Tibetan Exile President Ups Ante In Nomenclature War – OpEd

The Tibetan exile government says it will "strongly counter" Beijing, which has been renaming Tibetan places with Chinese names.

Penpa Tsering, Sikyong or President of the Central Tibetan Administration (Tibetan Parliament in Exile) or CTA, told Indian media that the "Sinification of Tibet must stop." 

"We will create a map of Tibet that will carry names of all places in Tibet in Tibet language. Chinese official position on Tibet underplays Tibet's own rich and distinct history as it projects Tibet as part of China since the ancient era. We have to put an end to it," Tsering said.

"Chinese renaming of Tibetan places will not erase Tibet's unique culture and identity, because we have been an independent entity for much of our history. China forcibly occupied Tibet by sending its army and that historical fact is acknowledged by the world," Tsering said.

He said China calls Tibet as Xizang.

"But now we are researching every name in Tibet and we will have a map of Tibet that will show all the original Tibetan names of all the places in Tibet," he said.

Recently, the information warfare division of Indian Army released a list of 30 places in Tibet with traditional names. Tibet experts in the Calcutta-based Asiatic Society helped prepare the list. Experts say this might be a tit-for-tat move to counter China's naming many places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh with Chinese names. China challenges Indian control over Arunachal Pradesh and says it is South Tibet, an extension of the Chinese province of Tibet.

Penpa Tsering asserted that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will be determined by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans, saying, "It is the reincarnation of His Holiness Dalai Lama and not reincarnation of Xi Jinping."  That will surely irk Beijing.

Tsering arrived in Delhi from the hill town of Dharamsala on his way to USA, almost immediately after the enactment of the Resolve Tibet Act in the US Congress.

Tsering arrived in Delhi from the hill town of Dharamsala on his way to USA, almost immediately after the enactment of the Resolve Tibet Act in the US Congress.

The Resolve Tibet Act has also raised the issue of self-determination for Tibetans declaring, "All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." Sikyong Tsering interpreted the "self-determination" as the right to hold plebiscite in Tibet and added, "Self-determination means plebiscite. The question is whether China will allow plebiscite in Tibet." Mr. Tsering expressed gratitude to all stakeholders in the U.S. for ensuring the passage of the Resolve Tibet Act and said he will likely meet all sides, including the Republican party's leading members as the election season is heating up in the U.S.

Tsering also that CTA was "having back-channel negotiations with the Chinese side." He insisted that the talks were started with initiative from Chinese side.

"We do not have any expectation from these talks but we have to keep the engagements going as these are part of our long term plans. We met in the first week of this month and the talks are being held with the help of a third country," said Penpa Tsering.

But he did not name the "third country" that got the talks going or the level of Chinese officials involved in the talks.

China has been silent on the "back channel talks" with the Tibetan exile government. India, where the CTA is based, is also tight lipped on the issue.

Tsering came to Delhi from Dharamshala before leaving for Washington DC where he will meet with U.S. politicians of different parties as the Resolve Tibet Act received bipartisan support.

President Biden signed the text of the Resolve Tibet Act on July 12 that is aimed at initiating "meaningful dialogue" between the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or "his representatives," which prompted the Central Tibetan Administration to welcome the move.

Sikyong Tsering described the Tibetan issue as a "conflict" saying that terms like "Tibetan issue" or "dispute" do not convey the substance of the problem.

"Tibet continues to be an unresolved conflict and its resolution has to be based on international law," said Mr. Tsering. The Resolve Tibet Act has used "dispute" to describe the Tibetan issue, but Mr. Tsering said, "Tibetan conflict is the term to give it a proper status as the real issue is the Chinese occupation of Tibet." He pointed out that while countries of Europe and the West often talk about violation of human rights and religious rights in Tibet these fails to convey the real problem.

He further pointed out the new act promulgated by the U.S. Congress will help in countering Chinese official position on Tibet that he characterised as a "misinformation campaign". Chinese official position on Tibet, said Mr. Tsering, often underplays Tibet's own rich history as it projects Tibet as part of China since the ancient era. He also took a strong stand on the renaming of various places of Tibet saying that renaming will not erase Tibet's unique culture and identity.

"Nowadays Beijing has started calling Tibet as Xizang but now we are researching every name in Tibet and we will have a map of Tibet that will show all the original Tibetan names of all the places in Tibet," said Mr. Tsering.

He also said that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will be determined by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans, saying, "It is the reincarnation of His Holiness Dalai Lama and not reincarnation of Xi Jinping."

The Resolve Tibet Act has raised the issue of self-determination for Tibetans declaring, "All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development."

Penpa Tsering said, "self-determination" for Tibetans would mean the right to hold plebiscite in Tibet but doubted whether China will ever allow that to happen.

Tsering expressed gratitude to all stakeholders in the U.S. for ensuring the passage of the Resolve Tibet Act and said he will likely meet all sides, including top Republicans in the US election season.