-By International Campaign for Tibet 

As Tibetans welcomed the Year of the Water Tiger, US officials marked the Tibetan New Year by committing yesterday to push their Chinese counterparts to respect Tibetans’ rights and resume dialogue with Tibetan leaders.

Losar, the traditional New Year celebrated by Tibetans and other Himalayan communities, began Wednesday, March 3, 2022.

To celebrate the joyous occasion, Uzra Zeya, the new US special coordinator for Tibetan issues, hosted a virtual reception at the State Department that featured messages from Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Representative to North America Dr. Namgyal Choedup and Tibetan American communities across the country.

There were also music and cultural performances, as well as words of gratitude from participants in the State Department’s Tibetan Scholarship Program.

The International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group that helped organize the reception, praised the event: “ICT thanks Special Coordinator Zeya, Secretary Blinken, Representative Choedup and everyone who made the State Department’s Losar reception a festive and meaningful event. With these leaders in place, we are confident the United States and its allies can make progress on the goals Special Coordinator Zeya laid out in her remarks, including promoting meaningful dialogue between the Chinese government and Tibetan officials. Click here to read more.