'Hope Crumbles Walls': German MP Gifts Berlin Wall Fragment to Inspire Tibetans

German lawmaker Michael Brand presented a fragment of the Berlin Wall to Tibetan exile leaders in Dharamsala, offering a powerful symbol of hope. Speaking at the official commemoration of the 67th Tibetan National Uprising Day, Brand drew poignant parallels between divided Cold War Germany and the current separation of Tibetans across the Himalayas. He declared that just as the Berlin Wall unexpectedly fell, Chinese rule over Tibet will inevitably collapse. Brand also demanded the immediate release of the Panchen Lama and fiercely rejected any future attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to appoint the next Dalai Lama.