Tibetan Leader Penpa Tsering Advocates for Support in Washington Meetings
Penpa Tsering meets with U.S. leaders to seek support for the Tibetan people during his visit to Washington.
Washington, November 13 (Daily Kiran) : Penpa Tsering, a prominent Tibetan political leader, held discussions with senior U.S. lawmakers and the special coordinator for Tibet at the State Department during his visit to Washington this week. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) confirmed these meetings.
During his engagements, Tsering, also known as ‘Sikyong,’ met with Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Riley Barnes, the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibet. He emphasized the need for American support for the Tibetan people.
On Tuesday, Tsering met with Barnes at the State Department and later engaged with several programming teams within the department. He also had breakfast with Damon Wilson and his team from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and discussed the current situation in Tibet with U.S. Representative Lois Frankel in her office.
On November 11, Tsering visited Capitol Hill, where he met with Moolenaar, Wilson, Mast, and Jim McGovern. The Office of Tibet reported that during these discussions, Tsering raised concerns about China’s repressive policies in Tibet and expressed gratitude for the ongoing bipartisan support from the U.S.
Accompanying Tsering at the State Department meeting were Finance Kalon Tsering Dhondup, Office of Tibet representative Namgyal Choedup, Director of Social and Resource Development Lobsang Tenzin, Program Officer Thubten Rigzin, and Chinese Liaison Officer Tsultrim Gyatso.
Tsering also met with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to discuss Tibetan issues and engaged with Senator Chris Van Hollen’s team. As the elected political head of the Central Tibetan Administration based in Dharamshala, India, Tsering’s meetings and activities were shared by the Office of Tibet, which also included a special briefing with the advocacy team from the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and officials from the CTA’s Social and Resource Development program.
