Nepal’s Tibet Conference Controversy Is About More Than Chinese Pressure

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The cancellation of the in-person event also reflects Nepal’s lack of confidence in its ability to manage politically sensitive events.

Buddhist mantras carved and painted on stones on the trail to Khumbu Nepal.

The cancellation of the in-person 17th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS), scheduled for Kathmandu from August 23-29, is being portrayed in Nepal and abroad as the country caving in to China’s undue pressure.

That is not wrong — but it is an incomplete analysis. The cancellation also reflects the Nepal government’s troubled ties with Beijing, inadequate diplomatic outreach, and, just as importantly, the Nepali state’s lack of confidence in its ability to manage politically sensitive events.