Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHENGDU280
2009-11-30 17:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Chengdu
Cable title:  

A TIBETAN ENGLISH TEACHER TALKS TURKEY

Tags:  PHUM SOCI VOA CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3043
RR RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHCN #0280/01 3341719
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 301719Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3582
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 4293
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000280 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2034
TAGS: PHUM SOCI VOA CH
SUBJECT: A TIBETAN ENGLISH TEACHER TALKS TURKEY

REF: A) CHENGDU 115; B) 08 CHENGDU 42; C) CHENGDU 257;

CHENGDU 00000280 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: David E. Brown, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000280

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2034
TAGS: PHUM SOCI VOA CH
SUBJECT: A TIBETAN ENGLISH TEACHER TALKS TURKEY

REF: A) CHENGDU 115; B) 08 CHENGDU 42; C) CHENGDU 257;

CHENGDU 00000280 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: David E. Brown, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

1. (C) Summary: A Tibetan English teacher, school principal,
and amateur drama director discussed navigating Tibet's
difficult political climate and introducing students to foreign
cultures through English language instruction. Norbu once
worked with foreign NGOs, but since friends in the Tibetan
Autonomous Region (TAR) Public Security Bureau warned him
against working with NGOs ("one of the "top ten security threats
facing the TAR"),he steers clear of them. He uses material
from YouTube, VOA and other blocked websites for his classes
because the young adults of his evening English class have no
difficulties surmounting the Chinese government's Great Red
Firewall. Norbu's advanced English students have learned,
translated into Tibetan, and done a dramatic re-enactment in
English of President Obama's inaugural address. End Summary.



The English Teacher Runs School,

Evening Class and Tibetan Language Drama Club

--------------




2. (C) Norbu is: a 30-year old, part-owner of an 800-student,
English language school in Lhasa; the convener of a
Tibetan-language drama club; and the English teacher at a small,
18-student evening English language school for young adults at a
Lhasa hotel. Norbu majored in English education at Shaanxi
Normal University in Xi'an after attending a Tibetan Middle
School in Shanghai, and a Tibetan High School in Tianjin.
[Note: Since the middle 1980s, many promising young Tibetans,
and particularly the children of Tibetan party and government
cadres, are sent outside the TAR for their middle and high
school education so that they will develop near-native speaker
mastery of Chinese. In many major Chinese cities, including
Chengdu, Beijing, and Shanghai, there are special Tibetan high
schools (ref A). End Note.]




3. (C) Norbu added that, despite focusing heavily on the Chinese
language from middle school through university outside of the
TAR, he still achieved a good level of reading and writing as
well as speaking Tibetan because of the strong insistence and

help of his grandfather. [Note: Many young Tibetans who get a
good education and acquire excellent Chinese in schools outside
the TAR bitterly regret their shortcomings in reading and
writing Tibetan (ref B). End Note] Norbu leads a Tibetan
language theatrical troupe composed of young adults. His
English teaching is imbued with a theatrical style, e.g. via the
English language speeches that he has his students perform.




4. (C) ConGenOff asked Norbu if he agreed with Tashi Tsering's
argument (ref C) that the repealed 1983 law on the use of the
Tibetan language in the TAR should be re-instated. Norbu
replied "Tashi Tsering is full of talk. A law that was never
put into effect is the same thing as no law!"




5. (C) When asked if he agreed with what some Han people say
that "Tibetans can't eat bitterness like ethnic Han", he
replied, "I completely agree. Tibetans aren't as hard working
as ethnic Han. Tibetans need to be very hard working!" (ref C)



Staying Safe: Knowing the Sensitive Areas,

Ensuring High Level Officials Know He Is OK



--------------




6. (C) When ConGenOff asked if teaching English could be
politically sensitive in the TAR, Norbu answered "I received a
Chinese middle school and high school education outside of the
TAR, and university education at Shaanxi Normal University in
Xi'an, so I know how to work with the Han, and where the
sensitive areas are." He added: "I regularly invite higher
ranking TAR party and government officials, including a former
vice mayor of Lhasa, to my classes and special school ceremonies
so that will be comfortable with what I am doing." He added

CHENGDU 00000280 002 OF 003


that "Winston Churchill said that 'Politicians are whores who
run after the favor of the rich.' I intend to become rich."



TAR Public Security Says

International NGOs are Serious Security Threat



-------------- -


7. (C) Norbu said that he had worked with foreign NGOs in Lhasa
before, but now avoids them. He explained that he had found
their support was always short term and uncertain. More
importantly, several of his friends in TAR Public Security had
warned him that TAR Public Security considered foreign NGOs one
of the top ten security threats facing the TAR, so he should not
seek support from them. Even meeting with foreigners can be
sensitive. He mentioned that he would like to meet with a group
of foreigners who teach at Tibet University to learn more about
foreign language teaching methods, but has not because he heard
that it is politically sensitive for a Tibetan to meet with a
group of foreigners.



Tibetan Students Re-Enact President Obama's Inaugural Address



-------------- --------------




8. (C) Norbu uses some USG educational videos in his lessons,
including a high definition video of President Obama's
inauguration with Tibetan subtitles. Students learn the meaning
of the phrases and then they themselves do a dramatic
re-enactment of President Obama's inaugural address. Norbu uses
in his English lessons videos that he or his students have
downloaded from VOA, other U.S. government websites such as
whitehouse.gov, YouTube and other websites. During ConGenOff's
visit, the class watched a VOA English-language educational film
about a young couple trying to find their way to Mt. Rushmore.
Norbu commented that his evening class of Tibetan young adults
all have laptops, and all know how to get around the PRC
government's blocking of YouTube and other websites.



Teacher to Students:

"This isn't America. You Have No Right to Privacy!"

-------------- --------------




9. (C) Norbu says he motivates his students to do their homework
well by posting it on the internet so that they will be
embarrassed if they do it poorly. He tells his students, "This
is not the United States! You have no right to privacy!"
ConGenOff attended an hour-and-a-half English class in Norbu's
well equipped (a big video screen at front of the room and
miniature stage at right for student dramatic productions) room
in a Lhasa hotel three blocks from the Barkhor. Norbu uses the
same locale for a Tibetan drama club for young adults.



Questions About the United States from Tibetan Students



-------------- --------------




10. (C) During the class, Norbu first had the students serve as
interpreters for him -- they relayed the question from Norbu,
and then translated ConGenoff's answers into Tibetan. Later,
Norbu served as the interpreter as he asked that evening's class
of 15 young Tibetan adults to ask me questions, which Norbu
would then translate into Tibetan. The questions were:

-- How many black people are there in the United States?

-- Why are American universities so good?


CHENGDU 00000280 003 OF 003


-- Why does the United States owe so much money to the rest of
the world after the financial crisis?

-- How would you compare the Tibetan heart, the Han heart and
the American heart?
BROWN