President of the Tibetan government-in-exile says ‘Xizang’ is being used against Tibetan historical sovereignty

Sikyong Penpa Tsering, president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said on Thursday that the use of the word ‘Xizang’ instead of Tibet shows that people are falling for Chinese propaganda and buying into China’s narrative over Tibetan territory and Tibetan historical sovereignty.

In an interview with ANI at the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Sikyong Penpa Tsering said that the word ‘Xizang’ is being used despite requests not to use the word Zizang because it means someone is “playing into the hands of It has been “Chinese government propaganda”.

he/she further stated that by using the term ‘Xizang’ instead of ‘Tibet’, “the Chinese interpretation of using Xizang refers to Tibet only as the Tibetan Autonomous Region, not the areas beyond those. The Tibet Autonomous Region refers only to Tibet. The other half is, so if you fall into this trap of using Xizang, you are very much subscribing to China’s narrative on Tibetan territory as well as Tibetan historical sovereignty.

The recent earthquake in Tibet has heated up the issue of China using the word ‘Xizang’ instead of Tibet.

An earthquake struck a remote area of ​​Tibet on January 7, killing at least 126 people and injuring more than 100, Al Jazeera reported. Tremors were felt. There were 49 aftershocks after the earthquake.

According to Al Jazeera, the epicenter of the earthquake was Shigatse, one of Tibet’s holiest cities. The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, while the China Earthquake Network Center (CENC) recorded a magnitude of 6.8.

Earlier, hundreds of exiled Tibetans gathered at Dharamshala to mourn for the victims of the earthquake and offer special prayers throughout the night. Tibetan monks and nuns offered special prayers at the Tsuglagkhang, the main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala. The special prayer service was jointly organized by four major Tibetan NGOs, including the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, Students for Free Tibet and the National Democratic Party of Tibet.