Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 1: Acclaimed Hollywood actor and long-time advocate for Tibetan rights, Richard Gere, is set to receive the prestigious Goya Internacional 2025 award from the Spanish Film Academy. This honour acknowledges his contributions to cinema and his steadfast commitment to humanitarian causes.
The academy lauded Gere, celebrated for his roles in films like Pretty Woman and American Gigolo, for his “extraordinary impact on the art of filmmaking” and his performances in some of the most iconic movies in history. It further praised his deep social engagement, citing his work on behalf of refugees, the homeless, and human rights.
Notably, the academy highlighted Gere’s unwavering activism for Tibetan autonomy and cultural preservation, recognising him as a dedicated supporter of Tibet who has frequently met with the Dalai Lama, the revered exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
Gere has shared that his connection to Tibetan Buddhism dates back to the late 1970s when he traveled to India and Nepal, where he first met the Dalai Lama. This encounter profoundly shaped his spiritual journey, leading him to become a practicing Buddhist and a vocal advocate for Tibetan freedom.
His activism has, however, come at a personal cost. In 1993, during the Academy Awards, Gere deviated from his script while presenting an award, publicly condemning China’s occupation of Tibet and its “horrendous human rights situation.” His outspoken stance led to a lifetime ban from China and significantly impacted his Hollywood career, as major studios, wary of offending the Chinese market, distanced themselves from him.
Despite these setbacks, Gere remains steadfast in his advocacy. He frequently visits Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, and has participated in key events, including the Dalai Lama’s 87th birthday celebration in 2022. His commitment to the Tibetan cause is further reflected in his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and through the Gere Foundation, which supports humanitarian initiatives worldwide.
The 75-year-old actor will receive the Goya Internacional at a nationally televised awards ceremony in Granada on February 8, the Spanish academy announced.
2 Responses
I agree with Bhod Gyal and convey my heartfelt congratulation to him. Spain proved it can take bold step whereas Hollyhood failed to maintain it’s own dignity against the Communist China.
The so called butterfly effect was experienced by Tibet. What it means is that a flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil can set off a a tornado in Texas! When Britain granted independence to India in 1947, its butterfly effect was the Chinese invasion of Tibet as it left a vacuum of a great power and newly independent India was unable to fill up the vacuum. The Chinese had long held its evil design on Tibet since it has an imperialist colonial mindset inherited from its own conquerors! It was however thwarted by the British presence in India and British influence in Tibet. Being imperialists and colonisers themselves, the British kept the Russians and the Chinese at bay and instead made its presence in Tibet through the Young Husband invasion to force Tibet to trade with Tibet. Tibet was able to retain its independence while most of the world’s other countries were under colonial rule including India. The British were also responsible for isolating Tibet in its attempt to keep all neighbouring powers at bay from Tibet. The Chinese claims to Tibet rise from British India’s policy to isolate Tibet by signing the imperialist agreements with Russia (Anglo-Russian convention 1904) and China, (the Anglo-Chinese convention of 1906) without consulting the Tibetans and contradicted themselves and gravely compromised Tibet’s sovereignity and imperialists China took full advantage of laying claims as the basis of British imperialist policies and Chinese imperialist ambitions. In the end, as the British left the shores of India, those imperialist instruments devised and concocted by colonial powers came to haunt Tibet with the Chinese imperialists using the British imperialist’s instruments for its selfish ends to lay claim over Tibet. The Chinese however knew that any British imperialists instrument had no weight whatsoever upon the Tibetans. So, they forced Tibet to sign the so called “17 point Agreement” with the threat of violent invasion unless Tibet signed it on the dotted line. Thus began the Tibetan catastrophy- nakba in May 1951. Just like the Palestinian people were dispossessed by the European Jews (Ashkenazi Jews) who drove them from their ancestral land and made them refugees, in the same way the Chinese communists drove the Dalai Lama from his rightful seat on the Potala and dismantled the Sovereign Government of Tibet and imposed an alien imposter on the land of the Tibetan people! As the country descended into chaos and the Chinese bombarded the most sacred place and the symbol of Tibet’s sovereign Government, the Potala Palace, Tibet was seeing the end of its independence and as a free people. Foreign occupation was starring down the face of Tibet and so began the great exodus of 80,000 Tibetans across the high Himalayas to an uncertain future. The Dalai Lama was in their hearts. He was their hope, their succour and their refuge! The Dalai Lama didn’t let them down. Even though he was young, he was charismatic, charming and engaging. Soon, he made hundreds and thousands of friends across the globe. Tom Lantos was the first US senator who befriended the Dalai Lama. Senator Tim Lantos was a Hungarian born Jew who was the first and only Holocaust survivor who served in the US Congress. Tom Lantos could understand the situation of the Dalai Lama because he found himself in the same situation when he was only ten years old. He saw the Headline of a News Paper screaming, HITLER MARCHES INTO AUSTRIA and Austria is only 100 miles from Budapest-the capital of Hungary! He became a big supporter of the Dalai Lama and Tibet and this also rubbed off onto people like Nancy Pelosi, Richard Gere and many, many wonderful US senators. Those were the days when the Dalai Lama was young, cheerful, serene and infectious. Richard Gere became a follower of the Dalai Lama through his interest in Buddhism. He was a Hollywood heart-throb in the 1990s and he came out to support the Dalai Lama and his cause. He acted in RED CORNER which exposed the Chinese communist legal system as corrupt and sham institution. The Chinese communist system was neither fair nor just! It favours the rich and a person with connections with the high officials, they can forge evidence to frame people and nobody can do anything about it. It protects the high ranking officials and CCP members but the rest of the population is treated with contempt. Richard Gere is said to have given a great performance in this film and it gave the impression that “the Chinese Government and army are all bad people”!!! One of the most extraordinary things Richard Gere did was, he was asked to present the award for the best Art Direction at an Oscars ceremony 1993. He went off script and began berating the Chinese communist Government’s treatment of Tibetans and the Chinese people which was being watched by one billion people! He implored Deng Xiaoping to “REMOVE THE CHINESE TROOPS FROM TIBET AND ALLOW TIBETANS TO BE INDEPENDENT”! He was banned from the Oscars ceremony for twenty long years and communist China was so incensed that it banned him from visiting China for life! Getting banned from Oscars is rare but that’s what happened to Richard Gere. He has made such extreme sacrifices to support the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people. In fact, his acting career plummeted ever since and the evil CCP tried its best to ruin his career. He continued his support for Tibet through the International Campaign for Tibet and Tibet fund. He put money, time effort and dedication for the cause of Tibet for many decades. Every Tibetan has a soft heart for Richard Gere who has been an untiring supporter of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people in our darkest hour of brutal occupation, ethnic cleaning and genocide by the most vile and evil regime the world has ever known. It is therefore bitter sweet that he is being awarded Spain’s Top Film Award for cinematic Excellence! THANK YOU RICHARD GERE SIR, FOR YOUR DEDICATION FOR TIBET AND DEVOTION TO THE DALAI LAMA FOR ALL THESE YEARS! WE ARE INDEBTED FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT AND ELATED FOR BEING OUR FRIEND IN TIMES OF MONUMENTAL NATIONAL TRAGEDY!
ང་བོད་པར་སྐྱེས་པ་བསོད་ནམས་ཆེ།།
TIBET ALWAYS WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE TIBET!