Dharamsala, February 16: Nearly hundred Chinese and Tibetan people in and around Tokyo gathered jovially on Saturday evening to celebrate the formation of a “Friendship Association” between the two communities in the region.

The two-hour function-cum-interactive dinner gathering was organized by the Tibetan Community in Japan.

Mr. Kalsang Dhondup, President of the Tibetan Community, in his opening remark, greeted the gathering and expressed his happiness that the two communities have “come together to show to the world that we are not against each other, that we love and respect each other and that we can live peacefully together”.

Mr. Lhakpa Tshoko, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan and East Asia welcomed the formation of the Association and said that it was “in line with the principle of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has always preached love, compassion, non-violence and universal brotherhood.”

Describing the newly founded “Chinese-Tibetan Friendship Association” as a non-political entity, the Tibetan representative hoped it could “contribute immensely in clearing many doubts and misunderstanding between the two communities”.

“It is a friendship association formed at community level and this will greatly help in promoting peace and stability in China and Tibet,” Mr Tshoko said.

Dr. Tsewang Nishikura was appointed the president of the association. Mr. Liu Bao and Lee Komatsu are appointed as its Vice Presidents, and Mr. Kalsang Dhondup as the General Secretary of the Association.

Dr. Tsewang, while accepting the responsibility, urged the respective communities to abide by the policy of peace and friendship, and in promoting better understanding, which he would help send good message to the people in China and Tibet.

Vice President Mr. Liu Bao expressed great happiness about the successful formation of the Association. He said that he had been to Tibet several times and had good many Tibetans as friends. Commending Tibet’s “unique Buddhist tradition of peace and concept of others before self”, Bao said Chinese people “have many things to learn from Tibetan”.

In his speech, Bao insisted on the need to have more communication between the two communities.

`Whatever the Chinese government has done, it represents the Government’s stand only, which does not represent Chinese people,” Bao said, and prayed for the success of the Association.

An elderly Chinese man said he was so happy that he wanted to dedicate a song for the occasion and played harmonica. A group of Tibetan and Chinese casually performed Tibetan dance together at a corner. A young Tibetan girl sang a Tibetan song. The performances drew great appreciation and ovation from the crowd. The gathering concluded with an announcement to meet again in future.

According to latest Japanese official records, there are some 606, 899 Chinese residing in Japan, forming the largest foreign community in the country - nearly 30 per cent of the total foreign population. This is exclusive of some 110,000 Chinese who had taken Japanese citizenship till date. On the other hand, Tibetan population, including those who had taken Japanese citizenship, counts to little more than 100 only.