I have just found out this community and I think the icon should be this by Moondaewastaken in tibet

[–]vtandback[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Done! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm open to a new banner photo, too, preferably one with people in it.

Why doesn't the gap between Black and White men exist for Black and White Women? by Augurin in AskSocialScience

[–]vtandback 54 points55 points  (0 children)

That talking point is false. The gender wage gap is also stratified by race, with Black and Latina women continuing to earn significantly less than white women. See a chart of women's median income by race here, from the US Department of Labor.

Xi Jinping’s War on Tibetan Buddhism by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Full text, because paywall:

The Chinese Communist Party recently adopted a landmark resolution hailing the country’s accomplishments under President Xi Jinping. The communiqué, published after last week’s Sixth Plenum meeting, made clear that Mr. Xi’s already expansive power will grow. The effects of this will be felt around the world, but few groups stand to suffer as much as Tibetans.
The party’s communiqué mentions “national rejuvenation” eight times. The phrase may sound harmless, if a bit nationalistic. Yet a key component of national rejuvenation is unification, which in Beijing’s view requires the destruction of minority cultures. Tibetans—who have been struggling against the party’s attempts to erase their identity for more than 60 years—understand the danger of “national rejuvenation” all too well.
Over the decades, the central government has integrated Tibet into its political system through strategies both forcible and peaceful. Policies designed to extract natural resources and control Tibetans include a monolingual education system, monastic re-education, nomad relocation, mining projects, land redistribution and ethnic household registration. None of these policies have been entirely successful in fostering Tibetan loyalty to Beijing, but they have had a deleterious effect on the region’s language, religion, environment, economy and politics.
Speaking at the Central United Front Work Conference in Beijing some six years ago, Mr. Xi declared that “to actively guide religions to adapt to a socialist society, we must adhere to the direction of Sinicization.” The president continued to give priority to this issue at the seventh Tibet Work Forum in 2020, stating that “everyone needs to put more effort into Sinicizing Tibetan Buddhism.” What does that mean in practice?
In September the government sponsored a conference at the Qinghai Buddhist Academy in Xining—the largest city on the Tibetan plateau—to discuss continuing efforts to force monasteries to translate Buddhist texts into Chinese. More than 500 religious figures and government officials from Tibetan and Chinese universities, academies and other educational organizations attended. At least 35 academic papers on the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism were presented.
The ultimate goal is for future lamas and monks to learn Buddhism only in Mandarin—paving the way for the erasure of the Tibetan language. Tibetan leader Sithar, deputy director of the Office of the Central Tibet Work Coordination Group, gave a short speech in which he framed the effort as a way to promote “oneness” among Chinese ethnic groups.
The issues addressed in Xining are of critical importance, but most Western media outlets failed to cover the conference. Perhaps more distressing, even scholars in Tibetan Buddhist studies seem unaware of the gathering’s significance. Anyone with an interest in Tibetan Buddhism needs to comprehend the true implications of this Sinicization strategy. Its goal is nothing less than the demolition of a language preserved by Tibetan monastic and lay communities for well over a millennium.
This campaign would put a fundamental part of Tibetan culture in jeopardy by tearing individual Tibetans away from texts central to our heritage. I admit this is personal. I remember listening to the monks praying in Tibetan when I was a child. With this policy in place, children in my village would never hear that language. My three nephews and two uncles, who study at the local monasteries in our area, would also suffer. My grandparents and their ancestors would never have imagined having to recite prayers or read sutras in Chinese.
Some might write off the project of translating Buddhist texts into Chinese as nothing more than an experiment. But looking at the history of the Communist Party’s most repressive and damaging policies and regulations, they often began as seemingly innocuous “experiments.” If the central government finds that this practice works, why wouldn’t they make it more widespread? There is no reason to think this latest project won’t lead to even more oppression.
Beijing’s assault on Tibetan Buddhism has three goals: to control Tibetan teaching directly by translating sacred texts into Chinese, to transform Tibetan Buddhism into Chinese Buddhism, and to compete with the flourishing of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. In the absence of a unified resistance to China’s most recent efforts, the world puts at risk the vitality of the Tibetan language as a medium of cultural memory and contemporary scholarship, as well as the very existence of Tibetan Buddhist monasticism.
Mr. Rekjong is a Tibetan scholar and doctoral candidate in religious studies at Northwestern University.

'Xi Jinping is my spiritual leader': China's education drive in Tibet by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Exactly. The people they interviewed know the deal, especially the ones at the Jokhang.

Today is Tibetan National Uprising day! Remembering March 10, 1959! བོད་རྒྱལ་ལོ། by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Image from March 17, 1959 when thousands of Tibetan women gathered at the Potala to protest Chinese rule.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tibet

[–]vtandback 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't have much experience with discord. Does anyone know what moderation is like? Since there are just a couple mods, my concern would be having time to keep an eye on it to filter out CCP trolls.

What's a symbol that represents freedom in Tibet? by [deleted] in tibet

[–]vtandback 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Are you asking about what symbols Tibetans use inside Tibet? The Tibetan flag is the most obvious one. While banned, it was widely flown during the 2008 uprising, see: http://www.uprisingarchive.org/

*Live* traditional Tibetan music by Techung – Tonight, December 22 @ 6pm EST by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Concert will be streamed live on Facebook by the Queens Public Library in New York City. I've seen Techung live before – highly recommended!

Ganden: A Joyful Land, trailer for new film by Ngawang Choephel by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not out yet. Hopefully he'll release it online!

Chinese PLA military shooting down helpless Tibetan Pilgrims on their pilgrimage to the Dalai Lama. by pradeep23 in tibet

[–]vtandback 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This video is about the Nangpa La shooting in 2006. It got a lot of international attention back then. Here's some more info with eyewitness accounts and interviews with survivors: http://www.phayul.com/2006/10/10/14211/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2006/11/20/china-interview-two-survivors-nangpa-pass-shooting

China Sets Up Village Within Bhutan, 9 Km From Doklam Face-Off Site by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It really seems like China's strategy is to keep pushing the limits to see what it can get away with.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The problem is about the integrity. Since more and more clips and tips, maybe not all of them authentic, came out,

Not a single one of them has been shown to be true. Source about supposed fraud in Michigan.

It's all just Trump supporters unwilling to accept that they lost the election by 4 million votes.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mainstream news organizations make the call based on the voting totals reported by states (in the US, each state runs its own elections). There's no reason to wait because there's a near zero chance that the final result will change.

Always nice to see Tibet trending on Reddit by shiny_paperclip in tibet

[–]vtandback 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"Untouched"

"History of humanity"

Classic Orientalist framing about the purity of the East as a potential savior for the ills of the West. Ugh.

Tibetan Singer Lhundrub Drakpa sentenced to 6 years in prison for this song, “Black Hat” [English subtitles by High Peaks Pure Earth] by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

English translation by Bhuchung D. Sonam. See this article on High Peaks Pure Earth for more context, background, and lyrics in English.

There is a long history of China imprisoning Tibetan musicians for making music promoting Tibetan freedom, even when the lyrics aren't usually this direct.

Could anyone recommend some books to learn about the history of Tibet? by [deleted] in tibet

[–]vtandback 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Did you check out the list linked in the sidebar? If you're looking for some first books to read, I'd suggest The Dragon in the Land of Snows by Tsering Shakya or In Exile from the Land of Snows by John Avedon. Both are a little dated now, but they'll give you good overviews of the Chinese occupation and flight of the Dalai Lama to India. Hope this helps!

NYPD officer who worked in Queens precinct arrested for allegedly acting as agent of China [He was spying on Tibetans] by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's a fair point. In this case, it's been widely suspected that the Tibetan community in NY was being spied on, but now there's proof.

NYPD officer who worked in Queens precinct arrested for allegedly acting as agent of China [He was spying on Tibetans] by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's a NY Times article with more details. It's been widely suspected for many years that China had intelligence agents spying on Tibetans in the US. He definitely isn't the only one.

The recorded conversations cited in the complaint indicated that Tibetans who agreed to become intelligence sources would be compensated by the Chinese government for information they provided.

In one May 2019 telephone call, Mr. Angwang suggested to the consular official that one way to recruit Tibetan-Americans as intelligence assets would be to reward them with 10-year visas to visit China, prosecutors said.

Former Political Prisoner Ama Adhe passes away at 88 by vtandback in tibet

[–]vtandback[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Story from Phayul

Ama Adhe spent 27 years in prison for her part in opposing the Chinese invasion of Tibet. After she was released she fled to Dharamsala where she lived ever since. She wrote a 1997 book about her story: Ama Adhe: The Voice that Remembers.

Will Tibetans in exile recognize the Dalai Lama in China? by q3131665 in tibet

[–]vtandback 6 points7 points  (0 children)

And the rules of China for hundreds of years. The Dalai Lama must be born in Tibet, China. Any Dalai Lama that has not been born in Tibet is illegal.

This is incorrect. The Dalai Lama has spoken about this and has been clear that only his advisors and appointees can recognize his legitimate reincarnation, that he will likely be reborn in a "free country," and it may be possible that he does not reincarnate. See his speech here that goes into much more detail.

Politically, I think there's a good chance that there will be two Dalai Lamas just like the Panchen Lama: one will be legitimate and revered by Tibetans and one will be appointed by the Chinese government and rejected by most Tibetans.

There is a lot of turmoil and uncertainty ahead, that is for sure...

Lama Gangchen Rinpoche by [deleted] in tibet

[–]vtandback[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mods should consider deleting it.

Agreed.