Published by: World Tibet Network News Thursday - October 9, 1997

Press Release

9 October 1997

London: The Tibetan Community in Europe and the Alliance for a Democratic China is organising a conference on "Sino-Tibetan Dialogue: Finding Common Ground" from 11-12 October at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London

The importance of this conference is to bring Tibetans and Chinese living outside Tibet and China together to discuss the Tibetan issue, with the aim to develop better understanding.

Tibetan and Chinese speakers will be coming from Asia, Europe and the United States of American.

The conference will discuss the historical status of Tibet, Tibetan independence, Tibetan Self-Determination, One Country Two Systems, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Strasbourg Proposal, Human Rights and Environmental situation in Tibet under Communist China's rule.

Mrs Kesang Y Takla, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London and Mr Xu Bangtai, President of Alliance for a Democratic China are invited to make the keynote addresses.

Many prominent Chinese dissidents will address the conference including Mr Yan Jia qi, Former Director, Political Science Department, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Mr Ma Samarlo, the former Chief Editor of "Tan Suo" magazine and expert on Communist China's history, Mr Yu Haocheng, Member of Directors of Human Rights in China, Mr Xu Mingxu, Research Professor, Center for Modern China, Princeton University.

Tibetan participants include Mr. Tseten Norbu, President of Tibetan Youth Congress, Dharamsala; Mr Tsering Shakya, a Tibetan historian; Mr Palden Gyal, a poet and from the Tibetan Government in Exile Mr Thupten Samphel, Additional Secretary and Mr. Sonam N. Dagpo, Joint Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations; Mr Tsegyam, the Director of Tibetan Research and Analysis Centre; Mr Dawa Tsering, Editor of Tibetan Bulletin - Chinese Edition and Mr Tsewang Norbu, a Tibetan environmentalist.