Dear Friends,

This holiday season, I share my gratitude for all that we have accomplished together throughout the year. It is a bittersweet time to reflect on our many achievements but also recognize that we have more work ahead of us. Having been born and brought up in a Tibetan refugee community, I have personally seen the hardships of separation throughout my life.

I am reminded of the many who are affected by closed borders and authoritarian regimes. Choegyal and Yonten were recently arrested in Kardze, Tibet for calling for independence and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Their families are waiting for them to come home—just as many around the world also wait to be reunited with their loved ones. As we hear the stories of these brave individuals, I hope we will keep them in our hearts.

Despite these difficult times, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come. This year, after months of campaigning, we had a tremendous victory in shutting down Google’s plan for a censored search engine in China, code-named ‘Project Dragonfly.’ We celebrated Confucius Institute shutdowns across the US, adding 13 more to the list this year alone. These victories are truly a testament to the power of grassroots activism.

In 2019, we coordinated leadership trainings for hundreds of new youth activists around the world who will continue to power our movement in the years to come. This is perhaps one of SFT’s most valuable contributions to the movement: cultivating the next generation of leaders, and equipping them with the tools they need to hone their talents, skills, and energy towards nonviolent action and strategic campaigning for Tibet.

As we look ahead, we need your support to meet our 2020 campaigns and programs goals. With your help, we intend to build on our efforts to challenge Xi Jinping’s propaganda; hold corporations like Apple accountable for kowtowing to China; activate more young leaders; continue to highlight the Tibet climate crisis; and further engage in solidarity building to fortify our vision of a just and equitable world, free of oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things.

Please make a donation today—your donation, no matter the amount, will help us in achieving many more victories for Tibet in 2020.

With hope,

Dorjee Tseten,
Executive Director