27 September 2008
Contaminated milk affects Tibetan children
(AFP) A local official has said that a number of adults in Tibet, as well as children, are undergoing medical checks after consuming sweet tea drinks containing powdered milk manufactured by Sanlu, one of the companies involved in the contaminated milk powder scandal, which is affecting many parts of the People's Republic of China (PRC). "Many adults are also being examined in hospitals in the Lhasa area", an official of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) based in Lhasa said. "They have suspected kidney problems as a result of their consumption of sweet tea. Most tea shops in Lhasa use powdered milk", he said. He said around 100 children had suspected kidney problems in the Tibetan regions of Shigatse, Kham, Lhoka, and Nyingtri. The ages of the children suggest that quality problems with milk powder, in which the industrial chemical melamine has been found, may predate the revelations at Sanlu and other companies, which have prompted the removal of several brands of milk from shelves across the PRC and vows of class-action lawsuits from angry and bereaved parents.
28 September 2008
Call for UN intervention for disappeared Tibetans
(TCHRD) The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has issued a press release in which it appeals to the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance (UNWGEID) to intervene on behalf of Tibetans believed to have disappeared since the Chinese authorities' crackdown on Tibetan protesters, which began in March. The TCHRD is particularly concerned about the plight of the former manager (Tib: chandzoe), Sonam Rabgyal, and four other monks, from the Ramoche temple in the centre of Lhasa. Their whereabouts are unknown since their arrest during a midnight raid on monks' residences on 07 April 2008. Before the March protests in Lhasa, Sonam Rabgyal, Damdul, Rabgyal and two other monks from Ramoche had already come to the attention of the Chinese authorities for their involvement in initiating long life prayer offerings to the Dalai Lama.
28 September 2008
China lashes out at US over Dalai Lama call
(AP) Beijing has denounced a telephone call made by US President George W. Bush to the Dalai Lama as interference in China's internal affairs. President Bush called the Dalai Lama to express concern over the health of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who recently cancelled two international trips so he could recover from exhaustion. "We firmly oppose it", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement on the ministry's website. "This act shows that the US is seriously interfering with China's internal affairs and supports Tibet independence".
Liu said Beijing had lodged "solemn representation" with Washington over the call, which President Bush made from New York while he was attending the UN General Assembly's annual meeting.
02 October 2008
Monks jailed for blasts
(RFA) Chinese authorities in Tibet's Markham county have sentenced four monks to jail terms of four to nine years for "terrorist actions" in connection with a series of small blasts during protests in the region earlier this year, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA) sources. "The Tibetans were given lighter sentences for some genuine reasons", a security official in Markham county who declined to be named said, confirming the 23 September sentencing by the Chamdo (Chin: Changdu) Intermediate People's Court. "Those who were involved in the explosions were instigated from the outside. There were no casualties in the explosion, and damage to government property was minimal". The mostly teenage monks were among dozens detained in Markham county on or around 14 May 2008 and were charged with "obstructing the Olympics" and "damaging national stability". All the monks are believed to have been from Markham county's Oser monastery or one of its branches.
03 October 2008
Plague Kills two in TAR
(Xinhua) The deadliest and least common form of plague claimed lives of two people in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), according to Chinese state media. The health department of the TAR was notified that two people had died of an unidentified disease in a village in the Lhundrub (Chin: Linzhi) area, the Beijing Times reported. Health authorities, after examining the cases, said the victims suffered from pneumonic plague. The report did not identify the two but a spokesperson for health authorities in Hong Kong said they were a couple who developed symptoms in September. The spokesperson for the Centre for Health Protection of Hong Kong's health department said the man, aged 35, passed away on September 20 and his 38-year-old wife died five days later. Authorities immediately put in preventative and control measures in the village, no new cases of the disease had emerged in the area and the disease had been contained, the report said.
06 October 2008
Tourist numbers down for holiday weekend
(Xinhua) Tibet Autonomous Region's (TAR) tourist arrivals dropped 36 percent year-on-year during the recent Chinese national day holiday when 257,000 people visited the region. Only 110,900 tourists stayed overnight in Tibet, a drop of 41.5 percent from a year ago; one-day tourists were 146,100, down 31.1 percent, according to Zhanor, a deputy chief of the TAR's tourism department. "Comparing this year's golden-week holiday with that of last year, there were notable decreases in terms of tourist arrivals and relevant earnings as a result of the March 14 Lhasa unrest", Zhanor said. "But tourist confidence in travelling in Tibet is returning according to the situation in the previous months and the region's tourism is recovering".
07 October 2008
Two earthquakes stuck close to Lhasa
Two earthquakes have struck close to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, killing at least nine people. The epicentre of the first quake, which measured magnitude 6.6, was around 50 miles west of Lhasa. A second, 5.1 magnitude, quake struck shortly afterwards around 60 miles west of the capital. Chinese state media reported: "Tremors were felt in Lhasa, but no serious damage was found in buildings or historical sites there. Key cultural relics remain intact". A spokesperson from the Ministry of Civil Affairs said that the quakes also injured 19 people, caused 147 homes to collapse and made 153 families homeless.
08 October 2008
Lodi Gyari fears violence if talks fail
(VOA) The Dalai Lama's special envoy, Lodi Gyari, has warned that failure of talks with China could lead to future violence, according to reports by Voice of America (VOA). The eighth round of talks is expected to happen in the second half of October 2008. But Lodi Gyari, who heads the Tibetan delegation for talks with Beijing, fears that "the lack of progress from this dialogue - which started in 2002 - is turning some Tibetans away from engagement". He made the comments at the Asia Society in New York. The Tibetan envoy said if the issue of Tibet's future is not resolved before the Dalai Lama's demise, then some Tibetans might opt for violence in his absence. "If the issue is not resolved, then I'm afraid a section of the Tibetans will resort into violence. Would we win? Most probably not. And in the end we will suffer more. But it is a reality. And in fact, you know, the major contributing factor to that kind of situation is the Chinese policy", Gyari said.
10 October 2008
Dalai Lama's undergoes successful surgery
(Tibet.net) Doctors have successfully removed gallstones from the Dalai Lama during surgery carried out at Delhi's Sri Ganga Ram hospital. A statement posted on the official website of the Tibetan leader said the operation was "a simple routine procedure. He will rest a few days in New Delhi before returning to Dharamsala". His schedules, including travel programmes, remain unchanged, the statement said.
