Obama raises Tibet issue with Chinese Prez

Himalayan Guardian JaN 26, 2011

Washington, Jan 25: US President Barack Obama took the opportunity of a joint press conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao on 19 January 2011 to say that the United States supports "further dialogue between the government of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people."

The press conference, held in the White House, saw President Obama sending a strong message to China on how it dealt with issues.

President Obama said, "I reaffirmed America's fundamental commitment to the universal rights of all people.  That includes basic human rights like freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and demonstration, and of religion -- rights that are recognized in the Chinese constitution.  As I've said before, the United States speaks up for these freedoms and the dignity of every human being, not only because it is part of who we are as Americans, but we do so because we believe that by upholding these universal rights, all nations, including China, will ultimately be more prosperous and successful."

The Tibet reference came in the opening remarks after President Obama revealed that the United States and China have agreed to resume formal dialogue on human rights and to new exchanges to advance the rule of law. 

 President Obama said, "And even as we, the United States, recognize that Tibet is part of the People s Republic of China, the United States continues to support further dialogue between the government of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve concerns and differences, including the preservation of the religious and cultural identity of the Tibetan people."

Three in race for Tibet PM post

Tashi Namgyal

Dharamshala, Jan 25:  Two months before the final round of the Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile) election, three names are still in the running for next Tibet's PM: Lobsang Sangay, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong and Tashi Wangdi.

The preliminary polls, held on October 3, offered  Sangay a comfortable first position with 22,489 votes out of the total 47,000 votes cast.  Tethong registered 12 319 votes while Wangdi, who served the Government-in-Exile as a cabinet minister, collected 2101 votes.

"Initially, there were six candidates, but today, only three remain. We could have allowed them to contest for the final elections but some of them withdrew, some of them resigned", Chief Election Comissioner Jamphel Choesang said.

Alongside the Kalon Tripa election, the Tibetan community in exile will vote for the Parliamentary elections. 94 candidates are running for 44 seats.

Choesang also raised the question of the participation, as abstention spectacularly went down from 73,2% at the last elections in 2006 to approximately 39% this year at the preliminary polls.

The Election Commission announced it is still expecting more voters for the last polls on March 20, as it presented fresh registration dates from November 30, 2010, to January 17, 2011 for eligible voters who didn't go to the polls on the preliminary round in October.