Uttam Kumar Sinha has an op-ed in the Washington Post today about Tibet and its importance has the watershed for most of Asia. Sinha makes the case that the Chinese government should not be the only stakeholder deciding policies that determine what happens to water originating in Tibet. Sinha writes:

China’s moves to encroach on Tibet’s water need to be countered by downriver solidarity that includes agreement on multipurpose beneficial use of these resources. Downriver states need to work through legal norms of equitable utilization, “no-harm” policies and restricted Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. This pressure and international attention to defining such vital resources as common would go a long way toward preserving and sharing the waters of Tibet. While such redefinition is politically sensitive, as it clashes with national jurisdiction, it merits attention now given the current and future water requirements of South and Southeast Asia. Collective political and diplomatic pressure over a sustained period will be needed to draw in China to regional arrangements on “reasonable share of water” and frame treaties accordingly.

Two things that I can say with some certainty is that the current Chinese regime is unlikely to ever be a good partner with downstream countries. They have their own needs and historic Han nationalism which continues to exist in the current regime makes it unlikely that they will place the needs of people in India, Burma, Bangladesh, Vietnam or anywhere else in Asia ahead of the needs of their restless population. The other thing I’m sure of is that if Tibet were an independent nation state, under Tibetan rule, the challenges facing Asia and water management would be resolved in a way that benefited both Tibet and downstream states.

Add the water needs of 2 billion Asian people as another reason in the long list of reasons why Tibet should and must be free.

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 and thousands of votes had already been cast, allowing the dialogue to move forward. Perry Link of the New York Times has translated the session from Chinese into English.

What is incredibly interesting to see is which questions were promoted by Chinese citizens as questions they want the Dalai Lama to answer, ranging from succession for the Dalai Lama to how Han Chinese living in Tibet would be treated if Tibet where to gain real autonomy. As always, the Dalai Lama offers thoughtful, good-faith answers to tough questions. The exchange is definitely worth a read.

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 a Free Tibet recently wrote about) and how the Chinese government has responded to it. Here is an excerpt of the report on the dissent rising in the face of the crackdown:

Despite and because of the severity of Beijing’s response, dissent continues to be openly expressed, particularly through the written word. Since March, 2008, there have been a large number of unofficial writings about the protests, usually expressing grief or sadness at the killings and detentions. These have been published in blogs, articles in one-off or unauthorized literary magazines, in books published and distributed privately, and also in the lyrics of songs sung in public places, uploaded onto Youtube or as cellphone ring-tones. (See ICT report, ‘Like Gold that Fears no Fire: New Writing from Tibet’ http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/gold-fears-no-fire-new-writing-tibet).

At the forefront of this resurgence of Tibetan cultural identity is a new bicultural, bilingual generation of educated Tibetans familiar with digital technology, with Chinese writings and official policies, and often too with unofficial accounts of Tibetan history that are banned in China. A common theme of their writings is the solidarity of Tibetans across the plateau and a pride in their unique cultural and religious identity. An awareness of the historic upheavals in Tibet from the 1950s and a new sense of urgency for political change infuses their work. The writings are often poetic in style, such as the articles included in “Eastern Snow Mountain” (Shar Dungri), a literary journal which was banned as soon as it was published in eastern Tibetan area of Amdo in 2008. The writers of “Eastern Snow Mountain,” who are from the Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) area of Sichuan, show extensive knowledge of Chinese and Tibetan law and policy, and discuss the sufferings of ordinary Chinese people as well as their own struggles against the state. (English translations of some of the essays are in: http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-press-releases/a-great-mountain-burned-fire-chinas-crackdown-tibet). Shogdung’s book also includes Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom within China as an overall aim for all citizens of the Chinese state.

The report also looks extensively at the case of Shogdung, the Tibetan writer who was jailed following a letter he published supporting the victims of the Yushu earthquake. ICT publishes some translation of his most recent book, “The Line between Sky and Earth,” which includes powerful critiques of the Chinese occupation:

“If one is a Tibetan, one is not allowed to stay at a hotel, one is ‘welcomed’ with the request to take off one’s hat and shoes at airports, one does not get a ticket. One is not hired for jobs. Because of the deceptive propaganda, Tibetans are looked at with an air of mixed fear and terror. They are targets of suspicion. To sum up, Tibetans are considered like terrorists, they are treated like mindless children who are put under great pressure.

“Actually, it is not the first time this has happened. Ever since we have been conquered by dictators, in a series of campaigns, we have been beaten, struggled against, seized, arrested, condemned, sentenced, massacred. They have made us unable or afraid to move, to speak, to think. Everything and everyone has become inert because of fear. These inhuman methods have been going on for more than 50 years.”

Is it any wonder the the Chinese government would want to throw Shogdung in jail? ICT points out that there is often a delay in cracking down on dissident Tibetan writers, as their books have to be translated from Tibetan into Chinese before authorities can react.

ICT’s report goes on to look at the Chinese government crackdown on communication within Tibet, as well as the growing frequency of disappearing Tibetans. The list of the disappeared is longer than what is known here in the West, but it does include notable authors, artists, and musicians (eg, singer Tashi Dhondup is in jail for releasing a CD last year which included a number of Tibetan resistance songs and a lyric “There is no freedom in Tibet”).

The explosion of proud Tibetan art and culture is a threat in itself to the Chinese government. But when Tibetan writers, artists and intellectuals are going so far as to state the plain truth about China’s occupation, the crackdowns, the jailings, and the more than half century of murder and repression, the cultural explosion has the potential to be the spark that ignites a revolution. If you read the ICT report – and I hope you do – you’ll see that all of these dissidents advocate change through peaceful means. “Shogdung emphasises the importance of non-violence, saying that if Tibetans dare to launch a revolution through peaceful means, the impact would be profound.” Yet even the promotion of a peaceful change is something that strikes fear into the heart of the Chinese government. And so they respond in the only way they know how: with violence, torture, imprisonment and injustice.

I don’t think the pace of cultural resistance is going to slow inside Tibet. Nor do I expect the content of Tibetans’ writings or songs to stop outwardly expressing calls for Tibetan independence or the Dalai Lama’s return. Now, as over the last decades, Tibetans fully know the consequences for uttering these words. And yet they continue to do them in the face of unimaginable oppression. This simple fact above all others is what makes me confident in my belief that one day, Tibet will be free.

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 life in prison. Remarkably, the video contains a short audio clip of TDR from within prison. In it, he says:

“I am not guilty, please appeal for justice for me….call all people together and do everything possible to help me overturn the verdict”.

ITSN notes what is happening within Tibet in support of Tenzin Delek:

In a recent remarkable act of support and bravery, 40,000 Tibetans in Tenzin Delek’s community signed petitions – many signatures being in the form of thumbprints – demanding justice for their leader.

Tenzin Delek was one of the most influential religious leaders in Lithang, Kham – which is in eastern Tibet. He was renowned as a reformer and advocate for the Tibetan people. He helped build schools, hospitals, orphanages, and monasteries and promoted the preservation of Tibetan cultural, as well as advocated against exploitative mining practices that rape the Tibetan plateau. Naturally, the Chinese government viewed his peaceful activism in support of the well-being of the Tibetan people as a threat to their national security and framed this peaceful monk as a violent terrorist.

On 3 April 2002, following a bomb blast in Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan province Lobsang Dhondup – who was a distant relative of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was arrested. Four days later, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was detained (along with four close associates) following a midnight raid on Jamyang Choekhorling monastery in Nyagchukha. Both men were convicted on 29 November 2002, after a 3-day closed trial, during Lobsang Dhondup was portrayed as the bomber and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche as the conspirator. The main evidence presented against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was a confession from Lobsang Dhondup, who later retracted the statement claiming he had been tortured. The only other supposed evidence was the presence of political leaflets at the scene of the bombing which the authorities claimed where produced by Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and distributed by Lobsang Dhondup. However no specific evidence was provided actually linking either of them to the leaflets. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche has denied ever producing such leaflets. Throughout the proceedings the two accused had no access to independent legal counsel. During the trial, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is reported to have claimed he was tortured and shouted out his support for the Dalai Lama. On 2 December 2002 both men were sentenced to death, with Tenzin Delek Rinpoche receiving a two-year reprieve.

As I mentioned above, the international outcry following Tenzin Delek’s railroading lead to the suspension and later commutation of his sentence. Sadly, Lobsand Dhondup was executed at the same time as TDR received his suspended sentence.

Other than the Panchen Lama, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche remains one of the highest profile Tibetan prisoners of conscience in China. Take action to call for his release here.

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 issue of so many protests taking place (87,000 in 2005, at which point the PRC stopped releasing these ever-increasing annual numbers to the public). The volume is so high that she reports the domestic public security budget is now $75.3 billion dollars annually, just below China’s annual defense budget.

As Yiyi points out, the current model is untenable. Government won’t work when it is arbitrary and there is no uniform rule of law in China. She concludes:

The establishment of the rule of law will require systemic changes to the Chinese polity, and it is uncertain when and how it will happen. Until it happens, the only thing the government can count on is that there will be ever more contentious politics for it to deal with, and they will be organised in ever more ingenious ways, in order to create as big ruckuses as possible.

Yes, there will be ruckus. And there isn’t any area that the Chinese government fears more than their citizenry. In the absence of uniform and just laws, there really is no other predictable reaction from the people of China. It’s a very simple situation of the government reaping what it has sown.

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 of the state.” He’s most of the way through a three and a half year prison sentence, but a new blog post from his wife Zeng Jinyan reveals that he is incredibly sick and has a tumor on his liver that the Chinese authorities are refusing to allow him to be treated for. While Zeng’s post is heartbreaking to read, this passage about how Hu is passing his time in jail and uncompromising in his commitment to rights and democracy in China stands out.

The subscriptions to the magazines and newspapers that Hu Jia reads in prison come to most of his living expenses. He follows current events even more closely than we who live outside prison do. He asked me to make a contribution on his behalf for the Sichuan earthquake victims, to buy annual editions of books, to speak out for educational reform, and to cast a ballot for the election of Han Han as one of Time Magazines 100 most influential people. When he speaks with us, he speaks very mildly. The most something upsets him, such as solitary confinement or illness) the more lightly he speaks of it to us. This reassures us some, and makes us feel that his spirit has not been broken. I can go so far as to say with a teary smile, the disaster of prison has tempered both Hu Jia and myself. This tempering has made us more mature and steady.

As I wrote last week, the election of Han Han as Time Magazine’s second most influential person in the world is an incredible step forward in the push for change in China. That one of China’s most high-profile jailed dissidents would see the value of this magazine poll as a force for change is a testament to the importance of Han Han and dissident writers in the Chinese blogosphere. The internet is an incredibly powerful force for democracy and we are only beginning to see its power begin to become manifest in China.

Best of luck and best of health to Hu Jia for the duration of his prison sentence. I hope he’s reunited with his wife soon and he finds a more free China when he does.

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 Lama once in their lifetime, most especially in moments of crisis and tragedy like now. They would like to lead lives of their own choice. They would like to have their monks and monasteries left intact and be accessible to them. They just want to be Tibetans. But they are now caught up in something beyond their control – the politics of greed and power are threatening to shift their ground again even as they mourn their losses. And in the midst of this, I wonder what kind of a new Kyegu will emerge from these ruins? Will there be some resemblance of the charming Tibetan town that was Kyegu, or will it become another faceless pre-fab Chinese town built on the ruins of a Tibetan gem?

Go read all of Tencho-la’s piece. It is a hallmark to what I’ve written about here before in the context of the Chinese colonization and occupation of Tibet – namely that the Tibetan cultural identity is in peril. The severity of the tragedy doesn’t change who Tibetans are, nor does it change what they want in their lives. Increased pressure and efforts by the Chinese government to destroy the Tibetan identity through the rebuilding of Kyegu will not have the effect they are looking for. You can’t force healing or mandate a resumption of normal life after a catastrophe like this, especially when the response has been so lacking from the Chinese government. If the Chinese government uses this earthquake as an excuse to try to fundamentally change Kyegu and its people, they will only succeed in missing an opportunity to show understanding, compassion, and actual benefit for Tibetans from their occupation. I don’t expect that the Chinese government will see repair and reconstruction through the lens of what Tibetans need or want and it is this reality that will likely contribute most heavily to the eventual end of China’s occupation of Tibet.

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” that is a dramatic call for fundamental changes to how the Chinese Communist Party governs the country, including an end to internet censorship, detention for thought crimes, and torture. According to China Digital Times, which has posted a translation of Han Han’s post, the post has over 25,000 comments, 45,000 direct links, and 1.2 million views. While the post has been pulled down from a number of his blogs (it is common for prominent bloggers in China & Tibet to maintain multiple home sites, to reduce the likelihood of a post being entirely deleted by internet censors), the original has now been up for three weeks.

Here is China Digital Times translation (with my emphasis added):

Yesterday, I saw a news report which said that I am a candidate for the list of the 200 most globally influential people from Time magazine. Sensitive word, sensitive word, and sensitive word from China are also candidates. At the moment [I heard this news] I was digging up bamboo shoots in my village (I was digging in my family’s field), so I did not pay too much attention. Later I saw there were lots of text messages on my cell phone, asking my take on this. I only replied to two friends in the Beijing News and Southern Metropolis Daily; all the other things written in other media are friendly imaginations based on my personality. I did not realize that so many people care about this, so I will just write about it here all together.

First of all, I sighed and felt regret. Why do others have such news media? When Time puts out a list of influential people, it makes waves within other countries. How much I desire that our China can have such media. When this media selects people, it also gets attention from the whole world. We cannot say such media is completely fair, but they do have public credibility. How much I desire that our country has this as well. But regrettably we do not. This is not to say that our journalists are not as good as journalists from other places, it is because ….. those reasons that everyone knows. I will just stop here; if I say more about this I will be dead, and my dead body will be whipped as well.

I often ask myself, what contribution have I made to this society which is full of sensitive words? Maybe in the end, all I contribute is another sensitive word which is my name. That’s all. Everyday I get out of bed around noon, often wasting money on digital gadgets, and I’m very picky about food. Thank goodness that I did not add more load or sin to this society, at least so far. I do not have a grand vision; I only want the relevant departments to treat art, literature and the news media better, to not impose too many restrictions and censorship, and to not use the power of the government or the name of the State to block or slander any artist or journalist. If this can be done, you do not need to spend a fortune; this country will automatically produce art work and news media which can be exported to the West, and our small readers, listeners, audience, netizens, urban dwellers and citizens can all enjoy this benefit. I may not have the talent and ability to write great things, but some others do. But you [the goverment] should not castrate people or glorify those who have been castrated.

A journalist asked me over the phone: In some places it’s been said that you are colluding with Western anti-China forces. I said this [accusation] is expected. They [the government] has used this method for sixty years. During the earlier several decades they may have genuinely believed this, but in recent decades, this is just a means of slander. I am just a person that often almost did not get my visa when I participated in competitions abroad because my documents were incomplete. What kind of Western forces are they talking about? What age is it now, that they still use the word “colluding”? That’s sounds so pathetic. If there is a comrade who is listening to my phone everyday, you must be very clear about what kind of person I am. What do you say, my friend? In front of a computer screen there must be a friend who smiles as he understands what I am talking about. But I am just curious, that after so many decades [the government] still only has this one position [in screwing people]. He is not tired of it, but the other party is sick of it.

However, I clearly recognize their existence. You always need both sides, positive and negative, camp A and camp B. If in our country, when we cannot agree with each other, we can leave each other alone, instead of censoring those that do not agree with us, then that would be huge progress. We will work hard towards this day.

Later the same journalist sent me another short text message: In other words, your views and expressions fit with Western values. Don’t you think so?
I replied to him: Don’t [my views and expression] fit Chinese values as well?

I believe that there may be different values between earthlings and aliens. But for Westerners and Easterners? Other then different living habits, how much different could the values be? Why do we have to fight over this?

At last, let me return to the point of so-called influence. I often feel very ashamed. I am just a person with a pen. Maybe my writings make people feel like they are releasing some of their anger or resentment. But other than that what’s the real use? The so-called influence is illusory. In China, those who have influence are those who have power. Those who can make rain from clouds, those who can decide if you live or die, or keep you somewhere in between life and death. They are the people who really have influence. However, I am not sure it is just because they are afraid of search engines or they are too fragile to be searched; we often cannot find them by using search engines. We are just a small role on the stage, under the spotlight. But they own the theater. They can at any time bring the curtain down, turn off the lights, close the door and let the dogs out. Later the dogs all disappear and the sky is blue again; there is no trace of what has happened. I just wish those people could really put their influence into good use. And those of us on this stage, even those who built this theater in the past, should make efforts to gradually take down those high walls and light bulbs. Let the sunshine in. That kind of light, no one can extinguish it again.

I’ve read a lot of the writings of dissident Chinese and Tibetan writers. I’ve seen a lot of bold ideas come forth in the last three years and watched them spread like wildfire around the Chinese and Tibetan blogospheres. But rarely has someone achieved such prominence as Han Han and never, with the possible exception of famed architect Ai WeiWei, has a Chinese thinker used their position of celebrity to put such revolutionary  words out into the world. I’ve read this piece about five times in the last twelve hours and each time it gives me goosebumps.

Over the last decade, I’ve often had friends ask me how I think Tibet will be free and what the likelihood of regime change in China happening.  I’ve always had intellectual answers of how change can occur to respond with. But for the first time, it is clear. Han Han and people like Liu Xiabo, Woeser, and Ai WeiWei are how the Chinese Communist Party will lose their hold on power.  Han Han’s celebrity is clearly protecting his ideas, but how the Chinese government responds to him in the future is critically important. His ideas are clearly a forerunner to regime change. The CCP is now in a Catch-22. If he is jailed or beaten or torture or murdered in response for his ideas, the public outcry could be a precursor to revolution. But if he and other people like him are allowed to continually push for freedom and democracy, then too will the table be set for the public to throw the CCP out of power.

Read Han Han’s post above again. As you do so, make sure you keep in mind that he knows exactly what words will trigger censors, what words will prompt government officials to call him in to have tea and talk about the things that he must not do.  He knows the weight and consequence of each turn of phrase, even going so far as to highlight that the names of other Time nominated influentials are in fact sensitive words. He critiques the government’s actions in the leadup to the Beijing Olympics (ridding the city of dogs, temporarily clearing smog). He even takes a direct shot at the Party’s fear of a mere search engine. These are not subtle critiques. These are direct shots, or at least as direct as he can reasonably make without guaranteeing a sentence of patriotic reeducation through labor.

I don’t know what will happen next. But for now, I am in awe of the power, passion, and patriotism of Han Han, in penning what I think is going to be the most important individual blog post in 2010.

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 to see or visit him in jail since. As to the reason for his detention, High Peaks Pure Earth reports:

Just three days after the earthquake, on April 17, a group of prominent Tibetan intellectuals based in Qinghai’s Xining province had written an open letter of condolence to the victims of the disaster. Shogdung was one of the signatories of this open letter (in his real name Tagyal) and it was published on his blog.

The open letter expresses condolences and at the same time is critical of the Chinese government in their handling of the earthquake relief efforts. Other signatories of this open letter include well known Tibetan writer and singer Jamyang Kyi and other members of the group known as the New School of Thought. The New School is a group of progressive writers who are critical of the past and argue for the need for internal reform and change in Tibetan tradition. They are highly critical of the negative aspects of Tibetan Buddhism.

There is a great deal of attention paid by those of us in the Tibetan independence movement to the various policies that the Chinese government has used and continues to use to crush the Tibetan culture. From forcibly moving nomads into shoddily-built concrete homes (which caused still untold death in Jyekundo), to moving Han Chinese settlers into Tibet on a scale such as to make Tibetans a minority in their home land, to not offering high school education in Tibetan language, the Chinese government has put forward a series of policies that amount to cultural genocide. But the crackdown over the last few years, including the arrest and detention of a number of prominent Tibetan writers, intellectuals and film makers is another front the Chinese government is waging in their ongoing colonization and repression of Tibet.

A Tibetan friend writes in an email:

While Shogdung’s uniqueness is indeed noteworthy, it is important to also see his arrest in the context of a larger trend of arrests of prominent Tibetan writers, artists and educators. As mentioned in the news story, Shogdung’s arrest should not be surprising because other Tibetan intellectuals from Northwest Nationalities University like Therang (Tashi Rabten) and Shokjang (Druklo) were also arrested. And these arrests seem to fit into a still larger trend of arresting prominent Tibetan artists, musicians and writers. Considering the fact that it will not take much effort for the Chinese government to identify, arrest and silence the handful of these note-worthy Tibetans, it is really grave (excuse the pun) to imagine how devastating it will be for Tibetan society.

It is generally rare for our society to produce independent thinkers who reflect critically issues of identity, history, culture and larger power-politics. It took years (decades) of Chinese occupation and “education” to produce the “first generation of Tibetan writer-intellectuals” like the late Palden Gyal and Dhondrup Gyal who wrote between 1979-1989. Shogdung and his compatriots who became popular with their writings published between 1989-2000 are highly regarded as “the second generation of writer-intellectuals” by the present (third) generation of writers. All these intellectuals are popular among Tibetan high school and college students. For those of us who care for the future of Tibet, the value of the continuity of this secular Tibetan intellectual heritage cannot be underestimated.

Secular leadership is a huge component in the evolution of Tibetan identity towards resistance to colonization. Clearly the Chinese government does not want Tibetan intellectualism, especially when it is influential towards the thinking of Tibetans inside of Tibet, to exist. The continued crackdown on dissidents and intellectuals can only be seen in the frame of a desire to stop the Tibetan culture and society from continuing to exist as distinct from Han-colonized Tibet.