The 2010-2011 TANC Board members assumed office on September 2, 2010. The new board members and their titles are:

President – Kaydor Aukatsang
Vice President (and Membership) – Tenzin Palzom
General Secretary Tenzin Tsedup
Treasurer -Tenzin Bhuti
Green Book – Tsering Dekyi
Cultural Coordinator – Sangay Tashi
Event Coordinators: Golok Tashi, Tsering Tamding, Tenzin Choedon
Tibetan School Coordinator: Phurbu la
Media Coordinator: Tsetan Tashi
Health Coordinator: Kalsang Norbu

Everyone please welcome the new leadership and give them your support and contribution!

Venue: First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St. Oakland, CA 94612

Guest Speaker: Dr. Tenzin Namdul (CHOICE founder)

Entrance/Donation: $20 (Includes delicious Tibetan/Indian meal)

Purchase tickets/raffles in advance! Contact us: tanc-hppc@googlegroups.com or call (415) 297-4650

All proceeds will go towards CHOICE Initiative in implementing comprehensive HIV programs in refugee communities in India and TANC Health Promotion program

If you are attending an Adult school to obtain a high school or GED diploma; TANC encourages you to apply for the scholarship. TANC will award upto five awards of $500 each.

Please note that along with the application form you need to submit the following documents:

1    A letter of enrollment if you are enrolling an Adult school for the first time or have been attending for less than six months.
OR
A letter of recommendation from your teacher if you have been attending an Adult school for GED or high school diploma for six months or more.

2     Tibetan Green Book paid up to date (attach photocopy)

3. Tibetan Green Book paid up to date for Parents. If married, for Spouse (attach photocopy)

4.  A proof of TANC membership with dues paid up to the current year (attach photocopy)

The deadline for submitting applications for the GED/Adult School scholarships has now been extended to Wednesday, August 25, 2010.

Please note the above extension is only for applicants applying for the GED/Adult School scholarships. TANC is no longer accepting applications for any other scholarships.

If you have any questions, please email scholarship[at]tanc.org

Download:
Application Form

By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: August 11, 2010
New York Times

BEIJING — If Tragyal was surprised when the police showed up at his office in April, he did not show it, his co-workers say. If anything, he wondered what had taken them so long.

It turns out that the public security bureau in the western province of Qinghai simply needed a full month to translate his Tibetan prose into Chinese.

That night, as officers searched his home, carting away computers, handwritten notes and copies of the offending book, Mr. Tragyal, who like many Tibetans uses one name, stood by silently. “He was perfectly serene in front of the policemen, and this somehow calmed my fears,” his wife wrote in an e-mail.

His trial is expected to begin this month in the provincial capital, Xining. His book “The Line Between Sky and Earth” will undoubtedly be the main evidence. An employee of a state-run publishing house whose earlier books called on Tibetans to slough off their superstitious ways, Mr. Tragyal, 47, faces the charge of “splittism,” one of the gravest crimes under Chinese law. If recent history is any guide, the trial will be brief and the penalty severe.

The book, published illegally in March, is a poetic, painstakingly written indictment of Chinese rule and a call for a “peaceful revolution” against what Mr. Tragyal describes as Beijing’s heavy-handed governing style.

Such strictures have tightened since spring 2008, many Tibetans say, when a deadly burst of rioting in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, elicited a government response that has sent hundreds of monks, nomads, students and shopkeepers to jail — and several of those accused of rioting to their deaths. But unlike previous crackdowns on dissent in Tibet and adjoining provinces, the current campaign has deeply unnerved those Tibetans — educated, middle-class and bilingual — who always kept their heads down.

Robert J. Barnett, director of the modern Tibetan studies program at Columbia, said two years of detentions, secret trials and torture accusations had prompted soul-searching and quiet resistance. Elderly Tibetan cadres have published memoirs on long-forgotten massacres by Communist troops. Middle-age functionaries have openly voiced qualms about their role in China’s bureaucracy. Online, the young and the radicalized post provocative anti-Chinese comments. “People are no longer hiding behind the tradition of self-censorship that comes from fear,” Mr. Barnett said. “What we’re seeing is a new kind of intellectual heroism.”

That shift can be seen in the public transformation of Mr. Tragyal, better known by his pen name, Shogdung. The founder of the New School of Thought, he ran an informal salon in Xining where other young iconoclasts shared the writings of philosophers like Friedrich von Hayek or denounced the Tibetan belief in reincarnation.

“Some people misunderstood him, saying he opposed Buddhism,” said Phagmo Tashi, a friend and a filmmaker. “The truth is, he only opposed certain aspects of religion that violate universal values like freedom and dignity.”

If Mr. Tragyal was once maligned for sentiments that some deemed anti-Buddhist, or for printing his essays in state-run newspapers, he has become something of a hero since publishing “The Line Between Sky and Earth.” Its print run of 1,000 copies — and the thousands of pirated versions that followed — quickly sold out in Qinghai and beyond.

In the book, he apologizes for his previous writings and his failure to speak out after the Lhasa riots, saying, “I kept a disciplined silence and stayed passive like a coward, ultimately out of fear.”

What changed him, he said, was the sight of so many monks marching in the streets and the stories about harsh punishments for the protesters. He was also moved by passive resisters like Runggye Adak, a nomad whose videotaped paean to the Dalai Lama earned him an eight-year prison term.

“I got to thinking that there could be no worse suffering than this, even if someone were to murder your own father, because every time my thoughts turned to the methods of torture used by the dictators, my hair stood on end, I got goose bumps and my heart leapt out of my throat,” he wrote.

But perhaps the most audacious sections of his book call on the Tibetan intelligentsia and state workers to stop cooperating with the Beijing government and to wage a campaign of civil disobedience. Though Mr. Tragyal was careful not to advocate Tibetan independence, it is unlikely that the authorities would recognize such a distinction.

“I’ve read the book again and again, but I don’t see anything that breaks the law,” said his daughter, Yeshi Tsomo, 25, an editor at a state-owned Tibetan-language publisher. “I fear the government won’t care because they probably don’t like the idea behind the book.”

In recent months, a number of prominent Tibetans have been given long prison sentences based on what defense lawyers contend was flimsy evidence or forced confessions.

The highest-profile case involved Karma Samdrup, an antiques dealer and philanthropist who was tried on 12-year-old charges of selling stolen relics. His real offense, family members say, was seeking the freedom of his two brothers, who were detained after accusing a local police chief of hunting endangered animals in a nature preserve.

In June, Mr. Samdrup was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In a sign of the legal system’s capriciousness, his lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, said he had not learned until Aug. 2 that Mr. Samdrup’s appeal had been turned down a month before — the day after it was filed. More worrisome, Mr. Samdrup’s wife said, is that he has essentially disappeared, with both the detention center and the court claiming they have no idea where he is.

“How is it that such a good man can be made to suffer so much?” his wife, Zhenga Cuomao, asked in an interview.

It is the sort of question that Mr. Tragyal poses again and again in his book. He asks why Tibetan society is suffused with fear and why China ignores the human rights conventions it has signed.

At the end of the book, he acknowledges that his very words will lead to his own perdition. “I am naturally terrified at the thought that once this essay has been made public, I will eventually have to endure the hot hells and cold hells on earth,” he writes. “I may ‘lose my head because of my mouth,’ but this is the path I have chosen, so the responsibility is mine.”

Tibetan businessman gets life in prison
By CARA ANNA (AP) – 8/12/2010

BEIJING — One of Tibet’s richest businessmen has been sentenced to life in prison for helping Tibetan exile groups, a human rights organization said Thursday.

Dorje Tashi was sentenced on June 26 in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, said Urgen Tenzin, director of the India-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

Dorje Tashi, believed to be in his mid-30s, is the operator of the Yak Hotel, the most famous hotel in Lhasa.

China has not reported the sentence, which comes amid increased repression of Tibetan intellectuals after rioting in Lhasa in 2008 in which at least 22 people died.

A duty officer at the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court, reached by phone Thursday, said staff were out on holiday.

The general manager of the Yak Hotel, Wang Jiu, confirmed that Dorje Tashi was sentenced but would not comment further.

The recent crackdown has surprised Tibetan supporters because it includes high-profile Tibetans who were known for working within the system instead of opposing it. Dorje Tashi joined the ruling Communist Party in 2003, the state-run China Ethnic Press reported in March 2009.

“People who work within the system in China and Tibet, it would make no sense for them to risk everything to get involved in politics,” said Robbie Barnett, a Tibet scholar at Columbia University.

“Tibetans like him, they are the super elite,” Barnett said. “The severity of the sentence and the exceptional importance of the prisoner are unprecedented.”

According to a Lhasa-based website, Tibet Commercial Web, Dorje Tashi has been a delegate to the national Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the government, and was named one of “10 outstanding youth of Tibet.”

With no word from the Chinese government, the exact charge against Dorje Tashi was not known. “He was charged with funding some outside Tibetan groups,” Urgen Tenzin said.

He said he didn’t know Dorje Tashi personally. “Before, we had no contact with him. He’s just a businessman.”

It was not clear if Dorje Tashi, who was detained in 2008, has a lawyer, and his family could not be reached Thursday.

In another high-profile case in June, a Tibetan environmentalist, Karma Samdrup, once praised by the government as a model philanthropist, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of grave robbing and dealing in looted antiquities. His supporters said he was actually being punished for his activism.

In May, the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet published a report saying 31 Tibetans are now in prison “after reporting or expressing views, writing poetry or prose, or simply sharing information about Chinese government policies and their impact in Tibet today.”

The report said it was the first time since the end of China’s chaotic Cultural Revolution in 1976 that there has been such a targeted campaign against Tibetan singers, artists and writers who peacefully express their views.

Associated Press Writer Isolda Morillo contributed to this report.

TIBETAN MEMORIAL QUILT EXHIBIT OPENING IS A HUGE SUCCESS

Over 500 people viewed the Tibetan Memorial Quilt exhibit on its opening night on Friday, August 7, 2010 in down town Oakland. The exhibit opened at the Rock, Paper, Scissors Collective gallery, which is a part of a cluster of modern art galleries on 23^rd Street and Telegraph in Oakland. On every first Friday night of each month the galleries host new exhibits as part of a festival called ART MURMUR that attracts several thousand viewers to the various galleries and street artists. Last night was no exception. Visitors began trickling in two hours prior to the opening shows and grew to an endless stream of viewers curious to see the Tibetan memorial quilts. The three-hour opening night exhibit was tearing-at-the-seams with people!

The vibrant colors of the quilts, the hand stitched panels for Tibet’s late s/heros and the beautiful way they were assembled drew people into the exhibit. Most of the visitors of ART MURMUR and the exhibits were young to middle-age adults of all social and cultural backgrounds. Many were clearly interested in community-based art as a form of social change. Many of the viewers coming into RPS Collective to view the Tibetan memorial quilts had had little if any exposure to the issue of Tibet. Many of them were visibly moved by the quilts. Some asked why so many young people had died in Tibet and what the situation in Tibet is like that is leading to so many deaths. Many commented on how powerful these hand made quilts are and signed up to join the Friends of TANC mailing list to learn more about TANC and the quilt project.

To say the least, last night’s opening of the Tibetan memorial quilts reached an audience that was largely new to Tibet and TANC, which is precisely one of the purposes of the project. For those of us from TANC who attended the opening night, the vision of the Tibetan memorial quilts raising curiosity and awareness about Tibet among an entirely new crowd of potential supporters became a reality. Moreover, many 100s of people admired and applauded the hard and handy work done on the quilts. We wished you were there particularly those of you who contributed actively by sewing the panels and assembling the quilts.

A big ‘thank you’ for the quilts goes to the Bay Area Tibetan community members who had a hand (literally) in making of the 16 quilts completed so far.  Special ‘thank you’ to the members of the TMQP committee members, particularly Lindsay Kelly who introduced TANC to RPS Collective and secured this wonderful venue for the exhibit. Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to RPS Collective team of volunteers, particularly Jen Zoom, who dared to host the quilts and in doing so, helped TANC spark interest in Tibet among a whole new host of people.

This exhibit is the first time RPS Collective has hosted a Tibet-related show.  The atmosphere last night was eclectic, exciting and engaging!

SPECIAL CRAFT NIGHT (group sewing) – THURSDAY August 12, 6:00 pm

EXHIBITION OPEN TILL AUGUST 27, 2010

WHERE: 2278 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA 94612 Tel: 510.238.9171

Daily Hours: 12 – 7pm, Wednesday – Sunday.

CLOSED: Monday and Tuesday.

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS Collective is a volunteer-run organization that fosters creativity and collaboration in order to strengthen local communities and encourage sustainable practices and alternative models. RPS Collective promotes the sharing of ideas, skills, and resources through the celebration of art, craft, education, and performance.

Website:http://rpscollective.com/

photo credits: www.yowangdu.com

Click here for more images.

Tibetan Memorial Quilts at Rock! Paper! Scissors!

Join the Tibetan Association of Northern California for a MONTH-LONG exhibition of colorful quilts from the Tibetan Memorial Quilt Project at Rock! Paper! Scissors! Gallery in Oakland.

OPENING NIGHT  – FRIDAY August 6, 6-9 pm

SPECIAL CRAFT NIGHT (group sewing) – THURSDAY August 12, 6:00 pm

EXHIBITION OPEN TILL AUGUST 27, 2010

WHERE: 2278 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA 94612 Tel: 510.238.9171

Daily Hours: 12 – 7pm, Wednesday – Sunday.

CLOSED: Monday and Tuesday.

The intention of the Tibetan Memorial Quilt Project (TMQP), initiated by TANC, is to raise awareness about human rights. TANC initiated this quilt project to memorialize Tibetans who have died in the struggle for justice and human rights in Tibet. Many of these Tibetan s/heros were also monks and nuns persecuted for their belief in Tibetan Buddhism and their uncompromising loyalty to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The quilts are made by Tibetans in the Bay Area. Like the AIDS Quilt Project, this series of quilts juxtaposes human pain and suffering with the warmth and comfort of quilted fabric.

This project was launched on April 25, 2009 in the presence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who was presented with the first quilt for his blessing.

ORGANIZERS:

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS Collective is a volunteer-run organization that fosters creativity and collaboration in order to strengthen local communities and encourage sustainable practices and alternative models. RPS Collective promotes the sharing of ideas, skills, and resources through the celebration of art, craft, education, and performance.

The August exhibition is the first time RPS Collective has hosted an exhibition related to Tibet.

This is RPS Collective’s first collaboration with TANC.  Click here for more information.

Office Address:
2278 Telegraph Ave.,
Oakland, CA 94612
510.238.9171
info@rpscollective.com

The Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC), was founded on July 6, 1990. The mission of TANC is to preserve the Tibetan culture and to promote  self-rule in Tibet. To this end, TANC seeks to raise awareness about Tibet in the United States and to support the development of Tibetan social, cultural and artistic traditions in Northern California.

Office Address:
Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC)
228 Fulton Street. Suite 312

Berkeley, CA 94704

Tel: (510) 666-1355
contact@tanc.org

For more information on the Tibetan Memorial Quilt Project, click here

or email tibetanquiltproject@gmail.com

]]> http://www.tanc.org/tibetan-quilts-exhibition-in-oakland/feed/ 0 http://www.tanc.org/new-board-members/ http://www.tanc.org/new-board-members/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:36:00 +0000 Editor http://www.tanc.org/?p=2529 Elections were  held to fill eight vacancies on the TANC Board on July 10, 2010. Eleven nominations were received and here are the candidates listed by the number of votes received next to their names:

1. Tsering Dekyi, El Cerrito (172)
2. Tsering Tamdin, El Cerrito (161)
3. Tenzin Palzom, Berkeley (148)
4. Tenzin Bhuti, El Cerrito (143)
5. Kaydor Aukatsang, San Francisco (138)
6. Sangye Tashi, Concord (138)
7. Phurbu la, El Cerrito (119)
8. Tenzin Choedon, Berkeley (118)
9. Tenzin Norbu, El Cerrito (116)
10. Kelsang Jungnye, Albany (107)
11. Sonam Tenjong, El Cerrito (65)

Congratulations to the newly elected TANC Board members. The top eight nominees from the above list will assume their new responsibilities as TANC Board Members this fall when 8 out of the current 12 Board members complete their term. The eight current board members who will be stepping down from the Board this fall are:

1. Dechen Tsering – President
2. Lobsang Tharchen – Vice President
3. Dechen Tsomo Naga – Treasurer & Accountant
4.Tenzin Laprang – Chatrel in-charge
5.Tenzin Ngodup – Event Coordinator
6. Penpa Tsering – Event Coordinator
7. Tsering Gonpo. Youth & Sports Coordinator
8. Kunjo Tashi – Gen Secretar

Members, thank you for your nominations and for participating in the voting.

Thank you also to the TANC Board Election Committee members for their hardwork and in overseeing the July 10 TANC Board elections.