Tibetan community in S'pore rallies behind Dalai Lama

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../336382/1/.html

SINGAPORE: They may not hold a Tibetan passport, and some have never lived in their motherland. But gathered at a meditation centre in Geylang listening to a news podcast downloaded from website Radio Free Asia, their passion for the Tibetan cause is clear.

The calm in Singapore seems a world away from the protests and the Chinese government's crackdown, which have rocked the Himalayan region since last week. Still, Tibetans here have felt the pain and anxiety of their compatriots and this has brought them closer together.

The Tibetan community in Singapore is minute, estimated at 30 to 50 at any one time. Some of them work or study and the rest are lamas (monks) here for a few months.

To outsiders, what makes them Tibetan may be tenuous — some were born in India, some are already Singapore citizens, some have no plans to return to Tibet even if their wish for independence comes true.

But to the group, what makes them Tibetan is clear — their ancestry, Buddhist way of life and common wish to see the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to Tibet.

"When we meet, we wish each other well and pray for dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese, and for peace and freedom in Tibet," said freelance tour agent Pri Jinpa Gyatso, 32.

Mr Jinpa has visited many of the 25 to 30 Tibetan Buddhist centres here in recent days, encouraging prayer sessions for those killed or injured in the crackdown — be they Tibetan or Chinese.

The lamas in Singapore have also been praying for the well-being of those in Tibet. While they place the Dalai Lama, who advocates non-violence, on a sacred pedestal, they empathise with the protesters back home.

"The protesters in Tibet are doing this for their future generations," said Lama Tsewang, 27, who has been in Singapore for two months.

Amid reports of the killing of ethnic Chinese in Lhasa, another Tibetan, a 37-year-old professional, said that the most important issue remained that of Tibet's longstanding struggle for nationhood, or at the very least, autonomy.

Most Tibetans interviewed for this report declined to be identified due to job sensitivities. Mr Jinpa is the de facto "face" of the local Tibetan community.

He met a fellow Tibetan, a teacher, for the first time on Wednesday — they had talked on the phone for a few months, but finally met when both sat down with TODAY for an interview. The two are married to Singaporean women.

The teacher has taken his support online, setting up a blog titled "Truth about the Current Situation in Tibet".

News posted on bhodrangzen.blogspot.com is culled from alternative news sources such as Phayul.com.

"I have been listening to Tibetan radio and I can hear my countrymen calling in … I feel very helpless," said the teacher, 33, who grew up in India.

For many Tibetans, the Dalai Lama is dearer than their lives, said the teacher. But there is some frustration that his way has not worked.

Said the teacher: "Some of us don't understand why (when) someone slaps you, you still show your other cheek."

The Tibetans' frustrations stem from what they consider the lip service that China has paid to their human rights and freedom of worship.

For example, when the Dalai Lama spoke in 2006 about wildlife conservation and told Tibetans not to wear illegal animal furs and skins, the Chinese authorities ordered some Tibetan broadcasters to wear fur-lined traditional clothing.

By nature, Tibetans are a "very easy-going" people, and those in Singapore have integrated well into life here, said the Tibetan teacher. They don't have a particular hangout, and neither are they overly fond of Tibetan food.

"There are some Nepalese that have set up restaurants offering Tibetan dishes here, but I find Tibetan food pretty boring," he said.

The influences of globalisation aside, the desire to spread understanding of Tibetan culture is strong, and may speed up in Singapore as an indirect result of the Tibet riots.

Mr Jinpa mooted the idea of a Tibetan Buddhist Centre last year to spread Buddhism and Tibetan culture, which are inextricably linked. The centre would bring the Tibetan community and like-minded Singaporeans together, through events like the Dalai Lama's birthday celebrations.

And his plans may be realised sooner than expected - with help from an Italian venture capitalist, no less. The venture capitalist, who is based in Singapore, has expressed interest in funding a base for the Tibetan community here.

Singapore has Tibetan diaspora...? Cool....

please club them and arrest them

Yeah They have a rather young following here.. my cousin is a devotee!

Singapore has spoken
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Nations voice support for China's handling of Lhasa riot


BEIJING - Foreign nations voiced their support for China's legitimate actions to handle the violence in Lhasa in recent days, expressing their opposition to the secessionist activities and the politicization of the Beijing Olympics.

According to a press release issued here Thursday from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Russian, Belarusian and Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesmen all expressed their support for China's efforts to stop the unlawful activities in an aim to restore local peace and stability and their confidence in China's capability of hosting the Olympic Games.


Pakistani and Mauritania foreign ministries issued statements on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively applauding Beijing's commitment to host the Olympic event, stressing that their countries oppose to any attempts to sabotage or politicize the Beijing Olympics, as well as the conspiracies to undermine China's sovereignty and territory integrity.
Singapore's Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said, "It is vital to keep sporting competitions and politics separate. We must not let politics obstruct the sports."

On the same day, Lesotho Foreign Minister Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa said in his meeting with Chinese ambassador that Lesotho will back China's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and territory integrity, stressing that the handling of the Lhasa riot was China's internal affairs and no other countries have the right to make irresponsible remarks on the issue.

The press release also said that ambassadors in Beijing from Arabian nations all expressed their shock to the violence that occurred in Lhasa, saying that their countries support China's approaches to safeguard national security and restore social stability, and would continue to adhere to the one-China policy.

On the same day, Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee urged Dalai Lama and his followers to stay away from any political activities.

Cote d'Ivoire's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa and the Republic of Congo (ROC) Foreign Affairs Minister Basile Ikouebe all expressed their firm supports for China and its efforts to hold a successful Olympic Games in Beijing, the press release added.

$hit... those countries including singapore are trying to earn the good side of china...

i feel sorry for those tibetians

I am drunk maybe I'll support those thugs too!

What the Tibetans r trying to do against China is just exactly what the Indonesians did against the the Dutch in 1940s. Fight for their homeland's independence n oust a foreign occupier. No more, no less.

If you want all out and fight, then stand up and fight, declaring a formal uprising, don't use sissy languages like human rights violation and mistreatment when those thugs get caught. No more and no less. You think they got the guts to do that?? Acting only tough and violent against innocent civilians are cowards..

^Sissy language as human rights? LMAOL


If this is the Chinese attitude, I wonder why there are nations supporting you guys. I'm clueless.

And yet I and maybe WE regret what we did to those Dutchs, we're not savages...but out will to be free over ride our feelings.

Edit The real people who suffer this event is actually the civilians, Tibetan or Han Chinese.

So people who bring investment money to your country and give you jobs and 13-14% economic growth, while they fund sustainable energy and clean homes for you should be murdered along with children and women? And you should burn mosques, burn schools, burn stores, burn cars and attack moderates?

It's not about freedom. These people are not aligned with the Dalai Lama. They are focused on racial supremacy and murder regardless of the fact that they are well fed and clothed in clothing made by Chinese sweatshops.

I think Tibetans should be treated well and respect them as one of the great peoples of Northeast Asia, but extremists should be dealt with appropriately.

A lot of Chinese NGOs operate in Tibet too; one is helping conserve endangered species. Another is setting up solar power and handing out solar cookers to preserve Tibet's environment and give them better safety. Another is building green houses and helping them grow crops and use biomass as a heating/energy source. Another is building monasteries. They are poor people helping poor people, not Hollywood morons like Richard Gere who are all talk and no action.

The media in the West is bias.

China calls the situation in Tibet "roit"

The west calls it 'protest"

Does the pictures shown here look like a "protest" to you?

It is a riot involving mass destruction of private and governmental property. Any government is under the obligation to restore order and secure the property.

They cut off the ear of a Chinese woman.

This is how these people feel good about themselves.

Until I am satisfied of the retaliation Chinese have taken I will not hold a drop of sympathy for any Tibetan cause, Tibetan interest, or Tibetan person.

.

Take it out on the people fanning the flames, not random Tibetans who did nothing wrong.

but...if a foreign country attacked you, you'd want to fight against any random person of that country, wouldn't you?

I call it collective punishment for collective crime!