(TibetanReview.net, Jul27’26) – It has now emerged that China’s concern about the 17th International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) Conference to be held in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu over Aug 23-29 was on the planned participation of researchers from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) think tank, the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI), in their official capacity, according to an english.nepalnews.com commentary Jul 26 and an indiatoday.in report Jul 27.
The very name “CTA” is taboo to the ears of the Communist Chinese leaders, who deride it as a part of what they call the “Dalai (Lama) separatist clique”. This is despite the fact that the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, and the CTA only seek genuine autonomy for their Tibetan homeland, not independence.
China views any form of official recognition of the Dalai Lama or the CTA, or any criticism of the human rights situation in Tibet as challenge to its claim of sovereignty over Tibet.
The commentary cited a senior security official as saying that on Jul 21 China’s Ambassador to Nepal, Mr Zhang Maoming, met with Nepali Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai and expressed concerns about the conference after learning that some CTA representatives were expected to participate officially.
The reports quoted the source as saying: “The ambassador did not ask for the conference to be cancelled, but expressed concern that it could become a platform for anti-China rhetoric. Perhaps to avoid placing additional pressure on the Nepalese government and to ensure the conference proceeds smoothly, the CTA decided not to send its official representatives.”
The reports also quoted a second security official as saying: “Respecting Nepal’s foreign policy and to avoid creating an uncomfortable situation, the CTA decided at its Jul 21 meeting in Dharamshala not to participate officially. However, it has indicated that Tibetan scholars and experts may still attend the conference as private individuals.”
And so, while the CTA has decided not to participate officially, its scholars who have already registered may still attend the conference in their personal capacity.
However, the organisers’ preliminary registration list reportedly no longer carries some of the five named CTA researchers, though it still includes other individuals connected to the administration, among them at least one representative associated with the CTA, said the english.nepalnews.com commentary.
It said Beijing’s pressure has already forced the Dalai Lama’s exile administration to withdraw formal participation, turning a scholarly conference into a fresh test of Kathmandu’s balancing act between China and the West.
It said what should have been a routine academic activity has instead become entangled in diplomatic pressure, with China’s ambassador securing a formal Tibetan exile pullback even before the seminar opens.
The distinction between an institutional pullback and an ongoing informal individual presence is the most significant new detail in the story as the seminar’s opening date nears, and it shows Beijing’s diplomatic pressure achieving a concrete outcome even without any written protest or public demand, the commentary said.
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Interestingly, around 100 participants from China are expected to attend the conference. The big question is whether they will use it as a platform to air China’s propaganda on Tibet. China has the second-largest representation, the report cited the organisers as saying.
The researchers will come from Lhasa, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Beijing, as well as from Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, are expected to participate.
In addition, representatives from the China Tibetology Research Center, along with delegates from Buddhist monasteries in India, Taiwan, and Japan, are also set to attend the conference in Kathmandu.
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The IATS Seminar is the flagship gathering of an international scholarly body built entirely around Tibetan studies, a field covering Tibetan Buddhism, linguistics, history, art, medicine, law and the everyday life of Tibetan communities scattered across the Himalayas and beyond. The participants include scholars, university professors, historians, linguists, theologians, and sociologists specialising in Tibetan studies.
More than 700 delegates from 39 countries have registered, with the United States contributing the largest delegation of about 150 participants.
Established in 1979 at the University of Oxford, its primary objective is to promote research related to Tibet. The seminar rotates host cities roughly once every three years.
This is the first time the IATS Conference is being held in Nepal, with its previous Asian venues being Japan (1989) and Mongolia (2013). The local co-organisers are Kathmandu University’s Himalayan Centre for Asian Studies (HiCAS) and the Centre for Buddhist Studies, which is associated with the Rangjung Yeshe Institute. The conferene is held every few years.
The conference is being coordinated by Dr Sagar Sharma, Director, Himalayan Centre for Asian Studies (HiCAS), Kathmandu University, and Rangjung Yeshe Institute’s Thomas Doctor.
Dr Sharma has said all preparations were being carried out in coordination with the government and security agencies.
“Hosting such a major international conference in Kathmandu is an achievement in itself. Since this is purely an academic event, there should be no problems,” he has said.