NEWSLETTERS
Tibet Update – January 2025
INSIDE:
Highlights from our most recent #ICTAsks interview with Under Secretary Uzra Zeya
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ICT extends a heartfelt thank you Under Secretary Uzra Zeya for her unwavering support of the Tibetan people!
What does the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues think we can do to continue to support Tibet? Find out more in our most recent episode of #ICTAsks!
Emergency aid needed following Tibet earthquake
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ICT extends its heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the Dingri earthquake. Our thoughts are with the people of Tibet as they endure the aftermath of this tragedy.
It is crucial that relief and recovery operations and reconstruction work are conducted in a manner that fully involves and includes the Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama in his new book explores his efforts to save Tibet
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In the upcoming “Voice for the Voiceless: Over Seven Decades of Struggle With China for My Land and My People,” the Dalai Lama offers a detailed account of his contacts with a series of Chinese leaders leaders, from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping. It also offers an account of the Dalai Lama’s efforts to preserve Tibet’s unique culture, religion and language.
Dalai Lama attends Jamcho and Riktsog Winter Debate Session
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On January 18 the Dalai Lama attended a presentation of debate skills by monk-scholars from the major Tibetan Buddhist monastic centers of learning.
ICT presented the Light of Truth Award to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi last month for her career long commitment to the people of Tibet and bringing light to the cause. The award, a traditional Tibetan butter lamp, symbolizes the light the recipient has shed on the cause of Tibet.
UN human rights experts demand information from China about ‘disappeared’ Tibetans
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ICT welcomes a statement by several UN human rights experts, whose comments included a discussion of the cases of nine missing Tibetans.
Commission on China: Severe Human Rights Violations in Tibet
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The Congressional Executive Commission on China released its annual report on December 20, highlighting severe human rights violations in Tibet. The report indicates a lack of interest from Chinese officials in resuming negotiations with the Dalai Lama, with the last discussions occurring in January 2010. It details ongoing restrictions on Tibetan religious practices, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, including bans on worship during significant events and limited access to monasteries.
Three important provisions defending the rights of Tibetans were approved by Congress with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. The success of these provisions despite the obstacles posed by a divided Congress is a testament to America’s ongoing support of the Tibetan people during their continued oppression by the People’s Republic of China.
A new International Campaign for Tibet report finds China’s rapid hydropower dam scheme is causing irreparable damage to the Tibetan civilization, the environment, downstream nations, and the climate. Its agenda disregards the human impact, the science, and worsening climate change hydropower brings.
ICT’s Rowell and Schrucker Funds announce grantees
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The Rowell Fund for Tibet’s Advisory Board has awarded $26,000 in grants to support eight distinctive projects for 2025. These projects aim to preserve Tibetan culture and heritage in the face of contemporary challenges.
Meanwhile, the Advisory Board of the Schrucker Fellowship for the Arts is pleased to announce the awarding of $20,000 in grants through the inaugural cycle of the Schrucker Fellowship for the Arts, supporting eight innovative projects by contemporary Tibetan artists.
- Highlights from our most recent #ICTAsks interview with Under Secretary Uzra Zeya
- Emergency aid needed following Tibet earthquake
- The Dalai Lama in his new book explores his efforts to save Tibet
- Dalai Lama attends Jamcho and Riktsog Winter Debate Session
- ICT honors Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi with Light of Truth Award recognizing a lifelong commitment to Tibet
- UN human rights experts demand information from China about ‘disappeared’ Tibetans
- Commission on China: Severe Human Rights Violations in Tibet
- ICT hails reauthorization of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act in National Defense Authorization Act
- China’s hydropower dam expansion destroys Tibetan homes and temples, stands to displace 1.2 million people, and drives climate change
- ICT’s Rowell and Schrucker Funds announce grantees
- BLOG: New York’s recognition of Losar would be a significant acknowledgment of Tibetan community
- BLOG: Earthquake in Tibet and Tibetan anguish
- BLOG: ‘A History of Kham’ and China’s colonial rule over Tibet
- BLOG: My take on the Joint Statement on Tibet at the UN in New York
- ICT’s 2025 Wall Calendar … IS HERE!
- A simple act of care for 2025
- Check out these Smart Giving Tools savvy supporters like you are using to help save Tibet!
- Catch up with “Tibet Talks” by subscribing to ICT’s podcast
BLOG
New York’s recognition of Losar would be a significant acknowledgment of Tibetan community
By: Tsejin Khando
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I was born and raised in New York City by Tibetan refugees. My parents were born in Tibet, escaped to India in 1959, and ultimately immigrated to New York in the early 1990s. It’s a point of pride for me to share that I am a Tibetan, an American, and a New Yorker.
Growing up, the Tibetan community in New York was small. In the early 2000s, our Sunday Tibetan school was made up of a couple dozen students when my brothers and I first joined, and our apartment often served as a temporary home for newly arrived Tibetan friends navigating their first steps in this city.
Earthquake in Tibet and Tibetan anguish
By: Bhuchung K. Tsering
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A blessing in disguise of a tragedy, if I can even dare say, is that it brings out the positive side of people all over. That was the experience of the Tibetan refugees in the immediate period following their escape from Tibet in and after 1959, when there was an outpouring of material and moral support from the international community.
In the past several days since the tragic earthquake in Dhingri (also written as Dingri) region in Western Tibet, I have been observing a similar kind of outpouring of support, this time from Tibetans all over Tibet and in exile.
‘A History of Kham’ and China’s colonial rule over Tibet
By: John N.
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Yudru Tsomu’s meticulously researched new book, Chieftains, Lamas, and Warriors: A History of Kham, 1904-1961, provides a welcome addition to narratives on Tibetan history by framing Tibet’s eastern province not as a remote periphery but instead as a crucial zone of contestation between Central Tibet and China.
In doing so, Tsomu shows a line of continuity between successive governments of China that otherwise have little in common: namely, how swiftly each one resorted to violence in their efforts to extend sovereignty over non-Chinese lands.
My take on the Joint Statement on Tibet at the UN in New York
By: Bhuchung K. Tsering
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As we come to the end of 2024, one interesting political development on Tibet was that on October 22, 2024 a “Joint statement on the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Tibet” by 15 countries was made at United Nations Third Committee session in New York evokes interest in quite a few ways. Here, I will only touch on the Tibet part of the statement as I am sure our Uyghur friends are themselves studying the more substantive East Turkestan (as Xinjiang is known to them) reference. The Third Committee is one of the committees of the UN General Assembly, the Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues overseeing human rights matters.
SUPPORT TIBET
ICT’s 2025 Wall Calendar … IS HERE!
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As we share ICT’s 2025 calendar, The Heart of Compassion | Honoring the 90th Year of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, it is with immense gratitude and reverence that we prepare to celebrate the 90th birth year of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. This extraordinary milestone is not only a moment to honor the life of a remarkable leader, but also an opportunity to reflect on his wisdom and the impact His Holiness has had on the world. We are overjoyed to be working in collaboration with Tenzin Geyche Tethong and his book, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography.
A simple act of care for 2025
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As we pause and reflect after the holidays and a busy winter season, ICT invites you to show a simple act of care to yourself, your loved ones, and if you so choose, Tibet: creating your will.
Check out these Smart Giving Tools savvy supporters like you are using to help save Tibet!
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From climate change to the survival of democracy, Tibet is at the heart of the biggest challenges facing our world. That’s why we’re thrilled to share financially smart ways to give that will promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet:
- Stock: When you donate appreciated stock, you can save on two types of taxes by avoiding capital gains tax and often getting a full deduction for the value of your gift.
- IRA gifts: If you’re 70.5 or older, donations from your IRA reduce your taxable income and can help meet a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) if you must take one.
- Donor-Advised Funds: With a grant recommendation from your Donor-Advised Fund, you can give from the money you’ve already set aside without spending an additional cent!
- Crypto: A donation of appreciated cryptocurrency can help you avoid capital gains taxes and get a big tax deduction.
We hope you consider the donation option(s) best for you, and together, we can shift the balance toward compassion and kindness.
When you give these types of gifts, please use the tools linked above so we can track your gift, send you the right receipt and ensure you get the tax savings you deserve.
EVENTS
Catch up with “Tibet Talks” by subscribing to ICT’s podcast
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At ICT, we know you might not have time to sit down and watch this show. So, we’re proud to also offer Tibet Talks as a podcast.
Interested? Listeners can subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify. Learn more at savetibet.org/pod/