TIBET INSIGHT NEWS

POLITICAL NEWS

October 17, 2014

During talks in Beijing on 16 October 2014 both, Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam and Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun pledged to boost security cooperation between the two countries.

Hailing the traditional friendship between the two countries and smooth cooperation between the ministries, Guo Shengkun expressed the hope that the two sides will increase personnel interactions, improve mechanisms of cooperation, and boost practical cooperation on Tibet-related affairs. He also said they would fight against illegal border crossing and drug trafficking to safeguard security and stability of the two countries as well as the region at large and provide a favourable environment for common development.

Nepal-China to increase coordination for better border security

 October 20, 2014 

Nepal and China have agreed to enhance coordination for better border security and curtail crime and illegal immigration in the future.

In bilateral talks between the visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Bamdev Gautam and China's Minister of Public Security, Guo Shengkun on October 16 at China's Ministry of Public Security, the two countries reached agreement on multiple topics including border management and control of illegal cross-border transactions of contraband drugs.

According to a press release issued by Nepal’s Home Ministry on October 19, it had also been agreed to create a communication network between the various officials working at different levels of the two countries' Home and Public Security Administration.

Deputy Prime Minister Gautam also highlighted the traditional relations existing between Nepal and China. Underlining Nepal's policy of continuing a firm stance over not allowing its soil to be used against "One China” and against any of its neighbours, Gautam stressed that such activities would not be allowed to take place in future as well.

Communication equipment for Nepal Police

The Chinese Public Security Minister agreed to provide communication equipments for the Nepal Police and immediately implement the earlier agreement relating to the establishment of an Armed Police Force training centre. The Minister expressed a further commitment to enhance the capability of Nepal's Home Ministry, Nepal Police and the APF.

Deputy Prime Minister Gautam appealed for Chinese investment in infrastructure development, energy, tourism and other development sectors, stating that Nepal was now ready to draw foreign investment, and could offer benefits.

In the meeting attended by the high government officials from both Nepal and China, both sides deliberated on various subjects of concern and bilateral interests.

In another meeting between Nepal’s visiting Deputy Prime Minister Gautam and  CCP CC Politburo Member and former Public Security Minister, Meng Jianzhu on October 17, both sides agreed to implement the past agreements for effective implementation of law in both the countries and enhancement of mutual support. The Chinese leader also emphasised the importance of agreeing on an extradition treaty and agreement on mutual assistance between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries.

The visiting Nepali delegation reached Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of the People's Republic of China on Saturday. 

During the visit, Deputy Prime Minister Gautam held talks with Lobsang Gyaltsen Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) People’s Government, on subjects relating to ties between Nepal and Tibet. 

Lobsang Gyaltsen Pledges 100 computers to UCPN-M

October 30, 2014

During his visit at the head of a 6-member delegation later in October to Nepal, TAR Chairman Lobsang Gyaltsen on October 28, 2014, pledged a hundred desktop computers to the UCPN-M. Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s personal aide Shiv Khakurel said that Lobsang Gyatsen had made the offer during his meeting with Dahal. 

An official of Finance Ministry, who declined to be quoted, said he was not aware whether the Chinese delegation intended to donate computers privately or through the government. “I do not know anything about it. We are not involved in these negotiations. Ministry of Foreign Affairs is involved in the negotiations and they may know about it,” the official said. 

Gopal Bahadur Thapa, former Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said such assistance should normally be provided with the consent of MoFA or at least MoFA should be notified in advance about such gestures. “This can set a bad precedent for other countries who could also extend such assistance to political parties bypassing the government,” he added. 

Dahal, meanwhile, told the Chinese delegation that Nepal was committed to the ‘One China’ policy. Chairman Lobsang Gyaltsen said the Chinese government was committed to extending support to Nepal for its development.

The Chinese delegation also met Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. According to PM’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Dinesh Bhattarai, the Chinese delegation appreciated the Nepal government’s ‘One China policy’ and said China wanted to see Nepal emerge as a ‘peaceful and stable country making progress on the development front’. The Chinese delegation added that it wanted to further enhance and deepen ties with Nepal by promoting more exchanges between the two countries. 

The PM’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Dinesh Bhattarai said that TAR Chairman Lobsang Gyaltsen had extended China’s invitation to PM Koirala for a visit, which Koirala had accepted.

According to Bhattarai, the PM briefed the Chinese delegation about the progress in the constitution-drafting process. The PM said Nepal wanted to maintain cordial relations with all its neighbours and relations between Nepal and China were excellent. The PM also told the Chinese delegation that next year Nepal and China would celebrate 60th anniversary of the establishment of their formal ties. 

According to Bhattarai, the PM told the Chinese delegation that Nepal expected more Chinese investment in Nepal. 

Bomi County in 2014 cadres and staff training situation

October 22, 2014

The Bomi County of Nyingchi (Ch:Linzhi) Prefecture publicised that it had trained its cadres and staff by taking advantage of its local, district and Tibet’s educational resources and intellectual training channels including external resources. According to the report, Bomi County trained 621 people of which, 42 people were from mainland China, 95 from TAR and 484 people from the County itself. 

Nyingchi Prefecture Security Committee held seminar

October 16, 2014

Nyingchi (Ch: Linzhi) Prefecture authorities held a seminar on October 15 on how to keep secrets of the region confidential. Nyingchi Prefecture Party Committee’s vice-Chairman Lihuan Zhang presided over the meeting. 

Tsering Dorjee, Deputy Secretary of Nyingchi Prefecture Party Committee, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Nyingchi Prefecture and Director of the Prefecture’s Public Security Office, gave the keynote lecture. 

The meeting discussed confidential management systems and profoundly analysed situations concerning security and stability in the region amongst other issues.

Lihuan Zhang told the officials gathered at the meeting to view the seminar as an opportunity to understand and study the mechanisms for maintaining the confidentiality of state secrets and further enhance their ability to safeguard national interest.

CCP National Women’s Federation met Tibetan nuns in Beijing

October 31, 2014

Jiao Yang, Secretary of the CCP’s National Women’s Federation met the 11th Exchange Group of nuns, who were heads or representatives of their respective nunneries in TAR and had come to Beijing for training, on October 30. She told the trainee-nuns that monks and nuns play an important role to promote social stability and economic prosperity. 

Jiao Yang said that the CCP CC attached great importance to religious affairs and hoped that religion will play a more active role in helping the masses adapt to socialism and promote economic and social development. Jiao Yang appealed to the trainee nuns to take full advantage of the training opportunity and further use their strength to maintain unity, stability, promote patriotism at least among fellow nuns. 

There are a total of 39 trainee nuns from different nunneries of Tibet in this Exchange Group. After training in Beijing, they are expected to visit Liaoning and Sichuan Province. The National Women’s Federation has organised such exchange-cum-training of nuns from TAR since 2006. Several training courses, workshops, exchange visits to and from Beijing have been held where Tibetan Buddhism, socialism and development were discussed.

Special announcement by Dorjee Shugden Community 

October 26, 2014

The Dorjee Shugden Community on its website posted on October 26, made a special announcement stated that “due to the distinctive lack of support and cooperation with the Dorjee Shugden Community to bring down the ban, promote Dorje Shugden and safeguard the Dorje Shugden monasteries, we at DorjeeShugden.com have decided to terminate all our online activities effective November 8th 2014.”

The announcement further stated that since its conception, they have spent millions of dollars and countless hours creating awareness through varied articles, artwork, videos, comics, pendant, statues and other merchandise. However the lack of cohesive support within the community and the consistent unfounded allegations and attacks from within the community has proved disheartening. The announcement also stated that due to recent events, the sponsors and committee had expressed their displeasure and henceforth, decided to terminate following activities:

1. Hosting and updating DorjeeShugden.com

2. Reporting and investigations of the latest news throughout the Dorjee Shugden world

3. Managing and posting on face book and online social media

4. Printing of all mail out articles, brochures and various literature

5. Costs incurred from postage on mail outs

6. Costs incurred from transportation of mail-out items and staff

7. Production of statues and images for sale to support the monasteries

8. High resolution images of free download

9. Sponsorship of various Shugden activities

10. Sponsorship to individuals who have personally requested DS admin for sponsorship, e.g plane tickets to teachings

The announcement concluded by stating that all funding and the hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations to the Shugden monasteries will also terminate.

TAR Party Committee held meeting in Lhasa

October 29, 2014

The TAR Party Committee held a meeting on October 28 to analyze implementation of the 18th CCP CC Central Discipline Inspection Commission’s fourth Plenary Session.

TAR Party Secretary Chen Quanguo chaired the meeting. Wang Qishan, Secretary of the CCP CC’s Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC) and an important public face of General Secretary and President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption crusade since 2013 spoke at the meeting. He expounded the significance of the fourth Plenary Session, spirit of an honest and clean government and instructed the officials attended at the meeting to fully embody the CDIC’s rules and regulations and further work towards the aims and objectives of the Commission. He also told the officials to resolutely implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speeches on deployment of strict party discipline and promotion of clean government. 

The meeting further discussed the efforts and mechanisms to achieved sustained and long term stability in Tibet. The meeting concluded with several important instructions for implementation including: 

1. Party Committees at all levels should work towards a clean and honest government.

2. The meeting talked on the importance of maintaining strict political discipline. The officials were told to be on the same ideological and political action as that of General Secretary Xi Jinping.

3. To work against the twin issues of corruption and separatist activities. The meeting discussed the importance of working simultaneously on combating corruption and fight against separatist activities. Any party cadres working for and supporting the “Dalai Clique” will be strictly and severely punished according to the laws.

4. The meeting also told the officials to carry on inspections as frequently as possible to strengthen the fight against corruption. They were told to improve inspection methods.

5. To strictly implement the “establishment of a sound system for punishing and preventing corruption work plan 2013-2017” and Zero tolerance to corruption.

Two more officials in Tibet under investigation for corruption

October 30, 2014

According to TAR Discipline Inspection Commission, two more officials have been detained on suspicion of corruption in Tibet and are being investigated. Their cases have been transferred to the respective judicial organs. The two officials are Wangdu (Ethnicity: Tibetan). He is the Director of Burang (Ch: Pulan) County Health Service Centre in Ngari Prefecute (Ch: Ali). The other is Wang Jin (Ethnicity: Han Chinese), a former Deputy Secretary and Standing Committee Member of Chamdo People’s Congress.

The TAR Discipline Inspection Commission had exposed and expelled several officials for corruption last month like Ba Cengyan, Party Secretary of Dasa Township in Nagchu Prefecture and Tsering Wangdu, mayor of the same Township. 

DEVELOPMENT/INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS

Tibet announces additional 20m Yuan annual aid to Nepal

October 27, 2014

Lobsang Gyaltsen, Chairman of TAR People’s Government has announced an additional 20 million Yuan annual aid to Nepal.

Lobsang made the announcement during his meeting with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in Kathmandu on Tuesday. The aid, which is meant for Nepal’s development endeavours, will continue for another five years, said Dinesh Bhattarai, Foreign Advisor to the PM.

China has been providing 200 million Yuan as annual support to execute various projects and another six million Yuan for security equipment, while EXIM Bank of China has been providing 154 million Yuan for construction of two transmission lines, 200 million Yuan for setting up an Academy for Armed Police Force and 50 million Yuan for 15 northern districts of Nepal.   

While appreciating Nepal’s firm commitment on the ‘one-China’ policy, Lobsang Gyaltsen urged Prime Minister Koirala that cooperation be increased between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and security cooperation in bordering areas.

Koirala assured the TAR Chairman that Nepal was committed to the ‘one-China’ policy and urged him to bring more Chinese investment in hydroelectricity, transportation, tourism and agriculture sectors. He also expressed the hope that China would participate in the upcoming 18th SAARC Summit to be held in Nepal. China has been invited to the Summit as an ‘Observer’.

Lobsang also met CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. At the meeting, he clarified that China will support any kind or type of federalism in Nepal that is agreed to by the political parties of Nepal. “We do not have any objections over federalism here and we do not want to interfere in the internal affairs of Nepal,” UML leader Rajan Bhattarai, who was present in the meeting, quoted Lobsang Gyaltsen as saying. 

The visiting chairman of TAR People’s Government also called on President Ram Baran Yadav, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress Vice-President Ram Chandra Poudel, among others.

Tibet Airline opens direct flight between Beijing and Lhasa

October 27, 2014

Tibet Airline opened a direct flight between Beijing and Lhasa on Oct. 26, 2014. The flight takes about four hours, two hours shorter than the former route from Beijing to Lhasa stopping in Yinchuan, capital city of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

This is a daily service which departs from Lhasa at 12:15 and arrives in Beijing at 16:05; and departs from Beijing at 17:05 and arrives in Lhasa at 21:40 respectively. Meanwhile, the direct service from Chengdu to Sanya, a seaside city in south China’s Hainan Province, also resumed the same day.

Sichuan-Tibet power grid to be on trial operation by November 4

October 31, 2014

The Sichuan-Tibet power grid has officially begun trial operation. The Sichuan-Tibet Power Grid starts from Garze in Sichuan in the east, and ends in Chamdo in the west with a total length of 1,521 kilometers. It is one of the most difficult power grid projects in terms of construction in the world. 

The Sichuan-Tibet Power Grid trial operation kicked off on Oct. 25. The first inspection phase has already been completed. Power transmission lines run about 500 kilometers from Bandang Substation to Chamdo Substation. The aim of the trial operation is to test the project’s safety. According to head of the State Power Grid Power Supply Co, Ltd. “The charging process was completed on Oct 27 and was successful.”

The Mekong (Ch:Langcang) River Substation in Chamdo Prefecture was connected to the Batang  Substation in Garze Prefecture (Ch: Sichuan Province) on Oct. 27, signifying that power had entered Tibet from Sichuan.

Three substations have been built in Chamdo, namely the 550-kilowatt Chamdo Mekong Substation, the 220-kilowatt Bangda Substation and the 220-kilowatt Yulong Substation. The Yulong Substation will begin operations on November 4. 

China to build new railway in Tibet

November 1, 2014

China has approved construction of a railway linking Lhasa to Nyingchi in its east, local authorities said on October 31. 

According to the plan approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Lhasa to Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet railway runs 402 km from Nyingchi to Kyirong, a stop on the Lhasa-Shigatse line.

The new Tibet line was one of three rail lines approved by the country's top economic planning body. The other two are from Ordos in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Ji'an in the eastern Jiangxi Province, and from Datong in the northern Shanxi Province to Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province. The total investment of the three is 250 billion yuan (40 billion U.S. dollars).

According to the report, the Tibet project will cost 36.6 billion Yuan and take seven years to complete. The state-owned China Railway Corporation will build and operate the line. The designed speed for passenger trains will be 160 km per hour. The line will have a cargo capacity of 10 million tonnes per year. Yang Yulin, a Tibet railway official said "The Lhasa to Nyingchi railway section is conducive to improving the regional road network and transportation capacity to better integrate Tibet with other parts of China". He added that transport has long been a bottleneck for tourism in Tibet and more tourists will be able to visit Tibet via the Sichuan-Tibet railway.

Lines connecting Shigatse with Yadong, Jilung and Nyalam border ports are being planned.

RELIGION/ MONASTIC RELATED NEWS

Jokhang Temple’s golden top renovated

October 30, 2014

China on 29th October uploaded photos of a part of Jokhang Temple to publicise the “maintenance work” on the golden top of the temple. Jokhang Temple was founded during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo and is considered the most sacred and important temple in Tibet.

CCP authorities in TAR also stated in a report that stone walls of the Potala Palace are also under renovation.

Monks forced to leave their monasteries

October 25, 2014

Chinese authorities have ordered Tibetans in Jomda County in the Chamdo prefecture to recall home any of their family members who are monks or nuns enrolled at Buddhist centres as part of a bid to tighten controls on the monastic community. Those who fail to bring them back have been threatened with punishment by the authorities, including withdrawal of all forms of government aid. The recall order, issued at a county-wide meeting held early this month, echoes similar efforts in Driru County to more tightly control the movements of monks and nuns and size of monasteries in areas seen by Beijing as centres of resistance to Chinese rule.

Other places from which the monks and nuns are being recalled include the large Buddhist study centres at Larung Gar in Serthar County and Yachen Gar in Palyul County.

Monks and nuns who fail to return will have their names removed from county family registration lists. Their identification cards will also be made invalid, and any government assistance - of whatever kind or amount -provided to their families will be withdrawn.

Officials must verify the IDs of monks and nuns, as well as ensure that monasteries do not exceed the official ceiling on the numbers of monks and nuns allowed to be enrolled. They want to make sure that no one younger than 18 is allowed to be a monk or nun.

China sentences a monk to twelve-year prison term

October 27, 2014

A senior Tibetan Buddhist monk has been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on charges of "contacting outsiders" and for "inciting others" to protest against Chinese repressive policies in Tibet. Tsanyang Gyatso was sentenced recently after being held in a detention centre in Sog County in eastern Tibet for more than six months and exact charges are unknown. Gyatso, from the Drilda monastery, was arrested on 17 March this year along with three others on unknown charges, while two others were allegedly seized in connection with painting of independence slogans and mailing of anti-China writings to local officials in Sog County in eastern Tibet.

The three monks have been identified as; Tsewang, Atse, and Gyaltsen. Their current condition and whereabouts are unknown.