By Tendar Tsering

DHARAMSHALA, May 9: The Dharamshala based Tibetan People’s Movement for Middle Way in a release Tuesday came out in full support of the exile Tibetan family marching back to Tibet carrying a Chinese flag, calling their initiative “exemplary.”

The release comes days after Tibetan Youth Congress, the largest Tibetan NGO, objected the parading of Chinese flag, labeling it as a “blotch” in exile history.

Tsetan Dorjee, along with his mother, Dhumpo Kyi and sister Lhamo Kyi began their March to Tibet from the exile Tibetan headquarters of Dharamshala on March 10, coinciding with the 53rd Tibetan National Uprising Day.

Speaking to Phayul earlier, Tseten Dorjee, had said that parading the Chinese flag was symbolic of his fight for the official Middle-Way policy and his willingness to stay under Beijing if granted genuine autonomy.


The Middle Way group in its release called the initiative “exemplary” and urged Tibetans to join the exile family.

“The parading of Chinese flag along with the Tibetan, Indian and Nepalese flag on a historical march back to Tibet is exemplary and will be written in golden letters,” the release said. “This initiative has become a potential way of fulfilling the wishes of Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet.”

“Even the Chinese government has not misinterpreted the initiative,” the release added.

TYC had earlier clarified that it did not object the marchers’ political inclinations but pointed out that the Middle-Way policy was yet to bring about a resolution to the Tibetan issue.

“While Tibetans inside Tibet risk their lives to bring down the Chinese flag in their act of defiance against the Chinese oppression, here in a free country the action of a Tibetan carrying the Chinese flag completely contradicts the moral responsibilities of a Tibetan towards the struggle and historical legacy of Tibet,” TYC had said.


Currently, the exile family is about to reach the Indo-Nepal border town of Gorakhpur after marching for nearly two months and covering over 1300 kms.