GDP. In 1995, I wrote a brief history of the Golog people and offered it to His Holiness. After that I personally met with His Holiness and His Holiness asked me to tell the story of the Golog people and to write a book. In 1997 when His Holiness came back from Paris, He personally came to me and asked how the story about Golog was coming along. I told Him that if I can go to a Tibetan library and get books then I can do better. Then His Holiness said there is a library here and computers. So I started working at the library. But then one day I lost all my work. And then again in May of 1998, I started it again.

LG. How much have you done?

GDP. I have written 526 pages and really it is now two books. One is about the religious people and their areas: the history of the monasteries and what happened to them.

LG. Can you tell me how you are getting information for the books?

GDP. I have sent guides to Tibet to get information and then they come back with the information and then I write about it.

LG. What kind of information? Historical?

GDP. I have sent a few people; some have not come back yet, but some have returned. I have tried to get information about how many people were killed, how many died from starvation, how many were put into jail, and what actually happened in the fighting.

LG Are they interviewing people?

GDP. I do it through interviews, through the press, and through speaking to old persons. Also, the talk about the killings and the jailings in 1958 and 1959 is now very common in the Amdo area and I know this information already through letters.

LG. Do you have any pictures of what happened?

GDP. What kind of pictures?

LG. People being killed, of starvation, of destroyed monasteries.

GDP. I have a few of destroyed monasteries.

LG. Are you going to include pictures in your book?

GDP. I have photos of destroyed monasteries and also of destroyed forests that I will include.

LG. How have they destroyed the environment?

GDP. Mainly the Chinese have taken eighteen kinds of precious materials: coal and mainly gold. And since 1966, the Chinese have taken uranium.

LG. Is there a lot of uranium in Golog?

GDP. There is one monastery where there is uranium. Under the monastery there is uranium, but they haven't taken it yet.

LG. Have they taken it from other places?

GDP. I have no idea.

LG. I am confused. You said they are taking uranium and now you say it is under the monasteries and they are not taking it.

GDP. I am trying to say that they are taking sulphur. And people say they are taking it to make new weapons.

LG. Sulphur is not used to make weapons.

GDP. But people are saying that. LG. But under the Gompa there is uranium?

GDP. The Chinese are saying that.

LG. Are people allowed to go to this Gompa now or are there Chinese soldiers preventing this?

GDP. There is the Tarchen monastery on a mountain and under this mountain there is a uranium treasure, and during 1996 or 1997, 50 Chinese workers came to this area and then they tried to take it out. And the Monks and the people of the area gave a demonstration. The Chinese say that the monastery should be moved to another place because of the treasure there.

LG. What other treasures do the Chinese want?

GDP. They want gold.

LG. So you are getting information about the environment, about the monasteries, and about people getting killed? The Chinese will probably say that all of your information is biased; it may not be true and that it is trying to help the Tibetans. How can you prove that this is the truth?

GDP. Most of the time I try to prove that these are Chinese documents and their photos so they can¹t say they are not true.

LG. What else do you want to say about your book?

GDP. The main topic in the book is that before the Chinese in 1958 the Golog population is 130,000 people and then after the killings there was left only 40,000. And I want to tell how they died.

LG. When do you plan to finish the book?

GDP. The year 2001 or 2002. LG. And who will publish the book? GDP. His Holiness will give me access to publishing. Also, the Golog people in the United States will help to have it published in the United States. Having it published in the U.S. will have easier access. but the people in India wouldn¹t be able to buy it. But I don¹t know who I can get to publish it in India.

LG. What language will it be published in?

GDP. Tibetan.

LG. I agree that it is very expensive to have it published in the U.S. and that it is better to have it published in India. But it is very important to have it translated into English because many Tibetans already know the story and other English speaking people don¹t know this story.

GDP. The materials I am getting from Tibet are very reliable so I think that the book is my own idea. And the Golog people living in the United States if they think it is reliable will want it translated into English. But until now I can't say anything but first it will be published into Tibetan. And then if it is seen as valuable His Holiness will want it published into English and into Chinese.

LG. I think it is a good idea to have it published in Chinese. And what is the title of the book?

GDP. It is undecided. I will discuss this with my friends who know the topic very well.

LG. When the book comes out, I would like to know about it, and then I will do what I can to have people buy the book.

GDP. I have talked about this book a few times with you and interviews with Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. In this way, people in Tibet already know about this. And sometimes I get phone calls from Tibet saying that the Chinese people know that I am writing a book about Golog. And so, I think that I should use Chinese documents in writing this book so it will be more exact.

LG. How many hours a day are you working on this book?

GDP. The schedule for my work is changing. When I started I was teaching at the monastery. After that, I could spend some time during the day working on it. And after that I came to work in the Tibetan library. Since His Holiness asked me twice how many pages have you finished, the library has realized the book is important and has allowed me to use all of my time for the book. And now I work in the office from 9 until 5 p.m. and then after dinner I work on the book until midnight. So now I work most of the time.

LG. And how long do you think it will be before it is finished?

GDP. I plan to have it finished by the 29th of January. And also, my friends and I are working on a biography of The Panchen Lama. We are very busy. On the 29th of January, we are to check in with His Holiness.

LG. Have you ever written a book before?

GDP. A work that was published in Tibet is about one Chinese district in Golog. In that district there are 11 monasteries and the book is about this religious aspect.

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