Tibetan Government-in-Exile
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The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ) is the government-in-exile of
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
, based in Dharamshala, India. It comprises a judiciary branch, a
legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...
, and an executive branch, and offers support and services to the Tibetan exile community. The
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
formally rescinded the 1951 17 Point Agreement with China in early March 1959, as he was escaping Tibet for India. On 29 April 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama in exile re-established the Kashag, which was abolished a month earlier by the
Government of the People's Republic of China The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
on 28 March 1959. He later became permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and the executive functions for Tibetans-in-exile. On 11 February 1991, Tibet became a founding member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) at a ceremony held at the Peace Palace in
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, Netherlands. After the Dalai Lama decided no longer to assume administrative authority, the Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated in May 2011 to repeal all articles relating to his political duties. The Tibetan diaspora and
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s support the Central Tibetan Administration by voting for members of its parliament, the Sikyong, and by making annual financial contributions through the use of the Green Book. The Central Tibetan Administration also receives international support from other organizations and individuals. The Central Tibetan Administration authors reports, press releases, and administers a network of schools and other cultural activities for Tibetans in India.


Position on Status of Tibet

In 1963, the
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
promulgated the Constitution of Tibet, and he became permanent
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of Tibet. In 1974, the 14th Dalai Lama rejected calls for Tibetan independence, and he became permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and the executive functions for Tibetans-in-exile in 1991. In 2005, the 14th Dalai Lama emphasized that Tibet is a part of China, and Tibetan culture and Buddhism are part of Chinese culture. In March 2011, at 71 years of age, he decided not to assume any political and administrative authority, the Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated immediately in May 2011, and all articles related to regents were also repealed. In 2017, the 14th Dalai Lama restated that Tibet does not seek independence from China but seeks development.


Funding

The funding of the Central Tibetan Administration comes mostly from private donations collected with the help of organisations like the Tibet Fund, revenue from the Green Book (the "Tibetan in exile passport") and aid from governments like India and the US. The annual revenue of the Central Tibetan Administration is officially 22 million (measured in US dollars), with the biggest shares going to political activity ($7 million), and administration ($4.5 million). However, according to Michael Backman, these sums are "remarkably low" for what the organisation claims to do, and it probably receives millions more in donations. The CTA does not acknowledge such donations or their sources. According to a Chinese source, between 1964 and 1968, the U.S. provided 1.735 million dollars to the Dalai Lama's group each year. In October 1998, The Dalai Lama's administration stated that it had received US$1.7 million a year during the 1960s from the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. In 2002, the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 was passed in the U.S. In 2016, the
United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...
(USAID) awarded a grant of US$23 million to CTA. In 2017, U.S. president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
proposed to stop aid to the CTA in 2018. Trump's proposal was criticised heavily by members of the Democratic Party like Nancy Pelosi, and co-chair of the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Jim McGovern. In February 2020, at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Pelosi prayed as Trump attended; "Let us pray for the Panchen Lama and all the Tibetan Buddhists in prison in China or missing for following their faith".


Headquarters

The Central Tibetan Administration is headquartered in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, India. The CTA attends to the welfare of the Tibetan exile community in India, who number around 100,000. It runs schools, health services, cultural activities and economic development projects for the Tibetan community. As of 2003, more than 1,000 refugees still arrive each year from China, usually via
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
.


Green Book

Tibetans living outside Tibet can apply at a Central Tibetan Administration office in their country of residence for a personal document called the '' Green Book'', which serves as a receipt book for the person's "voluntary contributions" to the CTA and the evidence of their claims for "Tibetan citizenship". For this purpose, CTA defines a Tibetan as "any person born in Tibet, or any person with one parent who was born in Tibet." As Tibetan refugees often lack documents attesting to their place of birth, the eligibility is usually established by an interview.


Blue Book

The Blue Book or Tibetan Solidarity Partnership is a project by Central Tibetan Administration, in which the CTA issues any supporter of Tibet who is of age 18 years or more a Blue Book. This initiative enables supporters of Tibet worldwide to make financial contributions to help the administration in supporting educational, cultural, developmental and humanitarian activities related to Tibetan children and refugees. The book is issued at various CTA offices worldwide.


Internal structure

The Central Tibetan Administration currently operates under the "Charter of the Tibetans In-Exile", adopted in 1991, amended in 2011. Executive authority is vested in the Sikyong, an office formerly held by Lobsang Sangay, who was elected in 2011. The Sikyong is supported by a cabinet of Kalons responsible for specific portfolios. Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration. The Central Tibetan Administration's Department of Finance is made of seven departments and several special offices. Until 2003, it operated 24 businesses, including publishing, hotels, and
handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...
s distribution companies. On 29 April 1959, the Dalai Lama re-established the Kashag. In 1963, he promulgated Constitution of Tibet, and he became permanent
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of Tibet. In 1974, he rejected calls for Tibetan independence, and he became permanent head of the Tibetan Administration and the executive functions for Tibetans-in-exile in 1991. On 10 March 2011, at 71 years of age, he decided not to assume any political and administrative authority, the Charter of Tibetans in Exile was updated immediately in May 2011, and all articles related to regents were also repealed, and position Sikyong was created.


Kashag

Notable past members of the Cabinet include Gyalo Thondup, the Dalai Lama's eldest brother, who served as Chairman of the Cabinet and as Kalon of Security, and Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama's younger sister, who served variously as Kalon of Health and of Education. Lobsang Nyandak Zayul who served as a representative of the 14th Dalai Lama in the Americas and a multiple cabinet member. He currently serves as president of The Tibet Fund. * Penpa Tsering – Sikyong * Ven Karma Gelek Yuthok – Kalon of Religion & Culture * Sonam Topgyal Khorlatsang – Kalon of Home * Karma Yeshi – Kalon of Finance * Dr. Pema Yangchen – Kalon of Education * Phagpa Tsering Labrang – Kalon of Security * Lobsang Sangay – Kalon of Information & International Relations * Choekyong Wangchuk – Kalon of Health


Settlements

The Central Tibetan Administration, together with the Indian government, has constructed more than 45 "settlements" in India for Tibetan refugees as of 2020. The establishment of the Tibetan Re-settlement and Rehabilitation (TRR) settlements began in 1966, with the TRR settlements in South India,
Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...
, and
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
becoming officially "protected areas" and requiring special entry permits for entry.


Media activities

A 1978 study by Melvyn Goldstein and a 1983 study by Lynn Pulman on Tibetan communities-in-exile in southern India argue that the CTA adopted a stance of preserving an "idea of return" and fostering the development of an intense feeling of Tibetan cultural and political nationalism among Tibetans" in order to remain a necessary part of the communities. They state that this was accomplished through the creation of the Tibetan Uprising Day holiday, a Tibetan National Anthem, and the CTA control over local Tibetan-language media that promotes the idea of Chinese endeavours to "eradicate the Tibetan race". From the 1990s onwards, the CTA used Hollywood films in addition to local media to emphasise the Tibetan exile struggle, secure the loyalty of Tibetans both in exile and in Tibet, promote Tibetan nationalism, and foster the CTA's legitimacy to act in the name of the entire Tibetan nation.


Foreign relations

The Central Tibetan Authority is not recognised as a sovereign government by any country, but it receives financial aid from governments and international organisations for its welfare work among the Tibetan exile community in India.


United States

In 1991, United States President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
signed a Congressional Act that explicitly called Tibet "an occupied country", and identified the Dalai Lama and his administration as "Tibet's true representatives". In October 1998 the Dalai Lama's administration issued a statement acknowledging the Dalai Lama Group received US$1.7 million a year during the 1960s from the U.S. government through the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
, used to train volunteers, run guerrilla operations against the Chinese, and used to open offices and for international lobbying. A guerrilla force was reportedly trained at Camp Hale in Colorado. During his administration, United States President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
supported Middle Way Policy of the Central Tibetan Administration and met with the Dalai Lama four times, including at the 2015 annual National Prayer Breakfast. In 2021, the Biden Administration pledged its support for the CTA, to which a representative expressed gratitude.


See also

* 2021 Central Tibetan Administration general election * Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission – defunct body in the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. * Mainland Affairs Council * Ganden Phodrang * Inner Mongolian People's Party * Chushi Gangdruk * Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration * Simla Treaty


Footnotes


References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links


Central Tibetan Administration

Tibet Society
{{Authority control Politics of Tibet Tibet Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China Political organisations based in India
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
Dharamshala 1959 establishments in Himachal Pradesh Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Chinese anti-communists Tibet freedom activists Governments in exile 2021 Central Tibetan Administration general election India–Tibet relations Freedom of expression organizations Civil rights organizations Civil liberties advocacy groups Human rights Human Rights Watch