iso language code “bo:
iso script code “tibt”

That would at least be neutral.

There are very many Tibetans and other users of Tibetan script (Lhadakhis, Sherpas, Bhutanese, Baltis etc.) living outside Tibet – presumably these groups will also be users of the Tibetan keyboard.

So why should it be tied to a country in the first place?

CLDR locale data has bo, bo-IN, and bo-CN. bo is for common data and bo-IN and bo-CN is for when there are differences between locale data for Tibetan used in India and China.

Similarly if the keyboard layout is common it should simply be “bo”

If xkeyboard-config cannot handle using only a language or script code without country code then it should be fixed.

– Chris

Sorry for wrong spelling – I did not mean any kind of offence. I have all respect to Tibetan people (despite the fact that I know so little about them).

The Manchu (not the same as the Chinese) took nominal control of Tibet in the 18th century, and had varying degrees of control in the centuries that followed. The nature of this control is much a matter of political and academic debate; see the works of Elliott Sperling for a balanced account. However for nearly the first half of the 20th century Tibet operated as a fully independent nation, after kicking out the remaining Manchu as soon as the Qing dynasty fell in 1911. So the claim that “This status has been maintained during all the coups and revolutions that changed the Chinese government” is blatently false.

As for Tibetan’s attitudes, I speak Tibetan (whereas I am quite confident that Alfred East does not), and after spending the past 3 months in Tibet I can assure you that the view of Tibet as an independent country and of Chinese as foreign occupiers is not a “minority viewpoint” held by people outside Tibet. If I could I would cite sources that would be very shocking, but keeping these people out of danger is a lot more important than convincing a bunch of blog readers.

I don’t know if all this is ignorance on Alfred East’s part or if he has a pro-PRC agenda, but it’s irresponsible nonetheless. Try getting some better information sources before you post offensive nonsense like this and misinform people who don’t know about the situation.

FYI, I am the author of the XKB Tibetan keyboard layout as well as a long-term supporter of restoring Tibetan independence. I feel it’s important for everyone to be honest where they’re coming from in matters like this.

The “Tibetan Government in exile” is not recognized by any coutry because it lacks all the qualities to be a government in exile. It is an unelected cast of monks that left the Tibetan region some decades ago, after refusing to renegotiate their theocratic ruling with the People’s Republic of China (while in the past centuries they had enough autonomy to keep the whole region in the middle ages).

The Government in Exile’s authority is not recognized by the vast majority of the Tibetan population. It is true that Tibetan separatist movements are repressed by the Chinese government, but it does not mean that they have considerable support (except from Western media, that emphasize every single action they perform). These movements are mostly composed by monks still loyal to the exiled Dalai Lama. But the Tibetan people have always had a different view: they gave no resistence to the so-called “chinese invasion of Tibet” in 1950 (that outlawed serfdom and slavery) and gave no support to the CIA-backed anti-chinese guerrilla that appeared shortly after in the Tibetan mountains. For a Tibetan-friendly account of these facts, see http://www.friendsoftibet.org/databank/usdefence/usd7.html

You write that USA does not support the Dalai Lama, but the truth is that Western governments would be definitely simpathetic with an “independent” Tibet taken back under the ruling of the Dalai Lama, because it would destabilize and reduce the frightening economic power of the People’s Republic of China. But today there is no basis nor Tibetan people’s support to politically maintain this plan, and everything is reduced to some media propaganda and a few Hollywood movies.

Given that it’s impossibile to choose a name for a Tibetan keyboard layout without creating some political dissatisfaction, it would be quite difficult to break ISO standards just because a part of the population of some Western countries supports the so-called “Tibetan Government in exile”. Anyway, since it’s free software, that part of population may always decide to create a fork

Perhaps no country recognizes the “Tibetan Government in exile”, but so what? The American government didn’t declare war in Iraq, but I think it’s pretty clear to all that it is a war. Official government recognition is merely politics, as you note, and often not reality.

Saying that Tibetan separatists live outside of Tibet is practically meaningless. Do you know what the Chinese have done to Tibetan separatists living in Tibet? Maybe it would be more accurate to say there are few Tibetan separatists in Tibet who are still alive!

My take on the matter: the Dalai Lama said Tibet is not China (though he has become less emphatic on the matter in recent years), and he was born there, and is their spiritual leader. The Chinese and American governments don’t agree with this, but they’re not exactly shining beacons of truth.

It’s a “political decision” either way; you can’t pretend it’s not. I wouldn’t be so rash as to boycott something because of this, but I would certainly notice who you’re siding with.

Anyhow, we do language-based layouts here, and it’s been a bit of a horror. Going by country and disambiguating by language seems to be the most sensible choice, AFAICT.