By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, June 25: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday issued a call for ethnic unity during his visit to a middle school for Golok Tibetans and the Tibetan Buddhist Hongjue Temple in the so-called Qinghai province (Amdo) in Tibet. This visit follows the high profile meeting between US lawmakers and officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile, as well as their meeting with the Dalai Lama in India.
Xi emphasised the need to foster “a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” and to strengthen “love for both the country and the religion” within Tibetan Buddhism. He urged party officials and government representatives to promote national unity in the province, which has a predominantly Tibetan populace. Xi also called for adherence to the sinicisation of religion and enhanced management of religious affairs and venues.
These remarks came after a delegation of U.S. lawmakers, led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, met with the Dalai Lama and visited the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala, India. The lawmakers asserted that they would not allow China to influence the choice of the Dalai Lama’s successor and indicated that Washington would pressure Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders, as prescribed in the Resolve Tibet Act, which was passed in both the US congress and the US Senate with bipartisan support.
In response, China’s foreign ministry reiterated its stance on Thursday, stating that the Dalai Lama must “thoroughly reflect on and completely correct his political propositions” for talks to resume with Beijing. Formal negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives have been stalled since 2010.
Beijing has condemned the recently passed Resolve Tibet Act, insisting that Tibet is an inseparable part of China and rejecting any external interference. Chinese officials urged the United States to recognise the sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, respect China’s core interests, refrain from engaging with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, and stop sending misleading messages to the international community.
I applaud the efforts of the United States Government and it’s democratically elected representatives in finally acknowledging the ongoing efforts by the PRC Government to eradicate The Tibetan Culture, especially Tibetan Language (I read of schools in Tibet now refusing to teach or allow students to speak their native Tibetan Language-a loss of culture accompanies a loss of a people’s language). Native Americans are currently working very hard to prevent their native languages from being lost, and are recovering their native plants and fishing and gaming right to correct multiple severe health problems arising from adopting a European foreign diet. The Indigenous First Peoples of Canada, and the United States both were forced to send their children to various Christian run schools, where the children were not allowed to speak their language, wear their native clothing, forced to cut their hair, and were forcibly converted to follow the Christian. Now, I am happy to say, our indigenous population ins increasing, many more native people are following their own faith (most now are non-Christian), and the are elected to Federal and local government as representatives of their districts by indigenous and non-indigenous voters. What is the difference between Tibet and North Anerican countries? Many things, but the most lethal is the Communist Party of China’s stance that they are educating you, and “saving you” from your horrible culture, religion, national identity (which they oddly claim did not exist). I might add that their were multiple cultural and regional governments, or countries as it were (Ladakh, Sikkim, Derge, Golok, Amdo) and other regions such as Tsang and the kingdom of the Royal Khon Family, as well as others. However, all shared the same classical literary language, and various schools of the same religion, although Muslims did live within these kingdoms and next to various regions of Tibet. I truly wish there was a way the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas could join hands, or forces with other indigenous people around the world, who are seeing their culture, faith and language disappear. I pray that brilliant stateswomen and men arise in these communities (also Schezuan, Yunnan, Manchuria, and the part of Mongolia now ruled by the PRC. Arctic Finnish people, Greenland and Iceland Indigenous residents, Non-Muslims residing in Muslin ruled countries, represent a very great percentage of the world’s population. Do fight for the survival of the Tibetan People, Culture, Language and Faith, but please reach out to these other Indigenous People, whose lands have been overrun by invaders, but who are now decades ahead of Tibetans in regaining their rights. Thank you for listening, and I am so proud that my government has finally taken a firm stand on the human rights violations, and attempted genocide of the Tibetan People. Joyce Harjo, a Native American of the Muskogee Nation, is now the Poet Laureate of America. She would be a good person for a Tibetan Representative to contact as she has worked lifelong to preserve the dignity of her people, and developed her artistry to speak her truth concerning the challenges of being an Indigenous person in the United States. Thank you for listening.