Tibet Talks

At ICT, we just wrapped up our 2023 Tibet Lobby Day. It was a record-setting event that brought over 150 Tibetan Americans and Tibet supporters to Washington, DC to build Congressional support for the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act.

Also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, this bill is a major goal for Tibet supporters. But what does it actually do, and how can we get it passed? To find out, we’ll discuss with Namgyal Choedup, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration to North America, and ICT’s own Franz Matzner.

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Losar Tashi Delek! That’s the greeting Tibetans will use next week when they celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year. And on this episode of Tibet Talks, you can celebrate this beautiful holiday with ICT.

Join us for an exploration of Losar’s history, traditions and significance with Professor Tenzin Dorjee of California State University, Fullerton, who was the first Tibetan American chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. We’ll also hear from ICT staff members Tencho Gyatso, Rinchen Tashi and Tenzin Norgay about what Losar means to them.

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

At the Dalai Lama’s residence in India, an unusual visitor has arrived: a troubled Giant Panda who has traveled from many miles away. Welcoming him as a friend, His Holiness invites the Panda on a walk through a cedar forest. There, in the shadow of the Himalayas, surrounded by beauty, they discuss matters great and small. 

This is the warm, whimsical, wise story of a new book featuring words by the Dalai Lama and illustrations from the creator of “Mutts.” “Heart to Heart: A Conversation on Love and Hope for Our Precious Planet” calls for a compassionate revolution, elegantly and decisively conveying a message of joy, hope and change. In this Tibet Talk, we have our own heart to heart with the illustrator, Patrick McDonnell, about what inspired him to collaborate with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to create this timely gem of a book. 

Get your copy of Heart to Heart!

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tibet’s fate is one of tragedy and hope. Because of China’s illegal occupation, the people of Tibet have lost the right to determine their own destiny. But forced into exile, the Dalai Lama has become a compassionate leader for the world and a source of endless inspiration to resolve the Tibet-China conflict.

In this final Tibet Talk of 2022, we’ll speak to the authors of two new books that exemplify these two sides of the Tibetan story: Warren Smith, author of “Tibet’s Fate,” and Ginger Chih, author of “The Dalai Lama: Leader for a Compassionate Humanity.”

Pre-order “Tibet’s Fate.”

Buy “The Dalai Lama: Leader for a Compassionate Humanity.”

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

In the history of Tibetans in exile, Lodi Gyari holds a special place. As the late President and Executive Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, Mr. Gyari helped build lasting support for Tibet from governments around the world. And as the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he was assigned to be the lead interlocutor in the dialogue process with the Chinese leadership to find a resolution to the Tibet-China conflict through the Middle Way Approach. Accordingly, between 2002 and 2010, he led 10 rounds of talks with Chinese representatives, including presenting the Chinese side with a written memorandum outlining the issues to be addressed concerning the Tibetan people.

Although Mr. Gyari passed away in 2018, his legacy goes on, and his book, “The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy: Memoirs of a Lifetime in Pursuit of a Reunited Tibet,” was just released by Columbia University Press. In this Tibet Talk, ICT will discuss the book with two people who knew Lodi Gyari from different perspectives: Greg Craig, the first US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, and Tenzin Tethong, the first President of ICT and a former Chairman of the Cabinet of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala.

* The book is available for purchase through all major bookstores.

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Tsering Yangzom Lama’s debut novel, “We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies,” has become an international bestseller and been longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. The book provides an intimate glimpse into the experience of Tibetan exiles, as it follows three generations of a Tibetan family over a span of 50 years, beginning in 1960, as they are forced to leave their homeland following China’s occupation of Tibet. It is a vivid human story of the refugee experience that deals with colonization, displacement and the loss of homeland in a deeply personal way.

In this Tibet Talk, we will invite Tsering Yangzom Lama to talk about her book and also engage with some of our ICT readers in discussion around the book. Send us your questions and comments to [email protected].

* The book is available for purchase through all major bookstores.

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

China’s government has illegally occupied Tibet for over 60 years. It has refused to negotiate with Tibetan leaders for more than a decade. But a new bill in Congress will pressure China’s officials to get back to the negotiating table. It’s called the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act, and it was introduced on July 13 by Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

In this Tibet Talk, we speak to ICT’s Interim President Bhuchung K. Tsering and Director of Government Relations Franz Matzner to discuss what the bill does, why it matters and what you can do to help make it law.

Learn more about the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act: https://savetibet.org/new-bill-says-tibet-conflict-unresolved-china-violating-tibetans-self-determination

Find out about China’s ongoing, illegal occupation of Tibet: www.savetibet.org/occupation

Tell your Representative to support the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act: www.savetibet.org/resolvetibet

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

For ages, Indians saw the Himalayas as a wall that protected them. But when China’s Communist army invaded Tibet over 70 years ago, an Indian diplomat said, “The Chinese have entered Tibet. The Himalayas no longer exist.” From that, Indian former Ambassador Nirupama Rao drew the title of her book, “The Fractured Himalaya: India, Tibet, China 1949-62.” The book untangles the complex early years of the India-China relationship, with the still-unresolved issue of Tibet closely woven in.

In this Tibet Talk, Rao—who served as India’s Ambassador to China, Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the United States—speaks to ICT Board Member Ellen Bork about why Indians have an “enormous emotional attachment” to Tibet, what China’s control of Tibet has meant for India’s security, and how the Indian government can push for a resumption of dialogue between Chinese and Tibetan leaders.

Learn more about “The Fractured Himalaya” »

Purchase the book »

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

“When the Iron Bird Flies: China’s Secret War in Tibet” is the second book about Tibet from independent scholar and writer Jianglin Li. In it, Jianglin takes a comprehensive look at six crucial years in modern Tibetan history (1956-62) that culminated in the Tibetan National Uprising of 1959 and the subsequent total Chinese occupation of Tibet.

In this Tibet Talk, Jianglin tells us the dark truth of what really happened during this time. She explains why “there is no such thing as the ‘peaceful liberation of Tibet.’ … Tibet was a very brutal military conquest.” And she warns that the ongoing crisis in Tibet could lead to another war in the future. Join us for this important discussion across cultures and decades.

Learn more about “When the Iron Bird Flies” »

Purchase the book »

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

On Dec. 26, the world lost Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an iconic leader of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement and a beloved friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In a moving documentary that debuted last year called, “Mission: Joy — Finding Happiness in Troubled Times,” the two spiritual brothers and Nobel Peace laureates chat, laugh and even dance together.

In this Tibet Talk, we speak to Geshe Thupten Jinpa, a Buddhist scholar and the primary English translator for His Holiness, who is one of the principal interviewees in the film. Join us for this conversation on the making of “Mission: Joy” and the continuing mission to spread joy.

Learn more about “Mission: Joy,” including how to watch the film, at www.missionjoy.org.

And buy your tickets TODAY for “Never Forget Tibet,” an amazing documentary that tells the incredible true story of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet in 1959. The film will premiere in 800 theaters across the US and Canada for one night only on March 31. Get your tickets at https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Never-Forget-Tibet

Learn more about our Tibet Talks podcast at www.savetibet.org/pod.

Watch our Tibet Talks videos at www.savetibet.org/live.

And subscribe to Tibet Talks on iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

To get involved in our efforts to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support.

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com