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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) 
¶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