Penpa Tsering is the Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration. He is the democratically elected leader of Tibetans in exile. In this chat with ICT, Sikyong Tsering will discuss the role of the CTA, the importance of US support for Tibet and more. Join us for this special conversation! Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod. Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live. And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts. To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, pl ..read more

“Addressing Water Security Challenges in the Himalayan Region,” a panel on Aug. 24, 2023, took place at the World Water Week Conference in Stockholm. A new white paper summarizing a panel at World Water Week 2023 in Stockholm is providing recommendations for China and other stakeholders to address water security in the region where Tibet is located. “Addressing Water Security Challenges in the Himalayan Region” is available to read now. Read the white paper. The white paper is the result of the panel during World Water Week organized by the International Water Management Institute and suppor ..read more

The recently passed US government funding bill provides valuable financial support for the Tibetan people—and pushes back on China’s lies about Tibet and refusal to negotiate with Tibetan leaders. The bipartisan bill, which Congress passed last week and President Joe Biden signed into law March 23, allocates over $20 million for Tibetan programs, including in the areas of language preservation, environmental protection and Tibetan democracy in exile. The legislation also says there should be no federal spending on maps or other materials that recognize Tibet as part of the People’s Republic o ..read more

The late David Breashears (middle) with Conrad Anker (left) and John Ackerly (right). An elite mountaineer and accomplished filmmaker, Breashears used his unique talents to shine a spotlight on Tibet. The International Campaign for Tibet is mourning the loss of David Breashears, a history-making mountaineer and Emmy-winning filmmaker who used his special talents to shine a spotlight on Tibet. Breashears died of natural causes on March 14 at age 68 at his home in Marblehead, Massachusetts. ICT Board Member and former President John Ackerly had been a good friend of Breashears since their firs ..read more

Protestors outside the Chinese Embassy on March 10, 2024. The Tibetan cause was supposed to disappear 65 years ago. But you wouldn’t know it seeing the vivid support for Tibet in Washington, DC and cities around the globe last week. To mark the 65th anniversary of the historic Tibetan National Uprising of March 10, 1959 in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, Tibetan Americans and Tibet supporters rallied outside China’s embassy in the US capital, then marched through the streets chanting “China out of Tibet now!” and “Long live the Dalai Lama!” on their way to the White House. The next day, March 11, man ..read more

The just-concluded annual Chinese political meetings known as the Two Sessions have shown that President Xi Jinping and his administration are turning China into an increasingly ideological security state and continuing their plans to “Sinicize” Tibetan Buddhism, as well as all other aspects of Tibetan life. National leaders’ references to Tibet This year’s annual meetings of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held between March 4 and March 11, 2024, saw the Chinese leaders unitedly supporting the approach that puts ideo ..read more

A new bipartisan House resolution will condemn China’s recent mass arrest of peaceful Tibetan protestors and reaffirm House support for Tibetan self-determination following the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising. Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Young Kim, R-Calif., introduced the resolution “Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of March 10, 1959, and condemning human rights violations related to the hydropower dam construction project in Derge” on Monday, March 11. The resolution recognizes the thousands of Tibetan people who formed a human shield around ..read more

Sixty-five years ago, the people of Tibet rose up. Their courageous spirit continues to guide the Tibetan movement today. Tibetan resistance to Chinese invasion in the late 1950s culminated on March 10, 1959, when thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Norbulingka Palace in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, after they became concerned that the Chinese authorities’ invitation to the Dalai Lama to watch a cultural performance could actually be a plan to abduct or disappear him. Subsequently, the Dalai Lama was able to escape into exile, keeping the Tibetan identity and the cause alive. As the 65th anni ..read more

As the Chinese government’s all-important “Two Sessions” get underway, Tibetans will be largely missing from positions of power. In a new report released today, March 4, the International Campaign for Tibet tracks Tibetan representation in leadership at China’s national level, as well as the provincial and sub-provincial levels in Tibetan areas. The report finds that Tibetans are mainly in token positions, while real power in Tibet remains in the hands of non-Tibetans. These findings conflict with China’s claim that Tibetans have become “masters of their own destiny” since China’s takeover of ..read more

Analysis of Tibetan representation in PRC leadership in 2024 It is the season of China’s annual meetings in Beijing of its National People’s Congress (parliament) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (political advisory body). Popularly called the “Two Sessions,” China has also been using these sessions to tout how well Tibetans and others who are dubbed “ethnic minorities” are enjoying their rights. This claim was most recently reiterated in December 2023 by a Chinese diplomat who claimed, “The 56 ethnic groups in China are all equal regardless of their size, and are entitle ..read more