Taipei: The Office of Tibet in Taipei (Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama) organised the “Snow Land Forum: 2025 Finding Common Ground – International Conference on Tibet” at the National Chengchi University (NCCU) Center for Public and Business Administration Education on 15 and 16 November 2025 in Taiwan’s Da’an District.
The two-day forum was attended by the former Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyaltsen; Secretary of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile Sonam Dorjee; Representative Dr. Tsewang Gyalpo Arya from the Office of Tibet (Japan); Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen from the Office of Tibet (Taiwan); former Secretary and Director of the Tibet Policy Institute, Dawa Tsering; Head of the Chinese Desk of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), Jamyang Tsering; Research Fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute, Tenzin Phenthok; and Tibetan Liaison Officers Sangay Kyab (Office of Tibet, Geneva) and Dawa Sangmo (Office of Tibet, Canberra).
Notably, Jayadeva Ranade, President of the Center for China Analysis and Strategy (India), as well as academicians, human rights activists, and professors from Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Japan, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand also attended the forum. Participants included: Professor Kuo-Cheng Chang, TMU Center for General Education; Akio Yaita, President of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Think Tank; Tsuni Cheng, International Affairs Advisor, OoTTW; Chair Professor Mab Huang, Arts and Sciences, Soochow University; Shih-Chieh Weng, former Deputy Secretary-General, Taiwan Tibet Exchange Foundation; Kai-Jung Karen Cheng, Editor-in-Chief, Snowland Think Tank; Chien-Yuan Tseng, Adjunct Associate Professor, National Central University & National Taiwan Normal University; Chao-Chen Lin, Professor, Graduate Institute of Journalism, NTU; Wei-Jian Chen, Editor-in-Chief, Beijing Spring; Seedorji Buyant, Political Scholar and Advisor, Great Khural of Southern Mongolia; Sawut (Tanaka Sauto in Japanese), Vice-Chairperson, Japan Uyghur Association; Dr. Hui-Chuan Lu; Prof. Lau Hon-Shiang, author of Tibet Was Never Part of China Since Antiquity; Hsien-Hong Yang, Chair, Taiwan Association for Human Rights in China; Hu Ping, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Beijing Spring; Chia-Hung Su, Professor, Fu-Ying University; Feng Chong-Yi, Professor, UTS, Australia; Li You-Tan, Professor, Graduate Institute of National Development, NCCU; Dr. Hsing-Chung Wang, PhD in Political Science, SCU; Wei-Ming Chen, Chinese-American sculptor; Wang Yi-Ju, Board Member, Citizen Resistance Association; Passang Dhongup, former staff at DIIR-CTA; and Sky Fung, Secretary-General, Hong Kong Outlanders.
During the conference, Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa delivered introductory remarks outlining the purpose and objectives of the Forum.
The event also featured the formal launch of two Chinese-translated publications: a biography authored by former Kalon (Minister) Takla Phuntsok Tashi, and a study on Tibet’s historical population fluctuations authored by former CTA Secretary and Director of the Tibet Policy Institute, Dawa Tsering.
This was followed by the screening of a one-and-a-half-minute video message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled Three Reasons Why the PRC Government Should Not Interfere in My Reincarnation. The two-day conference then commenced.
The conference was organised into ten sessions focusing on the issue of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation and the future prospects of the Tibet–China conflict. A resolution adopted at the conclusion reaffirmed that all matters concerning the reincarnation of His Holiness pertain solely to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Gaden Phodrang Trust, and that no other government, political party, or individual holds authority in this regard.
Coverage of the 2025 Snow Land Forum appeared across numerous Taiwanese and international media outlets, including Taiwan’s Taipei Times.
The first session of Day One, chaired by Professor Kuo-Cheng Chang of Taipei Medical University, featured a dialogue between Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa and renowned Japanese journalist Akio Yaita. The discussion explored China’s political evolution through the lens of the reincarnation issue, the future of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, and the prospects for Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and the Chinese people. A special 45-minute television programme on these themes was also broadcast.
– Report filed by Office of Tibet, Taipei