Human Rights Situation in Tibet
Monthly Newsletter: September 2020
Different People, Same Repressive Tactics: From Tibet to Xinjiang and Back
It is widely known that the Chinese government under President Xi Jinping has become more assertive on the international stage. What is less globally known is that it has also ramped up its efforts to crack down on “ethnic minorities” inside China. The fact that policies in Tibet and East Turkistan (Ch: Xinjiang) tend to overlap is not a surprise. The recent report by Dr. Adrian Zenz revealed that the Chinese government has introduced a coercive labour program in Tibet that is used in Xinjiang.
Adrian Zenz on China’s militarized vocational training system in Tibet: A case study of TAR
Under the guise of alleviating poverty in the Tibet Autonomous Region, (TAR), China introduces new policies coercing thousands of Tibetans in the region into mass labour through a militarised system, said a study authored by Adrain Zenz, an independent researcher specialising in Tibet and East Turkistan (Ch: Xinjiang). His study found that this militarised vocational training system is an attempt to practically suppress Tibetan culture and dilute Tibetan religion whereby the Tibetans are forced to hand over their lands and herds to government-run corporates while they are turned into wage labourers.
Coercive “Labour Training” of over half a million Tibetans by China raised at UNHRC Session
On 25 September 2020, at the ongoing 45th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, the issue of coercive “labour training” of over half a million Tibetans in Tibet by China was raised by Thinlay Chukki, TA’s Special Appointee for Human Rights at Tibet Bureau Geneva. Delivering the oral statement, Ms. Chukki highlighted the hypocrisy of China’s “poverty alleviation” and “development” schemes. Delivering the oral statement, Ms. Chukki highlighted the hypocrisy of China’s “poverty alleviation” and “development” schem
63 Parliamentarians from different countries issue Joint Statement condemning China of forced labour in Tibet
A 63 Parliamentarians from the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) issued a joint statement condemning China on reports of forced labour in Tibet. The report authored by Adrian Zenz titled “Xinjiang Militarized Vocational Training System Comes to Tibet” was co-published by the IPAC and describes the widespread system of forced labour in Tibet.
57-year-old Tibetan released after serving 8 years in Chinese prison
Phagba Kyab, a Tibetan political prisoner, held over eight years in Chinese prison for allegedly pouring petrol on a Tibetan who self-immolated in 2012 was recently released. Phagba Kyab, aged 57 from Eastern Tibet was jailed for alleged involvement in the self-immolation of Lhamo Tsetan from Amchok, Sangchu County, Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, self-immolated in front of the local court in Amchok on 26 October 2012.
The school year begins with harsh new restrictions, language instruction switched from Tibetan to Mandarin
The school year for Tibetan children living in Tibetan areas of China has started under new restrictions, ordering children in one Qinghai county out of their homes and into Chinese boarding schools by the Chinese authorities. The language of the classroom instruction in another county switched from Tibetan to Chinese.
