Help SFT raise urgent funds for 2021!

My name is Dorjee Tseten and I am the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT).  This holiday season, under unprecedented circumstances, I am asking you to help SFT raise urgent funds to continue its indispensable work for Tibet in 2021. 

Despite crushing challenges we faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our work for Tibet never stopped for a second. From holding Apple accountable, to coordinating the largest cross-movement action against China’s brutalities, we’ve achieved major milestones for Tibet. However, we’re operating in unprecedented times. As you are aware, many NGOs have been hit hard during the pandemic and SFT is no different. This year we were unable to host our core fundraisers such as Longsho Nite, Momo Crawl, and Art for Tibet. 

In times like these we draw inspiration from the people in our communities who use their energies to sustain the movement. It is the power of this community that gives me hope for the future of Tibet. In a pandemic that brought the world to its knees, you helped us make critical progress for Tibet.

Here are some of the milestones we have accomplished together this year. 

During quarantine, SFT launched #SFTLive, #SFT-Live covered a wide range of topics beyond the pandemic, including activism, politics, health, Tibetan culture, music, and resistance history, reaching 1.25 million unique viewers. These numbers are unprecedented in the movement.

For the 1st time, Apple issued a new human rights policy that lays out the company’s commitment to freedom of information and expression as human rights. This victory proves that a small activist group can hold a multi-billion dollar company like Apple accountable for enabling China’s cyber-surveillance and censorship. 



SFT shut down a China-sponsored propaganda exhibit about Tibet at the Queens Public Library (QPL) in New York. Thanks to the pressure put on by the grassroots campaign targeting the exhibit that sought to whitewash China’s occupation of Tibet, the QPL decided on February 22 to shut down the controversial exhibition, not only at the Elmhurst branch but all other seven branches as per the initial plan. This victory shows that grassroots activism is more powerful than CCP state propaganda. 



This past year, there has been tremendous progress in SFT’s goal to end Chinese propaganda on global university campuses through the Confucius Institute. 23 Confucius Institutes closed across the United States in 2020. SFT launched its first ‘Say no to CI’ Campaign in 2014 and we are now seeing the global impact of SFT's campaign, with more CI shutdowns taking place in Sweden, Canada, Australia, Germany, and other countries. 


SFT worked with over 200 human rights groups to stage one of the largest ever cross-movement strategic actions for the “Global Day of Action”  on October 1, PRC founding day. A united force of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolians, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Chinese democracy activists came together in resistance to take actions in 90 cities, 40 countries, and across 6 continents to resist Chinese government tyranny. 


More update and victories here:  https://studentsforafreetibet.org/2020-year-in-review/

As we reflect on our many achievements this past year we also recognize that we have more work ahead of us. The Chinese government’s initial cover up of the pandemic has now brought the entire world to a standstill and China's authoritarian practices of censorship and repression endanger people everywhere. Globally, there is growing consensus to take stronger action against the Chinese government. Therefore, 2021 will be a very critical year for the Tibetan Freedom Movement. 

The Tibet movement needs SFT’s energy and strategic leadership, perhaps now more than ever. As we look ahead, we urgently need your support to meet our 2021 campaigns and programs goals. With your help, we will challenge Xi Jinping’s reign of terror in Tibet, wage a strong global campaign against the Beijing 2022 Olympics, activate more new leaders from the next generation, and further strengthen our cross-movement coordination to fortify our path to freedom. 

We are determined and united in our struggle and we have a clear vision and hope. Nothing can stop us. Please consider making a donation today to make 2021 a momentous year for Tibet. 100% of the all the funds raised will go directly SFT's 2021 campaigns and program. 

With gratitude and hope! 

Dorjee Tseten (and Dechen Kelden, Pema Doma, Tensonam, Jacob, Tselha and the whole team at SFT)