10 November 2008
Beijing accuses Tibetans of breaking promises
(Xinhua) Following the November 2008 round of talks between Dharamsala and Beijing, a Chinese central government official has said that the Tibetan side failed to honour promises they had made in previous talks. Sitar, a vice minister at the United Front Work (UFW) Department, said that in July 2008 the Dalai Lama's envoys said they had no problems following the "Four not-to-supports" put forward by Beijing: not supporting activities that disturbed the Beijing Olympics; not supporting plots inciting violent criminal activities; not supporting the activities of the "pro-secession" Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC); not supporting any argument and activity seeking Tibetan independence. Sitar then listed numerous protests held since July by diverse Tibetan exile groups and their supporters, as examples of bad faith by Dharamsala.
11 November 2008
Cordyceps price fall in Shanghai
(Bloomberg) According to a report by Bloomberg, the slowdown in growth in the People's Republic of China (PRC) has led to a fall in the price of caterpillar fungus in the markets of Shanghai. Jin Tongyun, chairman of Yizhi Agricultural in Shanghai, said prices of the company's caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps Sinensis) have fallen to between 40,000 Yuan (UK£3,935; US$5,855 EUR€4680) and 100,000 Yuan (UK£9,845; US$14,640; EUR€11,670) a kilo, from as much as 160,000 Yuan (UK£15750; US$23,420; EUR€18,710) a year ago. "People tend to spend less on luxury food because of fears of an economic recession", said Jin. "Sales have slumped 50 percent from the same time two years ago". The fungus, a parasite that kills caterpillars before growing out of their desiccated shells, is found predominantly in Tibet and is used to make tonics and traditional medicines. It is major source of income for rural Tibetans, and prices in Shanghai may well have an impact on those paid to collectors.
12 November 2008
Shetongmon copper mine awaiting final go-ahead
(Reuters) Canadian-based Continental Minerals is awaiting Beijing's final approval for a planned $520 million copper and gold mine in the TAR. The company has submitted final paperwork for the Shetongmon (Chin: Xietongmen) mine near Shigatse in Tibet, and financing is still in place despite a sharp global decrease in lending, said chief executive David Copeland. Xu Weiqin, who runs a clearing house for buying and selling mining stakes in Lhasa told Reuters: "There's a lot of interest in Tibet from miners. It's one of the few virgin territories left in China".
15 November 2008
Beijing welcomes British clarification on Tibet's status
(BBC) Zhu Weiqun, a vice minister of the UFW Department, which conducts negotiations with Tibetan representatives, welcomed British recognition of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet, saying it brought Britain "in line with the universal position in today's world". Zhu's comments came in response to a parliamentary statement made on 29 October, when UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband gave his strong backing to the recent talks between Dharamsala and Beijing and also backed the Dalai Lama's call for autonomy as a basis for agreement. He also referred to a historic agreement dating back to the early 20th Century, which acknowledged China's "special position" in Tibet, but asserted that China exerted historically suzerainty over Tibet as opposed to sovereignty. Describing the policy as an "anachronism", he said: "Like every other EU member state, and the United States, we regard Tibet as part of the People's Republic of China".
16 November 2008
Envoy "disappointed" after Sino-Tibetan talks
(FT) Envoys of the Dalai Lama have rejected Beijing's accusations that Tibetans are trying to break away from China and expressed deep frustration about the recent round of talks with their Chinese counterparts. "Our biggest disappointment is the total lack of willingness to seriously reciprocate our very sincere efforts", said Lodi Gyari, special envoy of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. He added that he was "not confident" about future talks with Beijing. "His holiness has felt that the best way is through dialogue. But China has been uncompromising and unwilling to be responsive", he said.
20 November 2008
UN body criticises China over 'widespread' torture allegations
(AFP) A UN body has expressed deep concern over allegations of widespread torture in China and called on the country to fully probe rights abuses. The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT), meeting in Geneva, also criticised China's handling of its relations with the TAR, noting there had been "longstanding reports of torture, beatings, shackling and other abusive treatment, in particular of Tibetan monks and nuns". No inquiry had been carried out into the arrests, firing on crowds of peaceful demonstrators, torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment during the recent repression in Tibet, committee members noted.
20 November 2008
China fights Tibet propaganda battle with Google Ads
(Shanghaiist ) An article on the Shanghaiist website reports that there has been an increase in the amount of Google ads pointing to the China Tibet Information Center, an official Chinese government news agency on Youtube and other popular sites. The article argues: "This means anytime you're viewing something related to China or more specifically Tibet anywhere on the web, that ad may appear, pointing you to http://eng.tibet.cn/ where China's version of the Tibet story is presented".
21 November 2008
TYC: "Violence not an option"
(IANS) The head of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), an independent exile Tibetan organisation in India, has said that the group is neither a "terrorist organisation" nor does it have "violence as an option". TYC president Tsewang Rigzin, who has said that the complete independence of Tibet is his stated aim, told IANS in an interview: "It is hard to predict the future, but violence is not an option for us. All our campaigns so far have been peaceful". The TYC was recently labelled a terrorist organisation by China. "The terrorism charge against the TYC is completely baseless", Rigzin said.
21 November 2008
Middle way favoured by exiles
(AP) Following the special meeting of Tibetan leaders held in Dharamsala, the Kalon Tripa, or prime minister, of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has said that the exiles will probably continue to support the Dalai Lama's path of compromise. Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche said: "The committee's report appears to be a quiet consensus in favour of the middle path approach, as we expected before". Karma Chomphel, speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in-Exile said: "The meeting reaffirmed our faith and allegiance in the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to refute the Chinese government's claim that His Holiness and the CTA cannot represent the Tibetan people". "The envoys of the Dalai Lama have challenged the Chinese leadership to hold a referendum of the Tibetan people if they wanted to know who they consider their sole representative and leader", he said. The participants of the meeting also appealed to the Dalai Lama not to take semi retirement or retirement and to continue to lead the Tibetan people.
21 November 2008
Beijing attacks Dharamsala memorandum
(AFP; Xinhua) Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of covertly campaigning for Tibetan independence, maintaining its hard-line opposition to his approach. In a long commentary on the "Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People", the document given by the Dalai Lama's envoys to their counterparts in Beijing, the Dalai Lama's repeated insistence that he is only seeking autonomy was again flatly rejected. The commentary, published by Xinhua to coincide with the special meeting held in Dharamsala, claims the Dalai Lama seeks to set up a "half independent" or "covertly independent" political entity "controlled by the Dalai clique on one quarter of the Chinese territory".
21 November 2008
Tibet policymaker probed for state secret leak
(Reuters) A key Chinese Communist Party policymaker for Tibet is being investigated after her computer was hacked and classified documents stolen relating to Beijing's talks with the Dalai Lama's envoys. Bi Hua, an ethnic Chinese, was asked to step down recently as director of the No. 7 bureau of the Party's UFW Department, two Reuters' sources with knowledge of the case said. "She is under investigation", one source told Reuters. "But she insists she has done nothing wrong". Her computer was hacked by unknown individuals, and classified documents stolen, the sources said. It enabled the Dalai Lama's representatives to have a heads-up as to Beijing's bottom line toward talks. "It was a major leak", a second source said.
