Tibetans appreciate a lot what you have done so far, and urge you to continue to lead the support group in Canada.
I also appreciate your use of the words tashi delek, which mean “good wishes”. Unfortunately, the Tibetan delegation from the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region could not speak in Tibetan. That speaks for itself. It's more convenient for them to speak in Chinese, the language of their colonial masters, so that they can echo or parrot what the Chinese government wants them to say; there's nothing lost in translation, so that when they go back, they don't land up in trouble.
As far as Tashi Wangchuk is concerned, essentially what he was advocating was allowed by the Chinese constitution and laws. Article 4 of the Chinese constitution clearly says—quote, unquote—minorities should not only use their own language but should be encouraged to use their own language. That's what the law says. Tashi Wangchuk was essentially saying that Tibetan schools should have Tibetan as the medium of instruction along with the Chinese medium of instruction. This is allowed and encouraged by the Chinese constitution.
For advocating that, which was covered by The New York Times—essentially the largest and the most influential newspaper in the world—even after the coverage and that advocacy, he was sentenced to five years in prison for simply advocating for what is legal, what is provided in the Chinese constitution.
For Tibetans, the Tibetan language is very important, because ultimately.... I'm sure that the delegation that came here...they always say that Tibetans are masters of their own region. If they are the masters of their own region, Tibetan identity and Tibetan culture are essential, but Tibetans are denied.
The Tibetan language is an essential component of the Tibetan identity. If you lose your language, you lose an essential part of who you are: a Tibetan. By discouraging the Tibetan language.... For example, the medium of instruction at the college level, the high school level, and the middle school level is Chinese. It's part of the cultural assimilation. Over time, they want to make Tibet into a Chinatown and Tibetans into Chinese, and the first thing is to discourage the Tibetan language. As you know, 98% of Tibetan monasteries and nunneries were destroyed, and 99.9% of monks and nuns were disrobed in the 1960s to prevent them from practising Buddhism or religion.