Tenzin NyidonDHARAMSHALA, Aug. 5: The Government of Nepal has cancelled the 17th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS), an internationally renowned academic conference that was scheduled to take place in Kathmandu from August 23 to 29, 2026. A Tibetan researcher told Phayul that even before the government’s decision, the conference had already become the focus of mounting political pressure. The venue, Hotel Soaltee in Kathmandu, has long hosted visiting Chinese state delegations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping during his 2019 visit to Nepal. As diplomatic pressure from Beijing intensified, exile Tibetan scholars and researchers increasingly found themselves sidelined from the event. The seminar was jointly organized by the Kathmandu University Himalaya Centre for Asian Studies (KU HiCAS) and the Rangjung Yeshe Institute.