Press Release from Dhondup Wangchen's Family.

Posted Thu, 05/20/2010 - 16:39 by Jigme

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Detained Tibetan Filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen Transferred to Xichuan Prison; Family Calls for International Intervention for His Release.

Press Release from Dhondup Wangchen's Family.

Detained Tibetan Filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen Transferred to Xichuan Prison; Family Calls for International Intervention for His Release.

Zurich, May 19, 2010: Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen who was sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment on 28 December 2009 for "subversion of state power", has been transferred from his previous detention centre in Xining to a labor camp [1] both in Western China's Qinghai Province. Wife and family members of Dhondup Wangchen called today on Hillary Clinton who is going to China next week to press the Chinese government to release those who are arbitrarily imprisoned for political reasons.
Although Dhondup Wangchen formally appealed his 6 year sentence, it is assumed that the appeal failed and the verdict was upheld as he was transferred to Xichuan prison on April 6, 2010. Chinese lawyer Chang Boyang who travelled in February 2010 to Xining to represent Dhondup Wangchen was not allowed to meet with him and then was threatened in March with the closure of his law firm if he did not drop the case [2].
Dhondup Wangchen's wife in India, Lhamo Tso, said today, "We are absolutely desperate now. We are indebted to the brave Chinese lawyer Chang Boyang and also the previous lawyer Li Dunyong who both risked a great deal to help my husband. However, China has made it clear that it is impossible for us to work inside their legal system. Therefore I appeal to foreign governments to intervene to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Dhondup Wangchen, who did nothing more than exercise his right to freedom of expression."
According to the Washington DC based Laogai Research Foundation, Xichuan Prison manufactures aluminum alloy windows, ordinary bricks, porous and hollow bricks and sinter concrete blocks [3]. Dhondup Wangchen's cousin in Switzerland, Gyaljong Tsetrin, himself a former political prisoner said today, "It is very dangerous for Dhondup Wangchen's health to carry out hard labour in this facility. We already heard last year that he was suffering from Hepatitis B with no medical treatment. I also know several Tibetans who have been imprisoned there in the past who testify to the harsh living and working conditions. I'm extremely worried for Dhondup Wangchen".
Dhondup Wangchen was first detained on March 26, 2008, for filming interviews with ordinary Tibetans on their views on the Olympic Games, the Dalai Lama and Chinese government policies in Tibet. The interviews were made into a documentary film "Leaving Fear Behind" which has since been screened in over 30 countries worldwide.
Contact:
Gyaljong Tsetrin: +41 (0) 76 462 67 68 (Tibetan & Chinese)
Dechen Pemba: +44 (0) 77 848 23907 (English)
Tenzin Tsedoen: +41 (0)79 384 05 63 (German)
www.leavingfearbehind.com

Notes:
1. Xichuan prison is a labour camp concealed as an industrial manufacturer under the name of "Qinghai Xifa Water and Electricity Equipment Manufacture Installment Limited Liability Company". The complex of Xichuan Prison can clearly be seen here on this Google Maps image: http://tinyurl.com/xichuan-prison.
2. See Amnesty International's public statement of April 21, 2010: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/018/2010/en/5578278e-7772-...
3. The following information is given on page 37 of the Laogai Handbook 2007-2008: http://laogai.org/books
Enterprise: Qinghai Xifa Water and Electricity Equipment Manufacture Installment Limited Liability Company
Prison: Xichuan Prison
Details: Location: 108 Xichuan South Rd., Xi'ning City
Postal Code: 810029
Tel: 0971-5219370 / 5219352
Est. in Mar.1956. Orig. called Prov. No. 5 LRD. 1995 changed name to present. Houses minorities. Beside Tibetan, Uyhgur, also Miao, Bai and Yi prisoners. 40% inmates are minorities. Enterprise formerly Qinghai Hydroelectric Equipment Factory, controls Qinghai Gaoyuan switchgear plant, Qinghai Xifa, Jian'an limited co., Qinghai Xifa Gaoyuan machinery, Qinghai Xifa water and electricity, and Qinghai Xifa goods and utilities co. Companies have 560 equipment types including tertiary levels of electricity installation and LBAC construction quality. Produce 35KV high and low voltage switching cabinets and control equipment, aluminum alloy windows, ordinary bricks, porous and hollow bricks, sinter concrete blocks, etc. Annual production 140 mil. sinter blocks.

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.

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