For Tibetan political leader, 'Middle Way' to autonomy is still core focus

Prague/Washington — 

In the lobby of an upscale edifice successful Prague, Sikyong Penpa Tsering talked astir decease — specifically, the eventuality that China's Xi Jinping volition 1 time die.

"Nothing is permanent. Even our beingness is not permanent. We are born, and we person to die. So adjacent empires emergence and fall. Governments emergence and fall. Xi Jinping volition besides person to die. So, these are inevitable," said Tsering, person of Tibet's exiled government, the Central Tibetan Administration.

He said it casually, matter-of-factly, arsenic if helium wasn't talking astir the imaginable downfall of the world's second-most almighty authorities and the inevitable decease of its almighty leader.

"China is going to change. It has to change. There is nary different choice," Tsering told VOA past week connected the sidelines of the Forum 2000 ideology league successful the Czech superior Prague.

Sitting connected a leather seat and wearing a achromatic Tibetan vest and a bluish button-down shirt, Tsering spoke astir however this cardinal Buddhist thought of impermanence gives him anticipation for his homeland.

Reports accidental maltreatment has increased

China annexed Tibet successful 1950, and since past quality rights abuses successful the portion person steadily grown, according to reports from the U.S. State Department and rights groups.

Beijing claims the portion has been portion of China since "ancient times." It views the Central Tibetan Administration, oregon CTA, arsenic a separatist enactment and says that nary authorities should let the Dalai Lama — the spiritual and one-time governmental person of Tibet — to visit.

But for Tsering, nether the Buddhist conception of impermanence, everything successful beingness — adjacent Beijing's powerfulness and repression — is transient.

Although Tsering's anticipation abounds, truthful does his pragmatism. The imaginable of an improved quality rights scenery and much autonomy remains far-off. It doesn't assistance that the CTA and Beijing hardly person an unfastened connection channel, Tsering said.

"Even if we negociate to re-establish contact, there's nary anticipation of thing truly coming retired of it," Tsering said. For now, the backchannel dialog is for the agelong term, not the abbreviated term, the democratically elected person added.

But successful an perfect world, wherever Beijing was consenting to prosecute with the CTA, among the apical priorities would beryllium quality rights successful Tibet, arsenic good arsenic the Middle Way Approach — the Tibet medication argumentation that would springiness the portion accrued autonomy portion remaining portion of China.

Those are among the issues Tsering sought to rise with governmental and civilian nine leaders astatine Forum 2000, an yearly gathering connected ideology quality rights issues founded by erstwhile Czech President Vaclav Havel.

Advocating for 'Middle Way'

Although based successful India, Tsering often travels the satellite to marque his lawsuit for the Tibetan people. But helium feels a peculiar kinship with the Czech Republic and different countries successful Europe that erstwhile suffered nether communism.

"They person experienced what our radical are going done now," Tsering said. "That makes it easier for them to understand."

Tsering has astir 1 and a fractional years near successful his five-year term. He said helium hasn't decided whether he'll prosecute a 2nd term, but 1 of his priorities for the adjacent 18 months is to advocator for the Middle Way Approach.

The Middle Way Approach accepts Tibet's presumption arsenic portion of China but advocates for accrued autonomy, similar greater freedoms for religion, connection and culture. It's an effort to equilibrium Beijing's concerns astir Tibetan separatism and Tibetans' concerns astir taste preservation.

Tsering said helium doesn't truly recognize wherefore Beijing appears to beryllium truthful opposed to the approach, since it doesn't telephone for independence.

'Dying a dilatory decease culturally'

For years, reports from quality outlets and rights groups person elaborate Beijing's sedate rights abuses successful Tibet.

Chinese authorities are peculiarly repressive of immoderate signs of dissent among Tibetans successful the region, with much than 5,600 governmental prisoners formerly oregon presently jailed successful Tibet since 1990, according to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

Expressions of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan taste individuality are besides restricted.

"We are dying a dilatory decease culturally, due to the fact that China is squeezing america retired of our enactment similar a python, squeezing it out, dilatory but surely," Tsering said.

Authorities person repressed the usage of the Tibetan language, and the United Nations estimates that astir 1 cardinal children person been forcibly separated from families and sent to state-run boarding schools to assimilate into the ascendant Han-Chinese culture.

"It's precise wide that the Chinese authorities seeks to fundamentally hollow retired and erase Tibetans' identities," Sophie Richardson, a visiting student astatine Stanford and the erstwhile China manager astatine Human Rights Watch, told VOA.

China's Foreign Ministry did not reply to VOA's email requesting remark for this story.

Other quality rights issues see Beijing's harassment of exiled Tibetan journalists and activists successful a process known arsenic transnational repression.

"It's fundamentally to forestall anybody from proceeding an alternate mentation of their communicative oregon critique of their version. The Chinese authorities wants everybody to judge its mentation of history," Richardson said.

But erstwhile it comes to transnational repression, Tsering said helium isn't a target.

"They don't endanger maine due to the fact that they cognize it doesn't marque sense. I won't listen. If they endanger me, I'll beryllium overmuch worse," Tsering said. "If they inquire maine not to bash something, I bash it much due to the fact that I cognize it hurts them."