Gere hits Capitol to talk Tibet

by Hanna Krueger - 07/14/15 6:51 PM ET

Actor and human rights activist Richard Gere on Tuesday lauded Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in Chinese captivity earlier this week, at a hearing led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Gere praised the Dalai Lama and Tenzin Delek in a hearing called “Tibet & China: Searching for a New Way Forward.”

{mosads}“He was an extraordinary person,” Gere said of the late monk, who was 13 years into a 20-year a sentence for charges that human rights groups say were false. “This is someone who was bridging cultures, creating commonality between the Tibetan and Chinese. And I think that was the problem for the Chinese.”

Gere said despite Tenzin Delek’s death, he will continue to abide by his Buddhist principles and remain calm and peaceful.

“When you’re trying to do something that is good and right and true, you can’t expect it to happen overnight,” shared the actor. “And no violence especially takes a long time, and this movement is non-violent.”

Despite the obstacles, Gere remained certain better days were on the horizon for the region.

“There is going to be a moment when the Tibetans and Chinese get along very well,” he said.

While Gere admitted he’d probably have difficulty applying for a visa in China, he said his movies had cemented themselves in Chinese culture.

“When I go to Hong Kong, the people say, ‘Oh we love your movies!’ ” explained the star of “Pretty Woman” and “Primal Fear.”

“Many years ago, I was going up in an elevator in one of the hotels in China, and the elevator operator looked up to where the camera was in the elevator and got really close to me and goes, ‘I loved Red Corner.’ ”

A political activist by day and actor by night, Gere will be attending a screening of his new drama, “Time Out of Mind”, on Wednesday night.

Tags Richard Gere