Mexico City: President of the Central Tibetan Administration, Dr Lobsang Sangay on the morning of 5 September, visited the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and spoke at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Before the start of the talk, President Sangay was taken on a brief tour of the Library and Theatre at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Speaking at the Faculty of Philosophy, President Sangay highlighted the historical status of Tibet and said that Tibet had been an independent country until the Chinese invasion in 1949, despite unsustainable Chinese claims that it had been a part of China since the Yuan dynasty.
President of CTA, Dr Lobsang Sangay during the guided tour of the Library at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Mexico
President Dr Sangay said that even after the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the recruitment of the Tibetans as members of the Communist Party of China, Beijing failed to trust the Tibetans. With such distrust, all the decision making power, at the local and regional levels in the Tibetan areas, have always remained in the hands of the Chinese cadres.
He said that not only the mainstream Tibetans in Tibet suffer from discrimination, but also the Tibetan Communist Party members. “Even in the field of education, the Tibetans are compelled to study the Chinese language, as a medium of instruction. At the Lhasa University, subjects such as Tibetan astrology, medicine and Buddhist philosophy are being taught in Chinese and not in the Tibetan language”
President Sangay addressing the students of the University
Talking about the political repressions in Tibet, President Dr Sangay also mentioned that the 2016 Freedom House Report designated Tibet as the least free among countries or territories. Despite the continuous repression, President Dr Sangay notified that the Tibetan non-violent resistance remains strong and steadfast in Tibet.
Later in the day, President Dr Sangay engaged in exclusive interviews with Adriana Amezcua, editor of the Newsweek, in Spanish, based in Mexico and with a senior reporter of Reforma, the largest circulated newspaper of Mexico. He also took part in a radio interview with La Red de Radio Red.