Katri: China should not fear His Holiness' Middle Way
Approach
Washington D.C., 9 February, TibetNet: Kalon Tripa, Samdhong Rinpoche, had a special tour of the Capitol (Congress Building) yesterday afternoon. In the evening, he gave a talk to a predominantly non-Tibetan audience at the International Campaign for Tibet's (ICT) conference room.
Prior to the talk, Kalon Tripa had a tour of the ICT office and met with the staff members. He was introduced to the staff by ICT President John Ackerly.
In his talk, Kalon Tripa gave an overview of the Tibetan position in the dialogue process.
He also talked about his personal involvement in the Tibetan public work when around the age of 20 when he fled to India, his root teacher, Trijang Rinpoche, the junior tutor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, had advised him to devote himself to His Holiness.
He said since then he had been doing that. In the process, Kalon Tripa said he found that there are two issues that are close to His Holiness: promotion of the ideals of non-violence; and democratization of the Tibetan society.
Accordingly, the Kalon Tripa said he had tried to understand these two issues better and to put them into practice.
In response to a question about the reasons behind the campaign of criticism that the Chinese have launched against His Holiness, Kalon Tripa said that it might be that they see His Holiness' moral struggle and his Middle Way approach as a threat. He said if this is the reason then it is without basis.
He said that His Holiness' Middle-Way Approach is a well-considered one. It was formulated not to appease the People's Republic of China, but done so on the basis of truth and the need of the Tibetan people.
Kalon Tripa said that if the Chinese campaign were done to provoke the Tibetan people and the Tibetan Administration in exile, it would not work.
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Kalon Tripa meets Chinese scholars in US
The discussions dealt with issues pertaining to the resolution of the Tibetan problem, the Chinese Government's position and how the Tibetan leadership was approaching the issue. It was a closed-door meeting between the Tibetans and the Chinese and was hosted by the Brookings Institution. On his arrival at the Institution, the Kalon Tripa was received by Mr. Jeff Bader, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center and Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings institution. The Tibetan team accompanying the Kalon Tripa included Special Envoy Lodi Gyari, Kasur Tashi Wangdi, Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen, Liaison Officer for Latin America Tsewang Phuntso, Pema Wangyal (a Chinese-speaking Tibetan), International Campaign for Tibet's (ICT) Rinchen Tashi and Bhuchung Tsering. In the afternoon, the Kalon Tripa addressed the Tibetan community in the area at the ICT's conference room. He explained the approach of the Central Tibetan Administration on the Sino-Tibetan dialogue process, the future of the Tibetan struggle, etc. The talk was followed by question-and-Answer session. Prior to the talk the President of the Capital Area Tibetan Association, Mr. Lhundup D. Amdo, called on the Kalon Tripa in his capacity as a member of the organising committee of the Tenshug (long-life offering) to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the Tibetan Community in the Americas. In the evening the Kalon Tripa had dinner with two Chinese scholars, one of whom was not able to participate in the morning session. The dinner discussion concerned recent developments in China, including possible changes in the Chinese leadership and how these would impact the Tibetan issue. Yesturday, Kalon Tripa visited the U.S. Capitol and paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been a long time friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and supporter of Tibetan issues in the Congress. The Speaker warmly welcomed the Kalon Tripa and Special Envoy Lodi Gyari and discussed plans for the next meeting she would be having with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Representative Tom Lantos, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also met with the Kalon Tripa and said that Tibet would be a priority in the Committee's examination of US-China policy and, further, that it was his desire to schedule a hearing within the next weeks on the status of the dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama's envoys and Chinese officials. Samdhong Rinpoche also visited the National Endowment for Democracy and met with its President, Carl Gershman. The NED provides grant assistance to democracy-promotion programmes of the exile Tibetan Administration. |
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Last updated: 13-Feb-2007