The Tibetan Sikyong (President) on Tibet Talks

Tibet is the source of the headwaters of the 8 major rivers of Asia. These rivers are the lifeblood of South and Southeast Asia, providing sustenance, livelihoods, and economic opportunity to 1.8 billion people downstream. However, the Chinese government is continuing its a dam building spree that is imperiling the lives and communities of the Tibetan people, destroying homes and religious sites, degrading the natural ecosystem, destabilizing the region, and driving climate chaos. In today’s Tibet Talk, ICT staff Palmo Tenzin and Franz Matzner talk about the newest ICT report, “Chinese Hydropower: Damning Tibet’s Culture, Community, and Environment” and the first of its kind interactive GIS map showing existing, under construction, and planned hydropower dams in Tibetan lands. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Language rights expert Gerald Roche stops by Tibet Talk to discuss Chinese language oppression in Tibet, the suppression of minority languages like Manegacha, and his new book. What are the contradictions in China’s language policy? What is the status of Manegacha, Ngandehua, and other languages spoken by smaller populations? Gerald’s book, The Politics of Language Oppression in Tibet, is out now. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

This month on Tibet Talks join us as we speak with John Ackerly, an eyewitness to the Oct. 1 1987 Lhasa uprising who went on to work at the International Campaign for Tibet for two decades. John will talk about how this protest helped build a movement but also brought about intense repression. Today hopeful new trends are taking shape in Tibet as a result of the resilience and solidarity of Tibetans. ICT’s Tencho Gyatso will talk with John about how these personal experiences and new trends continue to inspire John’s lifelong advocacy for Tibet. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

This month for Tibet Talks we sat down with Jamyang Norbu, activist and author of “Echoes from Forgotten Mountains.” Join us as he discusses the people and history behind his fascinating new book. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

The Chinese government has been displacing rural Tibetans on a large scale for more than two decades. What has been the experience of Tibetans who have been displaced under the various relocation programs? Are these relocations violating international human rights standards? Human Rights Watch’s recent report on forced relocations in Tibet is the culmination of years of meticulous research and analysis, drawing from over 1,000 official Chinese media sources and academic studies. In this episode of Tibet Talk, Maya Wang, Interim China Director of Human Rights Watch, sheds light on the scale of China’s relocation programs in Tibet that displaces Tibetans from their traditional lands. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Penpa Tsering is the Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration. He is the democratically elected leader of Tibetans in exile. In this chat with ICT, Sikyong Tsering will discuss the role of the CTA, the importance of US support for Tibet and more. Join us for this special conversation! Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Last month, Chinese police reportedly arrested over 1,000 Tibetans after mass protests broke out in eastern Tibet. The Tibetans of Derge (Chinese: Dege) county were trying to stop a hydropower dam project that would force residents of two villages to abandon their homes. The dam would also reportedly destroy six Tibetan Buddhist monasteries containing religious murals that are centuries old. In this live Tibet Talk, ICT Research Analyst Tenzin Norgay and President Tencho Gyatso will answer your questions about the Derge dam protests. Together they’ll explain what the protests mean, how the international community has responded and where we go from here. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

By now, you might have heard that the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act passed the US House this month. But what will this bill do to shine a light on CCP propaganda and help resolve China’s decades-long occupation of Tibet? And how can we get it passed by the Senate and signed into law? In this Tibet Talk, your questions about the Resolve Tibet Act will be answered live by ICT President Tencho Gyatso and Director of Government Relations Franz Matzner. These ICT leaders will also discuss the upcoming Tibet Lobby Day in Washington, DC and other efforts to mark 65 years of Tibetan resilience and resistance against China’s occupation of Tibet. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

It’s not often that China is held to account for its human rights violations. But that’s exactly what will happen this month during China’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where governments around the world will question and demand answers from Beijing about its abysmal human rights record. ICT Germany Executive Director Kai Mueller will be there in Geneva to monitor the UPR and to help organize a side event spotlighting China’s human rights abuses against Tibetans. In this Tibet Talk, we’ll speak to Kai about the UPR, the state of human rights in Tibet and the ability of the international community to pressure China into changing its policies. Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Over 1 million Tibetan children have been separated from their families, language and culture at China’s state-run boarding schools in Tibet. These schools target the most vulnerable and impressionable minds and seek to make them loyal followers of the CCP. The goal is to sever the Tibetan way of life and cement China’s control over Tibet. In this Tibet Talk, we’ll speak to Lhadon Tethong, director of Tibet Action Institute, an organization that has been raising awareness about the boarding schools. In conversation with ICT President Tencho Gyatso, Lhadon will discuss the impact of these schools on Tibetan families, the response from the global community and what needs to happen next. Read Tibet Action Institute’s report on China’s boarding schools in Tibet » Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com