Hong Kong Dalai Lama

In the World | Philadelphia Inquirer | 2011-07-02

An angry march in Hong Kong HONG KONG - Tens of thousands of people vented anger over Hong Kong's skyrocketing property prices and government policies Friday at an annual march held on the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.

People blew whistles, beat drums, and banged metal cups to express their unhappiness. Many waved flags calling for universal suffrage, while others chanted "Down down with property tycoons" and called for Chief Executive Donald Tsang to step down.

Since the territory was handed back to China on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has largely retained its Western-style civil liberties, including press freedom and the right to hold public protests. But its people still cannot directly elect the city's chief executive or all legislative members.

Several hundred protesters broke through a police cordon late Friday to carry out a sit-in protest in front of the Legislative Council building, while hundreds of others sat on a main road as hundreds of police stopped them from reaching the building. One protester was injured, broadcaster RTHK reported.

- AP

The country's mission to the United Nations said in a statement Friday that relatives of the hikers have made "baseless allegations" about the treatment of Josh Fattal, 29, of Elkins Park, and Shane Bauer, 28.

The two men have been held in Iran nearly two years on espionage charges and are expected to stand trial on July 31. The men deny the charges.

Bauer's fiancee, Sarah Shourd, was arrested along with the men, but was released last September on $500,000 bail.

Shourd and the men's relatives held a news conference at U.N. headquarters on Thursday to complain about the treatment they say their loved ones are receiving behind bars.

The United Nations and the U.S. government have repeatedly appealed for the men's release, insisting that they have done no wrong.

- AP

The Nobel Peace laureate turns 76 next week and has begun preparing his people for his eventual death, in hopes of preventing his homeland's Chinese rulers from taking advantage of the leadership vacuum.

Countdown to the Kalachakra: Daily calendar of events available

The Kalachakra tradition revolves around the concept of time and cycles, from the cycles of the planets to the cycles of human breathing ­ the word comes from the Sanskrit, which means, literally, “time wheel” or “time cycles.” The significance of the ceremony is explained on the official website at: www.kalachakra2011.com/knowledge

Hundreds of Chinese Buddhists from Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere will Join Tibetans and foreigners for the ceremony at the Verizon Center in downtown DC, an unprepossessing venue that normally hosts rock stars, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards but will be transformed for the event into a Kalachakra Hall ­and dominated by the Kalachakra sand mandala, created by monks from the Dalai Lama’s personal monastery, Namgyal.

The sand mandala is a detailed work of sacred art; the Dalai Lama Remembers that when he saw a Kalachakra mandala for the first time, “I almost lost My balance just from looking at it…I was so moved that I choked with emotion.” In a ceremony to symbolize impermanence, the sand mandala will be destroyed and dispersed in the Anacostia River at the end of the ceremonies.

A full calendar of every day’s events ­ from a free public talk by the Dalai Lama on July 9 on the West Lawn of the Capitol to lectures by some of the world’s leading authorities on Tibetan religious culture (and Tibetan Dance parties) ­ is now up at: www.savetibet.

China's Hong Kong transformed, retrospect and prospects beyond the first decade

Daily report, People's Republic of China

The Wisdom of Forgiveness, Intimate Conversations and Journeys

East Asia, Seventh Report of Session 2005-06

Why the Dalai Lama matters, his act of truth as the solution for China, Tibet, and the world