Taipei, 23 April 2016: Over a hundred and fifty Tibetans and Chinese people from across the world gathered here at the Fortunehiya Hotel to attend the historic, first-ever international conference of Sino-Tibetan friendship associations.
Finding Common Ground – the First International Conference of the Sino-Tibetan Friendship Associations, which is organised by the Taiwan Office of Tibet beginning yesterday, is a major project of the China Desk of the Department of Information and International Relations.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in a video message to the conference, reiterated that historically the Tibetans and Chinese people have maintained friendly relations for thousands of years. He further said that there should now be a collective effort to find a common ground to establish a friendly and mutually-beneficial relations between the two in the future as well.
His Holiness expressed his hope that the conference will provide a forum to conduct a frank and thorough discussion on the possible ways to resolve the collective problem in a realistic manner.
In his welcome note during the opening ceremony of the three-day conference yesterday, which was broadcast live on internet, DIIR Secretary Sonam Norbu Dagpo presented a broad overview of the evolution of the past engagements between Tibetans and Chinese people.
Mr Dagpo said that the growing level of Sino-Tibetan interaction in the post-Tiananmen era has created better awareness and understanding about the situation in Tibet, which in turn has rejuvenated the quest for finding a common ground for the peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue.
He further reaffirmed that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration remain steadfast in their commitment to the Middle-Way Approach as the best way to peaceably resolve the Tibet issue in a mutually beneficial way.
Among those who addressed the opening ceremony of the conference were also three Taiwanese legislators: Mr. Freddy Lim, Ms Kolas Yotaka and Ms Yu Mei-nu. Former DPP Legislator Chen, Chieh-Ju, who has been a strong supporter of Tibet, was also present and addressed the ceremony.
The three-day conference features presentations and discussions on a whole gamut of issues related with Tibet and China by scholars, intellectuals, writers, activists and students from all over the world, including those from the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, Spain Hong Kong and Taiwan.
– Report filed by OOT, Taiwan –
