Transforming our world
through nonviolent action
through nonviolent action
Today, millions of young climate activists and movement allies took to the streets to demand meaningful climate action as part of the Global Climate Strike week taking place September 20-27. SFT staff, members, and supporters were in the streets, not only to echo these demands, but also to bring attention to the #TibetClimateCrisis.
Earlier this week, we released a video featuring two SFT interns, Nyima and Tsela, speaking with people about Tibet’s environment and China’s destruction of it. Watch it on Facebook. Their encounters are a reminder that Tibet is an integral part of the climate conversation and we must continue building awareness and demanding change.
We hope that you will join us in calling for global climate justice, and bring attention to China’s exploitation and destruction of Tibet. Below is an excerpt from our statement which outlines Tibet’s importance to the Global Climate Strike:
“At Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), we remain committed to our vision, in which we ‘aim to inspire and enable people, especially youth, to create a just and equitable world, free of oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things.’ To do this, we feel that it is absolutely essential to engage in intersectional spaces with other like-minded frontline communities.
We believe that all frontline communities, including the people of Tibet, have a basic right to hold agency over the decisions that impact their homeland. Tibetans have nurtured, defended, and protected the land and water for millennia. We honor this ongoing stewardship and call on people around the world to join us in our demand for the protection and restoration of Tibet’s environment, and the immediate end to nomad displacement and mining of sacred Tibetan lands.”
Read the full statement on our website.
We are so inspired by all the young activists around the world who are leading the call for climate justice, and we hope you will take part in the Global Climate Strike too. Take to the streets to join a protest, organize an event, share important information about climate change with someone, donate to an organization that supports youth leadership, whatever it is, TAKE ACTION!
NEW YORK CITY, NY — Students for a Free Tibet International celebrated 25 years of nonviolent action and grassroots organizing for Tibet with over 1,300 people including community leaders, activists, local business leaders, student leaders, and Tibetan supporters. The event was hosted at the Phuntsok Deshe Tibetan Community Center in Queens, NY on Saturday, August 17, 2019.
Founded in New York City in 1994, SFT now has over 650 Chapters in over 30 countries that work together to raise awareness about the struggle for freedom inside Tibet. The theme of the event, Longsho—which is Tibetan for “Rise Up”—perfectly exemplified the energy and atmosphere of the event, and truly characterizes the past quarter-century of SFT’s commitment to the Tibetan Freedom Movement.
“25 years ago in New York City, a small group of Tibetans and Tibet-supporters came together to bring Students for a Free Tibet to life. Since our founding, SFT has grown into a formidable force against the Goliath of Chinese occupation of Tibet and it’s oppressive rule,” Dorjee Tseten, Executive Director Students for a Free Tibet. “The event is a celebration of our vibrant community; advocacy for human rights; powerful youth leaders from the local and international community that have made an impact on the Tibetan movement; and the recommitment to our vision for a Free Tibet.”
At the event, SFT honored the winners of the Lhakar Awards 2019. The Lhakar Awards were founded in 2010 to recognize individuals who have displayed outstanding courage, innovation, and dedication in their service to the Tibetan cause. The Tibetan word “Lhakar” translates literally as “White Wednesday,” a weekday considered special by Tibetans because it is the soul-day of the Dalai Lama.
The event featured many prominent artists and speakers from India, Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States including Tenzin Mariko, TibChick, Tenkun, Sonam Wangdue, Yeshi Khando, Kunsa & T-Pal, Q-Tip Bandits and Namgyal Yeshi. SFT Co-Founder, John Hocevar, shared first-hand anecdotes on how the organization has grown and transformed since the beginning days. SFT supporters and members came together from over a dozen states—including Massachusetts, D.C., Virginia, Connecticut, Minnesota, Madison, California, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Ontario, Canada, among others—for a night of remembrance and celebration. The amalgamation of guests truly encapsulated the rich culture and diversity that collectively represent Students for a Free Tibet.
Below are the winner of this year’s Lhakar Awards:
LHAKAR AWARD FOR COURAGE 2019: was presented to Tibetan political prisoner Lodoe Gyatso for his fearless spirit and outstanding contribution and sacrifice to the Tibetan Freedom Struggle. On Jan 28, 2018, Lodoe Gyatso staged a nonviolent protest in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet calling for freedom, human rights in Tibet, and world peace. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. His wife, Gakyi, was sentenced to 2 years for her involvement in his political action. During his earlier sentences in Chinese prisons, Lodoe Gyatso was harshly tortured. Including his most recent sentence, Gyatso is currently anticipated to spend a total of over 40 years in prison, making him one of the longest-serving political prisoners in the world. Nyima Lhamo, niece of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche accepted the award on behalf of Lodoe Gyatso.
LHAKAR AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE 2019: was presented to Losel Keytsel Language and Culture Program of the Tibetan Community of NY & NJ. The Losel Keytsel Language and Culture Program of the Tibetan Community of NY& NJ Incorporated was founded in 1996 by a small group of dedicated Tibetans that believed in the importance of Tibetan language and culture preservation. Today, the Losel Keytsel Language and Culture Program has 389 students. The award was accepted by one of the original founding members of the Losel Keytsel Language and Culture Program, Kusho Pema Dorjee la and Gyaltsen la, current principal of the school.
LHAKAR AWARD FOR INNOVATION 2019: was presented to YindaYin Coaching, for building an effective platform of young Tibetans to provide quality education, mentorship, and networking opportunities. YindaYin Coaching is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the State of New York. “YindaYin” literally translates to “yes, of course!” in the Tibetan language. Chime Dolma, one of the founding members of YindaYin accepted the award from Sonam Gyaphel, President of the Tibetan community New York & New Jersey.
LHAKAR AWARD FOR ACTIVISM IN EXILE 2019: was presented to Chemi Lhamo, the President of the UTSC Student Union and a member of the SFT Canada Board of Directors, for her outstanding role as a grassroots organizer and youth icon in the Tibetan freedom struggle. The award was presented by Kelly Turley, SFT International Board Chair.
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Join us this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of SFT’s founding! 25 years ago in New York City, a small group of Tibetans and Tibet-supporters came together to bring Students for a Free Tibet to life. Since our founding, SFT has grown into a formidable force against the Goliath of Chinese occupation and oppressive rule. Today, SFT has hundreds of chapters around the world: that’s something worth celebrating!
In honor of this major milestone, we are doing a #SFT25 countdown leading up to SFT’s 25th Anniversary event—Longsho Nite—to be held New York. Make sure to follow our countdown on Facebook and Instagram for updates and giveaways leading up to Longsho Nite 2019!
To kick off the countdown, we have a video message from John Hocevar, one of SFT’s founding members and the first Executive Director of SFT. John played a major role in shaping SFT into the powerhouse of grassroots youth activism that it is today.
Check out his video message:
Join us at Longsho Nite 2019 to celebrate 25 years of SFT with John Hocevar and other SFT leaders from throughout the decades! Visit SFT online to get your ticket today.
If you can’t make it to our celebration in person, please consider making a donation in honor of #SFT25 and help us meet our fundraising target. Our work is not done yet: your support will help SFT continue its training of new generation leaders, cultivation of an international network of chapters, and implementation of hard-hitting campaigns and high-profile non-violent direct actions for Tibet.
I look forward to seeing you there!
After nearly 10 months of campaigning, Tibetans and Tibet campaigners are today buoyed by the news that Google has publicly confirmed, at its shareholders’ meeting, that there are “no plans to offer a search engine in China.” This confirmation came after Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, stated at the weekend that a ‘censorship free internet’ would be an important condition for them to operate in China. (1)
Tibetans and Tibet campaigners have worked in partnership with Chinese and Uyghur rights activists, digital technology experts and ethical consumer rights campaigners (2) to build pressure on Google not to pursue ‘Dragonfly’, on the grounds that it would compromise the company’s stated commitment to human rights protection.
The coalition of activists was alerted to the secret existence of ‘Dragonfly’ in 2018, after Google staff leaked information about the search engine. The leaks highlighted that ‘Dragonfly’ was designed to block internet users in China from information about human rights or democracy and to censor ‘sensitive’ phrases such as ‘Free Tibet’, ‘Tiananmen Protest’ or ‘Dalai Lama’. Furthermore, for Google’s search engine to comply with China’s strict cyber security laws the company would have to automatically make a user’s search history available to the Chinese government, thereby jeopardising the safety of any user. (3)
The latest statement confirming that ‘Project Dragonfly’ had been halted came today, 19 June, during the shareholders’ meeting of Google’s parent company Alphabet in San Francisco.
During the shareholders’ meeting, Tibetan campaigner Sonamtso, Campaigns and Communications Director for Students for a Free Tibet, made a statement to the Board and shareholders that articulated the strong concerns that Tibetans and other groups have raised about Project Dragonfly. In her statement, Sonamtso told the Google executives and shareholders present: “I come from a country where people are imprisoned for using search terms that the Chinese government doesn’t like and considers “sensitive.” These human rights violations are real and Google must not be complicit. Frontline communities don’t have the luxury of waiting for all of your “hypotheticals” to turn into real risks for us. You have violated the trust that your customers place in you, and that is bad for shareholder value. Google’s willingness to collude with the government of China sets an extremely dangerous precedent for internet freedom around the world.”
Following the statement, Kent Walker, Google’s senior vice president of Global Affairs, responded to questions about ‘Project Dragonfly’ by confirming that the company had no plans to work on the censored search engine, but under questioning stopped short of completely ruling out future collaboration with the government of China. (4)
Despite sending four letters to Google CEO Sundar Pichai raising concerns about ‘Dragonfly’, (5) and the unprecedented crisis of repression unfolding against Tibetans, Uyghurs and Chinese dissidents, the Coalition received no response from the company. This lack of engagement by Google meant that those campaigning were forced to wait until today’s shareholders’ meeting to speak directly to Google executives and shareholders, and to receive final confirmation that “Dragonfly” had – at least for now – been abandoned.
Outside the meeting venue, Tibetans handed out leaflets and engaged with Google shareholders, telling them about the realities of life in Tibet and the human rights abuses that are committed under Chinese occupation. The consumer group SumOfUs also submitted a petition, signed by 86,000 people, urging Google CEO Sundar Pichai to end Project ‘Dragonfly’. (6)
The activities in San Francisco were part of a global day of action against Project Dragonfly. During the course of 19 June, Chinese, Tibetans, Uyghurs and their supporters held vigils and protests outside Google offices around the world, calling on the company to scrap Project Dragonfly. Actions took place at Google offices in 15 cities across the globe, including London, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Sydney and Toronto. (7)
John Jones, Campaigns and Advocacy Manager at Free Tibet, said: “After months of hard work, we are pleased to hear Google confirm that it has no plans to offer ‘Project Dragonfly’ in China. The Chinese Communist Party were never going to allow Google to reestablish itself in China without compromising everything positive about the Internet, from the privacy of users to free access to information. The secretive nature of the project suggests that on some level the company’s executives knew this. Thanks to the tenacity of those involved in the campaign, as well as the bravery of those Google employees who spoke out, the company has, at least for now, put these plans on hold. We will keep watch for future developments, but for the moment, it’s a time to celebrate”.
Mandie McKeown, Campaign Coordinator at International Tibet Network said: “This is welcome news for the Tibet freedom movement and for defenders of human rights inside Tibet, East Turkestan and China. We are proud to share this success with our allies and global Tibet Groups that have taken part in the campaign. We have been bolstered to see what we can achieve when we work together, but we will remain vigilant that Google does not renege on this position in the future. We will continue to press Google and other digital tech companies to maximise human rights policies and not bend to China’s influence.”
Teng Biao, Chinese Human Rights Lawyer and Activist said: “Just last week two million Hongkongers marched for their fundamental rights; the week before thousands of people around the world rallied to remember the atrocities of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, but because of China’s high-tech totalitarianism the majority of people living in Mainland China know nothing of these events. Google have done the right thing by stating it has “no plans” to provide technology to promote dictatorship.”
Peter Irwin, World Uyghur Congress Program Manager, said: “Google’s recent response to sustained pressure illustrates that carefully targeted action from civil society can have a tremendous impact. It is not, however, time to take our foot off the gas. Widespread rights abuses continue to be facilitated by technology companies with no qualms working directly in support of mass surveillance, artificial intelligence and other programs designed to monitor and control the Chinese domestic population. It is incumbent upon the international business community to live up to clear human rights standards to actively avoid complicity in abuses.”
Sondhya Gupta, Campaign Manager at SumOfUs, said: “We’re glad that growing pressure from its employees, shareholders and customers has forced Google to drop its plans for censored search engine for China. But its executives made this decision with no transparency or dialogue with those communities most affected. Google still claims to have a ‘limited presence’ in China and its failure to comment on the cyber surveillance aspects of ‘Dragonfly’ shows it’s still a long way from being accountable for the impact its products have on human rights. We’ll keep calling for the big changes the company needs.”
ENDS
Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 31 (ANI): Activists and students from China and Tibet here on Thursday gathered to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre that marked a major turning point in the history of modern China.
A panel discussion organised here by Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) in coordination with International Tibet Network, saw participation by over hundreds of Tibetans and others from different countries.
In the spring of 1989, Beijing erupted with the largest student-led pro-democracy demonstration.
The pro-democracy movement quickly spread to over 30 cities in China before June 4, 1989. Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters witnessing the horrors of the Chinese government’s brutality.
Every year, Tibetans in Dharamsala, the capital of Tibetan movement in Exile, commemorate the day to stand in solidarity with and remember the sacrifices of thousands of Chinese for freedom and democracy.
Dorjee Tseten, Executive Director at the SFT, told ANI, “We stand in solidarity with the Chinese people who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy. In the meeting, we are going to discuss what’s next after 30 years of the Tiananmen massacre. As the Chinese democracy movement is moving forward, how it is related to the Tibetian issue and how we can continue to struggle together will be our topics of discussion.”
“This year the anniversary is observed everywhere, including the United States, Europe and Taiwan. So, Dharamshala is really important. It is the capital of Tibetian exile movement,” Tseten added.
Chemi Lhamo, President of Scarborough Campus Student Union (SCSU) at the University of Toronto, said, “We have organised this meeting to raise awareness about something that has become history.”
Teng Biao, Chinese Human Rights Lawyer and Activist, further told ANI, “We have joined here to commemorate Tiananmen massacre. The issue has become associated with global freedom and we should think about a new policy towards China.” (ANI)
There are key moments in our lives which shape our future. For me, one such moment was eight years ago when I had the opportunity to attend Tibet Action Institute Lhakar Academy – Tibetan School of Leadership & Change program in Dharamsala.
At that time, I was new in my role as SFT-India’s National Director. Through this training I was able to meet and interact with several of the most experienced and strategic minds in the Tibet movement. I gained the confidence and skills to fully step into a leadership role and most importantly, my experience at Lhakar Academy inspired me to truly strive for excellence in all of my work for Tibet and this helped me get to where I am today.
I am excited and proud today to be able to work with the amazing team from Tibet Action in facilitating this same intensive and innovative training for the next generation of Tibetan leaders over the coming three weeks.
You can invest in the Tibetan Freedom Movement next generation of leaders by supporting Lhakar Academy – Tibetan School of Leadership & Change today.
Lhakar Academy will equip ten exceptional young Tibetan leaders from Washington, D.C., New York, Toronto, New Delhi, Mumbai and Dharamsala with an in-depth understanding of Tibet and China in the context of contemporary global politics and history, a keen knowledge of campaign strategy, tactics of resistance, media skills and secure communications technology.
These new generation leaders are already playing key roles in the Tibet movement through their leadership at SFT and within the global Tibetan youth movement, including SFT Canada’s Director, Sonam Chokey and Board Member, Chemi Lhamo, SFT India’s Director Rinzin Choedon along with Sonamtso and Pema Doma from SFT HQ.
Please support this innovative Tibetan leadership training program today.
Lhakar Academy is inspired by and modeled after similar programs used to train activists and grassroots leaders at the forefront of historic social change movements including the independence movement in India and the Civil Rights movement in the United States. These movements were successful in large part because they invested in training young people to become skilled, strategic and visionary leaders.
Through this intensive three-week training, students will learn directly from leading scholars, experts and activists. In addition to dynamic and interactive sessions with experts, participants’ learning experience is enhanced through readings and films related to Tibet, China, and nonviolent resistance.
I am extremely excited to stand shoulder to shoulder with this inspiring and powerful new generation of Tibetan leaders at the forefront of the Tibetan freedom movement. Please donate today and support this instrumental project for the future freedom of Tibet.
Sincerely,
Dorjee Tseten
Executive Director