By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, May 15: The Tibetan Prime Minister Dr Lobsang Sangay on Wednesday spoke with Chinese scholars and students in Washington DC on ‘Care for the future of Tibet’?.
Speaking about the importance of interaction between the Chinese and the Tibetan people to restore the historic trust and friendship shared by the two, Sangay noted that the trust and friendship has strained lately as a result of Chinese government’s continued propaganda to create misunderstandings and disharmony.
He described the issue of Tibet in four M’s; Mistake, Mistrust, Middle Way and Misunderstanding or Misinterpretation. He added that China’s occupation of Tibet and its repressive policies is a mistake that is the root sowing mistrust between the two people.
“Instead of redressing the mistake, the Chinese government continued its policies of political repression, cultural assimilation, social discrimination, economic marginalisation and environmental destruction in Tibet which led to the Tibetan people’s mistrust of the Chinese government,” said Sangay.
Tibetan PM Sangay reiterated that the Middle Way Approach, envisioned by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and implemented by the Tibetan government in exile, is the only way to resolve the crisis inside Tibet.
“The Middle Way Approach seeks for a genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the framework of the Chinese constitution. The Chinese government always allege that Tibetans aim to split the nation, which is why we have taken into consideration not to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China,” said Sangay. “However, instead of responding to this proposal positively, the Chinese government has resorted to misinterpretation and misinformation, hence misunderstanding.”
He also said that the recent white paper on Tibet was a deliberate attempt by the Chinese government to misinterpret and mislead the world. “The white paper’s allegation on the Middle Way Approach has less relevance with the Tibetan proposal and more with a false propaganda to create misunderstandings on the issue of Tibet.”
The meeting took place at a dialogue organized by Initiatives for China (IFC), a grassroots movement towards democracy in China and was moderated by Dr. Yang Jianli, Founder/President of IFC and a fellow Harvard scholar.
This dialogue, the official website of the Tibetan government said, is also a part of Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay’s “continuous efforts” to enhance mutual trust and understanding between the Chinese and the Tibetan people.
