News To mark the time 50 years ago that the Dalai Lama was forced into exile amid the Tibetan uprising, China has declared a new holiday, “Serfs' Emancipation Day.” The day will be observed annually in Tibet on March 28, beginning this Saturday. But in Tibetan refugee communities worldwide, including here in Portland, consider the day another blatant propaganda attempt that mis-represents ...   More

News When Commissioner Randy Leonard and the rest of the City Council declared March 10 as Tibet Awareness Day, Leonard says a delegation from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco suggested there could be economic consequences for Portland. But Leonard and Mayor Sam Adams refused to yield to Chinese pressure and renounce their city proclamation declaring Tibet is independent. Now, a Beijing ...   More

News Here's one Southeast Portland resident's take on the controversial decision by the City Council — led, in this case, by Commissioner Randy Leonard — to declare March 10 as Tibet Awareness Day in Portland. The council's proclamation — which stated outright that Tibet is independent — drew fire from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco as well as local Chinese leaders. Here's ...   More

News After a week of controversy over City Commissioner Randy Leonard's push to make today Tibet Awareness Day in Portland, here are the events on the calendar for local Tibetan activists. • 10 a.m. — Raising of the Tibetan flag in front of City Hall, with speeches and prayers for those who died in the 1959 Tibetan uprising. • Noon — March through downtown. • 1:30–2 ...   More

News Since introducing a City Council proclamation last week recognizing Tibet's struggle for freedom, Commissioner Randy Leonard has heard from quite a few angry parties. The local Chinese business community, Portland's Suzhou sister city committee and the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco have all pressured Leonard over his action. Leonard says the Tibetans warned him the proclamation would ...   More

News Amid reports that the Chinese government plans to lean on Portland's City Council today, the city's Tibetan community is planning a protest outside City Hall. Jampa Lathsang, a volunteer for the Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, says the political scuffle started last week when the City Council declared Wednesday, March 10, as Tibetan Awareness Day. Lathsang says officials from the ...   More

News Remember last winter, when City Commissioner Randy Leonard managed to piss off the People's Republic of China by pushing a City Council proclamation "to reaffirm the independence of Tibet?" A visit from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco—and veiled threats in the Chinese media to cut broadcasts of Trail Blazers games—apparently didn't quash Leonard's devotion to the Tibetan cause. ...   More