RTYC NYNJ Urges Trump to Raise Tibet Issue During China Visit
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA 11 May: The regional chapter of the Tibetan Youth Congress in New York and New Jersey (RTYC-NYNJ) has written to the US President urging him to raise the issue of Tibet during his upcoming meeting with Chinese leadership scheduled for May 13–15.
In a communication letter sent on 10 May, RTYC-NYNJ called on US President Donald Trump to address concerns over China’s assimilation policies targeting Tibetans and other “minority communities” during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The appeal forms part of RTYC-NYNJ’s ongoing monthly advocacy campaign for Tibet, held on the 10th of every month, which highlights critical human rights situation in Tibet under Chinese rule and concerns over cultural, political and religious restrictions
As part of the 20th edition of the campaign, around 70 members staged a peaceful protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, urging international attention to what they described as cultural and religious repression in Tibet. Protesters raised concerns over China’s colonial-style boarding school system for Tibetan children, interference in Tibetan Buddhism and its reincarnation system, and the newly introduced “Ethnic Unity Law,” which activists say seeks to assimilate Tibetans and other “ethnic groups” into a single state-defined Chinese identity.
Speaking at the protest, Kelsang Dolma, secretary of RTYC-NYNJ, said the issue of Tibet must be raised during the upcoming US–China talks. “Our message is urgent and clear: when the President of the United States meets the President of China in the coming days, Tibet must not be forgotten,” she said, adding that the situation inside Tibet remains “extremely critical.”
She argued that under the so-called “Ethnic Unity Law,” the Chinese government is attempting to erode the identity, language, religion, and culture of Tibetans and other “minority communities”. “A whole generation of Tibetans is being raised away from its roots. This is not unity; it is forced assimilation and cultural destruction,” she said.
Kelsang also expressed appreciation for US support for Tibetan refugees, referring to past resolutions, legislative backing for Tibetan freedom, and the Tibetan resettlement programme of the 1990s, which helped refugees rebuild their lives and continue their advocacy.
The protest outside the Chinese Embassy was followed by a four-hour Tibet awareness programme at Dupont Circle, where participants held a peaceful demonstration and distributed informational material highlighting what they described as the situation inside occupied Tibet under China’s colonial rule.
