Tibetan National Uprising Day

Washington D.C.

Every year the Tibetan community in DC celebrates the 1959 uprising against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. After the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in 1949, Communist troops moved into Tibet, incorporating it into China in 1950, leaving the Dalai Lama as the nominal leader. On March 10, 1959, a national uprising demanded that China leave Tibet and restore full sovereignty. It was crushed by the People’s Liberation Army. The Dalai Lama moved to India. The uprising has been honored every year on March 10.

In 2017, a couple dozen Tibetans along with a few local allies marched from the Chinese embassy to Dupont Circle, and from there to the White House, waving flags and holding banners.