(TibetanReview.net, Nov09’23) – As the exile Tibetan administration holds its fifth strategic meeting since 2021 towards the resolution of the Tibet issue and the exile Tibetan civil society holds a fourth conference since 2022 on Tibet’s future, both at Dharamshala, India, China has announced that it will release tomorrow a white paper on “Xizang” in a one-sentence news report.
This will be China’s 19th White Paper on Tibet since 1992, with Tibet: Its Ownership and Human Rights Situation (Sep 1992) being the first, and Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity (May 2021) being the last.
China’s State Council Information Office will release a white paper titled “CPC Policies on the Governance of Xizang in the New Era: Approach and Achievements” on Friday, and a press conference will be held by the office, said China’s official Xinhua news agency Nov 9.
“Xizang” is the Chinese-language term for Tibet Autonomous Region, which makes up roughly the western half of Tibet proper. It includes the U-Tsang province and the Chamdo region of the Kham province of historical Tibet. The other parts of Kham province and the Amdo province of historical Tibet today make up the Qinghai province and parts of Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of the People’s Republic of China.
China recently decided to use the term “Xizang” in its official documents to make it clear that the historical Tibet made up of U-Tsang, Kham (or Dotoe) and Amdo (or Domey) provinces no longer exist.
The report did not say anything about what the contents of the white paper would be.
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Earlier, on Nov 8, the Permanent Strategy Committee of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) began a three-day, bi-annual meeting at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies near Sarah, Dharamshala. The purpose was stated to be to evaluate the progress of current strategic initiatives and deliberate on future advocacy initiatives.
The meeting is being chaired by Sikyong Mr Penpa Tsering of the CTA, with the other attending members being former Kalons Mr Tempa Tsering and Mr Dongchung Ngodup; former envoy Mr Kelsang Gyaltsen; Kalons Ms Dolma Gyari (Department of Security) and Ms Norzin Dolma (Department of Information and International Relations); Secretaries Mr Karma Rinchen (Department of Security), Karma Choeying (Department of Information and International Relations), and Mr Dawa Tsering of the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI); political secretary Tashi Gyatso of the Kashag Secretariat, and Secretary Ngaba Tsegyam from the Gaden Phodrang office.
“In addition to reviewing and discussing the strategic programs, this meeting will deliberate on the prevailing situation in Tibet concerning China’s colonial boarding school and the mass DNA collection, the changing political landscape of China vis-a-vis its influence in the global community”, Choeying has told the media at the start of the meeting.
Before the Permanent Strategy Committee, the CTA had a Task Force on Sino-Tibetan Negotiations set up in 1998 and which first met in 1999 and 32 times till 2019.
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Also, more than 90 exile Tibetans drawn from France, Switzerland, Netherlands, England, Norway, the United States and India, are attending a five-day, fourth conference on Future of Tibet under the theme of “Seeds for the Future”, which opened at the Imperial Heights Clarks Inn, Dharamshala, on Nov 6.
This independent civil society initiative aspires to promote unity among Tibetans and encourage their active involvement in shaping the future of Tibet. On its agenda for discussion are topics such as the geopolitics of Tibet, China and India, Tibetan unity, Tibetan identity, future paths for Tibet including self-determination and facing up to the future after His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
The speakers are former envoy Mr Kelsang Gyaltse, former Kalon Tripa Mr Tenzin Namgyal Tethong; Tibet Policy Institute director Mr Dawa Tsering; editor of Lhakar Diaries Dr Dawa Lokyitsang; Monlam Tibetan IT Research Cente founder Geshe Lobsang Monlam; former exile Tibetan parliament members Ms Pema Chagzoetsang and Mr Lobsang Yeshi; principal of College of Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarah Mr Passang Tsering; Chinese language researcher at Tibet Policy Institute Ms Phenthok, Tibetan Youth Congress president Mr Gonpo Dhondup, and Tibetan activist and educational sociologist Dr Gyal Lo.
The initiative held its inaugural conference in Washington, DC, in Apr 2022, followed by those in Paris in Nov 2022, and New York in Apr 2023.