{"id":2099,"date":"2013-02-23T10:32:28","date_gmt":"2013-02-23T10:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=2099"},"modified":"2013-03-22T16:07:48","modified_gmt":"2013-03-22T16:07:48","slug":"the-future-of-tibet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Tibet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The Tibetan Center in Kingston, New York has announced an upcoming discussion of the six decades of human rights abuses in Tibet under Chinese occupation, the recent rise in protests (especially self-immolations), and the possibilities concerning the future of Tibet.<\/p>\n

Update<\/strong> (watch a recording of the event here):<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><s>Upcoming Event!<\/s><\/h1>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><s>Live Internet Stream Link:\u00a0\u00a0<\/s><a href=\"https:\/\/new.livestream.com\/accounts\/734998\/events\/1895115\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/new.livestream.com\/accounts\/734998\/events\/1895115<\/a><\/h2>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Future of Tibet<\/h1>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Saturday, February 23, 2-4 pm<\/h3>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<h3>Bertelsmann Campus Center, Bard College<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In 2012, there was an intensification of protests and a sharp increase in the number of self-immolations by Tibetans, a response to the continued annexation of their homeland by the People\u2019s Republic of China. Tibet observers and analysts cite six decades of human rights violations and cultural and religious repression as some of the main causes. The panel will discuss human rights, the possibility for Tibetan autonomy or independence, and how we, the world community, can help Tibet to shape its future. Robert Barnett, Moderator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Lobsang Nyandak<\/strong>, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Tendor<\/strong>, Executive Director, Students for a Free Tibet<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Robert Barnett<\/strong>, Director, Weatherhead East Asia Institute, Modern Tibet Studies Program, Columbia University<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Robert Thurman<\/strong>,Tibetan Studies scholar and president of Tibet House US <em>[click here for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/01\/robert-thurman-on-tibetan-immolations.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">his recent youtube talk on Tibet<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Ming Xia<\/strong>, Professor of Political Science, City University of New York<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tibetancenter.org\/events\/future-of-tibet\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tibetancenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Future-of-Tibet.jpg\" alt=\"Future of Tibet\" width=\"366\" height=\"246\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Reception to follow. This event is free and open to the public, however there is a suggested donation of $20 to support the Tibetan Center\u2019s public programs. Reservations are strongly encouraged. For information please email\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:info@tibetancenter.org\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">info@tibetancenter.org<\/a>\u00a0or call (845) 383-1774. Audience members are invited to submit questions for the panel in advance, via email to\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:info@tibetancenter.org\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">info@tibetancenter.org<\/a>. Please visit\u00a0<a title=\"http:\/\/www.bard.edu\/visiting\/directions\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bard.edu\/visiting\/directions\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.bard.edu\/visiting\/directions\/<\/a>\u00a0for directions to Bard College.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tibetancenter.org\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.tibetancenter.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Yesterday\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TibetanTsampaRevolution\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Tsampa Revolution<\/a> (a group you can follow on facebook) released images from Amdo, eastern Tibet, showing<strong> Tibetans defiantly reciting poetry<\/strong> (you read that correctly) in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/01\/tibetan-language-more-than-you-imagined.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">their native language<\/a>. Chinese authorities have tried for years to replace education in Tibetan with (Mandarin) Chinese, sparking several protests over the years. February 21st, the day of the protests, was\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Mother_Language_Day\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">International Mother Language Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/83\/2013\/02\/tibet-amdo-2013.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2100\" title=\"tibet-amdo-2013\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/83\/2013\/02\/tibet-amdo-2013-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Chinese oppression is not the only force working to destroy Tibetan culture. The Guardian newspaper recently ran <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2013\/feb\/21\/going-undercover-christian-evangelists-tibet\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">an article about Christian missionaries<\/a> there, working undercover to convert Tibetans. \u00a0Tibet has a long history of contact from Western missionaries. Under Geluk and Mongolian rule, Tibetan officials have often been open and curious about foreign religions, with <a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ippolito_Desideri\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">one famous (Jesuit) missionar, Ippolito Desideri<\/a>,\u00a0only being forced to leave by rival orders in his own church. At other times, Tibet has been notoriously closed-off from foreigners.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">These days, missionaries enter under false-pretenses, often as tourists but also sometimes as business people, exploiting changes in Chinas (and thus Tibet\u2019s) economy:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2026experts say that changing economic circumstances could make foreign Christians more influential in Tibetan society now than at any point in history.<\/p>\n<p>Robbie Barnett, a leading Tibet expert at Columbia University, argues that the missionary phenomenon overturns the standard notion of western attitudes towards Tibet \u2013 that western society is intent on protecting Tibetan\u00a0religion, while the Chinese government is more concerned with dismantling it. \u201cIf you look at foreigners there, there are people whose commitment is to the opposite \u2013 it\u2019s to replace Tibetan religion with their own religion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 10 people interviewed for this article said that Chinese authorities in Tibetan areas were selectively tolerant of missionaries for reasons that range from pragmatic to borderline sinister.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It is (somewhat) understandable that Christians would like to spread their \u201cGood News\u201d in Tibet. What is unfortunate is the destruction of culture that is likely to accompany that spread (think of US Native Americans). Missionaries also become pawns, either willingly or not, in China\u2019s game of control over Tibetans. As Barnett goes on to state:<strong> \u201cChina isn\u2019t trying to destroy religion by any means, but they\u2019re trying to destroy certain parts of Tibetan religion. They\u2019re not the same project by any means, but they certainly have some congruency.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Educate yourself, educate your friends and family.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tibetinfonet.net\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.tibetinfonet.net\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.savetibet.org\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.savetibet.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tibet.org\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.tibet.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-pacific-16689779\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-pacific-16689779<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/04\/13\/opinion\/13sperling.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/04\/13\/opinion\/13sperling.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Also, don\u2019t forget about Joshua Eaton\u2019s\u00a0indigogo campaign for a new resource for journalists, activists, and educators documenting recent events in Tibet:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiegogo.com\/projects\/tibet-on-fire\/x\/199710\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Tibet on Fire<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Tibetan Center in Kingston, New York has announced an upcoming discussion of the six decades of human rights abuses in Tibet under Chinese occupation, the recent rise in protests (especially self-immolations), and the possibilities concerning the future of Tibet. Update (watch a recording of the event here): Upcoming Event! Live Internet Stream Link:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/new.livestream.com\/accounts\/734998\/events\/1895115 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-china","category-tibet"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The Future of Tibet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Tibetan Center in Kingston, New York has announced an upcoming discussion of the six decades of human rights abuses in Tibet under Chinese occupation,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Future of Tibet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Tibetan Center in Kingston, New York has announced an upcoming discussion of the six decades of human rights abuses in Tibet under Chinese occupation,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Buddhist Perspectives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-23T10:32:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-03-22T16:07:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.tibetancenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Future-of-Tibet.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html\",\"name\":\"The Future of Tibet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-23T10:32:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-22T16:07:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\"},\"description\":\"The Tibetan Center in Kingston, New York has announced an upcoming discussion of the six decades of human rights abuses in Tibet under Chinese occupation,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/02\/the-future-of-tibet.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Future of Tibet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\",\"name\":\"American Buddhist Perspectives\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\",\"name\":\"Justin Whitaker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Justin Whitaker\"},\"description\":\"I am an almost-life-long Montanan; a baptized Catholic; an ardent Atheist; a practicing Buddhist; a lover of Wisdom. 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