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RFA BREAKING NEWS: Three More Detained Tibetan Protesters Die From Gunshot Wounds

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Three More Detained Tibetan Protesters Die From Gunshot Wounds AUG. 19, 2014 -- Three more Tibetans have died of untreated gunshot wounds after Chinese authorities fired on peaceful protesters last week in Sichuan Province and refused to treat the dozens who were injured and detained, according to sources Tuesday. The bodies of the three, all members of the same household, were returned to their families on Monday after they succumbed to their injuries at the detention center in Loshu township in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Two protesters had previously died at the detention center on Sunday, one committing suicide in protest against "torture" at the hands of Chinese authorities and another dying of untreated wounds, exile sources had said. The five who died were among dozens detained after Chinese police fired into a protest by hundreds in Shukpa village in Sershul (Shiqu) county on Aug. 12. Many of those detained who had gunshot wounds were left untreated for a week with bullets still embedded in their bodies. It was not clear when the three Tibetans died at the detention center, but their bodies were returned on Monday, exile sources said, They were identified as Tsewang Gonpo, 60; Yeshe, 42; and Jinpa Tharchin, 18. “They were refused medical care and had been tortured by the Chinese authorities,” Demay Gyaltsen, a Tibetan living in India told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Tuesday, citing local sources. “They succumbed to their injuries in custody, and their bodies were returned to their families on Aug. 18,” Gyaltsen said. Gonpo, the elder of the three who died, was the uncle of Dema Wangdak, a local village leader, whose detention by police on Aug. 11 sparked the mass protest the next day. 'Acting with impunity' Tibet advocacy groups have slammed the Chinese authorities, who have been accused of blatant rights abuses in Tibet, for acting with impunity. “This alarming news indicates that the authorities in this area are apparently acting with complete and dangerous impunity,” Matteo Mecacci, President of the International Campaign for Tibet, said in a statement on Monday. “As a matter of urgency, the international community must express its abhorrence of these acts by officials and paramilitary police in Kardze and call upon the central leadership in Beijing to ensure that the wounded are allowed medical treatment and released from custody, and that the detentions of Tibetans following the protest must end.” Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Deputy Speaker of the exile Tibetan Parliament in India, urged the Chinese government to release the “innocent” Tibetans and allow a fact-finding team and the international media to enter the area to investigate the deadly shooting incident. A group of Tibetans in New York protested outside the United Nations headquarters since Monday, asking the world body to help stop what they called Chinese atrocities on Tibetans. Meanwhile Chinese authorities summoned Tibetan residents of Loshu township to a meeting Monday to accuse the detained village leader of embezzlement, Gyaltsen said. “On Aug. 18, the people of Denkor district in Loshu were summoned to a public meeting in which authorities urged people to spread the word that Wangdak’s detention was not related to horse racing or making incense offerings, but rather was due to his embezzlement of public funds.” Only a few people attended the meeting, though, Gyaltsen said. “Because of this, the authorities have scheduled a further meeting for Aug. 19 to repeat their baseless accusations,” Gyaltsen said. National identity Tibetans in Kardze prefecture are known for their strong sense of Tibetan identity and nationalism, and “the political climate in the region has been deeply oppressive,” the ICT said in a report last week. Last year, at least eight Tibetans were injured when Chinese police fired gunshots and used tear gas to disperse about 1,000 monks and nuns who had gathered in a restive county in Kardze in July to mark the birthday of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008. Reported by Pema Ngodup, Sonam Wangdue and Rigdhen Dolma for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/wounds-08192014131944.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 4 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Chinese Authorities Refuse to Treat Detained Tibetans With Gunshot Wounds

by Param

Chinese Authorities Refuse to Treat Detained Tibetans With Gunshot Wounds AUG. 18, 2014 -- Six days after nearly a dozen Tibetan peaceful protesters were shot and detained by Chinese police in Sichuan province, some of them have bullets still embedded in their bodies as they are denied medical care while in custody, according to exile sources. The situation has become so acute that one of the wounded Tibetan detainees committed suicide Sunday in protest against the "torture" committed by Chinese authorities while another died of untreated wounds at the detention center in Loshu (in Chinese, Luoxu) township in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. On Aug. 12, Chinese police opened fire and detained scores of Tibetans as they broke up a mass protest against the arrest a day earlier of a respected leader in Kardze's Shopa village in Sershul ( Shiqu) county. Village leader Dema Wangdak was held after he complained to the authorities over the harassment of Tibetan women by senior Chinese officials at a cultural performance during their visit to the county, according to sources. “On Sunday, one of the detainees, Lo Palsang [from Shupa village] killed himself in detention in protest against the torture by the Chinese authorities," Demay Gyaltsen, a Tibetan living in exile in India, told RFA’s Tibetan Service, citing local contacts. "On the same day, another detainee, a 22-year-old man, died from injuries,” he said. Concerns Gyaltsen said he was informed that the gunshot wounds of several detainees, including the son of Wangdak, have been left unattended six days after the shooting, raising concerns about their medical condition while under custody. “Several of the wounded, including Kunga Sherab, the son of the village leader Wangdak, have been left without the bullets removed from their bodies," he said. Sherab is in "critical condition," he said. A meditation instructor, Karma Rinchen, of the local Miru monastery is also among the detainees but his condition is not immediately known. Capacity Sources said that initially, the detention center in Loshu had reached full capacity and several of the detainees had to be kept at a hospital. "Some of them were given medical treatment when they were at the hospital but now all of them have been brought back to the detention center while being denied any further medical attention," Gyaltsen said. The detainees had their heads shaved and were not allowed visitors, he said. Tibetans in Kardze prefecture are known for their strong sense of Tibetan identity and nationalism, and “the political climate in the region has been deeply oppressive,” the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), an advocacy group, said in a report last week. Last year, at least eight Tibetans were injured when Chinese police fired gunshots and used tear gas to disperse about 1,000 monks and nuns who had gathered in a restive county in Kardze in July to mark the birthday of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008. Some 131 Tibetans to date have set themselves ablaze in self-immolation protests to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Reported by Yangdon Demo for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/gunshot-08182014014610.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Chinese Police Open Fire at Tibetan Protest, Nearly A Dozen Wounded

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Chinese Police Open Fire at Tibetan Protest, Nearly A Dozen Wounded AUG. 13, 2014 -- Chinese police opened fire to disperse hundreds of Tibetans protesting the detention of a respected village leader in Sichuan province, seriously wounding nearly a dozen people, exile sources said Wednesday, quoting local contacts. Many Tibetans were also detained and beaten in the violent crackdown in Sershul (in Chinese, Shiqu) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on Tuesday, a day after police whisked away village leader Dema Wangdak from his home at midnight, the sources said. Wangdak, 45, was detained after he complained to the authorities over the harassment of Tibetan women by senior Chinese officials at a cultural performance the local community was forced to host during their visit to the county, the source said. “Hundreds gathered to call for Wangdak’s release because he is innocent, but the Chinese authorities sent in security forces to crack down on the protesters,” Demay Gyaltsen, a Tibetan living in exile in India, told RFA’s Tibetan Service. “The security forces used tear gas and fired live ammunition indiscriminately to disperse the crowd during the protest in Loshu township,” he said, adding that about “10 Tibetans were seriously wounded” by the gunshots. Communication links cut off Among the injured were Wangdak’s son and brother, both of whom suffered two gunshot wounds each, said Gyaltsen, who heads an organization in India for Tibetans from Sershul’s neighboring Dege county. After dispersing the protesters, he said, the authorities sought reinforcements and stepped up security late Tuesday, when many Tibetans were detained and communication lines were cut off. “The village is now entirely surrounded by security forces and many of the adults in the village have gone to the hills to hide,” Jampa Youten, a monk in South India told RFA. “Those who remained were the younger Tibetans and women, who have been interrogated and tortured by the Chinese security forces,” he said, also citing local contacts. Illegal ceremony Youten said that when Wangdak, who is a leader of Shopa village, criticized the Chinese officials for harassing the Tibetan women, the authorities accused him of holding an illegal ceremony at the beginning of a local horse festival in which Tibetans burned incense and made prayer offerings. “Wangdak voiced strong opposition to the treatment of the women, which led to a verbal altercation with the officials, who then accused the village leader of holding the ceremony and horse racing without the authorities’ permission,” Youten said. “Under these circumstances, he was taken away secretly at midnight on Aug. 11.” The Chinese authorities did not cite any reasons for Wangdak’s arrest. “The Tibetans do not believe he was held for allowing horse racing, as this is a traditional activity and is a very normal thing,” said Tenpa, another exile source in India with contacts in the region. “His arrest is arbitrary and he didn’t violate any pertinent laws,” he said. 'Speaking up for the poor' Wangdak has a reputation for “standing up for the weak and speaking up for the poor as well as victims of harassment.” Tibetans in Kardze prefecture are known for their strong sense of Tibetan identity and nationalism, and “the political climate in the region has been deeply oppressive,” the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), an advocacy group, said in a report. Last year, at least eight Tibetans were injured when Chinese police fired gunshots and used tear gas to disperse about 1,000 monks and nuns who had gathered in a restive county in Kardze in July to mark the birthday of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008. Some 131 Tibetans to date have set themselves ablaze in self-immolation protests to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Reported by Sonam Wangdue for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/shooting-08132014220307.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: ‘At Least 2,000 Uyghurs Killed’ in Yarkand Violence: Exile Leader

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

‘At Least 2,000 Uyghurs Killed’ in Yarkand Violence: Exile Leader AUG. 5, 2014 -- An exile Uyghur leader has claimed that at least 2,000 ethnic minority Uyghurs may have been killed by Chinese security forces following riots last week in a restive county in China’s western Xinjiang region, far more than reported by the state media. Citing “evidence” from the ground, Rebiya Kadeer, president of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC), accused the Chinese authorities of a cover up of what she called a “massacre” of Uyghurs in Yarkand (in Chinese, Shache) county in Xinjiang’s Kashgar prefecture on July 28. Chinese state media had at first said “dozens” of people were killed but revised upwards the death toll to 96 this week, saying the riots erupted after a “gang” of Uyghurs attacked a police station and government offices in Yarkand’s Elishku township and that the authorities reacted with “a resolute crackdown to eradicate terrorists.” But Kadeer told RFA’s Uyghur Service that information the WUC received from the area was “absolutely different than the accounts provided by Chinese official narrative.” “We have evidence in hand that at least 2,000 Uyghurs in the neighborhood of Elishku township have been killed by Chinese security forces on the first day [of the incident] and they ‘cleaned up’ the dead bodies on the second and third day during a curfew that was imposed,” she said. “We have recorded voice messages from the people in the neighborhood and written testimonies on exactly what had taken place in Elishku township of Yarkand county during this massacre,” she said, adding that the victims were mainly from villages No. 14, 15 and 16 in the township. “We can share these facts without releasing the source of the information as their security and safety is at risk,” said Kadeer, who has been in exile in Washington since being released from a Chinese prison in 2005. Highest death toll in Xinjiang Kadeer said the death toll in Yarkand was the highest reported in Xinjiang violence, surpassing the 200 killed in rioting in the regional capital Urumqi in 2009 involving the mostly Muslim Uyghurs and members of China's Han majority. “It is clearly state terrorism and a crime against humanity by any standard committed by Chinese security forces against the unarmed Uyghur population,” she charged. Kadeer’s claim could not be independently verified but interviews with Uyghur and Han residents in Yarkand and the Silk Road city of Kashgar by RFA’s Uyghur and Mandarin Services indicated that the death toll was much higher than that reported by the state media, with one Han Chinese resident saying it could be “more than 1,000.” Kadeer said that the riots were triggered by a march by a group of Uyghurs to the police station and government offices to seek justice “for the killing of innocent villagers,” including the shooting death of a family of five by police over a dispute about wearing traditional headscarves. She claimed the police gunned down nearly all the protesters and went on to kill others in a house-to-house search. “As usual Chinese security forces have regarded this mass gathering of Uyghurs as a crime and that they should be silenced, and started to shoot at them without even listening to their concerns,” Kadeer said. Uyghurs attacked with sticks She said that some Uyghurs, armed with sticks, attacked government vehicles and government employees in protest against the violence by the security forces. “Chinese military forces immediately called for [reinforcements] and started to shoot and kill all the participants of the march and other villagers during house-to-house searches.” The authorities had sealed off the affected area, which has been surrounded by heavily armed security forces, she said, adding that the July 28 bloody incident had been overshadowed by the Israeli military offensive in Gaza which had grabbed headlines in recent weeks. “At least 2,000 innocent Uyghurs in three villages of Yarkand county have been brutally killed by Chinese security forces without even condemnation from the outside world,” Kadeer said. In the violence-hit Elishku township, a Uyghur shop owner told RFA that “some streets have been almost deserted because many people have died,” citing accounts by his customers who had heard “continuous gunfire and cries for help.” Ambulance sirens A resident of one of the three villages gripped by the violence in Elishku township said she heard ambulance sirens sounding throughout the day on Aug. 2, five days after the riots. When asked about casualties, a doctor at Yarkand People’s Hospital, Mihrigul Awut, said, “Sorry, I cannot answer any questions about the injuries from the incident.” However, local Han Chinese residents of Yarkand county and the Silk Road city of Kashgar said the ruling Chinese Communist Party was trying to "cover up" the extent of the violence, and had greatly underreported the number of deaths. A Han Chinese businesswoman from Kashgar, which administers Yarkand, said that more than 1,000 people, including Hans and Uyghurs, could have died from the violence which she charged was caused by armed Uyghurs. "If you add up our own [Han casualties] with the gangsters, including those of us who died for no reason, it's more than 1,000," she told RFA’s Mandarin Service. "It’s because a lot of the East Turkestanis … attacked people with great, big chopping knives," she said, referring to the Uyghurs. “It's a bit like Iraq over here.” "Some of them were local Uyghurs from around here, while some were from overseas," the businesswoman said, adding, "We have five border crossings to Pakistan around here." Many Uyghurs refer to Xinjiang as East Turkestan, as the region had come under Chinese control following two short-lived East Turkestan republics in the 1930s and 1940s. 'Premeditated' attack The official Xinhua news agency had said that of the official death toll of 96, 35 of the dead civilians were Han Chinese, while two were Uyghurs and others were “terrorists.” The news agency cited the government as saying investigations showed the attack was "organized and premeditated,” and "in connection with the terrorist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).” Chinese authorities have blamed ETIM and “separatists” from Xinjiang for a series of attacks which have expanded in scale and sophistication over the last year, including a May 22 bombing in Urumqi, which killed 39 people and injured 90, and which prompted the launch of an anti-terror campaign across the region. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur Service and Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated by Mehmet Tohti, Jennifer Chou and Luisetta Mudie. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai and Luisetta Mudie. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/yarkand-08052014150547.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Imam of Grand Kashgar Mosque Murdered in Xinjiang Violence

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Imam of Grand Kashgar Mosque Murdered in Xinjiang Violence JULY 30, 2014 -- The head of the largest mosque in China who has been highly critical of violence by ethnic minority Muslim Uyghurs in the troubled Xinjiang region has been stabbed to death, according to witnesses and local officials. Jume Tahir, the Uyghur imam of the Id Kah mosque in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar in China's western Xinjiang region, was found in a pool of blood outside the prayer house on Wednesday morning. Abdugheni Dolkun, director of a neighborhood stability committee in Kashgar city, said that Tahir, who was in his 70s, was assassinated. "He was a patriotic religious person, he lost his life in an assassination," Dolkun told RFA's Uyghur Service. "Right now, we are busy making arrangements for his funeral." An owner of a shop at a market near the mosque said he was about to open for business when he saw police busy clearing a huge crowd that had gathered at the murder scene. "I saw the body lying in front of the Id Kah mosque and when I asked one of those leaving the scene about the commotion and the police presence, he said the body was that of Juma Tahir," the shopowner said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'Last respects' Another Kashgar resident said he went to the residence of Tahir, who is also the vice-president of the China Islamic Association, late Wednesday to "pay my last respects" to him. "I do not know who killed him or why he was killed, nobody dared to ask this question. His family members and relatives were weeping. They said he was assassinated," he said. "What I heard was that as he was returning from the mosque, he was stabbed to death." Tahir has been a longtime imam of the nearly 600-year-old Id Kah mosque, the largest in China and which houses thousands of worshipers during Friday prayers. The mosque on an area covering 16,800 square meters (180,833 square feet) was built in 1442. Officials could not be immediately contacted to ascertain the motive of Tahir's murder, which occurred two days after bloody riots erupted in Yarkand (in Chinese, Shache) county in Kashgar prefecture during the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the Ramadan fasting month. The riots began on Monday morning when groups of Uyghurs attacked a police station and government offices in Elishku township, prompting police to fire at the crowd, leaving many dead or wounded, local officials told RFA. The Uyghurs were apparently angry over restrictions during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the police killing of a family of five earlier this month, according to local officials. High death toll The official Xinhua news agency said "dozens" were shot dead by police but the exile group, World Uyghur Congress, claimed the death toll may have reached "nearly 100." The Yarkand incident was one of the worst clashes in Xinjiang since bloody riots between Uyghurs and majority Han Chinese in the regional capital Urumqi in 2009 that left almost 200 people dead Tahir has often been cited in Chinese state media criticizing Uyghurs involved in violence in their Xinjiang homeland, where they complain that they are subject to political, cultural, and religious repression for opposing Chinese rule. A teacher in the Kashgar city said Tahir was disliked by many Uyghurs since the Urumqi riots when he backed the bloody government crackdown on the minority group. "He has turned the mosque into a Communist Party propaganda school," the teacher said, declining to identify himself. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/murder-07302014221118.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetans Openly Display Dalai Lama Portrait at Horse-Racing Festival

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibetans Openly Display Dalai Lama Portrait at Horse-Racing Festival JULY 29, 2014 -- In open defiance of authorities, Tibetans set up a portrait of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at a traditional horse-racing festival in China’s Sichuan province this week, inviting festival-goers to pray before the photo and make offerings, sources said. The popular festival, held this year on July 27 in Dziwa village in Bathang (in Chinese, Batang) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, opened with the Dalai Lama portrait’s formal installation, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Tuesday. “Though Chinese authorities imposed restrictions on the festival, the Tibetans brought in a portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and placed it on a throne,” Tsultrim Choedar said, citing local sources. “The organizers also invited Tibetans gathered at the festival to view the photo and offer ceremonial scarves,” he said. “They prayed for the long life of the Dalai Lama and other prominent religious teachers, and also prayed for a resolution of the question of Tibet.” The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet into exile in India in 1959, is reviled by Chinese leaders as a dangerous separatist who seeks to split the formerly self-governing region from Beijing’s rule. In what he calls a Middle Way Approach, though, the Dalai Lama himself says that he seeks only a meaningful autonomy for Tibet as a part of China, with protections for the region’s language, religion, and culture. A popular tradition Horse racing festivals date back to the time of the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century, and are still popular in Tibetan rural nomadic areas—especially in the historical southeastern Tibetan region of Kham, which has largely been absorbed into Chinese provinces, Choedar said. “This time, when the horse race was organized in Dziwa village, the festival began with an invitation to all who came to the festival to participate in the installation of Dalai Lama’s portrait and to receive blessings,” he said. Most of the horse-racing events are held annually “but in some places the event is organized twice each year.” Many travel for days to attend the festivals, he said. In September 2012, Bathang-area Tibetans also defied authorities by parading large portraits of the Dalai Lama during the enthronement of a local religious leader, Tibetan sources told RFA in earlier reports. Several thousand Tibetans, many on motorbikes, took part in the enthronement ceremony to welcome the young lama, one source said, adding, “Many displayed huge photos of the Dalai Lama on their motorbikes and paraded in the ceremony.” And in March this year, a 31-year-old nun named Drolma self-immolated near a monastery in Bathang to protest Beijing’s rule, sources in the region and in exile said. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 131 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the Dalai Lama’s return. Reported by Pema Ngodup for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/display-07292014161126.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 5 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Monk Hangs Himself in Despair at China's 'Interference'

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibetan Monk Hangs Himself in Despair at China's 'Interference' JULY 17, 2014 -- A young Tibetan enrolled at a large monastery in northwest China’s Gansu province has hanged himself in protest over official restrictions on monastic life, citing hardships in the daily life of Tibetan monks and nuns, sources said. Thabke, aged about 24 and a monk at the Labrang monastery in Sangchu (in Chinese, Xiahe) county in Gansu’s Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, committed suicide on July 9 “by hanging himself from a tree in front of the monastery,” a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Thursday. The source said the incident could not be made public earlier due to “communication restrictions” in Sangchu over the last week. Thabke “had confided to close friends that he wanted to end his life in protest against the imposition of a variety of restrictive regulations and policies,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Restrictions included limits placed on the number of monks and nuns allowed to be enrolled in monasteries in Sangchu, the source said. “[Chinese] authorities have even interfered in the religious curriculum and have created severe hardships in the monasteries, including Labrang,” he said. Founded in 1709, Labrang has long been one of the largest and most important monasteries in the historical northeast Tibetan region of Amdo, at times housing thousands of monks. Thabke, a native of Sangchu county’s Ngakpa village, had protested against China’s policy of limiting enrollment at Labrang to 999, RFA’s source said. “He also protested against the imposition of restrictions on religious freedom and prohibitions on the display of photos of personal teachers,” he said, adding, “Many monks and nuns who had wanted to pursue the study of Buddhism in the monasteries have had to quit and lead ordinary lives.” Sporadic demonstrations challenging Chinese rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 131 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to oppose Beijing’s rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Reported by Lhu Boom for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/hangs-07172014150315.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 6 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Dalai Lama Calls for a ‘Realistic’ Approach to Break Tibet Impasse

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Dalai Lama Calls for a ‘Realistic’ Approach to Break Tibet Impasse JULY 15, 2014 -- Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday called for a “realistic” approach to resolving the Tibet question, warning that viewing the dispute merely through the prism of history would only aggravate the situation. Citing the Israeli-Palestinian turmoil as an example, he said the Middle East conflict had prolonged because both sides had used the historical context to back their territorial claims. The Dalai Lama said that Beijing and Tibetans should make efforts to bring an end to their dispute through compromise and by considering mutual interests. “Political changes should be looked at from a realistic angle, not just through the prism of history; doing so would only provoke conflict,” the Dalai Lama told RFA’s Tibetan Service in an interview in the Himalayan town of Choglamsar in Leh, the capital of Ladakh district of India-administered Kashmir. “For instance, the Palestinians and the Israeli Jews both lay claim to territory from the past. Dealing with the issue based on historical records has only aggravated the Middle East conflict since 1948,” he said. Example The Chinese authorities and Tibetans should regard the Middle East crisis as an example to understand the “reality” of the situation, he said. “On the Tibetan issue too, we need to think of mutual interests of both [Tibet and Beijing] instead of pursuing a ‘I win, you lose’ policy, which is not appropriate, and will not help resolve the situation,” the Dalai Lama said. The 79-year-old Dalai Lama, who is living in exile in India where he fled to following a failed 1959 Tibet national uprising against Chinese occupation, has been the face and symbol of the Tibetan struggle for freedom for more than five decades. He has been seeking “genuine” autonomy for Tibet based on his Middle Way approach, which does not seek separation from China. A dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama’s envoys since 2002 to consider prospects of "genuine" autonomy had ground to a halt in 2010 without any breakthrough after nine formal rounds of discussion and one informal meeting. Beijing has rebuffed calls for a resumption of the dialogue. Living up to slogan The Dalai Lama said Tuesday that Beijing should live up to its “brotherhood of nationalities” slogan by giving equal treatment to all groups in China for mutual benefit. “From a historical point of view, Tibetans and Chinese have a unique relationship. From that perspective, we should think about mutual benefit,” he said. “The Chinese government’s official political announcements usually refer to brotherhood of nationalities. If this is true, and the nationalities are truly equal, then China and Tibet can mutually benefit,” said the Dalai Lama, who was in Ladakh to confer Kalachakra, a Buddhist process that empowers his disciples to attain enlightenment. Asked whether he still wanted to achieve his long held objective of conducting a Kalachakra ceremony in China, he said Buddhism has been growing rapidly in the world’s most populous nation. Buddhism in China He then referred to a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to France recently in which Xi said that Buddhism had played a significant role in China’s culture. “That a leader of the Communist Party of China to say such a thing is a matter of amazement, a new idiom, a new statement,” the Dalai Lama said. Xi had said in his address at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in March that after Buddhism was introduced into China, the religion went through an extended period of integrated development with the indigenous Confucianism and Taoism and "finally became the Buddhism with Chinese characteristics." It made "a deep impact on the religious belief, philosophy, literature, art, etiquette and customs of the Chinese people," Xi said. Reported by Kalden Lodoe for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Benpa Topgyal. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/autonomy-07152014203916.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 6 months

RFA Wins at New York Festivals Radio Awards

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2014 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA Wins at New York Festivals Radio Awards WASHINGTON Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) last night won a bronze medal in the category of Best Human Interest Story at the 2014 New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards for RFAs Cantonese Service <http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/> exposé on Chinese birth tourism, Born in the USA: Instant Citizenship in Saipan <http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/feature-China-birth-06262013 104200.html?encoding=simplified> . In addition, RFAs Uyghur, Korean, Lao, and Cantonese services had stories and features among this years finalists. The full credit and honor that comes with this recognition at New York Festivals goes to our reporters, said Libby Liu, President of RFA. Whether reporting on the questions raised about a missing Lao activist, birth tourism in Saipan, Chinas food safety issues, or a deadly crackdown in Chinas Uyghur region, RFA aims to get at the truth, no matter what obstacles stand in the way. No one understands this better than the journalists at RFA. For RFAs winning entry, Cantonese Service journalist Vivian Kwan investigated the cottage industry of birth tourism in the U.S. territory of Saipan, an island in the western Pacific. Since the U.S. government waived the visa for Chinese tourists to visit the Northern Mariana Islands, which include Saipan, near-term Chinese women have been going there in great numbers. If they give birth during their stay, the mothers bypass Beijings one-child policy and can take advantage of instant U.S. citizenship status for their newborns. The piece also won a Gracie award <http://www.rfa.org/about/releases/birth-tourism-gracie-02182014135252.html> earlier this year from the Alliance for Women in Media. RFAs finalists were: the Lao Services audio news documentary on the disappearance of activist Sombath Somphone; the Uyghur Services breaking news coverage of a deadly crackdown <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/clashes-08102013000244.html> on the eve of Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr in Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions Aksu province; the Korean Services human interest story on a church-sponsored trip to Eastern Europe for young North Korean defectors to learn about life under Communism and after; and the Cantonese Services multimedia investigative series on Chinas food production, Poisoned at the Source <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/foodsafety/Home.html> . Other winners <http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/worldsbestradio/2014/> at this years program, the ceremony for which was held in New York, included BBC, Bloomberg News, RTHK, and RFA sister network Middle East Broadcasting Networks. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFAs broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Media Relations Manager <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

10 years, 6 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Five Police Officers Killed in Attack on Xinjiang Security Checkpoint

by Param

Five Police Officers Killed in Attack on Xinjiang Security Checkpoint JUNE 22, 2014 -- Five police officers have been killed in a pre-dawn attack on a security checkpoint in China's restive far-western region of Xinjiang after government officials harassed ethnic minority Muslim women wearing head scarves and men with beards, according to police and residents. Unknown assailants on Friday stabbed two police officers guarding the checkpoint in Qaraqash (in Chinese, Moyu) county in southwestern Hotan prefecture and then set fire to a room in the building where three police officers were taking a nap, police said. Residents going for early Friday morning Muslim prayers discovered the two wounded officers and the charred remains of the three others in the room and alerted the authorities. The two officers died on the way to the hospital. The incident followed several high-profile attacks blamed on militants in Xinjiang, the traditional home of the Uyghurs who complain they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness. Local police described the violence in Kayash village in Manglay township as among the most deadly in the area in recent years. “It was the most terrible incident in our town but I cannot give you details about that," Ablikim Yasin, chief of the Manglay police station, told RFA's Uyghur Service. "You should call the higher authorities for that.” Manglay town chairman Shi Hongchang said the assailants struck at 4 a.m. "The three police officers were sleeping inside, the two others were on watch outside. The group first stabbed the two who were guarding outside and then set fire to the room,” he told RFA. Kayash village residents said the checkpoint was razed to the ground. Lookout for suspects Atawulla Qasim, chief of Kayash village, said the local authorities were helping police to look for the suspects who carried out the attack. "There are still no clues about the identity of the suspects," he told RFA, saying police have found five empty bottles of petrol. "The group locked the door of the room from outside after they stabbed the two officers, poured the petrol into the room through a stove chimney and then set fire to it," Qasim said. "The officers were unable to get out," he said. A resident living near the checkpoint said the violence occurred amid tensions in Manglay town, where police had detained and interrogated women wearing head scarves and men with beards two days before the incident. "Just two days ago, this place was so busy," the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The [police] were stopping, holding or interrogating women who were wearing headscarves or men with beards." Many Uyghurs say headscarves are a marker of Uyghur rather than Muslim identity. Chinese authorities, however, discourage the wearing of beards and headscarves, veils, and other Islamic dress in the region. Heavy-handedness A Qaraqash schoolteacher said he was not surprised by the fresh violence in the county, citing what he called the heavy-handedness of Beijing's “strike hard” campaign launched throughout Xinjiang in the wake of increasing violence. "I was not surprised when I heard about this incident," the teacher said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. "The ongoing 'strike hard' campaign, let alone other campaigns in previous years, is enough to provoke more serious incidents which we are seeing now." "They do not do anything for stability other than just spreading hostility and hatred among society." The Qaraqash violence came a day before police shot dead 13 people in Kargilik county in Xinjiang's Kashgar prefecture on Saturday after they drove into a police building and set off an explosion, according to reports. The official Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government website Tianshan said the 13 "thugs" crashed a car into the public security building in the county and detonated explosives. Three police officers suffered injuries but there were no other casualties, the report said, without providing further details, according to Agence France-Presse. Chinese state media reported earlier in the week that 13 people had been executed in the region for "terrorist attacks” in seven separate cases. Xinjiang authorities declared a one-year crackdown on “violent terrorist activities” last month following the May 22 bombing at a market in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi that killed 43 people, including the four attackers. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by Shohret Hoshur. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/violence-06222014163028.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

10 years, 6 months

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