Returnee to Tibet feels at home

For Jewon Koondhor, Lhasa is the most livable city in the world, even though he left Tibet at the age of 7, spent decades in Zurich, Switzerland, and only returned to settle in Lhasa in 2011 at age 59.

When Jewon Koondhor, one of the Living Buddhas at Qamdo's Jambalin monastery, left the Tibet autonomous region in 1959, there were only two schools in the region. He was astonished at the changes in Tibet when he returned to China for the first time in 1984.

After several decades, Tibet has now made great achievements in culture and education, healthcare, social security, traffic and communications that have drawn the world's attention, said Jewon Koondhor, now a member of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.

"I'm delighted with the progress in Tibet's poverty relief work, and I'm glad to see that Tibetan people, especially those living in villages, are having a better life," he said, adding that he wanted to make his own contribution to serving his motherland and Tibetan compatriots.

In 2012, he became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Tibetan Committee and started to serve as vice-chairman of Tibet's Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

In 2018, he became a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee.

As a national political adviser with years of experience living abroad, Jewon Koondhor's proposals involve such aspects as medical insurance, education and ecological protection.

This year, one of his proposals was about the environmental pollution caused by over-packaging.

He said that in China, gifts and parcels are usually packaged in big boxes, which causes unnecessary waste.

"We can learn from the practice in Europe. That is, we can use simple packages as much as possible," he said.

More than 380 literary works and cultural relics that have accompanied Jewon Koondhor for almost his entire life are now back in China.

In 2019, he donated all of them, including dozens of Level I and Level II national-level cultural relics. Among them was the seal of a former emperor in Tibet's Bomi areas. All of the literary works and cultural relics are well preserved.

"I donated these items because I hope they will be sent back to the homeland as soon as possible, when I'm still alive, and be protected by professional agents. Only in this way, will I feel assured," he said.

He said he will continue to promote the real Tibet to the outside world and that he welcomes Tibetans living abroad to visit the region and learn about its development and changes.

As this year marks Tibet's 70th anniversary of peaceful liberation, Jewon Koondhor said he will be dedicated to making people's lives increasingly better in the region.