China’s Pressure Leads Tibetan Exile Administration to Skip Official Role in Nepal (Kathmandu) Conference
Lobsang 
Tibetan Frontline
According to Hindusthan Samachar reports that Chinese diplomatic pressure on Nepal has influenced a major academic event on Tibetan studies. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, India, has decided not to send official representatives to the 17th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) in Kathmandu.
The conference is scheduled from 23 to 29 August 2026. It is being hosted for the first time in Nepal by Kathmandu University’s Himalaya Centre for Asian Studies and the Centre for Buddhist Studies at Rangjung Yeshe Institute.
The CTA had originally planned to send five members from its Tibet Policy Institute, including Director Dawa Tsering and several researchers. However, after Chinese Ambassador Chen Song met Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai on 20 July and expressed concern that the event could become a platform for anti-China statements, the CTA changed its plans.
On 21 July, the CTA decided it would not participate officially. It took this step to avoid creating difficulties for the Nepalese government and to allow the conference to proceed smoothly. Individual Tibetan scholars who have already registered may still attend in a personal capacity.
Nepal has a large Tibetan refugee population and has traditionally been careful in managing relations with China. Beijing regards any official involvement of the Dalai Lama’s administration in international events related to Tibet as a challenge to its sovereignty.
Organisers of the conference have stressed that it is a purely academic gathering. More than 700 delegates from 39 countries have registered. The largest group, about 150 participants, is coming from the United States. Nearly 100 scholars from China are also expected to attend, including researchers from Lhasa, Sichuan, Qinghai and Beijing. Scholars from leading universities such as Harvard, Columbia, Oxford and Cambridge will take part as well.
The International Association for Tibetan Studies is a respected global body of researchers focused on Tibetan history, language, religion, culture and society. Its seminars are held every three years in different countries. Previous Asian venues were Japan in 1989 and Mongolia in 2013.
Dr Sagar Sharma of Kathmandu University, one of the local coordinators, said all arrangements are being made in close coordination with government agencies. He described the event as a matter of pride for Nepal and insisted that, as a purely academic conference, it should face no problems.
The episode highlights the continuing sensitivity surrounding Tibet-related activities in the region. While China has not demanded the cancellation of the seminar, its expression of concern was enough to change the CTA’s official plans. The conference itself will still go ahead with strong international participation, including from Chinese scholars.
This situation shows how academic discussions on Tibet remain closely watched by Beijing, even when they are organised as independent scholarly events.
About the Author
Karma Ngawang 
Jun Hao 
