Google and Tibet

Posted Thu, 02/05/2009 - 14:05 by ITSN Executive ...

You will have noticed that our website is using Google Maps to show all our member organisations around the world. Until recently, we had some concerns about Google (indeed about all the major internet search engines) so we thought about using Google maps long and hard, but the benefits - to you, to able to easily locate a Tibet Group, and to us, to be able to show the size and geographical spread of our member organisations - seemed to justify the decision.

On 22 March 2010 we were delighted to learn that - in a principled step - Google had closed its censored Chinese search engine, google.cn. Network Members wrote to Google to express our appreciation, however we remain unhappy that Tibet does not appear on its maps and Google Earth. A copy of the Network's letter to Google is below:

24 March 2010

Dear Mr Brin,

We are writing on behalf of the International Tibet Support Network to express our appreciation for your efforts to run an uncensored search engine on Google.cn and to applaud your decision to close Google.cn and redirect to Google.com.hk.

The International Tibet Support Network is a global coalition of 169 Tibet-related organisations, who work collaboratively on strategic campaigns dedicated to ending human rights violations in Tibet and to restoring the Tibetan people's right under international law to determine their own political, economic, social, religious, and cultural status.

You are no doubt aware that Chinese-ruled Tibet (encompassing the Tibetan provinces of Kham, Amdo and U'Tsang, now included in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan autonomous areas in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan) is one of the most restricted internet environments anywhere in the world. Controls on service providers and varied means of surveillance make it extremely dangerous for Tibetans to exercise the most basic freedom of expression by using the internet to communicate information about the serious human rights situation in Tibet.

Three recent examples of Tibetans sentenced to prison terms for "offences" that include the use of the internet are: Norzin Wangmo: A Tibetan cadre (Communist Party member), was convicted and sentenced on 3 November 2008 to five years in prison for passing news through the phone and internet about the situation in Tibet. Norzin Wangmo, who is also described by a Tibetan friend as ‘Walza’, meaning ‘courageous’, underwent torture following her detention in April 2008.

Gonpo Tserang: a well-respected expedition guide with considerable experience of leading foreign celebrities on treks in Tibet and for participating in high profile mountain rescue efforts. In October 2008 he was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of “inciting separatism”, for sending information by text during the 14 March 2008 protests in Lhasa. The Dui Hua Foundation obtained documentation about the indictment and verdict, which read that the “defendant Gonpo Tsering used the internet and a mobile telephone to send inflammatory emails and messages that distorted the facts and true situation regarding social stability in the Tibetan area following the “March 14 incident”.

Kunchok Tsephel, an official in a Chinese government environmental department and founder of the influential Tibetan literary website, Chodme ('Butter-Lamp,' www.tibetcm.com), was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2009 on charges believed to relate to content on his website, which aims to protect Tibetan culture, and to passing on information about protests in Tibet in 2008.

The Chinese authorities are stepping up efforts to criminalise information-sharing, and to pursue charges of "subversion" for online, email or phone discussions with the outside world about the situation in Tibet. In December 2008 Tibet Daily reported that Beijing had set up a new task force within the Public Security Bureau, specifically targeting the "fabrication and spreading of rumors". According to one of our member organizations, the International Campaign for Tibet, this initiative has led to numerous detentions, and can result in longer prison sentences for Tibetans who receive and impart information and opinions, than for some Tibetans who actually take part in public demonstrations.

The members of the International Tibet Support Network firmly believe that internet freedom in China has the potential to transform the situation for Tibetans and Chinese people. It would allow Tibetans in Tibet to learn about the global support that their non-violent struggle has attracted, about the efforts of their exiled leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to secure a negotiated settlement to China's occupation of Tibet and about other freedom struggles. In addition, internet freedom would allow Chinese people to learn about the true nature of the Tibetan struggle and read other perspectives on Tibet's history and current situation.

We fully support your desire to make an unfiltered search engine available to users in China, even if China's government blocks some of the sites that a search reveals. We believe that making these links available - or even merely visible - will generate healthy debate among educated Chinese internet users about why their government chooses to prevent certain information being made available, and why the free flow of information is perceived as a threat.

We would very much like to engage in future discussions with you and your colleagues on how we can assist in promoting internet freedom in China and Tibet.

Yours sincerely,

Dennis Cusack, Co Chair on behalf of 169 Members of the International Tibet Support Network

North America:
Association Cognizance Tibet, North Carolina
Bay Area Friends of Tibet
Boston Tibet Network
Canada Tibet Committee
Colorado Friends of Tibet Committee of 100 for Tibet
Dhokam Chushi Gangdruk
International Campaign for Tibet
International Tibet Independence Movement
Los Angeles Friends of Tibet
Monadnock Friends of Tibet
Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association
San Diego Friends of Tibet
Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
Seattle Friends of Tibet
Sierra Friends of Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet – Canada
The Tibetan Alliance of Chicago
The World Tibet Day Foundation
Tibet Committee of Fairbanks
Tibet Justice Center
Tibetan Association of Ithaca
Tibetan Association of Northern California
Tibetan Association of Santa Fe
Tibetan Association of South California
Tibetan Cultural Association - Quebec
TIBETmichigan
Toronto Tibet Youth Congress
U.S. Tibet Committee
Western Colorado Friends of Tibet
Wisconsin Tibetan Association
Tibetan Association of Philadephia

Central & South America:
Amigos del Tibet, El Salvador
Asociacion Cultural Peruano Tibetana
Casa Tibet Mexico
Grupo De Apoyo a Tibet Chile
Grupo Pro-Cultura Tibetana, Chile
Centro De Cultura Tibetana
Le Club Francais
Pensando En Tibet - Mexico

Asia:
Bharrat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, India
Circle of Friends (Philippines)
Core Group for Tibetan Cause,
India Foundation for Universal Responsibility of H. H. the Dalai Lama
Friedrich-Naumann Foundation
Gannasamannay
Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet
Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet
India Tibet Friendship Society
Lung-ta Project
Mahatma Gandhi Tibet Freedom Movement
National Campaign for Tibetan Support,
India National Democratic Party of Tibet
Raise Tibetan Flag Campaign
Roof of the World Foundation, Indonesia
Students for a Free Tibet - India
Students for a Free Tibet - Japan
Students for a Free Tibet - Bangladesh
Taiwan Friends of Tibet
Taiwan Tibet Exchange Foundation
The Youth Liberation Front of Tibet, Mongolia and Turkestan
Tibet Lives,
India Tibet Solidarity Forum,
Bangladesh Tibet Support Group Kiku, Japan
Tibet Support Network Japan
Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre
Tibetan Rights and Freedom Committee (TRFRC)
Tibetan Women's Association (Central)
Tibetan Youth Congress

Australasia:
Australia Tibet Council
Friends of Tibet New Zealand
Students for a Free Tibet - New Zealand
Tibetan Community of Australia (Victoria)
Tibet Action Group of Western Australia
Tibetan Women Association and Friends Australia

Africa & the Middle East:
Friends of Tibet - Isamailia (Egypt)
Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People
South African Friends of Tibet
Tibet Support Group Kenya

Western Europe:
Aide aux Refugies Tibetains
Association Dorje
Association Drôme Ardèche-Tibet
Association Rangzen
Association of Tibetans in Germany
Association Rencontres Tibetaines - C.S.P.T. Midi-Pyrenees
Associazione Italia-Tibet
Austrian Committee for Tibet
Autodetermination Tibet 09/31
Briancon05 Urgence Tibet
Caisse d'Aide aux Prisonniers Tibetains
Casa del Tibet - Spain
Comite de Apoyo al Tibet (Madrid)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain - Bretagne
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Les Lilas)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Switzerland)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain de l'Herault
Eco-Tibet France
EcoTibet Ireland
France-Tibet
Free Tibet
Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin, France
Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete, Portugal
International Campaign for Tibet Deutschland
International Campaign for Tibet Europe
International Society of Human Rights, Munich Chapter
Jamtse Thundel Association
La Porte du Tibet, Geneva
Les Amis du Tibet - Belgium
Les Amis du Tibet Luxembourg
Lions Des Neiges
Lions Des Neiges Mont Blanc, France
Maison des Himalayas
Maison du Tibet - Tibet Info (Associate Member)
Nos Amis de l'Himalaya
Nice Tibet, France
Objectif Tibet
Passeport Tibetain
Reseau International des Femmes pour le Tibet
Save Tibet, Austria
Society for Threatened Peoples International (Associate Member)
Solidarite Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet - France
Students for a Free Tibet - UK
Tibet 59 / 62
Tibet Democratie
Tibet Initiative Deutschland
Tibet Libertes, France
Tibet Society, U.K.
Tibet Support Group - Ireland
Tibet Support Group - Netherlands
Tibet Unterstutzung Liechtenstein
Tibetan Community Austria
Tibetan Community in Britain
Tibetan Community in Ireland
Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
Tibetan Youth UK
Tibetisches Zentrum Hamburg
TSG Free Tibet And You
Tsowa-Maintenir la Vie, France
Urgence Tibet
Vrienden Van Tibet
ISCOS-CISL (Associate Member)

Northern Europe
Association of Free Tibet, Denmark
Friends of Tibet in Finland
Swedish Tibet Committee
The Norwegian Tibet Committee
Tibet Support Committee Denmark
Tibetan Community in Denmark
Tibetan Community Sweden

Central & Eastern Europe:
Friends of Tibet Society St. Petersburg,
Russia TSG - Slovenia (Formally Foundation Dharmaling)
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights - Tibet Desk (Associate member)
International Youth Human Rights Group - Human Rights in Tibet
Lithuanian Tibet Culture Foundation
Polish Movement for a Free Tibet
Society for Croatia-Tibet Friendship
Students for a Free Tibet, Poland
The Foundation for Civil Society, Russia (Associate Member)
Tibet cesky (Tibet in Czech)
Tibet Support Association - Hungary
Tibet Support Group - Krasnodar Region, Russia
Tibet Support Group - Romania
Tibet Support Group - Sochi Region, Russia
Tibetan Programme of The Other Space Foundation
Union Latvija Tibetai (Latvia for Tibet )
Zida Cels, Latvia

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Facts about Tibet

Tibet lies at the centre of Asia, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometres (approximately 1 million square miles).

Despite over 50 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated by China.

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and biggest plateau in the world, so Tibet is referred to as “the roof of the world”.

For Tibetans, the term Tibet means the 3 provinces of U'Tsang, Kham and Amdo, the area traditionally known as Tibet before China's invasion.

The English word Tibet is derived from the Arabic word Tubbat. This word is in turn derived via Persian from the Turkic word Tobad, meaning ‘the heights’.

Tibet was occupied by China in 1949, and the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959.

Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese occupation since 1949.

There are six million Tibetans in Tibet and roughly 150,000 Tibetans in exile in India and other countries.

Tibetans consider the Dalai Lama to be the temporal as well as spiritual leader of Tibet.

Thousands of Tibetans cross the mighty Himalaya on foot every year into exile, risking death, injuries and arrest.

Most Tibetans are Buddhist, but there are Muslims, Christians and practitioners of Bon, the indigenous religion of Tibet.

In 1948 Tibetan government representatives traveled to the US, UK and France on Tibetan government issued passports.

The exiled Tibetan people elected their first Prime Minister in 2000

In 2008, Tibetans took part in more than 130 separate peaceful protests against the Chinese government across the Tibetan Plateau.

Displaying a photograph of the Dalai Lama in Tibet can result in arrest.

In 1995 the Chinese government abducted the 6 year old Panchen Lama, one of Tibet's most important spiritual leaders. He is still missing.

The longest epic poem in the world is the story of a legendary Tibetan king, Gesar of Ling.

The Tibetan Plateau is the Earth's "Third Pole," providing life-sustaining waters for and regulating weather across south and east Asia.

March 10 is Tibetan National Uprising day. It marks the massive uprising in Tibet in 1959 that led to the escape of the Dalai Lama into exile.

Yak is a Tibetan term for the male of the species. Its female counterpart is called Dri.

Tibetans are denied many of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to self- determination, freedom of speech and religion.

Untll 1949 Tibet had its own government that managed its own domestic and foreign affairs; Tibet had its own national flag and its own currency.

According to Amnesty International more than 1,000 Tibetans were unaccounted for after the protests of 2008.

In the Tibetan Lunar Calendar, the year 2009 corresponds to the year 2136, the Year of the Earth Ox.

Prior to the uprisings of 2008, the last major protests by Tibetans against China's occupation of Tibet took place in 1989, when martial law was declared.