Oppression in Tibet

Discuss the application of the Dharma to situations of social, political, environmental and economic suffering and injustice.
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Ayu
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Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

I have the impression that the situation in Tibet is not receiving enough attention.
Let's talk about it and share links:

http://www.savetibet.org/self-immolatio ... niversary/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
drodul
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by drodul »

I'm not on Facebook, but I'm sure thousands of Vajrayana and other Buddhists are. Maybe if a number of Facebook users from various corners of the world expressed their opinions on the content of this article (http://www.phayul.com/mobile/?page=view&c=4&id=35627 ,) it would make some impression on Mr. Zuckerberg & Co. People living in a (still somewhat) free society from which they've squeezed billions of dollars, and yet facilitating the censorship that helps China get away with the daily murders and torture it inflicts on Tibet, all because the billions they already have aren't quite enough, present a real test of bodhicitta. I often fail.
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Ayu
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

But at least on facebook you can read about this too. The International Campaign For Tibet (ICT) has an own page there, it is not censored and you'll get provided with news if you click "Like".
On other boards there is much silence about these topics.
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Ayu
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

But the situation seems to be ambivalent. The ICT linked on facebook to their blog:

"Facebook, don't cover up the suffering of Tibetans"
http://weblog.savetibet.org/2015/01/02/ ... -tibetans/
SeekerNo1000003
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by SeekerNo1000003 »

Thank you for sharing, Ayu. I also feel that Tibetans need more support from ordinary people...much is up to us I think.
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Ayu
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

Long special report: "The criminalization of Tibetan self-immolations"

http://www.savetibet.org/acts-of-significant-evil/
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Ayu
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

"In Memory of Those who Self-Immolated in 2014":
http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries ... 10319.html
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Ayu
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

"Tibetan Monk Who Refused to Criticize Dalai Lama is Freed From Jail"
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?titl ... r_Rinpoche
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Adamantine
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Adamantine »

From today's NYtimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/world ... .html?_r=0 It seems like local communist party officials are getting more and more sympathetic.. but getting brutally punished for it.
BEIJING — Fifteen Communist Party officials in central Tibet who were accused of taking part in separatist activities last year have been punished for violating party discipline, the Chinese news media reported on Wednesday.

The officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which includes the capital, Lhasa, provided intelligence to the “Dalai Lama clique” and took part in activities that “would harm national security,” according to an article by China News Service, an official agency, that was published by several major news outlets, including Global Times, a populist newspaper, and the website of People’s Daily, the main party newspaper. The report cited officials with the party Commission for Discipline Inspection of Tibet.

The report said there had been six cases of party members and civil servants violating party discipline and 45 officials who had abandoned their posts or neglected their duties. Those 45 officials were being “severely punished,” the report said, citing Wang Gang, a party discipline official.

It was unclear from the report to what degree the cases of these officials overlapped with the 15 cases involving separatist activities.

The report said the officials had assisted a Tibetan independence organization. China often accuses the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, of secretly advocating for Tibetan independence, though the Dalai Lama has insisted he supports only true autonomy for the region. He fled to India in 1959 and lives in a Himalayan hill station above the town of Dharamsala.

The Chinese News Service article said the Tibet region’s party Commission for Discipline Inspection received 1,494 complaints last year from residents about misbehaving officials, an increase of 132 percent over the number in 2013. Of those, 329 cases have been investigated, an increase of 161 percent over 2013, the report said.

A total of 240 people have been dealt with in some manner for violating “eight-point” rules issued in 2014 that were aimed at maintaining party discipline, the report said.

The central government and the local authorities have been increasing the presence of security forces across Tibetan areas of China since 2008, when a mass uprising took place throughout the region. In recent years, scores of frustrated Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protestChinese Communist Party rule. The rate of self-immolations slowed for a period, but there has been a resurgence recently in Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province. More self-immolations have taken place in Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces than in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is more tightly controlled.
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Ambrosius80
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ambrosius80 »

At one time, every country criticized China for invading Tibet and welcomed the Dalai Lama. Then consumerism and monetarism got worse, and suddenly every western country is now licking China's boots while ignoring His Holiness. I think if people demanded hardly enough their states to place economical sanctions on China to improve Tibet's status and stop the crackdown, it could have the desired effect. The main problem is that no one cares at the moment. A regular European or American couldn't care less what is happening in a remote region on the opposite side of the world.

Therefore, we should appeal to the public's emotions and provide information. We should inform regular people more effectively by spreading knowledge through the internet and media, as well as issuing pamphlets on the street. If people heard and saw about Tibet's misery wherever they looked, they would become convinced that something should be done. The advertising should be done in a way that capitalizes on the suffering of the Tibetan people, as well as making everything seem hopeless and grim. This strategy has been especially effective used by charity organizations advertising the famine and poverty in parts of Africa.

In my opinion it is weird how China oppresses Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, but at the same time has recently started supporting the spreading of Buddhism from Taiwan to the mainland by financing temples, removing them from the stock market as property, and removing the need for their monks to be politically indoctrinated. Furthermore, 12% of the communist party's elite is reported to be Buddhist. This seems rather schizophrenic.
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Ayu
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Ayu »

News from Feb 15th, 2015:
A policy alienating Tibetans - Tibetans get no passport in their country:
http://www.savetibet.org/policy-alienat ... s-control/
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Dan74
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Re: Oppression in Tibet

Post by Dan74 »

Ayu wrote:I have the impression that the situation in Tibet is not receiving enough attention.
Let's talk about it and share links:

http://www.savetibet.org/self-immolatio ... niversary/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Yes, as others have observed, since China has become an economic powerhourse, Western government are afraid of upsetting it. Money talks and in this case, also silences.
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