Penpa Tsering, who has become President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) for the second time, has said that the Tibetans living in India will continue with their movement till such time Tibetans living inside Tibet do not achieve freedom.
“We can never give up. As long as there’s no freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet, we will have to continue to carry our movement. There will be no stopping,” Penpa Tsering, also referred to as ‘Sikyong’ in Tibetan language, told The Gist for StratNews Global.
According to him, China is constantly “watching” what the exiled Tibetan community living in India is doing and that it has become their “best publicity agent” as Beijing continues to speak about them. He was referring to the recent statement made by the Chinese government where Beijing questioned the legal authority of the CTA, or the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
Penpa Tsering was sworn-in at the elections for the 18th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. He will be serving as the President for another five-year term presiding over the CTA, which used to be earlier headed by His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama till he gave up administrative role in 2011.
According to Penpa Tsering, countries around the world, including India, need to “differentiate” between the ‘One China Principle’ and ‘One China Policy’ and that none of these concerns Tibet.
The One China Principle represents Beijing’s steadfast and non-negotiable position, which asserts that there exists only one China. This principle is rooted in the belief that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legitimate government representing all of China, including Taiwan, which is viewed by the PRC as an integral and inseparable part of its territory. The principle underscores China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasizing that any challenge to this claim is considered a threat to its unity.
On the other hand, the One China Policy refers to the diplomatic approach adopted by various foreign nations, notably including the United States and India. These countries recognize the PRC’s assertion regarding Taiwan but do so within a framework that is somewhat ambiguous and strategically flexible. While they acknowledge Beijing’s claim to be the legitimate government of China, they refrain from formally endorsing the One China Principle in a way that would fully commit them to cutting ties with Taiwan or undermining its existing democratic governance.
“If it has to do with Tibet then the 17-point agreement should come into being in 1950. These, I think, differences also need to be known … India has also not reiterated the statement since 2009. India is also learning how to face China,” he said.
The Seventeen-Point Agreement is a highly controversial document signed on May 23, 1951, that formally integrated Tibet into the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Officially named the Agreement of the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, it marked the end of Tibet’s de facto independence and established Chinese sovereignty over the region.
He also said, “China’s response to all the developments in our democratic system and election and all that I think is a welcome sign that they are giving attention to what the Tibetans are doing in exile and writing about it. And that’s why sometimes we say that we thank the Chinese government for being our best publicity agent. Because then people study what the Chinese are saying and what the Tibetans are saying and make a differentiation about what the real truth is.”
On the issue of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, which has become a political issue in China, Penpa Tsering, said, “We have been preparing from our side, within the Tibetan community, within the larger Tibetan Buddhist community, the larger Tibetan Buddhist world and then the international community. That’s how we try to reach out.”
“We have been quite successful in getting views of the free world as to what they want regarding His Holiness. Of course that also needs a lot of education because these concepts are more common in Asia. And, reincarnation in this case is very unique to Tibetan Buddhism.”
