EVENTS

Abstract

The presentation will focus on causes of the protests/self-imolations in Tibet and reactions from Chinese netizens. It explores the causes of Tibetan discontent with the policies of the Chinese authorities in Tibet. The source of the arguments about the Tibetan resentments is based on the views of prominent Tibetans like the late 10th Panchen Lama, Ngabo Ngawang Jigme and Bawa Phuntsok Wangyal who worked within the Chinese government establishment. These Tibetan leaders worked for the Chinese in Tibet but did not support the hard-line policies on the Tibetan plateau. In this presentation, the speaker will also examine the attitude and thinking of China's leading public intellectuals on the issue of Tibet.

About the Speaker

Thubten Samphel is B.A and M.A in History from Delhi University and earned a degree in Journalism from Columbia University, New York. Thubten Samphel is the executive director of the Tibet Policy Institute, a research centre of the Central Tibetan Administration. He was the secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations from 1999-2012 and also served as the spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration. He was a member of the last fact-finding mission to visit to Tibet in 1985. He has written extensively on Tibet in Indian and international newspapers and journals. He is the author of Falling through the Roof, a work of fiction and co-author of The Dalai Lamas of Tibet.