12. May 2010
Villagers renew mine protests
(RFA) Tibetan villagers in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) have renewed protests against mining operations on mountains they consider sacred, despite a strong presence by armed Chinese police, according to RFA's Tibetan sources in the region. The three mines targeted for protests are located at Tsongshen, Choeten, and Deshoe in Markham (Chin: Mangkang) county in the TAR. A local Tibetan source said large crowds have tried to stop the mining. "Thousands of local Tibetans - young, old, men, and women alike - have attempted to block the Chinese from resuming mining activities", the source said. "But TAR Party Secretary Zhang Qingli has given orders to go ahead with the mining, even if this means using force against protesters", the source said. In 2009, Markham was the scene of a successful protest against mining on a mountain called Ser Ngul Lo.
13. May 2010
Special envoy reiterates the Dalai Lama's wish to visit earthquake region
(VOA) The Dalai Lama's special envoy to the US has called on the People's Republic of China (PRC) leadership to respond positively to the Dalai Lama's wish to visit the quake-affected Kyegudo region to fulfill the aspirations of Tibetans affected by the tragedy and who yearn to receive his blessings. "If the Chinese leaders are able to make the far-sighted decision to allow His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit Kyegudo, then it will create unprecedented good will among Tibetans everywhere, especially Tibetans most affected by the earthquake", Special Envoy Lodi Gyari told Voice of America (VOA) during an interview. He added that he was in touch with the concerned officials in Beijing about the request.
17. May 2010
TAR publishes ten-year tourism plan
(Xinhua) The TAR Tourism Bureau has published a ten-year plan for the development of tourism. The Bureau expects the annual figure of visitors to reach 20 million by the end of 2020. The plan aims at building a tourism layout of "two centres, two axis, four tourist routes and seven areas". Lhasa is earmarked in the plan as being the human culture tourism centre and Nyingchi the eco-tourism centre; the plan also focuses on seven scenic areas including the "Potala Palace ancient town area, Yarlung historic culture area, Mount Everest polar ecological area, Brahmaputra Grand Canyon scenic area, Kailash Mansarovar Guge kingdom ruins, Qiangtang Grassland lakes ecological area, and Shangri-La eco-tourism area". The latter area belongs to Yunnan province, no rationale was given why it is included in a plan that otherwise applies to the TAR only.
19. May 2010
New photocopy rules introduced in Tibet
(BBC News) The authorities in Lhasa have imposed a new rule that requires people to provide their personal details and information if they want to make photocopies. Shopkeepers say the authorities are particularly concerned about material printed in Tibetan. According to a BBC report, this appears to be an attempt to prevent ordinary people from printing political pamphlets and other documents. Individuals wanting to photocopy documents will have to show their ID cards and have the information recorded. Companies will have to register their names and addresses, the number of copies they want and provide the name of the manager in charge of the work. The police say they will carry out checks and punish any shop that does not abide by the new regulation.
19. May 2010
Arrested author's book launched
(TibetInfoNet) Namsa Goche, the book by Tibetan author Shogdung (aka Tagyal), who was detained by the Qinghai authorities on 23 April 2010, has been reprinted by a group of Tibetan exiles and launched in Bauddha, near Kathmandu, Nepal. The initiative is privately funded and the books are already being distributed for free. A major Tibet support group is said to be envisaging a translation of the Tibetan language book into Chinese.
19. May 2010
China arrest six monks in early morning raids in Jomda
(TCHRD) Four monks from Wara monastery in Thangpu township, Jomda county (Chin: Jiangda) in Chamdo prefecture, were arrested under suspicion of leading and instigating protests at the county headquarters in spring 2008 and two other official monks of the same monastery were arrested for their failure to 'educate' the monks under the 'Patriotic education' campaign, according to a report by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). A total of six monks from Wara monastery were arrested during early morning raids carried out by scores of Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials at the monks' residence.
21. May 2010
Crackdown on Tibetan ringtones
(RFA) Students and teachers at a high school near Shigatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) have been told to delete certain popular Tibetan-language songs from their cell phones after local education officials designated them "unhealthy", according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). The school announced 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. "Staff and students must not have any of the above songs as their mobile phone ringtone", a statement posted on the school's website said, but the posting has since been removed. It said the school's Communist Party committee, the education and politics department and the youth league would be carrying out clean-up campaigns targeting the banned songs.
