Washington DC — Dr Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government-in-exile) spent the day rallying support for Tibet in both the House and Senate chambers. He met with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who has been one of the staunchest champions for human rights on the Hill.
President Dr Sangay expressed our deep appreciation and genuine gratefulness for the three decades of unwavering support she gave to the Tibetans and oppressed people everywhere as a member of Congress, according to the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC.
He also told her she will be dearly missed on the Hill and wished her well on her future endeavors. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen promised to stay engaged in Tibetan issues in whatever role she may assume in the future.
President Dr Sangay also engaged in a round-table conversation with 11 Senate and House staffers, which was organized by Nima Binara, Counsel of Senator Patrick Leahy.
The round-table explored a wide range of topics including, but not limited, to the United State’s policies towards China, opportunities to advance the Tibet issue through legislative means, and strategies to further strengthen political advocacy for Tibet.
Continuing his Hill advocacy, the President met with Reva Price, Leader Nancy Pelosi’s legislative aide to identify specific ways in which the House of Representatives can use its influence and reach to secure civil and political rights for Tibetans inside Tibet.
Dr Sangay who is leader of a secular, democratically elected administrative head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration thanked the Leader for her staunch commitment to support the Tibetan people and her true friendship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
President Dr Sangay met with high-level representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to thank them for the very crucial financial assistance the institute provides to Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal. President Dr Sangay also sat down for an interview with the Voice of America, which can be viewed here.
The Tibetan President has a final day in the U.S. capital where he will meet with officials from the US administration, members of both the House and Senate, and a group of think tank scholars. He will head to the Halifax International Security Forum on November 16, 2018.
China claims Tibet has been part of its territory, but Tibetans say their country is an independent nation for centuries. Then the Communist regime began their invasion of Tibet in 1949, reaching complete occupation of the country in 1959. Since that time, more than 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation's population of six million, have died as a direct result of China's invasion and occupation.
In addition, over 99% of Tibet's six thousand religious monasteries, temples, and shrines, have been looted or decimated resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures. Then the Chinese government imposed undeclared martial law in occupied Tibet while continuing its policies of political repression, cultural assimilation, economic marginalization, and environmental destruction.
