Washington DC –“The Biden Administration is committed to preserving, protecting, and honouring this linguistic and cultural heritage, your traditions continue to symbolize love, compassion, justice, forgiveness, tolerance, and peace,” said Secretary of state Antony Blinken while greeting Tibetan new year(losar) on February 12, 2021.
The US Department of State held a virtual celebration on February 13, 2021on the occasion of Losar, which was attended by Representative Ngodup Tsering and moderated by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) A/PDAS Scott Busby.
Special attendees included the Department’s Acting Deputy Secretary Dan Smith, Senior Official Lisa Peterson, DRL Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Kara McDonald, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) A A/S Sung Kim, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) A A/AS Dean Thompson, SCA DAS Laura Stone, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) SBO Nancy Izzo Jackson, PRM A/PDAS Richard Albright, Chairman of International Campaign for Tibet Richard Gere, ICT Board Member Gare Smith, Gere Foundation Executive Director Mollie Rodriguez, and Interim ICT President Bhuchung Tsering, Lieutenant Commander Tenzin Jangchup, Tsering Bawa, TsejinKhando, and Tenzin Kunsel.
“The Biden Administration is committed to preserving, protecting, and honouring this linguistic and cultural heritage…your traditions continue to symbolize love, compassion, justice, forgiveness, tolerance, and peace,” said Secretary of state Antony Bliken in his pre-recorded greetings for Losar, while mentioning the new administration’s complete and unfettered support for the Tibetans.
Subsequent to broadcasting a video showcasing Tibetan-Americans, Representative Tsering gave a speech thanking the US Government for their enduring support for the Tibetan people, through special events like these and highlighted the many recent achievements with the US-Tibet policy, such as the passage of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020. On a gloomy note, Representative Tsering expressed huge concerns on the ongoing repression of Tibetans by the Chinese Communist Party. “The people of Xinjiang, Hongkong, and Southern Mongolia have joined the pack of victims. CCP also threatens India and Taiwan clearly proving that it is a threat to world freedom and democracy,” he expressed.
In the end, Representative Tsering congratulated the Tibetan-Americans who took upon the responsibility on themselves during the pandemic by serving as essential workers, helping community members with food deliveries and face mask production and donating to COVID-19 related NGOs. The speech concluded with a prayer for His Holiness’ the Dalai Lama’s long life and for America.
Source: CTA
