In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Exiled Tibetans say two monks from China monastery detained

(Reuters)  

Chinese officials have detained two Tibetan monks in a monastery in the southwestern Aba prefecture (a largely ethnic Tibetan area) in China. The Kirti monastery, home to around 2,500 monks, is located in an area known to be a centre of defiance against Chinese religious control. There have been 8 out of eleven self-immolations in the area this year alone, done in protest against the Chinese government. The protests called for the return of the long-exiled Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, as well as the freedom of the Chinese-occupied Tibet. The two monks however, have not been proved to be involved with political activities or planned immolations. This brings attention once again to the continuous controversy between Tibet and China, wherein the Chinese government “routinely rejects any accusations about mistreatment or exploitation of Tibetans.”

1.

"With my own eyes..." elders recount their histories in Tibet

Tibet Oral History Project
Made at the request of the Dalai Lama, the non-profit project aims to record the firsthand experiences of surviving Tibetan elders who were forced to flee from their homeland during China’s invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. The website has a section on interviews with up to 67 of these exiled eyewitnesses in video form as well as in transcripts, centering on the themes such as culture and history, Buddhist tradition, Chinese invasion and occupation, oppression and imprisonment and resistance and revolution. The site also has multimedia links related to the subject.

2.

A global coalition of Tibet-related non-governmental organizations

International Tibet Network
The International Tibet Network was established in 2000 to campaign for the rights of Tibetans and their struggle as well as to bring together the worldwide Tibet movement. Its aims are to “strengthen individual member organizations and to make the Tibet movement more effective as a whole by coordinating powerful strategic campaigns on behalf of the Tibetan people.” The website collects information on related issues and campaigns as well as locates organizations within the network on an interactive global map. Of note is the “17 Points of Disagreement” publication which can be found here.

3.

News and press releases from the Central Tibet Administration

The Official Website of Central Tibet Administration
The Central Tibet Administration was established by the Dalai Lama in 1959 shortly after his exile by the Chinese government from Tibet. This government-like entity operates from India and is sometimes referred to as the “Tibetan government in exile” (although it says that it has no interest in taking power in Tibet). Their website compiles the latest related news and press releases, Tibet stories from outside news sources, ecological news and official announcements from the CTA. Of interest are links at the very top to Tibet and CTA history and facts, as well as periodicals and publications not easily found elsewhere.

4.

The Official Website of the Dalai Lama

The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso) is a central figure in the Tibet-China issue. This multilingual (Chinese, Tibetan, Russian and English) website presents several types of content related to the important religious and political figure: news, a schedule of upcoming (and chronology of past) public appearances, multimedia slideshows and video or audio webcasts, comprehensive biographical information, teachings and messages and transcripts on various topics from the Dalai Lama himself. This site has amassed a great amount of content, and links followers of the Dalai Lama to his Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.

5.

60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet 1951-2011

The China Daily
The China Daily is the most circulated English-language newspaper currently published in China. They provide the discernibly Chinese viewpoint on this ongoing controversial issue. This website was established this year to commemorate the 60th year of Tibet’s "peaceful liberation" and operates as a mini news site with numerous articles sorted into several sections including news, religion and culture, people, environment, opinions, and multimedia. Many of these articles attempt to paint a positive picture of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, profiling a number of isolated ‘success’ stories within Tibetan communities. Of note is the site’s inclusion of articles taking subtle anti-Dalai Lama stances.