March 10, 2016 is the 57th anniversary of the Tibet Uprising, when Tibetans in Lhasa revolted against the People’s Liberation Army control, triggering the H.H. Dalai Lama’s flight into exile a week later. It is commemorated by Tibetans worldwide as their National Day. This year’s commemoration in Washington D.C. is organized by Capital Area Tibetan Association. Tibetans and their supporters started with a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy, then marched to the White House. They demanded the Chinese government to allow medias in Tibet, respect Tibetan’s human rights, and return Tibet to Tibetans. At the White House rally, they demanded President Obama to keep Tibet issue on his agenda.Dr. YANG Jianli’s Speech at the Tibetan March 10th Rally in Front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. March 10th, 2016
That Day Will Come Sooner with Our United Effort
Dear Tibetan Brothers and Sisters, Dear Friends:
Tashi Delek.
Today is March 10th, the Tibetan National Uprising Day. Ever since 1989 when I came to understand the plight of people of Tibet through the Tiananmen Massacre, March 10th has become one of the most significant days in my life.Fifty seven years ago, the people of Tibet， who peacefully rose against the Chinese rule and sought freedom from the yoke of Chinese repression， were crushed violently by the Chinese military; their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and began his long and arduous exile. Today, in 2016, Tibet is still a place of repression and fear. A place of blood and fire. The suffering the people of Tibet have had at the hands of the Chinese government in the past six decades is almost unparalleled in the history of mankind. So is their struggle.
Over these decades, the Chinese government has used everything to try to deceive the Tibetan people and the Chinese people as well, it has tired to sow seeds of division among Tibetans and between the two peoples, dilute the Tibetan culture, smash Tibetan monasteries, demonize His Holiness and his people, break the Tibetan spirit and eventually destroy the Tibetan identity. It has failed. Today we stand together to declare its failure.
What we see today in Tibet is the new generation committed to fighting for Tibetan freedom at any personal sacrifice. Just last Tuesday, Kalsang Wangdue, an 18-year-old Tibetan monk set himself on fire, joining in the company of more than 150 Tibetan self immolating martyrs in recent years. He, like everyone else, called for the long life of the Dalai Lama, for His returning home and for a free Tibet. This heroic act was soon followed by a solo protest by a Tibetan woman named Manga, 33. She held a portrait of his Holiness the Dalai Lama shouting slogans against China’s failed policies and crushing repression in Tibet.
These acts show incredible defiance to China’s rule in Tibet. They are also a stark reminder of the dire situation in Tibet today.
China’s false denials of all it’s human rights abuses are blatantly dishonest. But none of those lies are more outrageous than the stream of fairy tales seen in China’s government controlled media about how happy the Tibetans under China’s rule are, and how much they appreciate China’s efforts to preserve their culture and traditions.
In response to China’s propaganda, I have a simple question for Xi Jinping.
“Mr.Xi, If your rule of Tibet is so benevolent and appreciated, then tell me why so many Tibetans became so desperate about your rule that they have set themselves on fire?”
“Rather than show a speck of remorse, your government has prosecuted grieving family members as accomplices to their loved ones in ‘murder.’ Even unrelated bystanders have been prosecuted as “accessories to murder” for merely helping to load the victims corpses into wagons so they could be taken to a decent Tibetan funeral. “
“Mr.Xi, I have another question for you. Recent news stories in official Chinese media reflect your latest effort to build a cult of personality. They describe a handful of times when you shed tears over relatives, friends, or model officials.”“So I ask you this. If you have any sense of decency or a real human heart, why have you not shed tears over the young Tibetan Monks driven by China’s persecution to set themselves on fire, or over the young nuns sadistically tortured and imprisoned for many years?”
He may not want to answer my questions. But I am confident that the day will come when the Tibetan people as well as the Chinese public will hold the Chinese government and the individual perpetrators accountable, when the people of Tibet will use their right to self determination to decide their own future. That day will come and will come sooner with our united effort.
Free Tibet!
Thank You all.
Dr. YANG Jianli’s Speech at the Tibetan March 10th Rally in Front of the White House, March 10th, 2016
The Best Use of Power is to Help the Powerless
Dear Tibetan Brothers and Sisters, Dear Friends:
Tashi Delek.
Today marks the 57th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising. I just spoke a few hours ago in front of the Chinese embassy. I won’t repeat what I said there.This summer, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will celebrate his 81st birthday, a wonderful occasion, as he continues to provide his unique spiritual and moral leadership. His strength, dignity, and wisdom have inspired not only Tibetans worldwide, but also world leaders and all freedom-loving people. Sadly, however, 2016 also marks the 57th year he has spent in exile from Lhasa after the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Today, Tibet is still a place of repression and fear. Over the past decades, to ensure its control over the land, the Chinese government has used everything to try to deceive, divide and demonize the Tibetan people, to dilute and eventually destroy their identity and spirit. But resistance in Tibet is as strong as ever. The heroic acts by more than 150 Tibetans who have self immolated show incredible defiance to China’s crushing repression. But they also a stark reminder of the dire situation in Tibet today.
As supporters of Tibetans in Tibet, we know why we are here. Each of the 150 some self-immolations is one too many – we cannot afford to lose any more lives. And there is much we should and can do.
We must continue and expand the campaign of truth. When we hear the voices from inside Tibet, the voices in the flames, our conscience permits us no alternative but to act as their transmitters and amplifiers, to awaken more people’s moral conscience and to let more people know the truth about these tragedies.
We must press the democratic governments to speak the TRUTH. We must take advantage of our democratic mechanisms to press the US government to keep Tibet on its agenda and make our elected representatives know that their voting base wants to see more proactive support for Tibet. The US is seeing another general election which will decide who will lead this great democracy and the free world for at least next four years. We must remind the US leaders that the best use of power is to help the powerless.Tibet is both a political issue and a moral test. All of humanity is challenged. Every world leader, every U.S. president, whoever occupies in the place behind me-the White House-must take this test, and just like any other test, one either passes or fails. We should not let next US president fail the test, politically or morally. We must insist that today silence is no longer an option. We must challenge the silence of the US government at every turn and press it to confront the lies of the Chinese government with the TRUTH.
In the face of such a powerful evil as the Chinese government, we may all feel powerless. But if we, all of us, are committed to fighting together relentlessly for our Tibetan brothers and sisters, contributing our time, energy and skills to give voice to the voiceless and empower the powerless, then our hope is way more powerful than fear. I see to a day when we meet freely in Golok, Labrang, Lithang, Lhasa and Beijing!
Free Tibet! Free China!
Thank you all.