23 July 2024

Tibetan Exile President Ups Ante In Nomenclature War – OpEd

Subir Bhaumik

The Tibetan exile government says it will “strongly counter” Beijing, which has been renaming Tibetan places with Chinese names.

Penpa Tsering, Sikyong or President of the Central Tibetan Administration (Tibetan Parliament in Exile) or CTA, told Indian media that the “Sinification of Tibet must stop.”

“We will create a map of Tibet that will carry names of all places in Tibet in Tibet language. Chinese official position on Tibet underplays Tibet’s own rich and distinct history as it projects Tibet as part of China since the ancient era. We have to put an end to it,” Tsering said.

“Chinese renaming of Tibetan places will not erase Tibet’s unique culture and identity, because we have been an independent entity for much of our history. China forcibly occupied Tibet by sending its army and that historical fact is acknowledged by the world,” Tsering said.

He said China calls Tibet as Xizang.

“But now we are researching every name in Tibet and we will have a map of Tibet that will show all the original Tibetan names of all the places in Tibet,” he said.

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