Latest news with #Tibet
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Seeking the Dalai Lama's Blessing, a Tibetan Monk Sets Out to Flee China
DHARAMSHALA, India—For Jamyang Monlam, a 24-year-old Buddhist monk in Tibet, time was running out. He longed to meet the Dalai Lama, the 89-year-old religious leader revered by Tibetans but viewed by China's Communist leaders as a dangerous separatist. Now, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since China seized control of Tibet in the 1950s, was growing frailer.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Adventure tourism is turning into ‘complete circus', says first Welshman to climb Everest
The first Welshman to climb Mount Everest has said that the adventure tourism industry is becoming a 'complete circus'. Caradoc Jones, 66, told BBC News that the bucket list quest to conquer Everest's peak has 'turned into a complete circus and has almost nothing to do with real mountaineering '. Mr Jones summited the world's highest mountain 30 years ago for between £2,000 and £3,000. The Welshman from Pontrhydfendigaid, Ceredigion, tackled the 8,848.86m challenge on 23 May 1995 with his Danish climbing partner, Michael Knakkergaard Jørgensen. Mr Jones started the climb, which he described as a 'personal battle', from the Tibet area, encountering a storm around the 8,300m mark. The mountaineer warned that climbing risks losing 'the element of a real adventure' as mountains become popular tourist attractions, reported BBC News. According to Climbing Magazine, the average climber will fork out between $45,000 (£33,387) and $75,000 (£55,645) on an Everest climb in 2025. Mr Jones said: 'People are quietly doing much harder things in every corner of the world and that's where the heart of mountaineering and climbing lies I think.' In April, it was reported that Nepal would pass a law to grant permits to climb Mount Everest only to those who have previously scaled at least one 7,000-metre peak within the country. The move would mark a major shift for the tourism-dependent country amid concerns over overcrowding and ecological imbalance on the world's highest mountain. Nepal, which is heavily reliant on climbing, trekking and tourism, has faced criticism for permitting too many climbers, including inexperienced ones, to try to ascend the mammoth peak. This often results in long queues of climbers in the 'death Zone', an area below the summit with insufficient natural oxygen for survival. The Integrated Tourism Bill proposed in Nepal's upper house of Parliament on 18 April is expected to be passed in the National Assembly.
CBS News
5 days ago
- General
- CBS News
How New Yorkers from Nepal and Tibet are passing down traditions
How New Yorkers from Nepal, Tibet share their traditions with the city How New Yorkers from Nepal, Tibet share their traditions with the city How New Yorkers from Nepal, Tibet share their traditions with the city Two communities from the Himalayan region are part of the fastest growing immigrant populations in New York City. As we mark Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here's a look at how New Yorkers from Nepal and Tibet are sharing their traditions. Sharing culture through cooking Sonam Sangmo says she's been making momo dumplings with her mother since the age of three. "It's a family activity where, most Tibetan households, everyone does know how to make momos," said Sangmo, partner and creative director at Oases Restaurant on 14th street. "We have chicken flavor, we have shrimp, we have mushroom and we have beef." The steam filled dumplings have been perfected with her mother's recipe and served with ayurvedic chili oil, as is her family's tradition. "It has nuts in it, it has ginger," said Sangmo. She hopes to educate visitors about her heritage when they visit her new restaurant/cafe. "When you mention Tibetan culture, you almost always have to add Tibetan Buddhism, because the culture itself has been shaped around Tibetan Buddhism," said Sangmo. "It's very simple principles - you have to be kind to others, we believe in karma." At the Oases bazaar, there are soothing scents and cushions for sale that are handmade in Nepal, which is next to Tibet. There are also singing bowls. All of it is intended to bring visitors a taste of the Himalayas. NYC home to growing Tibetan, Nepalese communities Queens is the borough that has become a new home for most people immigrating from Tibet and Nepal, specifically the neighborhoods of Woodside and Jackson Heights. Statistics show the Nepalese population in New York City nearly tripled since 2010. The United Sherpa Association on 75th Street is open daily and often frequented by immigrants from Nepal who practice Tibetan Buddhism and want to come pray in its monastery. The monastery is adorned with traditional colors representing five parts of nature. The organization's president, Temba Sherpa, explains yellow is for the Earth, green for water, red for fire, white for air and blue for sky. He adds more people are moving to the area from Nepal for better business opportunities and education. "We want to promote and save our culture language and tradition," said Sherpa. "Not only language but dance, Sherpa dance and Sherpa music." He shared videos showing that thousands have attended the center's ceremonies at its second location in Walkill, Orange County. Back at Oases, Sangmo says intention is also a key part of the culture. "Having a Tibetan cultural background has helped me with my identity," said Sangmo. "Be very mindful in your speech and in your actions and always try to spread love positivity and kindness."
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
China accused of ‘indoctrinating' Tibetan children from age of four with state-run boarding schools
Rights activists have accused Chinese authorities of indoctrinating Tibetan children and eroding their culture by forcing them to attend 'colonial' boarding schools. The Tibet Action Institute, a movement advocating for Tibetan independence founded by Tibetan-Canadian activist Lhadon Tethong, published a new report on Thursday warning that schools are teaching children as young as four to be loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. The activists estimate one million children in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan districts study at such boarding schools, though the number is difficult to confirm. The group has claimed that the schools are a smaller part of a broader strategy to dilute Tibetan identity and assimilate Tibetans into the majority Chinese culture, with the Xi Jinping-led government perceiving Tibetan identity as a 'threat'. China has shuttered village schools across Tibet and replaced them with centralised boarding schools over the last dozen years, leaving parents with little choice but to send their children to such facilities. Many students come from remote farming villages and live at the schools full-time. Through these boarding schools, the report warned, the Chinese government was trying 'to deracinate Tibetan children from their culture, language, and identity'. The report found students were restricted from enrolling in Tibetan language classes or engaging in religious activities. Tibetans view the practice of their language as the fundamental guarantee of their future as a distinct people within the broader Chinese region. The group said it documented numerous instances of negligence and abuse in Tibetan boarding schools. "Tibetan children's lives are being irrevocably altered to serve the purposes of the Chinese government," the Tibet Action Institute said after conducting 15 in-depth interviews with Tibetans between 2023 and 2024. It added: "The separation from family and deliberate reshaping of children's identity in boarding schools is causing emotional and psychological harm, including attachment trauma and alienation." The report quotes a Tibetan who fled to India saying that "the indoctrination process begins from a very young age," when children are removed from their parents. "Children cannot study Tibetan and Tibetan history. They are taught the Chinese language and the history of China written by Chinese writers," the interviewee was quoted as saying. Another person alleged that the materials on classroom walls were in Chinese, including pictures of leaders such as Mr Xi, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. "Xi Jinping Thought" is taught in classes as part of the curriculum, the person said. "Essays and drawings were judged based on how much we were able to praise the Party, the state, and the army." The group found that in 2022, a 13-year-old Tibetan girl with underlying medical conditions died after her family persistently tried to reach her with prescription medicine at her boarding school. The school first neglected to provide the medicine, and then failed to seek medical attention, it added. China has long sought to eradicate any possibility of unrest in regions home to sizeable ethnic populations by imprisoning dissenters, reshaping societies and religions to align them with the views of the Communist party. The approach has hardened in the past decade under the leadership of Mr Xi, who has been accused of a brutal crackdown on the Uyghur community in the Xinjiang region north of Tibet. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses in Tibet, as well as other regions like Xinjiang. Xu Zhitao, vice chair of the Tibet region's government, rejected similar criticism in 2023, arguing that China opened the boarding school system to improve education for children from remote areas. 'The claim that Tibetan children are forced to go to boarding schools is deliberate smearing with an ulterior motive,' he told reporters at the release of an official report on the Communist Party's policies in Tibet. He said the curriculum at the schools included Tibetan language and culture. 'These are all implemented to effectively secure our Tibetan children's rights to access high-quality education, and it is an important expression of the development and progress of human rights in Tibet.' The Chinese government and Tibet's government-in-exile offer competing versions of whether the remote, mountainous territory was historically ruled as part of China, or whether it has legitimate claims to independence or autonomy. "A generation of Tibetan children is being harmed by China's colonial boarding school policy – socially, emotionally, and psychologically,' said Lhadon Tethong, the co-founder and director of Tibet Action Institute. 'The lifelong negative impact on each of these children and their families, and on the future health of Tibetan society overall, cannot be overstated. The international community must step up all efforts to urgently push the Chinese government to abolish this abusive and coercive system.' In February 2023, a group of UN experts raised alarm over reports of Tibetan children being separated form their families. "We are alarmed by what appears to be a policy of forced assimilation of the Tibetan identity into the dominant Han-Chinese majority, through a series of oppressive actions against Tibetan educational, religious, and linguistic institutions," the UN experts said. The rights group urged the UN and concerned governments to call on the Chinese government to conduct a public investigation into the alleged abuses, deaths, and mental health concerns of Tibetan children in Chinese state-run boarding schools.
Independent Singapore
6 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Vicki Zhao finds calm in Buddhism after years away from the limelight
CHINA: Zhao Wei, also known as Vicki Zhao, has been turning to Buddhism in a big way. As reported by VnExpress , it's like she's on a personal quest to find some calm and get a deeper understanding of herself. She's been learning all about Buddhist ideas, and she even took a special trip to Tibet, which must have been a really significant experience for her. Photo: Instagram/Zhao Wei On May 21, Zhao Wei took to social media to share what was on her mind. It seems like this journey into Buddhism is a significant part of her life at the moment. The quote she posted, from this Tibetan Buddhist teacher named Chogyam Trungpa, is all about what courage really means – it's not about pretending to be fearless, but about being okay with showing your vulnerable side. According to On, that social media post actually gave us a little window into her thoughts and what she's been learning. Deep self-reflection Apparently, she mentioned how a certain book has been helping her to really look at her own weak spots and vulnerabilities, instead of just trying to put up a defence all the time. It sounds like she's doing some deep self-reflection. She has been quite open about her spiritual path on social media. She's been sharing about practising mantras and regularly posts updates about her journey of self-discovery and inner growth. Earlier in May, she also shared some wisdom from another Buddhist teacher, Khenpo Sodargye. This quote was about how someone really skilled can take something ordinary, like plants, and make it into medicine. In the same way, someone who's really dedicated to their spiritual practice can find meaning and inspiration in absolutely everything around them. See also Selena Gomez's relationship with Justin Bieber was 'toxic' Pilgrimage In 2024, Zhao Wei made a special trip to Tibet for a pilgrimage. From the photos that emerged, you could see her really taking her time to explore everything – the ancient Buddhist statues, the intricate paintings, and the beautiful artwork. It seemed like a deeply personal and spiritual journey for her, a way to connect with the rich history and traditions of Buddhism. It's always been interesting how Zhao Wei, despite being in the public eye as a famous actress, has managed to keep her personal life pretty private. She's always been somewhat guarded about what she shares. Fans miss Zhao Wei And you can really tell she's made an impact because even now, through her Weibo updates, her fans are still holding out hope that she'll one day return to acting. Fans are missing Zhao Wei on the screen. Despite all the fans expressing their wish to see her back in the entertainment world, Zhao Wei hasn't said anything about it. She hasn't given any hints about future projects or a possible return to acting. It really seems like her mind and energy are currently directed towards other aspects of her life. It's interesting because the last time Zhao Wei was really seen out and about was at a Fendi fashion event back in July 2021. In China, she even served as the brand's spokesperson. But then, just a month later in August 2021, it was like she suddenly disappeared from the internet. Vanished from streaming sites All her movies vanished from streaming sites, and even her name was taken off those film award websites. Plus, all the brands she worked with started deleting or hiding posts about her on Weibo. It made a lot of people think she'd been 'banned,' even though no one ever officially said why. Baidu points out that these kinds of sudden disappearances and bans are pretty standard in the entertainment and sports industries in China. It often happens when someone is seen to have crossed the line, either ethically or legally. And it's not just about their movies or shows being taken down. It's like they try to erase the person's entire presence. Social media platforms also scrub away pretty much anything connected to these individuals. It's like they're trying to erase their presence online. And thinking about Vicki Zhao, who's 49 now, it's almost hard to picture just how famous she used to be in China. She was a really big star. Four Dan Actresses She was even part of this elite group called the 'Four Dan Actresses,' which basically meant she was one of the top four actresses who were making serious money in the country. And it wasn't just acting – Xinhua pointed out that she's one of those rare female Chinese artists who's really made a mark in movies, TV shows, and even music. She was a real powerhouse. On top of her entertainment career, Zhao Wei was also a savvy businesswoman. In 1999, Zhao Wei wasn't just an actress; she was also a go-getter who started her own businesses in different fields. Then, when she married Huang Youlong, a businessman from Singapore, in 2008, their combined business smarts really paid off. So rewind to 2019, and Vicki Zhao and Huang Youlong were sitting on a serious pile of cash! We're talking about a jaw-dropping 4.5 billion yuan – that's roughly $625 million in US dollars. That kind of money actually put them in the big leagues, ranking them at number 912 on the Hurun Rich List of wealthy folks in China. They were a financial powerhouse couple back then. However, it came to light towards the end of last year that Vicki Zhao had actually revealed that she and Huang had been divorced for 'many years.'
