"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."
—
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

—
ICT President Matteo Mecacci—and his four-legged friend Suki!—share exciting news on the Tibetan Policy and Support Act, the Dalai Lama and ICT. The TPSA is now on the agenda for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If the committee approves the bill, it can get a vote on the Senate floor. Although a meeting to approve the bill this week was postponed, we’re hopeful that it will be rescheduled soon, and that the TPSA can move ahead toward passage.

—
The International Campaign for Tibet is proud to announce a new online speaker series featuring live conversations about Tibet with engaging thinkers, leaders, activists and artists. Tibet Talks began on May 7 with Tenzin Dorjee, the first Tibetan American appointed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and continued on May 14 with ICT President Matteo Mecacci and Vice President Bhuchung Tsering. To see upcoming editions and watch past episodes, see our Tibet Talks page!

Read more online

—
Amid the ongoing shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has announced that his teachings on Master Nagarjuna's “Precious Garland” will be streamed over the internet on May 16 and 17.

Click here for details

—
A cursory glance at China’s laws and policies gives the impression that people are free to speak and learn in languages other than the national language of Mandarin. ICT’s new report takes a closer look and reveals how China’s education policies in Tibet are forcing Tibetan children to assimilate and risking the survival of their mother tongue.

Read more online

—
“It is during times like this that we must focus on what unites us as members of one human family. Accordingly, we need to reach out to each other with compassion. As human beings, we are all the same. We experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties, yet we are also united by a desire for happiness,” the Dalai Lama wrote in a new statement on the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the rest of his message here

—
Though we know it is the dedication, compassion and heart-connection to Tibet that motivates our community to donate to ICT’s work, we wanted to share this provision from the CARES Act that incentivizes charitable giving during this challenging time.

Section 2204 of the CARES Act provides for a special incentive for charitable contributions: a universal tax deduction of up to $300 is provided for charitable contributions on 2020 tax returns when the standard deduction is taken. This provision reinstates the opportunity for gifts of all sizes to qualify as tax deductible. While this above-the-line deduction doesn’t apply to donors who itemize their deductions, an additional tax incentive that increases the cap on charitable contributions from 60% of your AGI to 100% will benefit itemizers, too.

Please consult your tax advisor regarding these new 2020 tax deduction opportunities.

—
In these trying times when many of us are doing more of our shopping online, you can provide a little extra support for ICT through the AmazonSmile Program. Through this FREE program, Amazon will make a donation for the value of .5% of your qualifying Amazon purchases to ICT! All you have to do is designate ICT as your charity of choice and be sure to use smile.amazon.com every time you shop with Amazon.

These small donations add up to significant funds for ICT- funds that are especially needed and appreciated during this challenging time!

—
We are abundantly grateful for all of our amazing ICT volunteers and made this special video message to share our gratitude during Volunteer Appreciation Week. Thank you to all of our incredible, dedicated volunteers who are an essential part of our team!

—
New Chinese regulations explicitly depart from the principle of “preferential treatment” for Tibetans, which was supposed to guarantee that Tibetans could maintain their culture and traditional way of life in their own homeland.

In contrast, the new regulations give the Chinese government powers to enforce a Chinese-centric way of life in the TAR and to cultivate informants for the Chinese Communist Party. These regulations give additional reason for concern, as they may contribute to the discriminatory treatment Tibetans already face under Chinese rule.

Read more online

—
The end came as a surprise to many observers: Without further comment, the British newspaper Daily Telegraph recently stopped publishing Chinese propaganda content and also deleted it from its homepage.

As the British newspaper The Guardian reported, the Telegraph had maintained the lucrative connection with the Chinese propaganda sheet China Daily for more than 10 years and, together with its print edition, had delivered its supplement China Watch.

Read more online

—
The latest edition of ICT’s annual wall calendar, The Dalai Lama: Glimpses into a Life of Wisdom, features 12 photographs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the renowned Indian photographer Raghu Rai, who has closely followed His Holiness' life. Today His Holiness, who has retired from his Tibetan political leadership, devotes himself to promoting human values and religious harmony everywhere while continuing to draw attention to the rich Tibetan Buddhist cultural heritage, which he feels has much to contribute to the development of world civilization. This calendar is a tribute to the Dalai Lama by the International Campaign for Tibet.

Add a little inspiration and positivity to your home office during this challenging time. We have fewer than 130 copies left, so order yours today!

Visit the ICT store

The Tibet Update Newsletter is a summary of news and governmental actions related to Tibet.

Update Address | Unsubscribe

International Campaign for Tibet
1825 Jefferson Place NW | Washington, DC 20036 | United States of America
Phone: (202) 785-1515 | Fax: (202) 785-4343 | [email protected]