Kalon Tripa meets Chinese scholars in US
Thursday, 8 February 2007, 11:00 a.m.
Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Also seen Special Envoy Lodi Gyari. |
Washington D.C: Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche had a four-hour long discussion with half a dozen Chinese scholars, who do research in think tanks or teach at universities in the United States as well as inside China.
The discussions dealt with issues pertaining to the resolution of the Tibetan problem, the Chinese Government’s position and how the Tibetan leadership was approaching the issue. It was a closed-door meeting between the Tibetans and the Chinese and was hosted by the Brookings Institution.
On his arrival at the Institution, the Kalon Tripa was received by Mr. Jeff Bader, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center and Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings institution.
The Tibetan team accompanying the Kalon Tripa included Special Envoy Lodi Gyari, Kasur Tashi Wangdi, Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen, Liaison Officer for Latin America Tsewang Phuntso, Pema Wangyal (a Chinese-speaking Tibetan), International Campaign for Tibet’s (ICT) Rinchen Tashi and Bhuchung Tsering.
In the afternoon, the Kalon Tripa addressed the Tibetan community in the area at the ICT’s conference room. He explained the approach of the Central Tibetan Administration on the Sino-Tibetan dialogue process, the future of the Tibetan struggle, etc. The talk was followed by question-and-Answer session.
Prior to the talk the President of the Capital Area Tibetan Association, Mr. Lhundup D. Amdo, called on the Kalon Tripa in his capacity as a member of the organising committee of the Tenshug (long-life offering) to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the Tibetan Community in the Americas.
In the evening the Kalon Tripa had dinner with two Chinese scholars, one of whom was not able to participate in the morning session. The dinner discussion concerned recent developments in China, including possible changes in the Chinese leadership and how these would impact the Tibetan issue.
Yesturday, Kalon Tripa visited the U.S. Capitol and paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been a long time friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and supporter of Tibetan issues in the Congress.
The Speaker warmly welcomed the Kalon Tripa and Special Envoy Lodi Gyari and discussed plans for the next meeting she would be having with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Representative Tom Lantos, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also met with the Kalon Tripa and said that Tibet would be a priority in the Committee’s examination of US-China policy and, further, that it was his desire to schedule a hearing within the next weeks on the status of the dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s envoys and Chinese officials.
Samdhong Rinpoche also visited the National Endowment for Democracy and met with its President, Carl Gershman. The NED provides grant assistance to democracy-promotion programmes of the exile Tibetan Administration.