The 17th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) Conference, scheduled to be held at Kathmandu University, Nepal, from August 23-29, was cancelled on August 5 and later shifted online. The cancellation was done by the organizers, at the formal request of the Nepali government.
The IATS conference is one of the premier academic forums for Tibetan culture, history, language and religion. The conference was set to bring together scholars from 40 countries, including India, China, and the United States – many of whom had already arranged and paid for costs to attend the conference in Kathmandu. The conference had been in planning for four years, as Nepal was selected to host the seminar in 2022. The abrupt cancellation of the conference on grounds of “security concerns” highlights both Beijing’s ironclad grip and bid to assert authority over Tibetan Buddhism.
The cancellation came after Chinese officials expressed concerns over pro-Tibet activists using the platform for demonstrations. Notably, Nepal’s security agencies had ruled out the possibility of a security threat to the event.
The pressure came not only from Chinese diplomats but, most remarkably, a religious figure. The Venerable Master Yinshun, former vice president of the Buddhist Association of China and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and abbot of the Chinese Temple of Nepal, visited Nepal on July 29. Following his visit, combined with diplomatic efforts by Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming, around a dozen scholars from the Tibetan Policy Institute in India withdrew their participation from the conference.
