Penpa Tsering, the top political leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile and head of the Central Tibetan Administration, has called on the international community to focus on the imminent threat of “cultural genocide” by the Chinese Communist Party in Tibet and to act resolutely to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Penpa Tsering was just elected this month as the new top political leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the 16th Kashatagarbha Division. His predecessor was Lobsang Senghor.
In a media interview in Dharamsala, India, he said the Tibetan government-in-exile was committed to a peaceful solution with the Chinese Communist Party, but that Beijing’s policies that day threatened Tibetan culture.
Bipa Tsering, who has been in politics for three decades, was the speaker of the Tibetan parliament in exile before being elected leader of the central Tibetan administration. He said, “Once Tibetan culture is wiped out, any struggle will become meaningless.”
Human rights groups and Tibetans in Tibet say the Chinese government has adopted strict controls over religion, language instruction and labor, encouraging the migration of China’s largest ethnic group, the Han Chinese, to Tibet.
Bamba Tsering said, “I have always preached that we are not against cultural pluralism, but the complete overwhelming of an ethnic group that is a majority of the population over a minority of the population is cultural genocide, especially when that crushing is enforced through state power.”
Beijing denies that it has violated the human rights of the Tibetan people. It says that Beijing’s development policies have eliminated absolute poverty in the Tibetan region, claiming to be embraced by all the people of the region.
Communist forces occupied Tibet in 1950, an occupation officially described by the Communist Party as “peaceful liberation,” and in 1959 Tibetans staged an armed uprising against Han Chinese rule. After the failed uprising, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, fled into exile.
These Tibetans went into exile in India and formed the Tibetan Government in Exile, now known as the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India, which consists of three bodies: the executive, the parliament, and the judiciary. The number of Tibetans in exile is about 150,000.
For decades, Tibet has been considered one of the most restrictive and sensitive areas in the world. Foreign journalists, diplomats and other foreigners are not allowed to enter Tibet unless they have permission from the government to join a tour group with tight official control.
Bamba Tsering stressed that if people do not act now to challenge this practice by the Chinese government, then “China will take everything away.” “This must be stopped,” Tsering said.
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