Tokyo: Kalon Norzin Dolma of the Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration, gave an exclusive interview to the Kyodo Tsushin News and later addressed a press conference at Shinjuku Bunka Center and released a book “Chibetto no Hanron” in Tokyo Shinjuku city on 14 July.

Kalon thanked the media people for their interest in the Tibet issue and for attending the press conference. She briefed the journalists on the purpose of her visit and updates on the situation in Tibet, the status of the negotiation with the Chinese government, and how the media should be involved in helping achieve freedom and justice for all the oppressed communities around the world.

Questions from the media range from the health of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the status of the negotiation with the Chinese counterpart, and facts behind the colonial boarding schools in Tibet to the issue of the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Media also asked about her impression of meeting with the Japanese parliamentarians.

Kalon Norzin Dolma informed the media about the good health of His Holiness, how He participated in the public celebration of His birthday in Dharamshala and about His visit to Ladakh and the teaching schedules. Regarding the status of the negotiation, she explained the chronology of the negotiation from 2002 to 2010 and the presentation of the Tibetan Memorandum on genuine autonomy and the notes. “Although the negotiation has come to a deadlock officially, we are exploring various means to get the Chinese leadership on the table,” she said.

Kalon informed that China has no historical and political rights and power to appoint the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. She further said, “China has failed to win the trust and loyalty of the Tibetans despite all these years of oppression and indoctrinations; they see Tibetan religion and culture as the force behind the indomitable Tibetan spirit, so they are trying to interfere in the selection of the reincarnations of the Tibetan lamas, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The policy behind the colonial boarding school is to destroy Tibetan language and identity and to indoctrinate young Tibetans.”

Kalon expressed great satisfaction in the meeting and assurance of support from Mr. Shimomura Hakubun and Mr. Ishikawa Akimasa, Chairman and General Secretary of the Japanese Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet and working committee members.

Later, Kalon Norzin Dolma released the book “Chibetto no Hanron”, published by Shukosha, before the media. The book is the Japanese translation of Representative Dr Arya Tsewang Gyalpo’s book “Harnessing the Dragon’s Fume” by Mr Kameda Hirofumi. The English original was published by the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) in 2021.

Representative Arya explained that the purpose of the book was to challenge and present counterarguments from Tibetans to the aggressive propaganda and blatant lies of the Chinese communist leadership to justify their tyrannical rule in Tibet.

More than eighteen people representing around eleven major and local media attended the press conference.

-Report filed by the Office of Tibet, Japan