Advocacy and Justice Ministry

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Occupied Tibet

 

 

Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1950, tens of thousands of Tibetans have gone into exile; refugees fleeing persecution, resettling in India, Nepal and other countries. Though displaced from their homeland, they hope for freedom to preserve the valuable religious and cultural heritage of their country. BAFoT became involved in the resettlement of Tibetan refugees when the 1990 Immigration Act opened the door to 1,000 Tibetans and their families to resettle in the United States. San Francisco was among 10 designated resettlement sites across America. Since that time, the Bay Area Tibetan community has grown to be the third largest in the country, and BAFoT continues to work with them toward freedom for Tibet, raising public awareness of the plight of Tibet, and helping preserve the Tibetan heritage for this and future generations. Their work is made possible through the generosity of volunteers and donors throughout the community. See more at www.Friends-of-Tibet.org.

CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS:
2006 Annual Conference Resolution

2008 General Conference Resolution
 
EVENTS:
Visualizing Wellness Weight Loss Retreat, January 27 - 29, 2012, Cazadero (Sonoma County), CA

A letter from the President of the Bay Area Friends of Tibet, December 22, 2011

Dalai Lama's 76th Birthday 

 
ACTION ITEMS:
 
MONK SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE TO PROTEST REPRESSION IN TIBET
We are deeply saddened by the  news of Tsewang Norbu's self-immolation due to the repression in Tibet.
See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/world/asia/16tibet.html and http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-652798?ref=feeds%2Flatest

Please take action:
http://candle4tibet.ning.com/forum/topics/tawu-monk-sets-himself-alight-take-action

Contact: Chinese Embassy in the USA
3505 International Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 495-2266   
Fax: (202) 495-2138
Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn
 
 
TIBETAN PLATEAU/CHINA EARTHQUAKE RELIEF
by Diane Allen
April 19, 2010 UMCOR press release
 
Coalition Urges Presiden Obama to Raise Tibet During US-China Summit
(San Francisco) - Thirty Nine Tibetan organizations and Tibet support groups in the United States have written to President Barack Obama to ask that Tibet be a substantive part of the agenda when he meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Washington on January 19.
 
"We urge President Obama to help produce concrete results leading to a resolution for Tibet and champion human rights when he meets with President Hu," said Giovanni Vassallo, president of the Bay Area Friends of Tibet. "China needs to commit to a sincere results-oriented dialogue with the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile, free the thousands of Tibetan political prisoners, and do more to protect Tibet's fragile environment," he added.  Read complete article here. 

NEWS:
The Tibet Update eNewsletter is a bimonthly summary of news and governmental actions related to Tibet. Past issues in PDF format are also available here.
 
ARTICLES:
 
The United Methodist Reporter, May 9, 2011
By Mary Jacobs
 
The Dalai Lama was on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas to receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University and to deliver a lectureas part of the Hart Global Forum.
 
Dalai Lama proclaims success of Tibetan democracy, hands over government duties to elected Tibetan leader (March 9, 2011)
Amidst the Tibetan people's annual commemoration of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising against the Chinese Communist occupation of Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has proclaimed a victory for Tibetan democracy by announcing his desire for the full devolution of his responsibilities in the Tibetan exile government to the elected Tibetan leader or Kalon Tripa.

Read more articles:
Unrest In Tibet Continues As Human Rights Violations Escalate 
Amnesty International, 10 March 2009 – go to: (www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/unrest-tibet-continues-human-rights-violations-escalate-20090310)
 
An Olive Branch From the Dalai Lama
New York Times, August 7, 2008
by Nicholas D. Kristof
When the Olympics open on Friday, the Dalai Lama won’t be there. Each side put out feelers about his attendance and was tantalized by the idea, but in the end the mutual distrust was too great to overcome.
 
Tibet is one of the major shadows over the Olympics and over China’s rise as a great power, sullying its international image and triggering unrest that is likely to worsen in coming years. Yet that doesn’t have to be. Continued at: (http://tanc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=174)
 
The Middle-Way Approach: A Framework for Resolving the Issue of Tibet
A Statement issued by the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) (updated August 2006), Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamshala, H.P., India
Go to (http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php), type in The Middle-Way Approach.

LINKS:
Links to Tibetan web sites in the U. S. and abroad
  
 
*** NOTICE ***
The websites referenced on this page are not official websites of The United Methodist Church nor the California-Nevada Annual Conference, and do not necessarily reflect their views and policies.

 
Occupied Tibet page webservant
Doug Sibley, dpsibley@gmail.com or 925.229.4377
feedback or input welcome