Phayul
China’s soft power looms over former Tibetan President Lobsang Sangay’s event in France
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 18: The Harvard Club of France organised a talk with Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the former President of the exile Tibetan government known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), on Thursday, despite facing repeated rejections...
Rights group renews call for monastic leader in critical condition following torture
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA. Oct. 18: The London-based research and advocacy group Tibet Watch has renewed its urgent appeal for the release and medical care of Gonpo Tsering, the head of Yena Monastery in Shiba village, who is reportedly in critical condition...
Richard Gere honoured with inaugural ‘Visionary Award’, spotlights rights abuses in Tibet
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 17: Long-time friend of Tibet and renowned Hollywood actor Richard Gere was honoured with Human Rights First’s inaugural ‘Visionary Award’ on October 14 at Gotham Hall in New York City. Gere was recognised for his...
Officials sacked after investigation find grassland damaged by controversial firework display in Shigatse
By Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 16: An official investigation following widespread public outcry by Shigatse authorities has found that the controversial fireworks display sponsored by Canadian outdoor brand Arc’teryx and designed by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang caused damage to more...
Tibetan actor Lobsang Chompel passes away at 68 in Lhasa
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 16: Tibetan actor Lobsang Chompel, best known for his award-winning performance in Xiuxiu: The Sent-Down Girl, reportedly passed away in Lhasa on October 10 at the age of 68. His role in the 1998 film earned...
Chinese rocket debris falls over Tibet’s Amdo spewing toxic smoke
By Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 15: Suspected debris from a Chinese rocket reportedly fell in Mangra County in Amdo, Tibet, on Monday, sparking fire and releasing thick, toxic yellow smoke that alarmed local residents. A Video circulating on social media show the...
Social media misinformation sparks xenophobic abuse against Tibetans in Nepal amid ‘TOB’ controversy
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 14: A social media firestorm in Nepal has spiralled into a wave of misinformation and xenophobic hate targeting members of the Tibetan community after a viral controversy surrounding a group called “TOB”, was falsely linked to...
Tibetans coerced to attend the Kalachakra empowerment led by ‘fake Panchen’
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 14: Chinese authorities have reportedly forced thousands of Tibetans, including monks, nuns, and high-ranking lamas such as the 7th Gunthang Rinpoche, the Sakya abbot, and the Sera abbot, to attend a Kalachakra empowerment conducted by...
Tulku Hungkar Dorjee awarded Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Medal of Courage posthumously
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 13: The late Tulku Hungkar Dorjee, revered abbot of Lung Ngon Thubten Choekor Ling Monastery in Golog, Amdo, eastern Tibet, was posthumously honoured with the 2025 ‘Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Medal of Courage’ on Monday. The...
Yeshi Togden elected Gu Chu Sum’s new President, pledges to revive organisation and restore collaborations
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 10: Former political prisoner and one of the founding members of the Gu Chu Sum Movement Association of Tibet, Yeshi Togden, has been elected the new President of the organisation after securing 26 votes out...
China’s mega-projects pushing Tibet to “Extreme Ecological Stress”, warns Stockholm report ahead of COP30
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 10: China’s infrastructure expansion, militarisation, and resource extraction have pushed the Tibetan Plateau towards “extreme ecological stress”, warns a new report by the Stockholm Centre for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs. Released ahead of COP30, the report...
Khadhok-Tibetan Artists’ Collective wins 2025 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 9: The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art has announced Wednesday that Khadhok – Tibetan Artists’ Collective, based in Dharamshala, India, as the recipient of the 2025 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize, the world’s largest international award...
China expert urges policy-driven scholarship at 7th Young Indian Scholars’ Conference on Tibetan Studies
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 8: One of India’s leading China experts, Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli, speaking at the 7th Young Indian Scholars’ Conference on Tibetan Studies organised by the Tibet Policy Institute (TPI), stressed the importance of independent scholarship to counter Beijing’s...
UN demand clarity from Vietnam and China over the death of Tulku Hunkar Dorjee
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 8: United Nations human rights experts have pressed the governments of Vietnam and China to account for the detention, disappearance, and disputed death in custody of Tibetan spiritual leader Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche, who died earlier...
China appointed Panchen Lama to confer Kalachakra empowerment in Shigatse
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 7: Gyaltsen (Ch. Gyaincain) Norbu, the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama widely regarded by Tibetans as a “political puppet” or “fake Panchen,” is set to confer the Kalachakra empowerment and teachings at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery—the traditional seat...
Central Election Commission announces schedule for 2025–26 presidential and parliamentary elections
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct 7: The Central Election Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has officially announced the schedule for the 2025–26 elections of the Sikyong (president) and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile during a press conference held at Lhakpa Tsering...
Dalai Lama congratulates the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 6: Foremost Buddhist leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has extended his warm congratulations to Dame Sarah Mullally, currently Bishop of London, on her appointment as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. In a letter dated October...
Two Tibetan homes damaged in Pokhriabong as landslides devastate Darjeeling
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 6: Two Tibetan households in the Pokhriabong area of Darjeeling sustained damage after trees toppled onto their homes during heavy rainfall and landslides that struck the hill district last Saturday evening. While no Tibetan casualties were...
BOOK REVIEW : “TIBET EXPLAINED – Legal Status, Rights and State Responsibility”
Authors: Michael Van Walt Van Praag and Miek Boltjes Publisher : Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi Price : Rs. 1250 Pages : 319 ‘Demolishing Chinese narratives on Tibet-Brick by Brick’ Challenging the Chinese art of manufacturing history of convenience, a...
TYC elects new leadership, passes resolution to hold its own ‘Rangzen Conference’
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 5: The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest pro-independence organization in the Tibetan diaspora, elected its new leadership on Sunday in Dharamshala. The seven-member Central Executive Committee was chosen on the final day of the...
Germany jails former aide of European Parliament lawmaker for spying for China
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 4: Germany’s Higher Regional Court in Dresden has sentenced Jian Guo, a Chinese national and former aide to Maximilian Krah, a Member of the European Parliament from Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, to...
Global resistance marks China’s 76th National Day with protests and digital defiance
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct 4: As Beijing celebrated the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China with flag-raising ceremonies at Tiananmen Square and the symbolic release of 10,000 doves, a wave of global protests cast a shadow...
Richard Gere honoured with Human Rights First’s inaugural Visionary Award for lifetime achievement in human rights
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 3: Human Rights First, a leading nonpartisan international rights organization based in the United States, has announced that Hollywood legend and longtime advocate for Tibet, Richard Gere, will be awarded its first-ever Visionary Award. The honour...
Help us shut down state-run residential Chinese schools, erosion of language: CTA President to Canada
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct 3: President Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan government in exile, called on the Canadian government to adopt a more robust position on Tibet during a press conference held...
Chinese public outrage erupts over Arc’teryx and Cai Guo-Qiang’s fireworks in Tibet
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 2: A high-altitude fireworks stunt by outdoor brand Arc’teryx and Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang on a mountain in Southern Tibet’s Shigatse last month has triggered widespread condemnation, with Chinese citizens leading an unprecedented backlash online. On...
CTA President urges Canada to take position on Dalai Lama’s reincarnation issue
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 2: The President of the exile Tibetan government known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Penpa Tsering, currently on an official visit to Ottawa from September 25 to October 7, has urged the Canadian...
Former Tibetan political prisoner testifies against China’s persecution of faith in Washington D.C.
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 1: Former Tibetan political prisoner Namkyi testified at the “Faith Under Siege: Confronting Religious Persecution and Oppression in China”, conference held at the U.S. Capitol, on the eve of China’s 76th National Day, as survivors of...
New Additional Election Commissioners sworn in ahead of 2026 general elections
Tenzin Nyidon DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 1: In a formal ceremony held on Wednesday at Sikyong Hall, Chief Justice Commissioner Yeshi Wangmo administered the oath of office to Nangsa Choedon and Tsering Youdon, newly appointed Additional Election Commissioners of the Central...
World Animal Protection urges action after fireworks disrupt wildlife and fragile ecosystems
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 30: World Animal Protection (WAP) has called on Chinese authorities to take immediate action to mitigate environmental damage and protect local wildlife following a large-scale fireworks display in Tibet’s ecologically sensitive region. The controversial display art,...
Xi Jinping calls for stricter crackdown on religion as path to ‘Ethnic and Social Harmony’
Tsering Dhundup DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 30: Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged tighter regulation and enforcement of religious affairs, declaring that the sinicization of religion is “the only way” to achieve ethnic unity, social harmony, and long-term stability in the country,...