By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, October 3: Tibet activists in Dharamshala today joined the Global Day of Protest Action for Tibet and issued a ‘Tibet Challenge’ to China’s leader in waiting Xi Jinping, confronting him to acknowledge four generations of Chinese leadership’s policy failures in Tibet.
Activists of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Dharamshala and Students for a Free Tibet, India, staged a political street theater in Mcleod Ganj Square, condemning the Chinese government for over 60 years of colonial rule in Tibet and calling on Xi to resolve the ongoing crisis in Tibet.
A man wearing a Xi mask was paraded in the streets with placards reading, ‘Tibet is my No 1 challenge’ and ‘I am getting China’s top job and China’s top problem-Tibet.’
Xi is slated to replace Hu Jintao as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party at the upcoming 18th National Congress on November 8 in Beijing.
“Xi Jinping and the 5th generation of China’s leaders can either resolve the Tibet issue swiftly and peacefully, or face a growing Tibetan resistance that threatens to undermine the very stability and endurance of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Dorjee Tsetan, National Director of SFT, India.
Since 2009, a total of 52 known Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.
“China’s Tibet policies are a failure. Four generations of China’s leaders have attempted to quell unrest in Tibet through successive crackdowns and unsustainable economic subsidies, which – far from bringing about the stability they seek – have served to exacerbate Tibetan grievances and created widespread resistance all across Tibet,” said Thupten, president of RTYC, Dharamshala.
Speaking to Phayul, Tibetan activist and writer Tenzin Tsundue said the street theatre is aimed at making the Tibetan community aware of the once a decade leadership change in China.
“Also today, an internationally coordinated campaign is happening all around the world in which Tibetans and supporters are telling everyone that Xi Jinping is taking up the mantle of Chinese leadership and also saying that issue of Tibet is not resolved.”
