olympics test press freedom
A look at media restrictions surrounding the Beijing Olympics.

Washington Times

Guess who's not invited to the Olympics?
Article about the Dalai Lama's and the President of Taiwan's non-attendance at the Olympics.

Reuters

Olympic protests pose quandary for Chinese forces
A look at the possibility of protests during the Olympics.

Reuters

Guardian UK

Google article

Amnesty International issued a report which says that more than 1,000 Tibetans remain in police custody following the unrest in March. The next day Xinhua news agency announced  that a total of 1,157 people who were detained for their involvement  in riots were released.. another 12 people were punished and 116 are still in custody awaiting trial.

One thousand protesters unaccounted for in Tibet lock-down

Olympic torch relay in Tibet amid tight security

Huang Qi, a leading cyber-dissident was kidnapped with two other activists on June 10  in Chengdu.

Tibetan leaders in Nepal arrested from their homes

ICT calls for urgent international action against new Nepal government arrests of Tibetans

In Nepal authorities detained at least 650 Tibetan exiles protesting against China's policies

Hundreds of Tibetan exiles arrested in Nepal

And In the northern tip of Nepal adjoining Tibet, a famine  looms after China closed its border in a further bid to crush protests ahead of the August Olympics.

Famine in Nepal after China closes Tibet border

On the Indo tibet  border–  over 40 protesters on Shipkila pass attempting  to restart the March to Tibet were arrested by Indian police. Several have embarked on hunger strikes as of press time.

Arrested Tibetan marchers on hunger strike for second day

On a more hopeful note, The Dalai Lama said that talks with China's government may resume as soon as next month

Dalai Lama says Tibet talks with China may restart

american red cross

just giving

mercy corps

Huffington Post article

Time

CCTV

A Tibetan youth who was arrested in the aftermath of Lhasa unrest in March‭ ‬is interviewed by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

TCHRD

The Dalai Lama in Great Britain

Times online

Press Trust News

Guardian

Phayul

BBC News

See also BBC's profile of the Dalai Lama

Olympic/Torch updates

Xinhua

Clarion-Ledger

News.com

Three Tibetan monks testified in Spanish court this week as part of a case rought against China by the Madrid-based Committee to Support Tibet. It acacuses seven senior Chinese officials, including former President Jiang Zemin, of ordering torture and massacres in Tibet.

Phayul

His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Orgeyen Trinley Dorjeh, arrives in America.

Karmapa in America

Chinese factory produces Tibetan flags

Pico Iyer

Random house

Library Foundation

READ MORE...

In the US lawmakers are urging the government to take a stand and offer an action plan on Tibet.

READ MORE...

Anti China/Anti Western sentiments come to a boil with worldwide protests and demonstrations including several inside China against a chain of French stores. Meanwhile questions about which heads of state should attend Olympics and the role that corporate sponsors should play continues to dominate the news.

READ MORE...

The Olympic torch is met by peaceful protesters as it makes its way around the world. It is scheduled to arrive at Mt Everest in early May.

READ MORE...

After a brief stop in New Delhi, a new group of Tibetans joined the the March to Tibet to continue the journey begun on March 10th in Dharamsala.

READ MORE...

For information about March 31 Global Day of Action

For information about all upcoming protests and actions

Tibet Flash

The torch will make its only North American stop in San Francisco on April 8 and 9th. A series of events are planned and a huge turnout of human rights activists is expected. Tibet supporters target US city

English Aljazeera

As for the Beijing Olympics torch, Human rights activists created another stir at the lighting in Greece  all but eclipsing the ceremony.

Pro-Tibet protesters strike as the Olympic flame is lit

Exiled Tibetans to host their own 'Olympics' in northern India

China unhappy at Pelosi-Dalai Lama meeting

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi met the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, on March 21 appearing beside him at a press conference

Perhaps Chinese writer  WANG LIXIONG put it best when he said:

The fundamental cause of these recurrent events is a painful dilemma that lives inside the minds of Tibetan monks. When the Chinese government demands that they denounce their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, monks are forced to choose between obeying, which violates their deepest spiritual convictions, and resisting, which can lead to loss of government registry and physical expulsion from monasteries
In response to the unrest, he and 28 other leading Chinese intellectuals  released a petition in China on March 22, entitled 'Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation'. It is a significant indication that Chinese voices are being raised in China in response to the way Beijing has handled the protests that began on March 10. Full text

International Campaign for Tibet

Int'l media delegation departs for Tibet after unrest

official website of the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

March 10 marks the anniversary of the first tibetan uprising that occured 49 years ago. Several peaceful events, including a planned  March of Tibetans from INdia into Tibet, were completely overshadowed by a series of protests in Lhasa that quickly spread throughout the Tibetan AutonomousRegion, Sichuan and Gansu Provinces leaving hundreds injured and  hundreds more arrested.  According to China's Xinhua news agency, only 19 deaths occured on that day. The Tibetan Government in exhile puts the number closer to 100. We'll have links to both their websites so you can see for yourself how the accounts and tallies vary.

Questions, answers about casualties, damages of recent riots

Lhasa March 10th. I spoke with one of the only Western witnesses there, Steve Dubois, a social worker from Belgium who was travelling with several companions ,. He is reportedly the first eyewitness to post  video  on YouTube where one can clearly see   protesters and police clashing in Barkor Square

first eyewitness video on youtube

Bjork - Declare Independence for Tibet - Shanghai

Tibetan Uprising

TIBETANS LAUNCH HISTORIC MOVEMENT AHEAD OF BEIJING OLYMPICS by Tibetan People's Uprising Movement

Exiled Tibetans plan anti-Olympic march back home

Tibetan exiles plan to march from India into Tibet to protest Beijing Olympics

Phayul.com reports that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights believes that the case of Tibet will be getting more attention DIRECTLY DUE to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Louise Arbour spoke on December 10, World Human Rights day.

Phayul

Phayul dot com also reports that the Chinese government says has it released the world's first Tibetan language office Software

The Associated Press featured a look at how US lawmakers are hoping to use the attention generated by the Bejing summer Olympic games to highlight their complaints about China's government.

The Associated Press

According to Xinhuanet.com, three major historical renovations in Lhasa will be completed in 2008. 46 million dollars have been allocated by the central Chinese government to repair the Potola Palace, NorbuLingka palace and the Sagya Monastery. The repairs were originally set to be completed in 2007.

Xinhua

Xinhua news agency reports that the first ozone observatory in the Tibet Autonomous Region has started operations.

Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88. The bee keeper from New Zealand and his Sherpa colleague Tenzing Norgay were the first men to ever stand on the top of Mt Everest in 1953. Hillary established the Himalyan Trust in 1960 and devoted much of his to life raising money to build schools, hospitals and roads in villages in the Himalayan mountains.TV New Zealand dot com reports that for many in the region he was quote "a second Dalai Lama for us."

A Humanitarian, at 30,000 Feet Remembering Sir Edmund Hillary

SportingNews.com reports that the longest torch relay in Olympic history will officially go through Tienanmen Square on the final leg of a world tour that still includes passage over the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest.

Sporting News

On new year's day a float celebrating the Beijing Olympics was part of the world famous Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena California despite the best efforts of a unique coalition of activists including Falun Gong supporters, Tibet Support
Groups and Reporters without Borders.

Los Angeles Times

Protesters will try to steal spotlight from Rose Parade By SOLVEJ SCHOU AP Writer