With joy, sorrow and a few surprises, a Taiwan Friends of Tibet (TFOT) student delegation yesterday shared their experiences and discoveries from a two-week trip to Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Sitting in a room at a coffee shop near the MRT Zhongshan Station in Taipei, members of the student delegation and their friends shared pictures, video clips and new discoveries from their trip last month.
The room was sometimes filled with laughter, cheers and applause, and sometimes with a more serious atmosphere when discussions were focused on issues relating to the political situation in the exiled community.
“The most interesting finding was that, in the past, we’ve always viewed the Tibetans as a whole, we see the structural problems, and we know that they are being repressed by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] regime,” said Hsiao Hui-chung (蕭惠中), an Academia Sinica research fellow who accompanied the delegation of mostly college and graduate students on the trip.
“However, when we were there and talked to individual Tibetans, we found that they are not a people as a collective, but rather individuals with different stories, backgrounds, ideas and expectations,” he said.
Hsiao said that for most people who are concerned about the Tibet issue, it is the voice of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama that stands out most, “but once we were in Dharamsala, we heard different voices and there are also voices critical of the government-in-exile.”
Wu Ju-mei (吳如媚), a graduate student from National Taitung University’s Graduate Institute of Regional Policy and Development Research who has interviewed several Tibetan public figures in Dharamsala, said she was also surprised by the different views expressed by different people.
“Former political prisoner Lukar Jam is very critical of the exiled government and believes that all governments will eventually become interest-driven groups. He even went so far as to remind the exiled government not to become a new problem for Tibetans,” she said. “On the other hand, Gang Lhamo, a member of the exiled parliament and also a former political prisoner, believes a government could serve as a symbol of legitimacy and the struggle for the Tibetan cause may be harder without the exiled government.”
Wu said that while the Dalai Lama is a much-respected figure among Tibetans, “there are also Tibetans who think that the status the Dalai Lama enjoys is not positive for the development of democracy in the exiled Tibetan community.”
While Tibetans may hold different views about their government and on current events, the delegation found that independence for Tibet is a shared objective for all exiled Tibetans, despite the government-in-exile’s insistence on gaining genial autonomy under Chinese rule in recent years.
“The living conditions and the environment in Dharamsala are much harsher than I have expected, but no matter how challenging life is for the Tibetans, most of them are very positive-minded and optimistic,” Nanhua University student Peter Hu (胡家銘) said.
“I think this is a lesson we should learn from them when we face so many social injustices in Taiwan,” he added.
The TFOT organizes trips to Dharamsala every year, hoping to promote exchanges between Taiwanese and exiled Tibetans, as well as to help Taiwanese understand the Tibetan issue better.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS