Taipei: Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa and staff from the Office of Tibet (Tibet Religious Foundation) in Taipei paid a courtesy call on Kyabje Kirti Rinpoche, the chief abbot of Kirti Monastery, following his arrival in Taiwan to pay obeisance on 25 November 2023.
In a brief 30-minute meeting with the former Kalon of Department of Religion and Culture (CTA), Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen updated the former about undertakings of the office and was commended by the visiting lama. He further invited Kirti Rinpoche to their upcoming Thanksgiving dinner event on 10 December as chief guest to celebrate the conferment of Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The day coincides 25th founding anniversary of the Office of Tibet – Taiwan and International Human Rights Day.
Later on the same day, the Office of Tibet partook in a Human Rights street fair, organised by Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission, to advocate the Tibetan freedom struggle and create awareness among spectators on Tibet. Books about Tibetan history and traditions published by Gangjong Publication, the office’s affiliate, were exhibited during the expo. The Tibet booth received a visit from MP Freddy Lim, the Chair of the Taiwanese Parliamentary Group for Tibet, and Fan Sun-Lu, a member of Ombudsman, Control Yuan (Taiwan), along with a flock of Taiwanese youngsters.
Furthermore, Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa introduced the definition of word ‘TIBET’ and the areas it encompasses at a talk session that was held as part of the fair. Given the PRC’s substitution of term “Xizang” instead of Tibet in their recent official white paper on Tibet, he explained how the sinicization policy of the Communist Party of China targets complete annihilation of Tibetan identity.
-Report filed by Office of Tibet, Taiwan