Dharamshala — Hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters including Richard Gere, gathered at Time Square, NY, to honor Tibetan Independence Activist Lobga Rangzen and protest against China’s Genocidal “Ethnic Unity Progress Law”. young Tibetans performed die-in action representing 171 Tibetan self-immolators, who sacrificed their lives for a free and independent Tibet and call for return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Jigme Ugen said,"Do not mistake our non-violence for weakness. Do not mistake our patience for surrender. We are peaceful people, but we are not defeated people."
Hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters including Richard Gere, representatives of Hong Kong, Uyghur, Southern Mongolian and Taiwan, gathered at Time Square, NY, to honor Tibetan Independence Activist Lobga Rangzen and protest against China’s Genocidal “Ethnic Unity Progress Law”, on August 1, 2026. Marking one month of passing away of Tibetan martyr Lobga Rangzen, who self-immolated in front of UNO, to protest against the Chinese government's oppressive policies in Tibet, particular so-called China’s Genocidal “Ethnic Unity Progress Law”.
Tibetans performed traditional full-body prostrations from Brooklyn Bridge to Times Square, and young Tibetans from Students for a Free Tibet performed die-in action representing 171 Tibetan self-immolations, who sacrificed their lives for a free and independent Tibet and call for return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
Longtime supporter of Tibet, renowned actor Richard Gere said at the gathering, "We stand in Unity and Unity can achieve anything, we will never forget Lobga Rangzen, because he inspired all of us. His sacrifice awake me and of course, saddened me, wake me and we all need to wake up, we can change the world. He believes that Tibet's future depends on the Tibetan people and Tibet supporters; all people with conscience, so we should stand together with counrage and conviction. He wants the world to understand that Tibet is not only occupied nation, but its civilization is also under threat."
Richard Gere said, "When we honor Lobga Rangzen's sacrifice and his message, we should say "I am Tibetan, I am Tibetan and I am Tibetan".
Afterwards, Richard Gere and Tenchoe Gyatso encouraged Tibetans living in the United States to record a video asking their representatives to co-sponsor the “Assuring the Future of Tibet Act” and to call for the repeal of the so-called “Chinese Ethnic Unity Law.”
Jigme Ugen, Tibetan freedom activist and President of Tibetan National Congress said at the gathering, "For more than 70 years, Tibetans told to accept to the unacceptable, we were told that China's occupation is permanent, that Tibetan independence is unrealistic and that we must lower our expectation, soften our language, and adjust our political demands to what the global governments find convenient.
"The world asked Tibetans to be patient. We waited, we waited, and we waited. And while we waited, China used that time to kill over 1.5 million Tibetans, separated over 1 million children, some as young as four years old, from their language, identity, and their families, and put them in colonial boarding schools. They took time to control our monasteries, rewrite our history, erase our language and every foundation of the Tibetan way of life. This is why, Pawo Lobga Rangzen believed that the loss of independence was the root of Tibet's suffering, without political freedom, every other right is weak and can be dismissed. Pawo Lobga Rangzen was a lifelong independence activist and he sacrificed his life to end that occupation and restore Tibet's independence.
"Too oftern, the international community reduces Tibet to a human rights or religious right issues. Governments sometimes express concerns about political prisoners, even colonial boarding schools, and the destruction of Tibetan culture, but refuse to confront the political cause behind all of this, that Tibet is an occupied country, and that Tibetans have been denied the right to determine their own future. The United Nations knows that, the governments know that, Political leaders know that, their silence is not caused by the lack of information, but by the lack of courage. These governments have treated China's occupation as normal, and expect Tibetans to adjust and accept it. This has been China's greatest victories, and China makes us believe that our resistance is futile and that our freedom is impossible. Pawo (martyr) Lobga Rangzen rejected that lie and that fake narrative. He sacrificed his life outside the United Nations, the most recognised address in the whole planet, because he wanted the world to insist that the institution do not look away and no longer say that we don't know what's happening in Tibet.
"He made the most extreme and an unimaginable non-violent sacrifice after years of peaceful appeals that have been ignored, dismissed by every door of power. This was his wake-up call to the world. This was a call to the citizens of the world. This and the 170 self-immolations prior to that, was a message to the world that the Tibet is still under some of the most draconian policies under the Chinese oppression. So, how long can the world choose to look away and ignore the 171 human beings who burned themselves to use their own bodies as evidence. How long can the United Nations and governments hide behind weak and useless statements. How long can politicians and activists who claim to oppose occupation, genocide and oppression lose their moral courage when it comes to China, the world most brutual and powerful authoritarian regime.
"Standing here today at Times Square, the world's busiest, the most glamorous, the most shiny place. I want to ask the world. Why is Tibet denied the outrage and urgency extended to other occupied and oppressed people? Are Tibetan lives worthless? Is our nation less deserving of freedom, and it gives me no pleasure but to call on the world, which shame, shame to the everyone in the world, who choose to silence and I tell them you are not neutral, you have chosen China's power over colonized life. History will record your silence for what it is, complicity to China's occupation and genocide in Tibet. Your silence is no longer ignorance, your silence is violence and your hands are filled with blood, along with the blood of the Chinese regime. They say that the Tibetans are peace loving people, but even Tibetans have a breaking point. We are angry, we are frustrated, and we are exhausted. But do not mistake our non-violence for weakness. Do not mistake our patience for surrender. We are peaceful people, but we are not defeated people.
"We will commit to Pawo Lobga Rangzen and all the martyrs, that we will not reduce their sacrifices to photographs, vigils, a tweet and then forgot them. We will carry forward the struggle and demand everything that they gave their lives to end China's occupation and restore Tibet's independence.
"We also know that the world will not hand us our freedom. The United Nations or the US government will not rescue us. And China will never willingly return the country it invaded from us. That responsibility belongs to each and every one of us. We must continue to organise with discipline, speak in unity, and build a movement powerful enough to shake the conscience of this world and shake the foundation of Beijing. So from Times Square, this is our message to Beijing, to the United States, and every leader who chooses to choose silence. Tibet has not surrendered. Tibet has not surrendered, will not surrender, and will never surrender. And as long as one Tibetan, one single Tibetan, remains on this planet, the Tibetan nation and the Tibetan movement will continue. And with that, I pray for the long life of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. And to commit to our promise, to bring him back to the Potala Palace and reunite him with our siblings in a free and independent Tibet. Po Rangzen, Po Rangzen Gyalo [victory for Tibetan independence]....."
Niece of Tibetan Martyr Lobga Rangzen said during the gathering, "I am Sonam Choedon, and Pawo Lobga Rangzen is my uncle. His name was Lobsang Palden, but we know, loved and remember him as Lobga Rangzen. He was born in DzaKhong (རྫ་ཁོག), in the Tehor, Kham, in occupied Tibet. After escaping into exile, he dedicated his life to the cause of Tibet. He organised protests, led marches, walks, educational sessions and car rallies, and knocked on the doors of those in power. He lobbied elected officials, mobilized our community, and never stopped fighting for Tibet's independence. For my uncle, Tibet was not a cause. It was his life's purpose. He lived for Tibet every single day, and in the end, he gave his life for Tibet.
"On July 2nd, 2026, my uncle walked to the United Nations, dressed in traditional Tibetan clothing and carrying a Tibetan national flag. He planted that flag firmly and raised the words, "Free Tibet and China out of Tibet," even when his body was engulfed in flames. To commit his final act, my uncle, awakening from something powerful, reminded Tibetans everywhere that we share one homeland, one history, and one responsibility. And his message to the Chinese government was clear: that we have not forgotten who we are, or our land, our language, our faith, and our history. And our 70 years of occupation and repression have not broken the Tibetan spirit.
"For more than seven decades, China has waged a relentless campaign to erase Tibet as a nation. For more than 1.5 million Tibetans have died under occupation. Thousands of monasteries have been destroyed. Over a million Tibetan children have been separated from their families and placed in colonial boarding schools and designed to strip away their language, culture, and identity. Tibetans are imprisoned for peaceful expression. Religious freedom is tightly controlled. Nomads have been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands, and Tibetan language is systematically replaced. An entire generation is being pressured to abandon who they are. Yet, despite decades of repression, Tibetans have refused to surrender.
"And to the people of the world, I want to say this clearly: Do not look away. Do not look away and silence yourself about Tibet. For too long, Tibetans have suffered while the world remains silent. 171 Tibetans have self-immolated, crying out for freedom and begging the world to witness what is happening inside Tibet. Their sacrifices were not meant to be forgotten. These are the highest levels of non-violent political protest that appeal for justice, dignity, and survival of our nation.
"And to my Tibetan brothers and sisters, we now carry our responsibility. Let us continue to stand together to protect our identity and remember the words of our martyrs. And continue to struggle for the cause they gave their lives to and to bring back his homeland to our His Holiness the Dalai Lama, back to Potala Palace, in a free and independent Tibet. Po Lhagyalo! Po Rangzen Lhagyalo! (Victory for Tibet, Victory for Tibetan indepdendence)."
A group of Tibetan students read aloud the names of 171 Tibetan martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for a free and independent Tibet and call for return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
Hundreds of Tibetans further held a silent candlelight vigil and marched from Time Square to the U.N. with participants' wearing white scarves over their mouths as a symbol of the suppression of Tibetan voices inside Tibet and the silence maintained by the international community on Tibet.
