The Students for A Free Tibet (SFT) continues its campaign – #FreeTashi – demanding release of Tashi Wangchuk, a 33-year-old Tibetan language education advocate, who was arrested after calling for the Chinese government to honour its own laws allowing bilingual education for minorities.
“Right now, we are pulling out all the stops for the immediate release of Tashi Wangchuk,” stated Urgyen Badheytsang, Campaigns Director, #FreeTashi.
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Tashi Wangchuk is a language advocate who was detained for bringing China to court over its failure to protect Tibetan language.
Wangchuk, who is accused of “inciting separatism,” went on trial in January this year and could face up to 15 years in prison.
Tashi Wangchuk is a Tibetan filmmaker who works for Voice of America, Tibetan Service as a TV Producer and host. Tashi in collaboration with his cousin/friend filmmaker, Tsultrim Dorjee established Seykhar Films in 2005 in Dehradun, India. Seykhar Films is now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA.
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Badheytsang stated, “On April 14 last month, we protested at the Chinese mission to mark 100 days since Tashi Wangchuk’s closed-door trial in January this year, which ended without a verdict.”
He also informed that on the same night, they projected Tashi Wangchuk’s quotes onto the Chinese Consulate walls, and screened his documentary from the New York Times.
“The following on Monday, we attended ‘Indigenous Participation’, a side event held at the UN Headquarters in New York by the Canadian Mission. Executive Director Dorjee Tseten raised key points on the ongoing human rights crisis in Tibet under China’s occupation and the imprisonment of Tashi Wangchuk for his attempt to preserve Tibetan language and culture,” added Badheytsang.
Whether it is on the streets, on the Chinese Consulate walls, or on official record at the UN, the members of Students for A Free Tibet are working to ensure Tashi Wangchuk is highlighted at every opportunity.
Badheytsang also urged to donate to continue their efforts for Tashi Wangchuk’s freedom through their #FreeTashi campaign.