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Dear Friend, We at SFT HQ would like to virtually celebrate two incredible victories for Tibet with our members, friends, and colleagues. Yesterday, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo announced that the US will be imposing sanctions on the PRC government and Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for denying foreigners’ access to Tibet. These sanctions are legal as a result of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, a historic bill that became law in 2018 due to advocacy campaigns by Tibetan-Americans and supporters. This recent action imposes a significant cost on Chinese authorities for their repression in Tibet and will successfully challenge the devastating, decades-long isolation of Tibet. There is a growing consensus that the world needs to take a stronger stand against China; this action further represents an opportunity for the Tibet movement to be bold and push for stronger political action that will increase the cost of China’s occupation of Tibet.
We would also like to share the great news that Brock University has finally ended its relationship with its Confucius Institute (CI), after six years of campaigning, adding to the long list of closing CIs across the world. The closing of Brock University’s CI began with a courageous Tibetan student back in March of 2014. Tenzin Dechen, a member of SFT at Brock University in Canada applied to represent Tibet at a ‘Celebration of Nations’ event on her school’s campus, but was asked a few days after registration to refrain from presenting Tibetan culture and traditions along with the Tibetan flag. Tenzin was put under undue pressure of “ruining future prospects for the event”, if she presented her flag, which would, according to them, “cause issues.”
After SFT and Tenzin inquired further about this alarming development, we received a copy of the email from the Confucius Institute Director that demanded this condition from the university. Tenzin was pressured to sign a note saying that no disturbances would be caused at the event, which she refused. Despite the pressure, Tenzin never gave up and she worked with the SFT Canada team at the event to display the Tibetan flag at her table. This incident brought SFT’s attention to the remarkable influence that the Chinese government has on college campuses and the imminent threat it poses to academic freedom. As a direct result of Tenzin’s experience and many other Tibetan students in the US and Canada, SFT launched the global campaign, “Say NO to Confucius Institutes.” Brock University is the fifth CI closure in Canada, leaving ten remaining CIs. In this year alone, sixteen universities around the world have decided to end their ties with the Chinese Government. These two victories would not be possible without your continued support. According to the BBC, the Chinese Government spends 10 billion USD annually on their overseas propaganda initiatives, including millions on Confucius Institutes in the US alone, but we are still winning. Your financial support is greatly needed at this time to sustain SFT's work in exposing and preventing China's long arm in the free world. Contributions of any amount make a significant difference in our work for Tibet. Click the photo below to join now! 
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