Dalai Lama’s Nephew Makes Decisive Break: “I Will Only Accept Complete Independence for Tibet”
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 2 Dec: Khedroob Thondup, the Dalai Lama’s nephew and the son of the late Gyalo Thondup, has announced a decisive break from the Middle Way Approach- the official policy of the Central Tibetan Administration and the approach that he “once supported,” declaring that he will now “only accept complete independence for Tibet” from China’s colonial rule.
Thondup, a former member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, made his position clear in an article published on 29 November in the Taipei Times, titled “Tibet Can Only Accept Independence.” In it, he argues that Tibetans have waited long enough for China to enter into meaningful negotiations under the Middle Way policy — and that Beijing has met “moderation” not with dialogue, but with “repression.”
“I once supported the Middle Way Approach, believing that genuine autonomy within China might offer a path forward. However, Beijing has responded to moderation with repression. The people of Tibet have waited long enough. They yearn for liberation, not compromise,” Thondup states in the article.
He criticises the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region, arguing that its autonomy exists in name only. “Decisions about religion, education and cultural preservation are made in Beijing, not Lhasa,” he stated.
He further challenges the narrative that China’s infrastructure and economic projects constitute “progress”. Development, he insists, cannot compensate for the erosion of a people’s identity.
“What good is a highway if it leads to the erasure of your identity? Development without dignity is a hollow promise. Tibetans want the freedom to speak our language, to practice our faith, and to honour our history without fear.”
He writes with painful clarity about the realities inside occupied Tibet, reminding Tibetans in exile that “yearning for freedom is not confined to exile” but also lives in the hearts of those inside Tibet.
“I have seen the truth behind the slogans. I have listened to the silences of monks forbidden to speak of the Dalai Lama, watched the erosion of our language in classrooms, and felt the quiet grief of a people whose prayers are monitored and whose culture is treated as a threat. That is why I will only accept complete independence for Tibet.”
Thondup resolutely argues that Independence is the only path that honours Tibet’s history, protects its future, and restores the dignity that Chinese rule has tried to extinguish.
“Tibet belongs to Tibetans — not as a province, not as a project, but as a nation,” he added.
He pledges to stand alongside all Tibetans striving for independence, insisting that no Tibetan will surrender their birthright to live freely in their ancestral homeland.
