Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 3: A three-day forum bringing together Tibetan and Chinese scholars, policy experts, and human rights activists concluded in Dharamshala on Wednesday with a joint call for nonviolence, democratic reform, and sustained dialogue as pathways towards a peaceful resolution of the Tibet-China conflict.
The “Democratic China and Future of Tibet Forum”, organised by the Tibetan Community Development Fund (TCDF) in collaboration with the Central Tibetan Administration’s official think tank, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI), brought together 29 participants from India, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and Southern Mongolia.
Convened to foster candid exchanges on democracy, human rights, and Tibet’s political future, the forum sought to bridge perspectives between Tibetans and Chinese pro-democracy activists and explore avenues for greater cooperation between the Tibetan and Chinese democratic movements.
The forum opened on August 31 with a keynote address by CTA President Penpa Tsering, who spoke on Sino-Tibetan relations, the Middle Way Approach, the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama, and the importance of cooperation between Tibetans and Chinese.
The discussions culminated in five declarations covering nonviolence, a shared democratic future, Tibetan democracy and history, the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, and the legal and human-rights implications of China’s Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress.
The first declaration established nonviolence as a common guiding principle for addressing the Tibet-China conflict. Participants drew on the longstanding advocacy of the 14th Dalai Lama and Chinese democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, emphasising peaceful resistance, dialogue, and pragmatic engagement as alternatives to confrontation.
The second declaration called for a shared vision of a democratic future, urging closer interaction between Tibetans in exile and Chinese democracy organisations and individuals. Participants also highlighted the value of sharing the Tibetan exile community’s experience of democratic governance as part of broader efforts towards democratisation in China.
Discussions under the third declaration focused on Tibet’s history, Tibetan-Chinese exchanges, Tibetan democracy, and the Middle Way Approach. Participants said greater understanding of Tibetan perspectives among Chinese audiences, alongside deeper Tibetan engagement with China’s democracy movement, could help build trust and create space for meaningful dialogue. The declaration also called for greater efforts to explain the Middle Way Approach to Chinese people. The policy, advocated by the Tibetan leadership in exile, seeks genuine autonomy for Tibetans within the framework of the Chinese Constitution rather than outright independence.
The fourth declaration addressed the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama, rejecting any role for the Chinese government in the process. Participants stated that the authority to determine the Dalai Lama’s succession rests with the Dalai Lama and the Dalai Lama’s private office, Gaden Phodrang Trust, in accordance with Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
The fifth declaration raised concerns over China’s so-called “Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress,” calling for its immediate repeal. Participants argued that the legislation could have far-reaching consequences for the linguistic, cultural, religious, and national identities of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolians, and other ethnic communities.
The participants said the forum marked a step towards establishing a sustained platform for Tibetan-Chinese academic and policy engagement, with continued communication and cooperation envisioned as a means of building mutual understanding and strengthening nonviolent approaches to the long-running conflict.
