Hold Fast

This is incredibly interesting. On May 21st the Dalai Lama held an hour-long question and answer session, a “free dialogue,” with Chinese citizens. The event was organized by Chinese intellectual Wang Lixiong and questions were submitted through Twitter and ranked on Google Moderator. Chinese authorities shut down the page in China, but hundreds of questions […]

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My good friend and former co-blogger Austin sends along this dissection of a piece from Ezra Klein that is so sharp that I feel the need to post…Take it away Austin:
Ezra Klein just published a post that has so much going on in it that exemplifies the state of the world, US politics, and the […]

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The International Campaign for Tibet has released a long report on the recent crackdown by the Chinese government on Tibet writers, bloggers, intellectuals, and dissidents, leading to thirty-one high-profile individuals being jailed for thought crimes. The report looks at the recent explosion of Tibetan writing and cultural growth (something that Tenzin Dorjee of Students for […]

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http://www.vimeo.com/11527575

The International Tibet Support Network has released an incredibly powerful video in support of the release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a Tibetan monk who is sitting in jail for a crime he did not commit. He had previously been sentenced to death, but international outcry and pressure forced the Chinese government to commute it to […]

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Yiyi Lu has a really interesting post on the Wall Street Journal Blog about the role of “contentious politics” in Chinese society. She looks at the dynamic local government authorities have used to deal with protests and dissent, ranging from suppression and jailing to bribery to assent to the demands. There is clearly a growing […]

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Hu Jia is one of China’s most prominent prisoners of conscience. He’s a thirty-six year old dissident who has fought for democratic reform, as well as advocacy for HIV/AIDS patients. He was thrown in jail in 2007 following his advocacy for Chinese peasants’ rights, though the technical charge was “the crime of inciting the overthrow […]

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Tencho Gyatso at the International Campaign for Tibet’s blog writes on the impact of the Kyegudo earthquake on the people in this uniquely Tibetan city and region:
The majority of Tibetans are simple folks; they ask for nothing much but they would like to live their lives as Tibetans. They would like to see the Dalai […]

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This is really important. Han Han is a Chinese race car driver, singer, author and the country’s most prominent blogger. He was just voted #2 most influential person in the world in Time Magazine’s Top 100 poll. In response to being nominated, he penned a blog post earlier this month called “Let the Sunshine In” […]

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High Peaks Pure Earth has translated reports from the Tibetan blogosphere that Shogdung, a leading Tibetan writer and intellectual, has been arrested by the Chinese government shortly following the Jyekundo earthquake. Shogdung was taken from his home in the middle of the night, standard practice for totalitarian regimes worldwide, and his family has been unable […]

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The South China Morning Post (subscription link) is reporting that the Chinese government has ordered Tibetan monks who voluntarily provided aid and helped rescue victims of the Kyigudo earthquake in Kham last week cease their activities. Monks have been the backbone of rescue and support efforts, spending time rescue and helping Tibetans and Tibetan residential […]

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