Thematic Reports

In 1998, the first self-immolation protest by a Tibetan took place in New Delhi, India, when Thupten Ngodup set himself on fire during a hunger strike organised by the Tibetan Youth Congress. In Tibet, on 27 February 2009, self-immolation as a form of protest occurred for the first time in Tibet when Tapey, a 20-year-old monk from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba set his body on fire to protest Chinese rule. Since then, over 50 Tibetans have resorted to self-immolation protests to publicly express their discontent against the repressive policies of the Chinese government in Tibet.

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The democratization process of Tibetan society in exile has been ongoing since the 1960s, with the Dalai Lama as its driving force and architect. This process culminated in the landmark decision of 2011, when the Dalai Lama formally announced his complete withdrawal from political life but also the dissolution of the Ganden Phodrang, Tibet’s historical form of government, to make way for a fully-fledged democratic government, thus marking a new era of Tibetan government with the separation of religion and politics. In August 2011, Dr Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard-educated academic, became the first elected political leader of the Tibetan people. As the Dalai Lama himself said on 19 March 2011: “The rule by kings and religious figures is outdated. We have to follow the trend of the free world, which is that of democracy…Contrary to the system of the Chinese Communist’s authoritarian rule in Tibet, our small community in exile has been able to establish a complete modern democratic system.”

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In April 2009, the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) released a report titled National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010). The National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) was the Chinese government’s first formal document that ‘guaranteed’ human rights to Chinese citizens and pledged to address human rights violations in the PRC. The international community warmly…

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The year 2008 marked the largest series of protests against Chinese rule in Tibet since 1959. A vibrant literary and cultural resurgence has emerged in Tibet in the wake of the 2008 Uprising, and feelings of Tibetan nationalism have perhaps never been so strong. Courageous Tibetans are gradually rising to share their views of life under Chinese rule. Communist Party…

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