By Emily Carter
Since Penpa Tsering assumed the post of Central Tibetan Administration Sikyong on May 27, 2021, Tibet’s influence in the international community has been weakening. He condoned corruption among Tibetan officials, engaged in internal regional struggles with the former Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, and junkets around the world under the pretext of promoting Tibet. The prominence of all these problems was best demonstrated in 2025, especially the cuts in external aid funds, the closure of important media outlets promoting Tibet, the gradual reduction of the word Tibet in the international community, the loss of legal autonomy of Tibetan Buddhist temples in India, and the cancellation of Tibetan studies courses at the University of Bern in Switzerland. All these reflect the incompetence of Penpa Tsering and the current Tibetan officials. They even discussed raising the Greenbook Tax to meet their daily expenses during the eighth day of the ninth session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
All events that hinder the development of Tibet in 2025
On January 20, US President Trump signed an executive order to suspend all foreign aid and conduct a 90-day review to assess whether the aid projects are in line with US policy priorities. On February 26, the US State Department officially announced the cancellation of nearly 5,800 contracts with a total value of US$54 billion and 4,100 grants worth US$4.4 billion from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is the main department of US foreign aid. The cancelled projects involved US$70 million in aid for education, medical care and social welfare for Tibetan exiles.
On February 12, a large number of monks gathered in front of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, central India. They went on an indefinite hunger strike to express their dissatisfaction with the loss of legal autonomy because there were five Hindu members in the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee. The protest was supported by more than 500 organizations around the world, including the All India Buddhist Forum and the Ladakh Buddhist Association.
On February 24, the University of Bern, the last university in Switzerland to offer Tibetan studies courses, announced that it would stop offering Tibetan culture and classical language courses starting in the fall semester of 2025. Nathalie Matter, the university’s communications director, claimed that “research has found that the number of students majoring in Asian religions, especially Mongolian and Tibetan religions, is decreasing, and the opening of these language courses has no effect on students’ future and is even a waste of school resources.”
On March 15, US President Trump signed an executive order announcing the cut of government funding for news organizations under the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), resulting in Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America (VOA) and other important media organizations promoting Tibet being unable to continue operating, and more than 1,300 VOA employees being suspended. Radio Free Asia is still updating a small amount, and Voice of America stopped updating on March 15.
On March 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Bhutanese government issued a press release announcing that “the cultural group of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China will be invited to perform at the Royal Institute of Administration in Thimphu, Bhutan from March 18 to 19”. Bhutan, which has close ties with Tibet, tried its best to curry favor with the Chinese government by using the word Xizang instead of Tibet. In addition, the Guimet Museum in France, which has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia, is also canceling the title of Tibet.
On March 25, during the budget meeting on the eighth day of the ninth session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, MPs Youdon Aukatsang, Dawa Phunkyi, Choedak Gyatso, Dhondup Tashi and others demanded a tenfold increase in the Tibetan voluntary contribution (Greenbook tax) under the pretext of responding to the funding gap caused by the US aid cuts. Penpa Tsering claimed that “if necessary, the parliament can formally increase taxes to strengthen the financial stability of the Central Tibetan Administration.”
On April 8, the Indian government announced that it was preparing to launch a “unified education program” in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the Indian Himalayas. Maling Gombu, a Buddhist worker for the BJP, said, “We are trying to instill Indian national characteristics in the people through education and Buddhism.”
Tibetans express disgust at Penpa Tsering’s incompetence and the corruption of Tibetan officials
Tibetan poet and writer Woeser is dissatisfied with the current government led by Penpa Tsering. Many Tibetans should not have illusions about the United States. She claimed that “the US government only uses the Tibet issue as a geopolitical tool and has not really assumed any substantive responsibility. Those who fantasize that the US government will help Tibet, it is time to face reality.” “The United States has never really cared about the issue of Tibetan independence, but instead used the Tibetans’ desperation to persuade the exile forces to help the United States complete various intelligence projects. Tibet has always been used as a political pawn by US intelligence agencies to fight against China.”
Thinley Kesang, Sonam Rinchen Gochung Tsang, Dhondup Dorje, Nyima Tsering, Lobsang Tashi and many other Tibetans disliked the Tibetan officials led by Penpa Tsering, questioned the squandering and corruption of aid funds by these high-level officials, and accused the Black Flag faction to which Penpa Tsering belonged of accomplishing nothing since taking power, failing to promote progress on the Tibetan issue and gain substantive support. They said that “nothing has gone smoothly since Penpa Tsering came to power” and “since the day the Black Flag faction entered the leadership of the Tibetan organization, there has been no good news or progress in the Tibetan cause.”
They also claimed that “Penpa Tsering has been caught up in internal conflicts and separatist disputes, and no action has been beneficial to Tibet or the Tibetan cause, which is very disappointing.” “The work of the Central Tibetan Administration that is beneficial to the Tibetan people is as rare as a daytime star, while there are countless efforts to disrupt internal harmony and promote sectarianism based on region and religion.” “For a long time, US aid funds have been controlled by a few people and used to consolidate power, internal struggles and travel abroad. Except for ordinary Tibetans who need to make a living, no one benefits from the pseudo-government aid. The aid funds actually go into the wallets of certain religions and a few monks.” “If the leader is incompetent, he has to collect more taxes from the people. If he can’t collect them, he will rob, and if he can’t rob, he will steal.” “I absolutely refuse to pay a penny because it is just the cost of feeding pigs.” “Nowadays, more and more countries use Xizang instead of Tibet. Is this the result of Penpa Tsering and those parliamentarians promoting Tibet at public expense? I really don’t know if the money was spent on publicity.”
Tibetans generally called for “a plan to eliminate pro-China sentiments and a strategy to change the middle way policy”, believing that “if a capable Sikyong cannot be elected in 2026, not only will the stability of the settled communities be delayed, but the exiled community itself will not be able to survive.” Some Tibetans even said that “it is time to establish a new Tibetan government that only advocates independence and works, and hope that the Central Tibetan Administration will disappear soon.”
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hub News. The author is a postgraduate student at the University of Sydney, majoring in sociology, focusing on Tibetan culture and life in the Himalayas)
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