New York, October 18, 1995. Three Tibetan Buddhist monks who faced persecution because of their activities in opposition to Chinese rule in Tibet were recently granted political asylum by the United States government. According to their attorneys at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York, acting pro bono, and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, these cases represent the first time to their knowledge that the U.S. has granted asylum to Tibetan clerics.

One of the monks, Kunga Choephel, 30, was a leader of the celebrated Segompa monastery in Ngawa Dzong, Tibet, and participated for over a decade in organizing demonstrations, postering and leafleting campaigns to protest China's occupation of Tibet. Choephel fled Tibet in 1990 after Chinese authorities investigated his political activities. His application for asylum was granted on Monday by immigration officials in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.

Another of the monks, Chorten Tenzin, 26, was imprisoned eight times and tortured by Chinese prison guards on account of his political activities in support of Tibetan independence. He has since become a lay activist.

Tenzin's 19 year-old brother, Tsering Gompo, also a Buddhist monk, was granted asylum on account of his involvement in political activities since the age of 11, including carrying the outlawed Tibetan flag in the widely-publicized 1989 demonstrations in Lhasa that led to the imposition of martial law. During those demonstrations, Chinese security forces fired automatic weapons and tear gas at the demonstrators, including the three monks whose asylum applications were recently granted. Chinese police forces also commenced investigations into the three monks and other demonstrators on the basis of videotapes taken at the demonstrations. All three monks escaped on foot to Nepal, where they remained in hiding until they were able to make arrangements for onward travel to the United States. Tenzin's and Gompo's applications were granted earlier this year.

"We are delighted that the Immigration and Naturalization Service granted asylum to these Tibetan activists. The INS properly recognized that they are genuine refugees who have a well-founded fear of persecution if they were to return to their homeland," said Lesley Szanto Friedman, an attorney at Paul, Weiss representing the monks.

The Dalai Lama's Permanent Representative in New York, Rinchen Dharlo, expressed satisfaction with the decisions. "We hope that these cases reflect a growing recognition by the United States government of the plight of Tibetans in their homeland under Chinese rule."

The team of lawyers representing the monks consisted of Sidney S. Rosdeitcher, Ms. Friedman, Deborah Hartnett, Jeannie S. Kang, and Mai-Lan Pham of Paul, Weiss, and Stephanie Marks of the Lawyers Committee. The lawyers were assisted by Sonam Wangdu of the U.S. Tibet Committee.