Political prisoner Lobsang Donyoe released
Lobsang Donyoe, a monk from Gonsar monastery, completed a six year sentence and was released late last month. He had been accused of leading the monks of Gonsar in protest and raising the Tibetan flag. One of a number of prisoners who are now completing sentences given during the 2008 Tibetan Uprising, RFA reported that he was “severely” tortured in prison and that he was given a warm welcome by fellow monks and local Tibetans upon his release.
Xi Jinping calls on Chinese students to move to “Western China” after graduating
Communist Party leader Xi Jinping wrote an open letter to Chinese students last week encouraging them to pursue work in “Western China,” a term employed by Chinese authorities to refer to Tibet, Xinjiang and other nearby regions. A Chinese student quoted by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said that he and his classmates found the letter had “further strengthened our determination to base our lives in Tibet.”
Chinese rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang detained
Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent rights lawyer and signatory of Charter 08, has been detained by the Beijing police ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. Taken in connection with a meeting of Tiananmen activists last week, Pu might be familiar to Tibet supporters for his work in attempting to defend Tibetan environmentalist Karma Samdrup against the false charges levied against him in 2010.
Dalai Lama welcomed by thousands of supporters in Oslo
While Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg bowed to Chinese pressure and declined to meet with His Holiness, thousands of Norwegians gathered in the rain outside his hotel to welcome his return to their country. A number of prominent Norwegians did meet with the Dalai Lama, including the Norwegian Nobel Committee and a former prime minister, and on Friday he is scheduled to meet members of the Norwegian Parliament.
Speaking to the press, His Holiness explained that he wasn’t at all disappointed by the lack of a reception with Solberg, and added that the Chinese reaction to his visit seems to have boosted the visibility of his trip. The Norwegian public, on the other hand, appears to clearly disapprove of Solberg’s decision, and it was cited as a cause for the drop she and her party experienced in the most recent public opinion polls.
As with other recent trips, protestors organized by Shugden groups were present to demonstrate against the Dalai Lama. For more information about Shugden, please see this article released on May 8th by the Central Tibetan Administration.