Starting from 10th March in Lhasa and lasting several months, the Autonomous Region of Tibet and Tibetan areas in other provinces were engulfed by an unprecedented wave of protests. The demonstrations coincided with the forthcoming Beijing Olympic Games. During the course of these months, Woeser began writing a daily update of events on her middleway blog, compiled from news she received from her friends and contacts. Because of restrictions on international media covering the news, Woeser’s blog became one of the main sources of news and information. During the period her blog received over 3 million hits and became the target of attack from Chinese nationalist hackers. In May, a group known as Red Hackers destroyed the middleway blog and the original posts were lost. The English translations were initially posted on China Digital Times. The original post in Chinese can be found on Woeser's reconstructed middleway blog here.
March 10th
500 monks from Drepung Monastery joined the peaceful demonstration. They were beaten and targeted with tear gas by the authorities. The monastery has been surrounded since then. There has been no water supply. Diners nearby are closed. The living condition for the monks inside the monastery is getting difficult.
14 monks from Sera, holding Tibetan flags, protested in front of Thsulhakang. They were beaten and arrested by police. Many Tibetans witnessed what was going on, begging the police to stop beating. As a result, 3 lay Tibetans were also arrested.
Amdo (Haidong Tibetan autonomous district, Qinghai province) Monks from Decha Monastery (Sorry that I don’t have time to check its Tibetan spelling) in Hualong Xian held peaceful demonstration. Army force and police dispersed them.
Amdo (Hainan Tibetan autonomous district, Qinghai province) Monks from Lucang Monastery in Gueinan Xain held peaceful demonstration. Army force and police dispersed them.
Monks in Detsa monastery (or Ditsa, Ch: Decha) in Bayankhar (Ba-yan-mkhar; Ch. Hualong County), Amdo (Tsoshar (Ch. Haidong) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held peaceful protest, but were dispersed by armed polices.
Monks in Lutsang monastery (there is a Lu monastery in Mangra, but not sure whether it is the same known as Lucang monastery in Chinese) in Mangra County (Mangra; Ch. Guinan County, Amdo (Tsolho [Ch. Hainan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held peaceful protest, but were dispersed by armed polices.
March 11th
600 monks from Sera had their peaceful protest. They were beaten and targeted with tear gas by the authorities. The monastery has been surrounded since then. There has been no water supply. Diners nearby are closed. The living condition for the monks inside the monastery is getting difficult.
March 12th
Two monks from Drepung cut their own wrist. Monks in Sera went on hunger strike.
March 13th
Hundreds of monks from Ganden Monastery and 150 nuns from Chubsang nunnery intended to go inside the Lhasa city for peaceful demonstration. They have been surrounded by army force and police since then. All of the three major monasteries in Lhasa were closed by the authorities.
March 14th
Morning. Nearly 100 monks gathered close to Renmoche to protest against the recent suppression in Drepong, Sera, ect. They were stopped and beaten by police, This triggered lay Tibetans’ anger, disbursing into a large protest joined by tens of thousands of people. Conflicting incidents took place… (I skipped the casualty counts that are already in other media) According to reliable sources, from the public security bureau in Lhasa (Lhasa gong an ju), the order for police restraining from shooting was lifted. From 14th onward, armies and police were allowed to open fire toward the crowd.
March 15th
Lhasa was controlled by move-in armies. In a full scope, they began to search and arrest people. According to reliable resource, there were at least 600 people arrested. The city is under curfew…. Give-in deadline in the midnight on March 17 was posted online.
Marches and protests took place outside Lhasa in Detse, Qushei, Linzhou, Mozhugongka (check the Tibetan spelling). Monks and lay people (women, children and elders included) marched on the streets in Labrang….. More than 40 army trucks were called in from Lanzhou… The protests (having no weapon in hand) were targeted. Many Tibetans are killed or wounded. Nearly 20 of them were arrested.
The same evening a march (joined in primarily by monks from Hezuo Monastery) took place in Amdo, Hezou (the headquarters of Gannan Tibetan autonomous district). They were surrounded by forces, Lay people’s protesting march in the other part of the city were also dispersed. Tibetan students of the normal college in the city held their peaceful demonstration, having some conflicts with the party committee on campus.
March 16th
A military cordon was put around Wuhou Temple in Chengdu, and Tibetan areas were under tight observation.
In the afternoon, over 300 monks and lay people in Rongwu monastery in Rebgong county (Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture ) staged a protest within the monastery, but they were surrounded by several thousand armed policemen. There were over ten military trucks and armored cars patrolling the streets.
The Rabgya (Rab-rgya; Ch: Lajia) monastery in Machen (Rma-chen; Ch. Maqing) County of the Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province held a peaceful protest.
Meanwhile, there were also protests in many monasteries, including Cone (Ch. Zhuoni), and Gyagar ( Gya-gar; Ch. Qiagai in Ling-than County, Ch. Lingtan County) monasteries. So far there have not been any clashes.
Tibetan students in Tso (Gtsos; Ch: Hezuo) Teacher’s College in Karlho (Ch: Gannan), Qinghai Teacher’s College and some other Tibetan schools in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) and Ngawa (Ch: Aba) also held protests.
On March 16, on important roads in Lhasa and the number two ring road arrested Tibetans were paraded through the streets in military vehicles. There were two vehicles driving through the streets and in the two vehicles were 40 young Tibetan men and women with their hands tied behind their backs and their heads forcibly bowed down, and each person was held from behind by a soldier carry a rifle.
March 17th
In the morning, all the monks of Rongwu monastery in Rebgong (Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) made incense offering at the mountain pass to the west of Rongwu Monastery, reciting in unison prayers for the Dalai Lama. The armed policemen who came to stop them were driven away. After they finished making incense offering, the monks were about to go on protest in downtown, but they were persuaded to go back to their monastery by lay people who were crying out loud and pleading them not to go. At that time, the armed policemen were on high alert. In the end, the monks made several demands to the government via the reincarnated lama of the monastery Sharitsang Rinpoche: the armed policemen cannot patrol around the monastery; dismantle the security cameras installed in the monastery; Buddhist activities such as making incense offering should not be stopped unreasonably. The local government agreed to all the demands. However, in the afternoon, the local officials organized work teams to visit Tibetan families, forcing Tibetans to sign their name on the written pledge. They had to pledge not to go on protest etc. At the same time, on March 18, police with special duties from Xining were dispatched to Rebgong.
Tibetan students in the Southwestern Institute for Nationalities stage a protest and sit-in on the campus in Chengdu city, Sichuan Province.
Monks in Tarshu (Ch. Taxiu) monastery in Mangra (Mang-ra; Ch. Guinan) County, Amdo (Tsolho [Hainan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held the peaceful protest, but they were stopped by policemen on their way to the county seat, and were driven back to the monastery.
At 6:00pm in the afternoon, about 1,000 people participated in the peaceful protest in Talung (Stag-lung; Ch. Dalong) monastery in Cikgril (Gcig-sgril County, Ch. Jiuzhi) County, Amdo (Golok Tibetan autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province). They replaced the Chinese flag in the region with the Tibetan flag.
Over 200 monks in Lungge monastery (Ch. Longgai) in Cikgril County, Amdo (Golok Tibetan autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held peaceful protests. Earlier, monks of the monastery participated in the peaceful protest held in Barkhor street in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and there were arrested.
At 7:00pm, nearly 300 people in Mantang Township (Ch: Mentang), Cikgril county, Amdo (Golok Tibetan Atutonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held peaceful protest, and they raised the Tibetan flag.
Tibetan students in Mewa ( Rma ba; Ch. Hongyuan) Tibetan Middle School in Amdo (Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) were stopped by the policemen and teachers when they attempted to go out of their campus to protest. A few student leaders were arrested, but they were released after sit-in held by the students.
Tibetans in Seta (Ch. Seda) County, Kham (Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) held peaceful protest.
March 18th
At 10:30 am, nearly 200 Tibetan students at the Teacher’s College for Nationalities in Qinghai Teacher’s University staged a silent sit-in on campus. Their slogan was “mourning.” Many teachers came to persuade them to stop the sit-in. It ended at 2:30pm.
Beijing University required minority students to fill out a chart to answer the following questions (in fact, they were targeting Tibetan students): 1. The place of the Dalai Lama in your heart; 2. the detailed address or work unit of one’s parents; 3. the student’s Identification card No; 4. the student need to pledge not to participate in any demonstration, sit-in or political activities.
March 18, Chenghua hospital in Chengdu (which is said to be a hospital used only for Tibetans, but if Tibetans have a condition they cannot treat at the Chenghua hospital, the Tibetans are then able to be sent to a bigger hospital), the number of Tibetans is unknown) attacks on local police, with 8 officers injured, one person seriously injured, Tibetan[?s] fleeing to Chenghua hospital, arrested, according to eye-witness accounts, the Tibetan[s?] was beaten to a bloody pulp by the police. It’s said that a No 78 bus going from Chengdu to Lhasa Hotel was bombed.
March 18, at around 4:00 in the afternoon, more than 300 Tibetans demonstrated in Lithang in Kardze TAP in Kham, and people were arrested.
On March 18 in the afternoon, in Hezuo, Kanhlo Prefecture in Gansu Province, 155 large military trucks entered the town.
On March 18, in an area of Golog in Golog Prefecture in Qinghai Province, including Zhaquka [?], there was a large scale riot of people at demonstration, with lots of townships lowering the Chinese flag and raising Buddhist flags before being suppressed by the military. There have been serious clashes between both sides and many Tibetans have been shot dead, an unknown number of injuries, the majority being ordinary people.
On March 18, mass arrests were still happening in Lhasa, with soldiers standing guard at main intersections checking the ID of passers by, and they’re stopping and searching Tibetans in traditional clothes in particular. Many soldiers have been storming into people’s homes to make arrests, viciously beating them with batons and firing tear gas at people standing round watching. Just in Xuexin Village [?] at about 4:30 three people were arrested in the space of about half an hour, one of whom was about 50 years old dressed very formally and looking like a cadre. He was tied up and beaten, but he kept his head up proud and defiant; the other two people taken away were youths and looked like they were from Lhasa.
According to reliable information, at least 600 people were arrested in Lhasa on the 15th; at least 300 on the 16th but with all the arrests on the 17th and 18th the numbers are still not known.
Again according to reliable information heard from the Lhasa Public Security Bureau, from the 14th onwards, the authorities canceled the prohibition on firing weapons. Troops and police could fire at will.
March 18
In the morning, monks in Darthang (Dar-thang; Ch. Datang) monastery in Amdo ( Cikgril County, the Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) began to hold peaceful protest, later, several thousand students and other common people joined the protest. They were determined to adhere to the non-violent peaceful protest.
Approximately 10,000 people in Kardze County in Kham (Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) held protest, and several thousand farmers and herdsmen from Drakgo (Brag-’go; Ch. Luhuo) county also rushed to join the protesters. Three protesters were killed by armed policemen who fired at the protesters. Meanwhile, a great number of leaflets were distributed in Drakgo region.
At that night, several thousand monks and lay people in Seta County, Kham (Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture), protested against the authorities, but they were dispersed by the armed policemen.
March 19th
The arrest in Lhasa is still going on, but we are yet to know the number of people arrested so far. According to the Xinhua News report, there were already 160 people who voluntarily gave themselves up to the police
It has been seven to nine days since Drepung, Sera and Ganden Monasteries have been closed by the authorities, and they are still surrounded by riot police. Due to the fact that water supply was cut off and the restaurants in the neighborhood were closed, the monks met great difficulty in their daily life. I appeal to the outside world to pay attention to the critical situation of the monks in the Three Great Monasteries in Lhasa.
The Art and Literature Channel of Tibet TV Station and Lhasa TV Station broadcasted No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 Order of Arrest in both Tibetan and Chinese. Over 20 Tibetans were issued the Order of arrest, among whom there are two monks and one woman. Their photos are enlarged from pictures the authorities obtained from the [security] videos. It is said that over 1,000 Tibetans have been arrested so far. There were three Tibetans resisted arrest, and they committed suicide by jumping off the buildings. All those Tibetans who have been arrested were cruelly beaten with iron club and steel rod by the armed police. Tibetan onlookers all expressed their sympathy, and could not bear to see them suffering; but many Han Chinese were cheering for such actions, repeatedly saying “Serve them right!” Soldiers on all the streets are strictly checking the I.D. card or household registration of Tibetans. Tibetans basically dare not to go outside, and most passengers on the streets are Han Chinese. In one of the programs of Hong Kong Phoenix TV Station it is boasted that residents in Lhasa has already restored their normal life, but a few so-called Lhasa residents they interviewed are all Han Chinese, and it seems that Lhasa is already a Han Chinese city.
The People’s Procuratorate of Lhasa sanctioned that 24 Tibetans have been formally arrested. The number does not include the 12 Tibetans who were issued the Order of Arrest, but among the 12 people, one person was already arrested. This person is not included in the list of the 24 Tibetans.
According to news from Tibetan areas in Qinghai province, every village in many areas are surrounded by soldiers and armed police, and tight security is in force. It is said that troops transferred to these regions are from Lanzhou Military Region.
Over 500 Tibetans in Seta County in Kham (Kardze [ch. Ganzi] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) protested in front of the county government. 60 people were arrested.
After Tibetan students in Qinghai Institute for Nationalities voluntarily signed their names, they protested and staged a sit-in on campus.
40 Tibetans from Tsarima Township (Ch. Charima) in Mewa County (Ch. Hongyuan), Amdo (Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) protested. They lowered the Chinese flags hung at the township government and the school, and hang Khangta (the ceremonial scarf) in place of the flag of Snow Lion and Mountain.
The county seat and the various townships of Machu County in Amdo (Kanlho [Tib.Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province) are surrounded by over 60 military trucks. The authorities started making arrests, and over 30 Tibetans were arrested.
Up to 1,000 Tibetans in Seta County in Kham (Kardze [ch. Ganzi] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) protested in front of the county government. 60 people were arrested.
All foreign journalists are not only forbidden to go to Lhasa, but also banned to visit any Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan provinces, etc. On every road there are armed police searching and preventing journalists from visiting these areas. A foreign journalist went on a fifteen-hour bus ride today, but he was not able to enter any of the Tibetan area. In the end, the policemen arbitrarily ordered him to go to Lanzhou airport to return to Beijing, and the reason given to him was that “the Tibetan areas are not safe.” The journalist derided “can it be that here is more dangerous than Iraq?”
March 20th
Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Amdo, Qinghai Province, led by more than one hundred monks, more then ten thousand Tibetans held a peaceful demonstration in the county town. They held high the photos of the Dalai Lama, the Eleventh Panchen Lama and the Seventeenth Karmapa Rinpoche. The local public security agents and the armed police were secretly keeping watch on the scene, and have not taken any further measures.
Taktser village [Ch. Hongyan] in Amdo (Tsongkakar County in Qinghai province; Tsong kha mkhar, Ch. Ping-an), the birthplace of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has already been blocked by road blocks established by the local police. No Tibetan or journalists are allowed to visit there.
Up to 500 monks and lay people in Tsekho (Rtse khog; Ch. Zeku) County, Amdo (Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) are protesting now, shouting the slogan “Hold dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Allow Tibet to enjoy high degree of autonomy.” At present we do not know what actions the authorities are going to take.
A great number of students in Yushul County in Kham (Yushul [Ch. Yushu] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held a protest, but at present we do not know what actions the authorities are going to take.
In addition, some netizens appeal to everybody: extremely urgent, please save Serta in Tibet! According to the latest news, in order to protect the Tibetan national flag, people in Kego Township of Serta County in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan province, were brutally suppressed by over 5,000 military police between 4:00pm and 5:00pm on March 20! Up to now, the number of the killed and wounded are over 20. The incident was caused by the fact that the military police made the following announcement to the Tibetan people: the Central government directly issued an order to execute anybody who demonstrates. Then when they were about to take off the Tibetan national flag, they were stopped by the Tibetans peacefully, but the military police immediately fired at Tibetans. Please save Tibet! 11:00am tomorrow people in Nido Township of Serta County will face much more serious massacere, please save Nido Township of Serta County! Please spread the message to governments of other countries and human right organizations! Please generate your compassionate heart, and save the Tibetan people.
March 21st
Lhasa appears to be calm, but all government organizations, enterprises, institutions and the various neighborhood committees are holding meetings, transmitting the various speeches made by the authorities. During the meeting all the cadres, staff and residents are require to “ expose, repudiate and denounce the evil doings of the Dalai clique, and firmly struggle against the splittists.” Everybody has to make a speech and declare where he stands so that he will pass the “political test.” Tibetan officials of various levels of government organizations, the “united front figures” and the “religious luminaries” of the Political Consultative Conference and the Buddhist Association, one after another, appeared on TV fiercely to attack the Dalai lama so as to protect themselves and to seek for benefits for themselves. Even students in the primary schools and middle schools were also demanded to condemn the Dalai lama on TV.
Tibetan students in Tibetan Language Department of Qinghai Institute for Nationalities started a sit-in at the eastern section of the campus at 8:00 am.
The special feature entitled “ A Record of the Violent Incident Involving Beating, Smashing and Looting in Lhasa.” Produced by CCTV has been broadcasted repeatedly. This has had a great impact on the Chinese people, in essence, this deepened the split between the ethnic groups.
The Art and Literature Channel of Tibet TV Station and Lhasa TV Station broadcasted the No. 5 Order of Arrest (the No. 4 was issued in March 20) issued by the Lhasa Municipal Public security Bureau.The authorities issued order of arrest to 29 Tibetans, among whom one is a monk (he was already arrested) and two are women. There is a strong sense of popular anxiety among people in Lhasa. The Chinese major websites such as Sina.com published the pictures of 19 Tibetans wanted by Chinese authorities and the phone number of the Lhasa Municipal Public Security Bureau for people to report. According to the report of Xinhua network, by March 21, 183 people have voluntarily surrender themselves to the authorities. It also claims that the number of people died in the incident is 18, instead of 13.
The troops charged with the task of suppressing the protests have already pitched their tents in the areas where Tibetans live in compact communities. It seems that they are preparing for a protracted war.
March 22nd
Several hundred monks and lay people in Mangra (Ch.Guinan) County in Amdo (Malho [Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) are holding a peaceful protest in the county seat.
300 Tibetans in Jentsa County (Ch. Jianzha) in Amdo (Malho [Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) are holding peaceful protest in the county seat, shouting such slogans as “Long Live the Dalai Lama” and “Let the Dalai Lama come back.” The protest lasted from 9:00am up to now, and there has been no clashes between the people and the military police.
People in Dodun (Ch. Dofudun) Township of Tsekho (Ch. Zeku) County in Amdo (Malho [Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) started to hold peaceful protest at noon. At the beginning there were over 20 people, and later the number of protesters grew to several hundred. staged a large-scale peaceful demonstration in the While shouting such slogans as ““Long Live the Dalai Lama” and “Give Freedom back to us Tibetans,” they held high the photos of the Dalai Lama, the Eleventh Panchen Lama and the Seventeenth Karmapa Rinpoche. After three or four military trucks arrived at the scene, over 20 Tibetans were arrested and were taken toward the direction of Rebgong (Ch. Tongren) County. People in Shisha (Ch. Xipusha) and Gongchu (Gongxiu) Townships in Tsekho County were guarding the flag of Snow Mountain and Lion raised at the local primary school on March 20 when they staged a protest. We are yet to learn about what happened in these two townships.
The Art and Literature Channel of Tibet TV Station and Lhasa TV Station broadcasted the No. 6 Arrest Warrant issued by the Lhasa Municipal Public security Bureau. Up to now, there are 38 Tibetans on the most wanted list, today on the list there are four women. Since March 19 when No. arrest warrant had been issued, an average of 9.5 people was on the most wanted list. There created a sense of anxiety through television and radio. Lhasa prisons were overcrowded, and many people who were arrested have been transferred to prisons in counties near Lhasa. Yesterday, the first group of bystanders were released, and the Chinese officials called these people “some people who participated in March 14 Incident of Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning.”
March 23rd
Tibet Branch of China Mobile sent the following short text message to its users: the Public Security Offices sternly admonish: all the suspects who participated in the incident of March 14 immediately turned themselves in for lenient treatment. Hope the general public will actively provide clues. The phone number for one to report to the authorities is 0891-6324422 or 110.
The short text message of Kanlho (Ch. Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province is as follows: the recent activities of beating, smashing, looting, burning and vandalism occurred in our prefecture are orchestrated and incited by “Tibetan Independence” forces in China and abroad. The central, provincial and prefectural governments have determined to crack down such activities resolutely and severely punished those involved according to law! [The Ganan Prefectural Office of Maintaining Stability].
The Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station broadcasted No. 7 arrest warrant issued by Lhasa Municipal Public Security Bureau in both Tibetan and Chinese. On today’s list there are one monk and six women. Since March 19 when No. 1 arrest warrant was issued, an average of 9 people are on the most wanted list daily.
March 24th
There are still military police all over Lhasa, and there are checkpoints in compact Tibetan inhabited communities to interrogate and examine Tibetans. So is the situation in other Tibetans areas. It is learnt that in recent days at Tso (Ch. Hezuo) city in Amdo (the seat of Kanlho [Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province) the troops transferred from another region (Shan’xi Province) have been patrolling and inspecting the area. During their patrol and examination, the soldiers’ attitude toward Tibetan is bad, and they frequently beat Tibetans unreasonably and wantonly. Yesterday when four Tibetan students at Hezuo Driving School were stopped by the soldiers on the street, they were forced to squat down. They were beaten cruelly because they moved a little bit slower. All these experiences made the local Tibetans very dissatisfied and angry.
Due to the authorities’ propaganda to exacerbate ethnic antagonism and to stir up the inter-ethnic animosity, the common Chinese people have been strongly influence it. In Xining City, the capital of Qinghai Province, some taxi drivers have started to refuse to take Tibetan passengers.
On the streets of Amdo (Nagwa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province), there appeared slogans such as “ Launch the activity of showing gratitude and dedicating oneself to serving the country, and strengthen the party’s basis for governing.” This slogan implies to criticize Tibetans for not knowing to show their gratitude.
The telegraph from Xiahe County in Gansu on March 23 published on Xinhua Network reads as follow: the correspondent has learnt from the government of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province that during this incident 105 organizations which are directly subordinate to the county and city, 27 towns and 113 working unit under the towns as well as 22 village committees were seriously affected.” The scope [of the protest] include Machu (Ch. Maqu), Sangchu (Ch. Xiahe), Cone (Ch. Zhuoni), Tso (Ch. Hezuo) and other counties and cities.” This shows that the scope and scale of Tibetan protests far exceeded the understanding of the official news and the outside world.
At present the No. 8 most wanted list was issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau and was broadcasted in Tibetan and Chinese by Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. There are eight people on the most wanted list, and so far there are 53 Tibetans on the Chinese most wanted list. No. 52 on the list is the knife holder who burned the Chinese national flag on the well-known photo, and he was identified as the policeman who dressed up as a Tibetan by a Thai tourist. Why the authorities waited until today to put him on the most wanted list? On the T.V. program the mayor of Lhasa city announced that the immediate major task is to reveal the truth.”
According to the latest news, around 4:30 pm this afternoon, over 200 nuns in Woge Nunnery, over 200 monks in Jori Monastery and approximately 800 farmers in the three townships in Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) staged a peaceful protests. They shouted such slogans as “Long Live the Dalai Lama”, “Tibet belongs to Tibetans”, etc. The local armed police fired at the protesters, as a result, while a man named Tsewang Dundrup and on monk were killed, over ten other people were seriously injured. There are altogether four townships in Drakgo, namely No. one, No. two, No. three and No. 4 townships. At present, the entire three townships are being surrounded by the military police, and the phone calls can not get through in these areas.
March 25th
It is reported that this morning about 100 Tibetans in Heka Township in Tsigortang (Ch. Xinghai) County in Amdo (Tsolho [Hainan]Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held a peaceful protest, shouting such slogans as “Long Live the Dalai Lama”, “Freedom for Tibet”, etc. They were stopped by the local police, then they staged a silent sit-in on the streets of the Heka Township, mourning Tibetans killed in Lhasa and other places. At present they were tightly controlled by a great number of military police.
The Chinese Xinhua News Agency’s excuse for the incident that Tibetans in Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) County in Kham were suppressed when they held a protest yesterday is as follows: “When many armed police were on duty, they were violently attacked by some lawless people. One armed police died, and many others were injured. The incident happened yesterday afternoon. The lawless people killed an armed police with sharp knives and stones. At that time, the armed police were forced to fire into the air to warn these lawless people, and dispersed them.” However, two Tibetans were killed by the armed police, and many were injured. The region is now under curfew, and the authorities are vigorously arresting people participating in the protest.
A Lhasa witness revealed that in the morning of March 23 a monk names Thogme in Ramoche Temple in Lahsa hanged himself. He was around 30 years old, and was from Gyantse in Tsang region. Before he hanged himself, he said that the could not bear the fact the temple was closed down by the authorities, the armed police threw tear gas into the temple and the monks were interrogated and tyrannized.
Yesterday around 9:00pm the password of my blog was changed by somebody, so I was not able to use it. At noon today after I fixed the problem, I was able to log on my blog, however, all the pictures for articles on my blog had disappeared, and I could not upload any attachments. After 3:30pm in the afternoon, it returned to normal.
March 26th
It is reported that monks in Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, the Panchen Lama’s home monastery, held a protest, but at present we do not know the details of the event or the current situation.
According to new information just received, in the three townships in Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), because there was a protest by monks, nuns and lay people on March 24, on the next day 80 nuns in Woge Nunnery and over 30 monks in Joro Monastery, including its abbot Lobsang Wangchen, its head lama Lobsang Kedrup and others, were arrested. In addition, there were many people missing, too. On that same day, the authorities also seized the corpses of Tibetans killed on March 24, and burned them by the Shanchu River. This has incurred greater anger among the local people. On March 25, approximately 100 monks in Drakgo Monastery (also known as Tsedegling Monastery) in the county seat of Drakgo County also held a peaceful demonstration in the county seat, but they were stopped by the military police, and the back of the monastery was besieged. At present, the monasteries held peaceful demonstrations include Jori, Woge and Drakgo monasteries.
On Wednesday afternoon reporters from seventeen overseas news agencies, including many Hong Kong and Taiwan press, arrived at Lhasa. Therefore, the number of soldiers on the streets of Lhasa greatly decreased, and the check-points on the streets were also removed. The authorities also stopped to issue the most wanted list they have announced daily from March 19 to March 24. In this way, the authorities displayed to the overseas reporters the appearance of a man-made “harmonious society.” In reality, approximately 20 military tents which have been set up near the Tibetan inhabited communities for many years are still there, and the fully armed soldiers were still on high alert, awaiting orders. The overseas reporters will only see what the Chinese authorities displayed to them, and they will not see the real situation.
March 27th
According to the report from the Associated Press: on March 27 about 30 monks disrupted a tour by foreign journalists, screaming there was no religious freedom and retorting the Chinese accusation of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama masterminding Lhasa disturbance. Since March 14 when the Lhasa Incident happened, the first group of foreign journalists was allowed to interview within Tibet.
This tour is sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council of China. Over 20 journalists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Khatar Islands, etc., were accompanied by Chinese officials during the entire tour. According to the report of reporter of the Associated Press who participated in the tour, when the foreign journalists were visiting the Jokhang Temple on the morning of March 27, about 30 monks suddenly disrupted the tour, screaming “Tibet is not free, Tibet is not free.” In addition, these monks also said that it is completely wrong for China to accuse the Dalai lama of masterminding Tibet Incident behind the scene, and they argued that it has nothing to do with the Dalai Lama. After the sudden protest happened, the Chinese official who was accompanying the journalists immediately took the foreign journalists away from the scene.
The Taiwan media also reports: a group of monks yelled “there is no religious freedom” in the presence of the foreign journalists who were allowed to do interviews in Tibet. Meanwhile, they also maintained that “the Dalai Lama should not be blamed for the recent disturbance in Tibet.” After the March 14 riot in Tibet, Beijing started to control the region tightly, and once prohibited any journalists to do interviews in Tibet. Today the Chinese government arranged the foreign journalists to visit the Jokhang Temple, but about 30 monks screamed in the presence of the foreign journalists “Tibet has no freedom”, and at the same time they told the foreign journalists that the Dalai Lama had nothing to do with the recent anti-government riots in Tibet.
New York Times reports: the scene at the Jokhang Temple today altogether lasted for 15 minutes.
In addition, in order to create the appearance of the “religious freedom,” at 12:30pm today when the foreign journalists went to visit Sera Monastery, the authorities ordered monks in Sera Monastery to hold the religious ceremony. Ordinarily there are approximately 700 monks participating in the religious ceremony, but this ceremony arranged by the authorities was boycotted by the monks, so there were about ten monks attending the ceremony. In fact, Sera Monastery has been surrounded by the military police from March 11 up to now, and all the religious activities and teachings were forced to end. The monastery temporarily provides a small amount of food for the monks, and all the communications including telephone is on and off again. In addition, there are monks missing.
Drepung Monastery has been surrounded by the military police from March 10 up to now. On the circumabulting path around the monastery is filled with military police, who fired at the direction of the monastery and yelled at the monks to intimidate them. It is reported that nearly 100 monks in Drepung Monastery were arrested or missing, and all the religious activities and teachings were forced to end. The monastery temporarily provides a small amount of food for the monks, and all the communications including telephone is on and off again. In addition, there are monks missing.
Xinhua reports: pp to now, the Lhasa People’s Procuratorate has approved the arrest warrants for 30 suspects who participated in March 14 Incident of serious beating, smashing, looting and burning in Lahsa. The Lhasa Municipal Public Security Bureau has already issued eight most wanted lists, and has issued arrest warrants to 53 lawless people who participated in beating, smashing, looting and burning. Among those on most wanted list, four have already surrendered themselves, and four were arrested. Up to now, there are altogether 289 people have surrendered themselves, and 111 of them were already released. Tibetan officials claim: “At present, there are altogether 414 suspects who have been detained according to law. Among them most of them are Tibetan, and there are Han Chinese as well.”
Recently the large-scale arrests made in Lhasa are especially Tibetans from Kham and Amdo, Tibetans who have studied in India and former political prisoners. Some witnesses saw the arrested Tibetans being loaded on the truck, and were taken out of the city proper. One witness said that he saw several hundred Tibetans being escorted to the train at the new train station in Lhasa by the military police. He maintained that many of these Tibetans are monks, and many of them did not have shoes on.
According to the reliable information from an exiled Tibetan, in the Amdo region many families were recently warned about the serious consequences – if their relatives or children participate in protests in exile.
The local Chinese Communist governments in Tibetan areas in Gansu, Sichuan and other province strictly guard against Tibetans. All Tibetans have to undergo political examination. Telephones are monitored, so local people avoid talking about the disturbances. If any overseas phone call to Tibetan areas concerns the riots, it will be soon cut off.
Due to the fact that protests in concentrated Tibetan inhabited areas are still going on, the Chinese authorities are continuing to dispatch military and police forces to Tibet. One witness said that recently a great number of military trucks with a least several thousand People’s Liberation Army soldiers passed through Machu County in Gansu, and drove toward Lhasa. In Shangrila County (formerly known as Gyalthang) in the remote northern region of Yunnan Province, some tourists also saw thousands of PLA soldiers concentrate on the border with Tibet and take precautions there.
On March 27, 20 or 30 herdsmen in Ngachu region held a protest, and were arrested on the same day. In addition, the moansteries in Amdo and Kham are not only surrounded, the authorities are also making mass aarests. Many monks have been arrested. On March 29, over 500 monks in only Kirti Monastery in Ngawa County, Amdo (Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecuture) were arrested.
March 28th
This afternoon the Dalai Lama held a press conference at New Delhi, India, attended by many journalists from the international media and press. He made the following special appeal concerning the recent Tibet incident to the Chinese people around the world: “I have appealed to the leadership of the PRC to clearly understand my position and work to resolve these problems by "seeking truth from facts." I urge the Chinese leadership to exercise wisdom and to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the Tibetan people.” The Dalai Lama also said, “ It is unfortunate that despite my sincere efforts not to separate Tibet from China, the leaders of the PRC continue to accuse me of being a "separatist". Similarly, when Tibetans in Lhasa and many other areas spontaneously protested to express their deep-rooted resentment, the Chinese authorities immediately accused me of having orchestrated their demonstrations. I have called for a thorough investigation by a respected body to look into this allegation.” In the end, the Dalai Lama appealed to all the Chinese by saying, “ Chinese brothers and sisters - wherever you may be - with deep concern I appeal to you to help dispel the misunderstandings between our two communities. Moreover, I appeal to you to help us find a peaceful, lasting solution to the problem of Tibet through dialogue in the spirit of understanding and accommodation.”
In all the working units concerning Tibet in all the Tibetan areas in Amdo, Kham and Central Tibet as well as in China, the Chinese authorities are carrying out various activities, and holding various meetings to “expose and criticize the evil deeds of the Dalai clique.” For the sake of self-preservation or promotion, some famous members of the “political vase” (zhengzhi huaping), including such so-called reincarnated lamas as Phapalha Gelek Namgyal, Shindra Tendzing Chodra, Drukhang, Tsemonling, Dorje Pakmo and others, are vilifying and attacking the religious leader Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, some so-called “Tibetan Studies experts” at China Tibetology Research Center under the United Front Department of the Communist Party of China, including Dramdul, Lhapa Puntso, Tenzing Lhundrup, Tenzing Sr. (Da Danzeng) are the mouthpiece for the government, and make speeches to cover up the truth. The vice chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region Pema Triling and Gyari Lobsang Tenzing slandered and attacked the Dalai Lama on TV. Their declaration of their position went far beyond any other officials, and this really made most Tibetans disgusted with their action.
But 75 well-known international Tibetan Studies experts have jointly sent a letter to Hu Jintao, the president of China, appealing appropriately to solve the Tibet issue and criticizing the Chinese policies toward Tibet. At present, nearly 240 researchers specializing in Tibetan Studies have signed their names. (http://www.tibetopenletter.org/) (Tibetan and Chinese versions of the letter will soon be available.)
Due to the large-scale protest by monks and lay people in the three townships in Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) on March 24, recently for days on end, in addition to over 30 monks in Joro Monastery, including its abbot Lobsang Wangchen, its head lama Lobsang Kedrup and others, who were arrested, two Geshes --doctorate in Buddhist philosophy (Namgyal Tsering and Sonam Jigme), were also arrested. At that time, due to the fact that the two Geshe resisted the arrest, they were beaten severely with head broken and bleeding. At present there are only a few old monks in the monastery. This time in the three townships of Drakgo altogether over 200 people were arrested, including monks, nuns and common people. It is said that the authorities are planning to hold a movement which will require everybody in the three townships to vote by raising one’s hand and sign their names to oppose the Dalai Lama, but the farmers are determined not to obey the order, so it is possible to have another round of bloody suppression in the region. It is reported that yesterday the party secretary of Tromgu (Ch. Chonggu) Township was stabbed a few times, and the reason is that when he went to every household demanding them to get ready to denounce the Dalai Lama in near future, he beat and scolded an old woman who expressed her dissatisfaction with the demand. As a result, the old woman’s son could not bear the humiliation, so he stabbed the party secretary several times and fled the area.
At noon (12:00pm) in Ngawa (Ch. Aba) County in Amdo (Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), the fully armed military police of Chinese Communist Party entered Geti Monastery. Three or four public security officers and a fully armed police formed a group, and they entered the living quarters of the monks to search for the Dalai lama’s pictures and other materials. The monks were locked in their living quarters and were not allowed to go outside. The entire monastery was surrounded by the troops, which built trenches and are preparing for suppression. Over 100 monks of Geti Monastery were arrested.
The Hong Kong Wen Hui Newspaper reports on March 27: In relation to the open protest against the authorities staged by the monks from the Jokhang Temple in the presence of the foreign journalists, the vice chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region Pema Trinley admitted during the press conference that it is indeed true that the authorities are limiting the freedom of monks in the Jokhang Temple. But he argues it is because the March 14 Incident in Lhasa was the disturbance caused by monks of a few monasteries, and the Jokhang Temple is no exception. Therefore, after the Incident of Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning in Lhasa, the offices of the Public Security Bureau are investigating and collecting evidence, therefore, the monks can not go outside. Pema Trinley also criticized these monks for telling lies to the journalists, and their purpose is to confound right and wrong and mislead the public opinion of the nation. Some observers hold that this explanation is a foreshadow for the authorities to arrest those monks who participated in the protest and who angered the authorities by their protest. What deserves our attention is what Pema Trinley told Xu Bo, the journalist of Voice of America. In Xu’s comprehensive report, Pema Trinley told the report that the authorities “already found the preliminary clues to show that the “Dalai Clique” is related to the March 14 Incident, and they are collecting evidence. As soon as there are some results, they will announce to the outside world as soon as possible.” This is apparently contradictory to the answer given by the leader of Tibet Autonomous Region to the question of the report from Xinhua News Agency -- “There is sufficient evidence to prove that this is organized, premeditated and meticulously orchestrated by the Dalai Clique. These two versions were only thirteen days apart.
March 29th
On Saturday diplomats from 15 countries whose trip was arranged by China arrived in Lhasa, embarking on a journey of “seeking truth.” Those who were invited to participate in the investigation include officials of British, American, Australian and Japanese embassies stationing in China. The Investigation Team consisting of 17 members will stay in Lhasa for one day. This is the first time any foreign diplomats stationing in China enter Tibet since the violent protest in Lhasa two weeks ago.
It is reported that around 2:00pm at Beijing Zhonglu in Lhasa (near Barkhor, some says it is near Ramoche) there was again protest staged by Tibetans. Passengers on the streets were hurriedly running helter-skelter, and the shops at the Post And Telecommunication Building to the east, the Youth Road (Ch. Qingnianlu) and even the concentrated Han Chinese community in Western Suburb were closed one after another. The Han Chinese men and women gathered at their shops and took strict precautions against the “rioters”, holding iron clubs and sticks in their hands. For the past few days because foreign journalists were visiting Lhasa, the military police who were hiding in the various working units all rushed out, and surrounded Parkhor street and the Tibetan communities at Karma Kunsang and other areas. The check-points which were temporarily removed were also filled with soldiers. It is said that the protest had lasted for a few hours, but we do not know the details about the protest yet.
Later, Lhasa Municipal Public Bureau sent short text messages to Lhasa cell phone users through Tibet Branch of China Mobile: in the afternoon of March 29, the law-enforcement departments of our city were carrying out the regular inspection, but it caused fear among some mobile street peddlers and common people who did not know the truth, and they started to run away. At present, the social order of our city is normal. We appeal to Lhasa residents not to believe in rumors, but to work and live at ease. You should know how to tell right from wrong, abide by the laws and regulations. You should not fabricate rumors, not to believe in rumors and not to spread the rumors. We should severely punish such criminal acts as to create rumors, spread rumors, seduce people into wrongdoing, disrupt the social order, and destroy the social stability (announced by Lhasa Public Security Bureau). As for the real situation, we do not know whether it is like what the short text message says. But some Lhasa people said that on March 15 it was the government who said that there was poison in the water and one should not drink it: because every government organization notified people not to drink water via phone calls, even the Public Security Bureau issued an announcement. But at the night of March 15, on TV it was said to be just a rumor. Therefore, we can not affirm or deny whether the protest happened again or whether it is a rumor.
March 30th
Monks in Khanyang Township, Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) protested against the local authorities’effort to carry out the movement to require everybody to express their attitude toward the Dalai Lama and sign their names to oppose the Dalai Lama. They clashed with the members of the Work Team, as a result, dozens of monks were beaten savagely and were arrested. On the same night, 300 soldiers began to station in Khanyang Township. The three Geshes of Jori Monastery in the Third Township in Drakgo County were already released, but the Khanpo (Head of a monastery) and a nun were escorted to Dartsedo (Ch. Kangding). Over 100 people are still in the prison of Drakgo County.
Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Station broadcasted the most recent speech made by Wen Jiabao: “As long as the Dalai Lama gives up his proposition for Tibet independence, in particular, if he utilizes his influence to stop the occurrence of violent activities in Tibet, and acknowledge that Tibet and Taiwan were inalienable parts of China, then we can resume to hold dialogue with him.” He also proposes: “We will continue to adhere to the national regional autonomy in Tibet, continue to support the economic development and improvement of the people’s livelihood, continue to ensure the people’s freedom of religious belief within the bounds of Chinese Constitution and laws, continue to guarantee Tibetan culture and continue to protect environment in Tibet.” This is the first time when a Chinese leader openly acknowledge that the Dalai Lama has influence in Tibet, thus it is worth noting.
It is reported that yesterday eleven young Tibetans were arrested, but we do not know the details why they were arrested. This shows that some incidents indeed happened in Lhasa yesterday. In addition, it is said that when the Lhasa city began to fall into chaos yesterday noon, one young Tibetan was riding his motorcycle near Beijing Zhonglu Road. The soldiers at the check-point told him to stop, but he did not do so because he was scared and confused, then the soldiers fired at him, and the young man died on the scene.
The No. 9 most wanted list was issued by the Public Security Tibet Autonomous Region and was broadcasted by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and the Lhasa Television Station. Six people were on the list, and so far 59 Tibetans have been on the most wanted list.
March 31st
There are more military police in Lhasa city. The Tibetan inhabited area in the old town of Lhasa is just line a military camp, thus, everybody feel a sense of danger themselves.
April 1st
The No. 10 most wanted list was issued by the Public Security Tibet Autonomous Region and was broadcasted by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and the Lhasa Television Station. On the list there are five people, among whom were three women who were assaulting people on the street. The picture of these three women is rather clear and is similar to pictures taken with cell phones. So far 64 Tibetans have been on the most wanted list.
Monks in Khanyang Township, Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) protested against the local authorities’effort to carry out the movement to require everybody to express their attitude toward the Dalai Lama and sign their names to oppose the Dalai Lama. They clashed with the members of the Work Team, as a result, dozens of monks were beaten savagely and were arrested. On the same night, 300 soldiers began to station in Khanyang Township. The three Geshes of Jori Monastery in the Third Township in Drakgo County were already released, but the Khanpo (Head of a monastery) and a nun were escorted to Dartsedo (Ch. Kangding). Over 100 people are still in the prison of Drakgo County.
It is reported that yesterday eleven young Tibetans were arrested, but we do not know the details why they were arrested. This shows that some incidents indeed happened in Lhasa yesterday. In addition, it is said that when the Lhasa city began to fall into chaos yesterday noon, one young Tibetan was riding his motorcycle near Beijing Zhonglu Road. The soldiers at the check-point told him to stop, but he did not do so because he was scared and confused, then the soldiers fired at him, and the young man died on the scene.
April 2nd
The 11th Most Wanted list has been issued by the Public Security of Tibet Autonomous Region and broadcast by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and the Lhasa Television Station. All the five people on the list are youths who beat people with stones and smashed the shops. The pictures are clear. So far 69 Tibetans have appeared on the most wanted lists.
Chinese Central Television Station has repeatedly broadcast the speech given by the Public Security Bureau spokesperson at the press conference on April 1. It goes as follows: “Based on the information provided by monks and common people, a great number of offensive weapons were seized from some monasteries in Tibet. There is sufficient evidence to prove that March 14 Incident of Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning is a part of the “Great Tibetan People’s Uprising” organized by the Dalai Clique.” At the same time, it also broadcast such documentaries as “Past Events of Tibet: Recalling History of Tibetan Serfs Full of Blood and Tears”, “Guns Held by Some Monasteries”, “Two British Invasions of Tibet”, “The Dalai Lama’s Proposal of ‘Great Tibet’ is Disguised Independence”, “Has the Dalai Lama Really Given Up Independence?” “The Inside Story of How the Dalai Lama Masterminded the ‘Uprising’,” and “Police Capture Key Members of the March 14 Incident”. They clearly contradict the most recent speech by Wen Jiabao, which expressed hope that the Dalai Lama would use his influence to stop violent activities in Tibet. As some people have pointed out, any political leader can exerting influence; however, Wen Jiabao’s request for the Dalai Lama to use his influence means that such violent activities are not organized by him.
April 3rd
Xinhua News Agency Published an article entitled “the Inside Story of the Dalai Lama’s Manipulating the ‘Great Tibetan People’s Uprising’” on April 1. It has been repeatedly published in many newspapers, including “People’s Daily” and “Beijing Evening Post”, and many websites such as Sina.com and the Tengxun network. In addition, it was read aloud on Chinese Central Television. The article has already had great impact on the common Chinese people. Xinhua’s claim in the article that “the Voice of America’s Tibetan Language Program serves as the liaison between the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Independence Movement” has been denied by the VOA. VOA’s editor-in-chief for the Asia-Pacific region said: “Like any other programs in other languages, the Tibetan program is made strictly in accordance with the professional standards for news coverage. Therefore, the claim that that VOA is used as a secret tool for communication between international political forces is completely without any basis. It does not conform to reality, and it is rather absurd. ”
The 12th Most Wanted list was issued by the Public Security Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region. It was broadcast on the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. Five people were on the list: four females and one male. So far, 74 Tibetans have appeared on the most wanted lists.
It is reported that three Tibetans were killed in another incident in Lhasa on March 29, but so far that has not been verified. The Chinese armed police are said to have reacted extremely fast, handling the incident in a manner completely different than on March 14th. Half an hour later, while the road-side shops in the area near Beijing East Road (Beijing Donglu) and Beijing Middle Road (Beijing Zhonglu) were all closed, there are barely any signs of an incident. On the main street there was an increase in the number of policemen, but no military trucks or patrols by military police (we are not clear how many undercover agents may be scattered through the area). On April 1 and 2 it is apparent that the control over Lhasa was strengthened.
Reports say on April 2, Zhang Qingli, the party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, gave a stern speech at a meeting attended by TAR cadres at or above the rank of county magistrates or department head. He told the cadres to strengthen efforts to arrest the “Separatists”. He said arrest orders should be approved rapidly, people should be arrested quickly, prosecuted fast and promptly put to death. Growing more serious, he declared that “a group of people will be executed.” All those present applauded his speech, but in private everybody shivered with fear, and all commented that the revenge for the incident had started. Zhang also said that by May 1st tourism would be restored, opening Tibet to foreigners and Chinese tourists. His speech was transmitted to the various working units in Tibet.
It is reported that recently about 40 young monks form two monasteries in Wonmo Township of Cone County, Kanlho (Gannan) Prefecture, Gansu Province were arrested.
Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television Station broadcast the State Council Information Office’s briefing on circumstances surrounding the March 16 Incident of “Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning” in Ngawa County inside the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Xiao Youcai, deputy head of the Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, acknowledged that “policemen on duty used weapons in accordance with law,” but denied that armed police killed Tibetans when they fired at them. He said that “at present we have not found anybody injured or killed,” and all the injured people had already “fled”. At the same time, he claimed that photos of Tibetans being killed were probably forged.
April 4th
The most recent news: yesterday in Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), the region’s storied Tongkor Monastery was searched by military police and the Working Team. Each room in the monks’ living quarters was searched and all cell phones were confiscated. Photos of the Dalai Lama and the abbot of the monastery, Shadru Rinpoche, were thrown on the ground. 74-year-old monk Tsultrim Tenzing was arrested because he tried to stop them from throwing away the photos, and 26-year-old Tibetan Trultrim Puntso was also arrested. The Working Team ordered all the monks to curse the Dalai Lama. One monk named Yeshe Nyima stood up and objected, then the rest of the monks followed in refusing the demand. At 6:30pm yesterday, all the monks staged a protest along the river outside of the monastery, demanding the release of those who were arrested.
Local lay people also participated in the protest, thus several hundred people shouted such slogans as “Long Live the Dalai Lama,” “Let the Dalai Lama return home” and “We want freedom.” Between 8:00pm and 9:00pm, the authorities dispatched around a thousand military police to suppress the protest by force. It is confirmed that 8 people were killed: 27-year-old monk Sangten, 30-year-old villager Pupu Delek, the son of villager Tsering Puntso, the daughter of villager Tsoge, a villager named Drulungtso (female), a villager named Lobtan (female) and two other people whose names we have not be able to confirm. Several people were injured, and a person called Tuten Gelek was seriously injured. In addition, there were two monks who were shot and injured (one’s ear was shot off, and the other was shot in the shoulder); about ten people, including a monk named Tsewang Rindzin, were missing. At present we do not know their whereabouts. There were no bodies at the scene where the incident occured this morning, but there was still a great amount of blood. At present, the monastery is being closely surrounded by the military police.
Aseng, a Tibetan who participated in the Tibetan Incident in Ngawa wrote an article entitled “Tibet Incident – the Causes of the March 16 Incident in Ngawa County in Amdo”. It describes the Tibetan protest in Ngawa County in Amdo and how protesters were killed by the Chinese military police. He wrote that the incident happened because the local officials forced the local monastery to hang the Chinese flag in the Great Prayer Hall, but since monasteries are not government institutions, the monks thought that it is inappropriate to hang the Chinese national flag in the Prayer Hall. Local officials had forcibly intervened repeatedly, but the monks resisted. This led to the deployment of a great number of military police. Eventually, this led to the mass protest by the Tibetans. When the military police fired at the protesters, many Tibetans were killed.
On March 27, Lobsang Jingpa, a 32-year old monk from Kirti monastery in Ngawa Monastery, wrote out a will then hung himself in his living quarters. In his will he claimed responsibility for the charges the authorities brought up against Kirti Monastery (leading and organizing the protest; keeping the corpses of people who were killed by the armed police; disclosing the news to the outside) and insisted the incident had nothing to do with other monks. He also proclaimed that it was he who led the peaceful protest, and he would take responsibility for this. At the end of his will, he wrote the following sentences: “I do not wish to live under the oppression of China. I am not willing to live under such conditions for one minute, let alone one day.” After these sentences his signature appeared. In addition, a 75-year-old monk from Gomang monastery in Ngawa County, together with his disciple, was arrested on his way to perform religious activities at the home of Tibetan lay people, and he was detained for several days. After he was released, he committed suicide.
The Deputy Party Secretary of the Lhasa Municipal Committee told media that at present over 1,000 people had been arrested or surrendered themselves to the authorities in connection with last month’s riots. He said trials for these people would be held before May 1st. Media believe the speech made by Wang Xiangming has so far provided the best indication of how authorities have acted to suppress the protests. These anti-government protests in are the largest to occur in the Tibetan areas of China for the past 20 years. In a televised speech on April 2, Zhang Qingli, the highest Chinese official in Tibet Autonomous Region, praised troops involved in suppression of the riots as a “people’s army who obey the orders of the Party, serve the people, are heroic and good at fighting.”
The Public Security Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region sent the following text message to Lhasa cell phone owners through China Mobile’s Tibet Branch Office: The masses are welcome to actively provide clues leading to the capture of suspects on the most wanted list for involvement in the March 14 incident. As soon as the information has been verified, the informer will be awarded 20,000 yuan, and the information provided by the informer will be kept secret. The telephone number to report these suspects is as follows: 0891-6311189, 0891-6324422 or 110. (From the Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau).
The 13th Most Wanted list was issued by the Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau and broadcast on the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television. Five people are named, all male. So far, 79 Tibetans have been on the most wanted list.
April 5th
The Incident that the protest staged by monks and lay people in Tongkor Township of Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Region)was bloodily suppressed by the military police has been covered by many international newspapers and media, and this has attracted attention from the international society. The news report of China Xinhua News Agency admitted that the military police did fire, but it claimed that the military police had to fire because one Chinese official was injured. The Xinhua News Agency’s claim is a strained interpretation.
The No. 14 most wanted list was issued by the Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and it was broadcasted in the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television. Five people are on the list, and they are all male. Up to now 84 Tibetans have appeared on the most wanted lists.
April 6th
Yesterday, the annual Great Dharma Assembly was scheduled to open at Nyitso Monastery in Tawu County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonoous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) but was shut down by the military police dispatched by the authorities. As a result, roughly a thousand monks and lay people (including students and some cadres wearing antiseptic masks) staged a peaceful protest. Shouting such slogans as “Long Live the Dalai Lama,” “Free Tibet”, “We want freedom”, etc. Consequently, military police fired at them. Ten people were shot, and five of them were seriously injured. In addition, a few other people are missing. The protest lasted from 12 at noon to 5:00pm in the afternoon. At present we are unable to make phone calls to people in the area where the incident happened and are also unable to reach a few other areas in Ganzi and Drakgo regions.
The 15th and 16th Most Wanted lists were issued by the Public Security Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region and broadcast by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and the Lhasa Television Station. The four people on the 15th list are all male, among them three monks. Similarly, all five people on the 16th list are also male, including monks. Among the monks, one of them appears to be old. All people on these two lists are said to have been involved in protest that took place near Ramoche Temple on the morning of March 14. All these photos appear to be taken with cell phones. So far, 93 Tibetans have appeared on the most wanted lists.
April 7th
The 17th most wanted list was issued by the Public Security Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region and broadcast by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and the Lhasa Television Station. Among the six people on the 17th, five are male and one is female. So far 99 Tibetans have appeared on the most wanted lists.
I need to add here that protests staged by monks and lay people in No.3 Township in Drakgo in Kham (Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province) were suppressed by the authorities. Among 120 nuns in Nganggang Nunnery (Ch. E-ge si) arrested by the authorities, 17 have been released but were beaten black and blue. Lobsang Wangchen, the Khanpo (abbot) of Jori Monastery, was released, but his health has greatly deteriorated due to cruel beatings he received during his imprisonment.
On April 1 in Dzachukha County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province), the authorities carried out a “Patriotic Education” campaign inside Dza Wonpo Monastery (Ch. Za Wengpo si), ordering the monks to criticize and slander the Dalai Lama. Seven monks and one herdsman protested and were arrested by the authorities. Their names are as follows: Master Lobsang Dondrup, the disciplinarian Depa (Ch. Daipa), Sopal, Tubten Tsering, Paldor, Sonam Nyima, Wudor and the herdsman Yiga.
On April 2 over 200 nuns from Ratrul Nunnery in Tawu County, Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) held a Buddhist ceremony in memory of the campatriots who died in the incident in Tawu town (Ch. Xianshui zheng) in Tawu County. Though they were stopped by the military police, due to the support they received from over 100 Tibetans and students, the military police were not able to suppress the protest with armed force.
On April 2, in Batang County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province), the authorities carried out the “Patriotism Education” campaign in Ba Chode Monastery,demanding the monks to criticize and slander the Dalai Lama. When all the monks refused to do so, this led to conflict. Five monks, including the Khanpo of Ba Chode Monastery Jigme Dorje and the Disciplinarian Yeshe, were arrested.
On April 4 in Tongkor Township in Ganzi County, Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) the military police suppressed the protest held by Tibetan monks and lay people. It is confirmed that in addition to the eight people we mentioned earlier, there are several other people were killed. Besides the 27-year-old Sangten (he is the chant master of Tongkor Monastery, and his full name is Tubten Samten), 30-year-old village Pupu Delek, the villager Drulungtso (female) and the villager Lobtan (female) I have listed in my earlier entry, at present we learned that the son of the villager Tserign Puntso is called Tsering Dondrup, the daughter of the villager Tsoge is named Gesang Chodron. I also learned the names of the two people we did not know earlier are Tse Yangji (female, 23-year-old) and the monk named Lobsang Rinchen. Furthermore, there were a few others who were also killed. The names I have found out so far are the abbot of Tongkor Monastery Tsewang Rigdzin (38 year old), the villager Sonam Tsering and the villager Tsering Lhamo (female). When the military police and the working team were searching the monastery, what they threw on the floor and stepped on were photos of the Dalai Lama and the Guru of the monastery Shadrung Rinpoche. On April 5, when the military police were searching the monastery, many valuable cultural relics, including the statues of Buddha and Thangkha paintings, were damaged. Tongkor Monastery is one of the monasteries which preserve the cultural relics the best in Ganzi Tibetan area. During the “Democratic Reform” and the “Cultural Revolution”, the local people risked their lives to save and preserve a great number of statues and image of Buddha and Thangkha paintings. At present, the Chinese Communist Party’s practice, which is just like the second “Cultural Revolution”, greatly endangered these cultural relics. It is learned that the authorities gathered together all people, including Tibetans, in the region, and threatened them not to disclose the bloody incident occurred in the local area to the outside world or the media. They proclaimed that all the news should conform to the news report issued by the Xinhua Agency. If anybody discloses the information, he or she will be punished as “violating the law”.
In addition, recently about 100 students in Qinghai Teacher’s College in Amdo (Tsolho [Hainan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held a peaceful demonstration to protest against the military police’s killing of the Tibetan protesters and to demand the authorities to release all the Tibetan protesters arrested in protests held the three regions of Tibet. But immediately they were controlled by the military police, and at present the college is under tightly sealed off.
Recently the authorities arrested five Tibetan protesters in Rongnga Township in Ngawa County in Amdo (Ngawa Prefecture,Sichuan Province), and their names are as follows: Gonpo Tsering, Tsamothar, Lobsang, Namshi and Lobzang. We have no detail information about where they are held or their health conditions, etc.
According to news provided by a fellow netizen,in Kanlho (Ch. Ganan) and Golok regions in Amdo, the local Public Security Bureau forcibly fined all those who were arrested with 20,000 yuan.
April 9th
Yesterday, the second group of foreign journalists (including eleven journalists stationed in China) on a tour organized by the Chinese government arrived in Lanzhou. After having been joined by many Hong Kong and Taiwan journalists, the group was planning to visit the Amdo area in Gansu Province. But when they visited Labrang Monastery (one of the six major Gelug monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism) in Sangchu (Ch. Xiahe) today, over 20 Tibetan monks rushed out of the hall of the monastery, holding the flag of snow mountain and Lion in their hands. They surrounded the journalists and appealed to them in the following words: “we demand that the Dalai Lama return to Tibet. We do not demand Tibet independence, we only demand to have human rights. We do not have any human rights now.” In addition, they said that many monks are still held in custody, and there are undercover agents monitoring activities all over the areas in Sangchu (Xiahe) County. Within a short period of time, over 40 people came out to appeal to the journalists. This is the second time Tibetan monks risked their lives openly to voice their protest since March 27, when monks in the Jokhang Temple risked their lives to appeal tearfully to the first group of the foreign journalists and plead with them to reveal the truth.
Three days ago (April 6), outside of one of the monasteries in Yushul (Ch. Yushu) County in Kham (Yushul Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province), over 100 Tibetans shouted such slogans as “Free Tibet” and “Let the Dalai Lama Come Home.” At that time the monastery was holding Buddhist ceremonies. The protesters were immediately suppressed by a large number of the armed police, and many people were arrested. An insider said that protests have erupted frequently in the county after the Lhasa Incident, each one suppressed by the armed police. Authorities have not announced the number of protesters who were arrested or whether there were any deaths or injuries.
This morning, Jampa Puntso, chairman of Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, replied to a journalist’s question concerning the recent situation of the monks of the Jokhang Temple who appealed tearfully to the group of the foreign journalists on March 27: “After the journalists left, there came diplomats from a dozen countries. On that day, I briefed them on the situation. They proposed that they must meet with these people and hope to go to the Jokhang Temple. I agree with their proposal. I told them that they could go the next day. Though in the original itinerary the visit was not arranged, they could go. The second day they visited there. I told them that they could meet with all thirty monks [who were involved in the incident]. But because we went rather early, and it was a day when the monastery did not open to the public, the monks did not come out despite us calling out to them for quite some time. Later I told them it didn’t matter. Next time the journalists came, they would still be able to meet with these people. We will never purge or punish them because they expressed their opinions to the journalists. We will never do that, because our country is a country ruled by law. Of course, it we find out that they have committed other crimes, that is another story. In my view, if those of you present here today have opportunity to visit Tibet again in the future, you can still meet with them. They will not face punishment or arrest. You asked where they are and whether they are still in the Jokhang Temple. As long as they have not committed any beating, smashing, looting or burning, they will still live in the Jokhang Temple for a long period of time.” This passage made us worry more about the current situation of these monks. The claim that “the monks have not gotten up yet” obviously appears dubious. In addition, Jampa Puntso said that so far 953 people were detained due to their involvement in the riots, among whom 328 people have been released. Another 403 people had been named in arrested warrants by the Procuratorate. Altogether 93 suspects who participated in beating, smashing, looting and burning activities are on the most wanted list. At present 13 people have been captured, and nine voluntarily surrendered themselves. Among those who were detained on suspicion of being involve in the riot, 362 people voluntarily surrendered themselves. However, as far as those on the most wanted list are concerned, according to the broadcasts by the Literature and Art channel of Tibet Television and the Lhasa Television Station, up to April 7, there have been altogether 17 most wanted lists, and 99 people are on the list, not 93.
It is learned that all the subordinating government institutions under Lhasa City in Tibet Autonomous Region and the various prefectures, the various state-owned and private enterprises, the various universities, colleges, middle schools, high schools and the various neighborhood committees are required to condemn the “March 14 Incident” and to expose and criticize “the Dalai Separatist Clique.” In particular, the Tibetan cadres and employees are required to deeply expose “the evil deeds” of the “Dalai Clique,” and to write articles to criticize the Dalai Lama. In the past similar activities were directed at the monasteries, but this time they expanded the scope to include the entire society, even seven-year-old and eight-year-old primary school students can not escape such a fate.
The unilateral propaganda concerning Tibetan issue provided by the official Chinese media has had the effect of causing the national animosity against the Tibetans among the Chinese. The Chinese networks are filled with messages sneering and slandering Tibetans and Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. In addition, many false articles fabricated by people who posed as eye-witness of the incident have appeared, aiming to cover up the truth about the protests took place in Lhasa, Ngawa and other Tibetan areas. It is said that some hotels in Beijing, Shanghai and other places refused to allow Tibetans to make reservations or register to stay there.
The No. 18 most wanted listed was is issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and was broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. Six people on the list are all male. Up to now 105 Tibetans are on the most wanted lists.
April 10th
The No. 19 most wanted listed was is issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and was broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. Six people on the list are five men and one woman. Up to now 111 Tibetans are on the most wanted lists.
It is learned that some rooms near Lhasa Railway Station are used as temporary prisons, and some Tibetans who were arrested have already been sent to the prison to the northwest of Lhasa by train. At present, on the train from Lhasa to Xining, all Tibetans will be thoroughly checked, and some would be searched as many as seven times. Tibetans who do not have I.D. issued from Tibet Autonomous Region are, without exception, not allowed to enter Lhasa at all.
Tibet Autonomous Region has already notified the travel agencies to stop arranging tours for foreign tourists. The reason given is to ensure the Olympic torch safely pass the Himalayan region. This order revoked the decision made by the tourism departments last week: Tibet tourism would be open to foreign tour groups again starting from May 1st.
We learned that some monks in Labrang Monastery in Sangchu (Ch. Xiahe) County in Amdo (Kanlho [Ch. Gannan] Prefecture, Gansu Province) because they told the truth and their wish to the group of foreign journalists yesterday. In the evening of April 7, 30 monks in Ngolha Monastery and 10 Tibetans in Thume Village, Ngolha Township in Machu County in Amdo (Kanlho Prefecture, Gansu Province). Among 23 monks from Kirti Monastery in Ngawa County (Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province) who were arrested the other day, the names we obtained are as follows: Lobsang Tsultrim, Lobsang Tsundru, Lobsang Trinley, Lobsang Nyima, Jamyang Nyima, etc. In all the townships and towns headed by Rongsakha Township in Ngawa County in Amdo (Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province), the authorities are conducting propaganda and inventing stories. They demanded the local people to say the following words, looking into the camera: “[I] am strongly against ‘the Dalai Clique,’[I] will never collect any Dalai Lama’s photos; [I] will never join the “Dalai Clique,’[I] will never follow the separatists; the conspiracy to split the nationality will not prevail; I love the Chinese Communist Party; I will completely obey the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and am grateful to the graciousness of the party.” They warned them if they did not obey, they would be arressed immediately.
April 11th
The other day 21 Chinese lawyers expressed their willingness to provide legal assistance to Tibetans who were arrested. In their open letter it says, “ According to the relevant news reports in our country, several hundred people have already been arrested in the Incident of March 14 in Tibet. As practising lawyers, we hope that the government departments involved, in their dealings with Tibetans arrested, will strictly abide by the constitution, the law and the relevant criminal procedures. They should put an end to extorting a confession by torture, respect the independence of the judiciary and safeguard the dignity of law. Here we would like to show our great concern for the relevant cases in Tibet, and would be happy to provide legal assistance to Tibetans arrested.” But a few lawyers involved were warned by the authorities who forbidding them to be involved in the Tibet Incident and so fat at least three lawyers had to withdraw due to the intimidation. These lawyers said that the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Judicature has talked to these lawyers, forbidding them to represent the Tibetans or to defend them. At the same time, the authorities claim that “there are enough lawyers in Tibet itself, so they do not need other regions’ assistance.” In reality, this is a case that politics interferes with the independent legal work, thus, Tibetans have been deprived of the right to receive judicature protection. Under such circumstances, it is hard to imagine how much the lawyers can do to assist the Tibetans. Furthermore, due to the fear under the high pressure, it will also be difficult for Tibetans to risk their lives to look for lawyers to represent them. What is more important is that the result of the trails will not be convincing, and the lawyers designated by the authorities is, in fact, just like
It is learned that a few days ago in Ruthog County, Ngari Region in Utsang (Tibet Autonomous Region) four or five Tibetans staged a protest, shouting such slogans as “Hold peace talk with the Dalai Lama to solve the Tibet Issue and stop suppressing and killing Tibetans.” They were immediately arrested by the police and were held in prison in the Town of Sengge Khabab. In addition, monks and lay people at Tongkor Township, Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province) were openly threatened by the authorities, who warned them if people who fled to mountains do not come back to surrender themselves, it will endanger the monastery and the villagers. The local people who were shot are in critical conditions because they dared not to go to the hospital or have not received medical treatment on time.
Drepung and Sera Monasteries as well as the Jokhang and Ramoche Temples and others have been surrounded by the military police for as long as one month. The believers have been forbidden to go on pilgrimage to the monasteries or temples, and all the religious activities and teachings in monasteries have been forced to stop as well. The monks are having difficulties in their daily life. The monastery is temporarily providing a small amount of food to the monks, and nobody can reach them via home phones or cell phones. At present, there are monks who have gone missing.
No. 20 and No.21 most wanted lists were issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and were broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. 18 people are on No. 20 most wanted list, but we do not know who are on the list except the number of people as the time announced the most wanted list was different from the usual time. Altogether 14 people are on the most wanted list, who are all monks. Judging from the photos, they are the monks who participated in the peaceful protest and quiet sit-in with several thousand monks before March 14. There are altogether 32 people on No. 20 and No. 21 most wanted lists. Today is the day when the largest number of people is on the most wanted lists. Up to now at least 143 Tibetans have been on the most wanted lists.
April 12th
The latest news reports that on the night of April 10 a great number of military trucks entered Drepung Monastery, and on April 11 the road to Drepung Monastery was blocked again. It is said that the cause of the incident is that many hungry monks were about to go down the mountain to demand the authorities to lift the curfew after the monastery has been surrounded by military police for over 30 days, but the others claim that the incident was caused by the military police’s action of rushing to the monastery to arrest the monks. In short, we do not know the details about the incident yet, but it is said that there are people who died and injured. The communications with the monastery are still blocked, and we have not been able to contact them.
It is again learned that recently in Lhasa Middle School there have been clashes between Tibetan and Chinese students. In Lhasa many Chinese have shown hostilities toward Tibetans. Some bicycle repair shops refused to mend tires for Tibetan students. The Chinese who are selling vegetables openly shout “for half a kilogram of cucumber, it costs two Yuan for the Chinese, but it costs three Yuan for Tibetans. You deserve it if you are not willing to do so.” In the end of March at the vegetable market of the Bureau of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Works a mob of the Chinese vegetable sellers beat five Tibetans because they had a quarrel over the price. Immediately the soldiers fired and one of the Tibetans was shot in the leg. In addition, all five Tibetans were arrested.
Some Tibetans who were arrested after March 14 without any reasons have already been released. We found out that these people did not participate in March 14 Incident at all. Some of them are housekeepers, and they were arrested when they went out to do grocery shopping. Others were arrested simply because they were living in such Tibetan inhabited areas as Pharkhor Steet and Karma Kunsang. Even the Tibetan workers who were building houses were all arrested. Among those who were arrested there are about 100 students (including college students and middle school students). It is said that over 800 people were locked up in the storehouse at Lhasa Railway Station. Among them some are under custody of the military police, and others are under custody of the Public Security Offices and Procuratorial personnel. The former ones are cruelly tortured and beat, and they had no shoes on or any food to eat. However, the latter ones are better treated and are given some food. While some people have been directly transferred to Kutsa Detention Center in LKhasa, others were first transferred to prisons of Dulung Dechen and Medro Kungga Counties, then to Kutsa Detention Center in Lhasa. First the various prefectures such as Shigatse and Nachu would dispatch people to come to take back those arrested people from their regions, then those from Lhasa would be released. It is said that up to present over 3,000 people were arrested.
No. 22 most wanted lists was issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and was broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. 11 people are on the most wanted list, and on the whole they are monks. Though it is impossible for us to know the details at present, we are sure that something must have happened in some monasteries in Lhasa. It is perhaps related to the incident happened in Derpung Monastery yesterday.
According to latest news, in Tongkor Township, Ganzi Prefecture in Kham (Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province), after the authorities suppressed the protest by local monks and lay people, they issued announcement to over 300 monks and many lay people who fled to hide in the mountains. They threatened that if they do not come down the mountain to surrender with 5 days, they would destroy Tongkor Monastery. I have not heard that any monks or villages have come down the mountain to surrender when the deadline set by the authorities passed. Since at present we have not been able to get in touch with local Tibetans, we do not know what actions the government took. According to the report, some monks from Tongkor Monastery said the following, ” now we dare not to come down the mountain at all, and we will be arrested as soon as we come down the mountain. As soon as we enter Tongkor Monastery, if there are three people who are trying to enter, there will be three soldiers waiting outside. Whatever we have, such as books or money, they will take them away as if they are robbing us. In recent days Tongkor Monastery has not been demolished yet, but all the gates and doors are open.” Tongkor Monastery is a famous monastery with a long history, and the monks have left a great number of valuable cultural relics. Gold statues of Buddha, Thangkha paintings and other valuables survived the disaster in the “Cultural Revolution,” but we worry very much whether they can survive this disaster now.
April 13th
Many people in Lhasa heard about the major incident that on April 11 in Drepung Monastery the military police suppressed the monks, but nobody knows the details. Everybody is worrying about the safety of the monks. I would like appeal to the outside world to pay close attention to the situation.
No. 20 and No.21 most wanted lists were issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and were broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. 18 people are on No. 20 most wanted list, but we do not know who are on the list except the number of people as the time announced the most wanted list was different from the usual time. Altogether 14 people are on the most wanted list.
On April 12 the authorities gathered all the religious leaders and other figures in the eighteen counties in Kham (Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province) to hold emergency meetings. All people who were present at the meeting were demanded to sign their signature on the document opposing the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, the authorities issued the order that since April 13 in the first group of 43 monasteries in Ganzi the “Patriotic Education” and “Anti-Dalai Clique” campaigns.
A Japanese report reports that the Dalai Lama’s hometown is located in Taktser (Ch. Hongya) Village in Tsongkhakhar (Ch. Ping-an) County under Xining City in Qinghai Province. At present the gate of the old house was tightly closed, and on the walls to the both sides of the gate one finds the announcements put up by the Bureau of Judicature of Qinghai Province. The announcement dated to April 2, and they have both the Tibetan and Chinese editions. The rough content of the Chinese announcement is that one is forbidden to put up and distribute signs or leaflets endangering the national security, neither is one allowed to make or distribute the Dalai lama’s portraits or photos. In addition, on the announcement it also writes “the only way out for the lawless people is if they realize their errors and mend their ways, if they surrender themselves and admit their guilt so that the Bureau of Judicature will settle the case leniently or reduce the punishment.” The announcement also points out if common people inform against the lawless people, they will be praised and rewarded. It is said that there are policemen patrolling the village, and the road to the Dalai lama’s hometown is also sealed off.
April 14th
Last night, the news broadcast of Tibet Autonomous Regional Television Station reported that the Work Team to publicize laws and regulations organized by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau has already stationed in Drepung Monastery. Tibet Channel of the Xinhua Network also reported about this yesterday. It states that, “in order to strengthen the effort to publicize and educate people about laws and regulations and to restore the normal Buddhist activities, recently the working team to publicize laws and regulations has stationed in Drepung Monastery.” It also claims that, “the Work Team has been adhering to the national and religious policies and strictly abiding by the relevant laws and regulations. They have smoothly and orderly been carrying out the work, and they have gained understanding and support of the monks and lay Buddhist followers.” But compared with the news from Lhasa, the so-called “the work is progressing smoothly” is probably a lie. At present, the road to Drepung Monastery is still sealed off, but the roads along the highway leading to Drepung Monastery has already opened. We still do not know the details what happened in Drepung Monastery recently. Located at the half way up Gunpel Wutse Mountain, Drepung Monastery is traditionally known as the No. one great monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. It was stipulated that the number of permanent monks there was 7,700, and the number reached up to 10,000 at the peak of its prosperity; at present there are about 1,000 monks.
People.com reported this morning (originally from Tibet Daily): “Tibet Police authorities offered a reward for suspects involved in the Incident of March 14;” on April 11 TAR Supreme Court, TAR Procuratorate and TAR Public Security Bureau issued the “Joint Announcement” as well as photos of 14 Tibetans who are on the most wanted list, among them at least 12 appear to be monks. Judging from such captions as “No. 136 suspect”, ‘No. 137 suspect” and “No. 141 suspect” as well as the most wanted list which have been issued since April 11, we can infer that these monks who are on the most wanted list are most likely involved in the incident of April 11 in Drepung Monastery. In addition, it is worth noting whether there is any special implication for issuing photos of Tibetans on the most wanted list, majority of whom are Tibetan monks, on official Chinese websites. On these websites they also included the entire text of the “Joint Announcement, which reads as follows: In accordance with the “Joint Announcement” issued by TAR Supreme Court, TAR Procuratorate and TAR Public Security Bureau, at present we issue arrest warrants to the following suspects … TAR Public Security Bureau, April 11, 2008… The following people are suspected of being involved in such illegal activities as beating, smashing, looting and burning. The common people are welcome actively to provide clues. Once the clues are verified, those who have provided the clues will be awarded with 20,000 Yuan. Meanwhile we will keep the identity of those who have provided clues secret. The telephone number to report: 0891-6311189. 6324422 or 110. Issued by TAR Public Security Bureau.
In addition, I do not know whether today the authorities would continue to broadcast the most wanted list on Literature and Art channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. At the present, it is still in the stage of bidding one’s time to take revenge, and the strict control by the authorities has encompassed all sectors of the society. Thought one cannot tell from the surface, all Tibetans are living in fear now.
In the emergency meeting convened by the authorities in which those in charge of the various monasteries and the directors of the various working units from all 18 counties participated, it is stipulated that in future all monasteries are required to hang the Chinese national flag, at the same time they are also required to vow to acknowledge that the incident in Tibet was masterminded by the “Dalai Clique,” and they are determined to “criticize the Dalai lama’s separatist clique.”
Furthermore, on April 12 the Chinese authorities reported that “Mach 23 Bombing Incident” in Chamdo, Tibet, was solved, and it was carried out by nine monks from Sutra College of Thongsha Monastery in Shangpel Township, Gonjo County. Among them three monks known as Rinchen Gyantsan (27 year old), Jigme Dundrup (28 years old) and Dorje Wanggyal (31 years old) were arrested on April 1st. At that time four military trucks from Chamdo entered Thongshar Monastery in Shangpel Township, surrounded the monastery, and forbad the monastery to have any contact with the outside world. On April 3, the monks from the monastery shouted such slogans as “we are innocent”, “release those monks who were arrested” and “we demand the freedom of the religious belief”. At that time, six monks including Tseten (30 years old), Kunga Puntso (19 years), Tsewang Yeshe (20 years), Tsering Wangdul (17 year old”, Wanggyal (21 years old) and Kunsang Tsering were arrested, and they were paraded through the streets in the county seat of Gonjo County. The authorities announced that these nine monks are suspects, and claimed that they confessed the above-mentioned crime.”
In addition, according to reliable news, a few days ago Sangpel, a student from Sichuan Provincial College of Buddhism, staged a protest in Dartsedo city (Ch. Kangding), holding high the flag of Snow Mountain and Lion. A Tibetan herdsman named Lhapa from Lhagong, Dartsedo County shouted such slogans as “free Tibet” and ” Welcome the Dalai Lama to come back” at the military trucks while holding high the flag of snow mountain and lion. Both of them were arrested, and we do not know their whereabouts at present.
April 15th
The incident happened in Drepung Monastery on April 11 is becoming somewhat clearer. The report by phayul website reads as follows: According to news verified via reliable channels by Tibet Center for Human Rights and Democracy, Tibet Autonomous Regional government dispatched the “Work Team to Publicize Laws and Regulations” to station at Drepung Monastery. They have started to carry out the “Patriotic Education Campaign” and such propaganda activities as “Opposing the Dalai Clique”, but they met with unanimous opposition by all the monks. The Work Team summoned a great number of military police to control those monk who were protesting against their action, thus, a certain number of monks were arrested and taken away with the excuse that they disturbed and protested against the “Patriotic Education” campaign. We do not know the details about their arrests or the location where they are detained. Though on April 13 the official Chinese news media Xinhua agency reports the event that the Work Team began to station at Drepung Monastery, the news report conceals the information about the monks’ protest and those monks who were arrested. Extra armed police deployed there blocked all roads leading to Drepung Monastery. The police stationed at the monastery strictly restrict the monks’ freedom of movement, and forbid any visitors from outside, including believers, to enter the monastery. Some sources claim that the monks at Drepung Monastery who were arrested were transported to Chushul County and Ngachu region respectively.
All the government institutions and working units under Tibet Autonomous Region are holding meetings. It is claimed that all cadres starting from the grass-root level, in particular the Communist party members, would undergo strict rectification. In addition, in the authorities’ actions to carry out mass arrests all over Tibetan areas, they willfully arrested Tibetans they suspected and form Tibetan political prisoners who had already been released. At present we do not have any information about where these arrested Tibetans are held or any information about their health.
Last night, No. 24 most wanted list was issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and was broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. Four people are on the most wanted list, and all of them are male, but no monks are on this list. Up to now altogether 165 Tibetans have been on the most wanted lists. Tonight, No. 25 most wanted list was issued by Tibet Autonomous Regional Public Security Bureau, and was broadcasted in both Tibetan and Chinese by the Literature and Art Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station. Four people are on the most wanted list, and all of them are monks. So far 169 Tibetans have been on the most wanted lists.
Yesterday morning (April 14), some monks and lay people in Mangkham County Kham (Chamdo Prefecture, TAR) held a peaceful demonstration, and immediately they were suppressed by a great number of military police. At present I have not been able to find out whether there were people killed or injured in the protest or whether anybody was arrested. Recently, when the authorities carried out the “Patriotic Education Campaign’ at the well-known monastery called Wozer Monastery in Mangkham County, they met wih opposition from the monks. Immediately all monks left the monastery to show that they refuse to accept it.
On April 8, the school affiliated to Tatsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Dzoge (Mdzod dge; Ch. Ruo-er-gai) County in Amdo (Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province) was closed down by the authorities. The reason is that many students from this school also participated in the mss protest held by local monks and lay people on March 15. This school was founded by Nyima, the well-known scholar from Kirti Monastery, in 1986, later it was enlarged to be a regular senior school (12 grades). Before it was forcibly closed down by the authorities, there were altogether 504 students in the school. Up to present, over 300 students have graduated from this school. Furthermore, the local government recently arrested 73 Tibetans and paraded them on the street so as to warn Tibetans what they were forbidden to participate in any anti-government activities. Among those arrested 19 of them wee monks from Tatsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery. Some Tibetans have already sentenced by the authorities, but we do not know any details about them.
On March 25 about 100 Tibetans in Heka Township in Tsigortang (Ch. Xinghai) County in Amdo (Tsolho [Hainan]Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) held a protest. One employee with the surname Liu at the local Public Security Bureau confirmed to Radio Free Asia that up to now 15 to 16 Tibetans, including those who voluntarily submitted themselves, have been arrested.
It is learned that the authorities in Cone (Ch. Zhuoi) County in Amdo (Kanlho [Gannan] Prefecture, Gansu Province) arranged all the working units to select people to station near major townships and monasteries so as to monitor the local people. These people will station for half a year. It is said that over 300 monks were arrested in the region, and a greater number of common people were arrested. Due to the fact that the two prisons in the county were overcrowded, some people was transferred to prisons in the neighboring Nixia Hui Autonomous Prefecture.
April 16th
Today in Lhasa no most wanted list was broadcast on TV. It is learned that four people on No. 25 most wanted list broadcasted yesterday are monks who came to study in Sera Monastery from other Tibetan areas, and they were already arrested.
The military police are still searching the major areas where Tibetans concentrated. Members of all those families who are found to worship His Holiness Dalai Lama’s photos were arrested. While many Tibetans hid His Holiness’s photos in cereals such as tsampa (the barley flour), rice or wheat flour, others hid them in beams on the roof. As some people informed the authorities of hidden photos, the military police would come to search the houses. While weeping in their arms, Tibetans had to burn His Holiness’s photos one by one. Recently due to the fact that the authorities do not trust Tibetan party members, cadres or government employees in the Chinese system itself, TAR authorities required all the working units to install video cameras at their gates and offices. All Tibetans say that “now it is really horrible, and everybody is living in fear.”
The various condemnation measures to “reveal and criticize the evil deeds of the Dalai clique”, including convening meetings, everybody making speeches and write condemnation articles, are still going on like wildfire. Even the primary school students are demanded to write condemnation articles. In the condemnation article a primary student writes “this organized and premeditated activity is schemed single-handedly by my mom.”
It is reported that, to protest against the despotic rule, recently nine Lhasa residents who bitterly hated the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression of Tibetans made open statements to the Global Center for Withdrawing from the Communist Party that they would withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party.
Some Amdo Tibetans disclosed that on the night of April 14 a great numbe of military police broke into Labrang Moanstery in Sangchu (Ch. Xiahe) County in Amdo (Kanlho [Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province), and searched all the living quarters of the monks. They beat some monks who resisted, destroyed the properties of the monks and torn up the Dalai Lama’s photos enshrined and worshipped in the living quarters of the monks. Later after nearly 200 monks were arrested, they were taken away, interrogated and tortured. On April 15, some monks were released, but other monks are still in custody. At present in Kanlho [Ch. Gannan] Prefecture over 3,000 Tibetans, including monks, have been arrested. Though many people have been released in succession, they had to pay fines so as to avoid being detained. The amount of the fines imposed depends on the degree of the seriousness of the “offense”: the least amount is 2,000 or 3,000 Yuan, but it can also be as great as tens of thousands of Yuan. The authorities claim that the fines are used to pay the expenses of the military police.
In Jentsa (Ch. Jianza) County, Amdo (Tsolho [Ch. Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province), due to the fact that not long ago the local people held a peaceful protest, demanding the return of the Dalai lama, expressing their wish to meet with the eleventh Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai lama and providing jobs for Tibetan college graduates etc, recently about 50 people were arrested by the special police dispatched from Xining. Among them most of them are farmers, and there are not many monks.
The famous Tibetan singer and poet Jamyang Kyi who is working at Qinghai Television Station was summoned by the Public Security Bureau of Qinghai Province on April 1, and she is still in custody now. At present we do not know her whereabouts. It is reported that the police secretly searcher Jamyang Kyi’s house, and confiscated her computer and phone books. 40-year-old Jamyang Kyi was born into a herdsman’s family in Mangra [Ch. Guinan] County in Amdo (Tsolho [Hainan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province), and she has a happy family, including two daughters. As a well-known singer, she has recorded and distributed many tapes, CDs, MTVs and DVDs. In 2006 she was invited to visit the United States of America, where she sang in performances and made speeches. In addition, she has Tibetan and Chinese blogs, which are well received by young Tibetans. She has also written Tibetan poems and articles, and she originally plans to publish a monograph.
Tibetans, who are working, doing odds jobs, studying or on business in Beijing, are excluded and monitored. Many hotels and inns refuse to let Tibetans register for rooms, and taxi drivers refuse to take Tibetans in Tibetan robes. The business of the Tibetan-style shops and Tibetan restaurants in Beijing has suffered a disastrous decline. Beijing Police authorities demand the managers of the Tibet-style shops and Tibetan restaurants immediately to report to the police if there are monks or any Tibetans who are discussing sensitive topics.
April 17th
As early as two months ago, i.e. on the evening of February 11,because the military police disrupted the religious ceremony held by the local monastery in Rebgong (Ch. Tongren) County in Tsolho (Ch. Huangnan) Prefecture, Qinghai Province, it caused great resentment among the local monks and lay people. Thus, they shouted slogans demanding freedom of religious belief and wish a long life to the Dalai Lama. Consequently, they were dispersed by the local government with tear gases, and madly arrested over 200 monks and lay people. The next day, this prompted several thousand monks and lay people to stage a demonstration at the county seat, demanding the local government to release the monks and lay people who were arrested. Under the pressure, the local government had to release all those who were arrested, but three monks and one old man were severely injured resulting from beating, and had to be sent to the emergency room so as to save their lives. Soon afterward, the authorities transferred special police from Xining and Zhengzhou (in the local hotel there are banners on which such words as “welcome the special police from Zhengzhou to stay at our hotel) to Rebgong. Suppressed by the massive forces, the “Incident of February 11” happened in Rebgong was temporarily calmed down, but we can say this is the prelude to the series of incidents happened after March 10 in Lhasa and protests which spread to all Tibetan areas. On March 17, all the monks of Rongwu Monastery in Rebgong (Ch. Tongren) County made incense offering at the mountain pass to the wet of Rongwu Monastery, reciting in unison prayers for the Dalai Lama. Later when the monks were about to go on protest in downtown, they were prevented from going by lay people who were crying out loud and pleading them not to go. Some monks slashed their wrists under great indignation and resentment, and appeared to be very excited. At that time, the armed policemen were on high alert. In the end, the monks made several demands to the government via the reincarnated lama of the monastery Sharitsang Rinpoche: the armed policemen cannot patrol around the monastery; dismantle the security cameras installed in the monastery; Buddhist activities such as making incense offering should not be stopped unreasonably. The local government agreed to all the demands. However, in the afternoon, the local officials organized work teams to visit Tibetan families, forcing Tibetans to sign their name on the written pledge. They had to pledge not to go on protest etc. At the same time, on March 18, police with special duties from Xining were dispatched to Rebgong and the authorities continued their revenge against the protesters. On April 15, the authorities again arrested the old man and monks who were injured resulting from beating in the “Incident of February 11” and kept them in custody. Thereafter, some monks and lay people who participated in the protest were arrested on after another. At the same time, they have been keeping a close watch on and controlling the dissidents in the region. This morning (April 17) some monks from Rongwu Monastery went to inquire about the conditions of monks and lay people who are imprisoned by the authorities, the local government ignored them, and did not give any answers to them. On their way back to the monastery, these monks were surrounded and blocked by the military police. First they arrested 20 monks on the spot. The common people pleaded the police and attempted to prevent them from taking action; soon quite a great number of these lay people were also arrested and taken away. This incident happened around noon. According to a local person, at that time about 100 monks and lay people, who filled four military trucks, were arrested. Among them there was a reincarnated lama known by his Dharma name Khaso, who is a well respected 60-year lama. He was also arrested when he was trying to mediate. Throughout the incident, none of the monks or lay people resisted, they were just expressing their wishes and appealing. In the afternoon, the authorities dispatched a great number of military police to rush to Rebgong from Xining. It is said that, in reality, they are infantry soldiers who changed into military police uniform and changed their plate numbers as well. Meanwhile, a great number of fully armed military police charged into Rongwu Monastery, carrying batons and machine guns. They searched all the living quarters of the monks, confiscated all the photos of the Dalai Lama and all the DVDS concerning the Dalai Lama. Many monks were arrested and taken away from the monastery. The local people said that 80% of the monks in Rongwu Monastery were arrested, and altogether at least 200 monks and lay people were arrested. At present the monastery is rather empty. There are only a few old monks left in the monastery, but even they are not allowed to leave the monastery. The local people’s morale is rather low, and they are sad and indignant. Even those Tibetans who are incorporated into the Chinese system are very dissatisfied. Everyone feels insecure, and the atmosphere is rather intense.
On April 14, in Tso (Ch. Hezuo) city and Sangchu (Ch. Xiahe) County, Labrang Monastery was searched by the military police and its monks were arrested. In addition, Gyamogong and Kajagong monasteries in Tso city and Tsayu Monastery in Tsayu Township, Malong Monastery in Thangkanga Township, Kangse Monastery in Kyitsang Township, Tashi Monastery in Thangkanga Township in Sangchu County were also searched by the military police. On April 15, Ngawo Chenmo Monastery in Sangchu was searched by the military police, and nine monks were arrested. The Chinese authorities announced that the military police searched some monasteries in accordance with the information provided by the common people, and they found a batch of guns, knives, explosives and others banned by the authorities. In order to fabricate the charges against the Tibetans as “terrorists”, it seems that similar evidence like this will be found by the police in other monasteries in Tibetan areas.
According to the report by the official Chinese media, after the Incident of March 14 in Lhasa happened, the public security organs have already detained 953 suspects who were suspected of being involved in beating, smashing, looting and burning activities, among whom 362 suspects voluntarily surrendered themselves. Among those who were arrested, 328 were already released. Among those who were detained there are 403 people whose arrest warrants were approved by the procuratorates. 93 suspects are still at large and they are on the most wanted list. So far 13 of these 93 people were arrested. In addition, nine suspects whoa re on the most wanted list surrendered themselves.
According to the report by the official Chinese media, after the Incident of March 14 in Lhasa happened, the public security organs have already detained 953 suspects who were suspected of being involved in beating, smashing, looting and burning activities, among whom 362 suspects voluntarily surrendered themselves. Among those who were arrested, 328 were already released. Among those who were detained there are 403 people whose arrest warrants were approved by the procuratorates. 93 suspects are still at large and they are on the most wanted list. So far 13 of these 93 people were arrested. In addition, nine suspects whoa re on the most wanted list surrendered themselves.
Today in Lhasa no most wanted list was broadcasted on TV. But the Art and Literature Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station broadcasted the announcement to eliminate about a dozen Tibetans from the most wanted list. Most of them are monks. It is said that they are the monks who protested against criticizing the Dalai Lama. The reason to cancel the arrest warrant for them is either they have voluntarily surrendered or already captured. The authorities claim that the lawless people whose number on the most wanted list was no. 119 and no. 123 have already admitted their guilt, thus the arrest warrants were cancelled.
April 18th
It is learned that over 200 monks and lay people arrested yesterday in Rebgong (Ch. Tongren) County in Amdo (Tsolho [Ch. Huangnan] Prefecture, Qinghai Province) are held at Rebgong Public Security Bureau, but we do not know their conditions at present. Rongwu Monastery, the well-known major local monastery, has been surrounded by military police who are also stationing at the monastery. The monastery remains closed to the believers and tourists who were forbidden to go on pilgrimage or visit it.
The cross-talk artist Dabe and female singer Dromakyi form Machen County, the county seat of Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Amdo (Golok Prefecture, Qinghai Province) were arrested. The cross-talk artist Dabe is the chairman of Dabe Art Centre in Golok, and the singer Dromakyi is the member of the Association for Protecting Women’s Rights of Golok Prefecture. They were arrested on March 31. It is learned that the reason for Dabe to be arrested is that he supported the protest staged by monks from the Labrang Monastery by printing the Tibetan Flag of Snow Mountain and Lion and the Dalai Lama’s photos. When the military police was arresting Dabe, they insulted his dignity by burning his beard and hair with cigarette lighter. The reason Dromakyi was arrested is probably related to the lyrics she wrote. In addition, on March 31 five people from a private Tibetan language school in Muchen County, including the principal Palchenkyab, the deputy principal Lhundrub and the teacher Sonam Dorje, were taken away to be imprisoned in Xining. At present we do not know any details about their situation.
Beijing Olympic Torch relay will enter Tibet Autonomous Region in mid-May, and it will be escorted to Mount Everest between May 19 to May 23, therefore, the authorities originally proclaimed that in May Tibet will open to tourism, but now they have changed their decision. They claim that the condition has not become ripe yet, thus, they postponed the plan to open Tibet to international and domestic tourists. They have not determined the new dates for Tibet to open to tourists. People working in the tourism industry in Lhasa reveled that this year they will not receive tourists from Europe or America. Some institutions of the tourist industry will be on vocation, but the government will grant them full pay.
Tibet Autonomous Region is implementing harsher new regulations. Since April 12 all the monasteries in various areas, without exception, are required to hang the Chinese flag. If there are any people who oppose it, they will be punished mercilessly. It is learned that all the monasteries in Tibetan areas in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces are also required to implement this regulation. At present, the Three Great Monasteries (Drepung, Sera and Ganden Monasteries) in Lhasa, the Ramoche and Jokhang Temples, which have been sealed off for over a month, are still surrounded by the military police. While the believers are forbidden to pay homage to the monastery, so are the monks to leave the monastery.
Today in Lhasa no most wanted list was broadcasted in Lhasa.But the Art and Literature Channel of Tibet Television Station and Lhasa Television Station broadcasted the announcement to eliminate about a 23 Tibetans from the most wanted list. They are all monks. It is said that they might be the monks who were arrested as a result of protesting against criticizing the Dalai Lama in Drepung and other monasteries. The reason to cancel the arrest warrant for them is either they have already been captured or had been hand in to the authorities by the Work Team.
I interviewed a Tibetan who just arrived in Beijing by train from Lhasa. He lives near the Barkhor. In the afternoon of March 10 he saw the police from the local police station arrested some monks and four commoners in the square of the Jokhang Temple. After March 11, there had been a great number of plainclothes policemen from morning till night, among whom there were several dozens of short-hair plainclothes policewomen. Before 3:00pm on March 14, at the Northern Street of Barkhor he saw masked special operation police in black suit fired at Tibetans who staged a demonstration by walking around Barkhor, and he saw with his own eyes that a teenager girl died of a bullet piercing through her throat. In addition, the special operation police drove rapidly to the spot and threw the girl’s body on the car. His friend saw from upstairs that the special operational police fired at people in Barkhor and killed several people, and later their corpses were all seized by the police. When he fled to the East Lingkhor Road of outside of Barkhor, he saw in front of the gate of TAR Public Security Bureau many policemen were using cameras or video cameras to take pictures of Tibetans who were smashing the shops or burning the cars only one street away from them. Others were looking on unconcerned, and he did not see any of them attempt to try to stop. Later he also saw three tanks with Caterpillar treads drove from Jiangsu Road to the East Lingkhor Road. The next day, he also saw armored cars.
Lhasa people comment that, “These days it is rather common to hear that some people were arrested or some people just died.”
April 19th
Today there is not much news.
The most wanted lists which have been issued continuously for many days seem to come to an end now. Altogether 25 most wanted lists, on which there are 169 Tibetan monks and lay people, were announced. Recently over 30 people on the most wanted lists were removed from the lists, and the reason given by the authorities is that they were either captured or voluntarily submitted themselves to the authorities.
It is learned that in some working units with a relative larger number of Tibetan employees, for instance China Tibetology Research Centre, required all the employees to write articles to condemn “March 14” Incident in Lhasa and other incidents happened one after another in other Tibetan areas. In their words, “Thoroughly reveal and criticize the Dalai Separatist Clique.” All the employees at Beijing Tibetan Medicine Hospitals are required to register at the local police station. The Tibetan employees at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the National Committee of the National Affairs, Nationalities Publishing House, the Central University for Nationalities and other working units are required to attend meetings and study about the issues so as to check “the hidden danger” for safety. The authorities of the various colleges and universities also vigorously guard against the Tibetan students. One Tibetan student comments on the situation as follows: “ Our teachers summoned us to talk to us, and the policemen from the local police station found us to advise us to provide some “information”. The school administrations started to have us fill out special questionnaires for minority students, and dispatched party members to investigate our words and deeds…” Similarly, Tibetan Middle School in Beijing and other middle schools where there are Tibetan students also sternly take precautions, and forbid the students to contact the outside world.
April 20th
Correction: The total number of people on the most wanted lists issued by the authorities should be 170, not 169 noted in an early entry.
During the press conference on the morning of April 18, Jiang Zaiping, the Deputy Director of Lhasa Municipal Public Security Bureau, said that up to the present 365 people suspected of being involved in “March 14 Incident of Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning” have voluntarily surrendered themselves. In addition, 170 suspects against whom the authorities have evidence proving their involvement have been listed on the most wanted lists. Among these suspects on the most wanted list, 82 have been captured, and 11 of them voluntarily surrendered themselves. This official maintains that the authorities “obtained evidence to show that these suspects were involved into the incident of beating, smashing, looting and burning,” and the “Joint Announcement” issued by TAR Supreme Court,TAR Procuratorate and TAR Public Security Bureau also claims that these monks were involved in such illegal activities as beating, smashing, looting and burning. However, judged from the pictures of people on the most wanted lists on Sina.com (among them, there are no pictures for No. 143, No. 144 and between no. 155 to no. 165. The picture for No. 121 and No. 128 overlapped), there are as many as 37 monks between No. 112-170 on the most wanted lists, and they are between the age of 20-40. Judging from the time when they were listed on the most wanted list, these monks should be the ones who were put on the most wanted list after they protested against the work team’s demand to criticize the Dalai Lama in Derepung Monastery as well as some monks who were put on the most wanted lists for the same reason in other monasteries. When we look at their facial expressions and postures on the pictures on the most wanted lists, they were simply appealing and providing a verbal defense. None of the pictures show that monks were involving in beating, smashing, looting and burning. Then, these monks were forced by these work teams and suppressed by fully armed military police in their monasteries, how is it possible to have any evidence to prove their involvement in March 14 Incident of Beating, Smashing, Looting and Burning?” Since March 10 they had been under house arrest in their monasteries, and it has been for a month. These monks are still on the most wanted lists, but,they are surrounded layer upon layer by the military police. Except the fate of being beat and arrested, how is it possible for them to escape from their monasteries? Up to the present, we do not know whether these monks are dead or alive. I appeal to the outside world to pay close attention to the situation of the monks.
It is reported that before dawn on April 18 about 40 trucks full of military police drove to Sera Monastery on the northern suburb of Lhasa, then,they arrested and took away over 400 monks. There are originally 700 monks in Sera Monastery, but at present there are only old and young monks. It is learned that monks dressed in thin clothes were taken to be imprisoned in Dunlung Dechen County. Most of the monks from Ganden Chokhor Monastery in Lhundrup Country, Lhasa, were arrested, and the nuns form Shepungpa Nunnery in Lingdrup Country were also arrested one after another.
All the working units in TAR and other Tibetan areas in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, one after another, held the various meetings angrily to condemn the Dalai Clique.” Some former Red Guards, the former rebel factions and the form “activists”, who were active during the “Cultural Revolution” have again picked up the crazy languages prevalent during the “Cultural Revolution.” They gibed at the Dalai Lama and Tibetans in exile, and some even launched personal attacks against the former. Some cadres who retired with special honors or retired regularly suggested that the authorities should establish Joint Defense organizations among the residents, in reality, these organizations are just like the militia organization which “turned all the civilians into soldiers” during the “Cultural Revolution.” In other words, they are plainclothes police.
At present, the various recreation arenas in Lhsa, including dancing halls, night clubs, Karaoke halls, tea houses, bath centers, feet washing houses, beauty salons and hair salons, continue to open again, and the sex industry in Tibet also continue to carry out its business as usual. However, Nangma halls where mainly Tibetan songs and dances are performed and majority of whose customs are Tibetans, have not been allowed to open for business at present. The reason is that the authorities are afraid that Tibetans would gather together and stir up trouble. It is learned that many people want to leave Lhasa. Among them are businessmen whose businesses are slack in the moment or Tibetans who have been incorporated into the Chinese system. There is a saying among the latter group that they felt unsafe when there are no soldiers, but they felt even more anxious when there are soldiers.
Along the streets in the areas between pedestrian street of Yuthok Road to the Jokhang Temple sound activated equipments have been installed.
This Friday, April 18, the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing demand over 140 students who participated in the candlelight vigil on March 17 to submit self-criticism, and some students submitted their self-criticism under the pressure. On the press conference held by the News Office of the Sate Council on April 2, Sherab Nyima, the vice president of the Central University for Nationalities, said that they did not find students who supported the activity of March 14, but he admitted that there were indeed some students who staged a quiet sit-in to pray for peace after they heard about the incident of beating, smashing, looting and burning and felt very unsettled. But he also said that “all the Tibetan teachers and students expressed their indignation against the Incident of “March 14” in Tibet.
Recently, many of the 21 lawyers who have expressed their willingness to provide legal assistance to Tibetans arrested were warned by the Chinese authorities, summon to have face to face talk or were warned on phone forbidding them to be involved. I just learned that at present it is time for the authorities to carry annual inspection for licenses for lawyers, but so far the authorities delayed their annual inspection for at least two lawyer’s offices, which will result in affecting about 100 lawyers. If the delay is too long, this will cause internal conflicts among the lawyers. A few extreme Chinese nationalists wrote to the public e-mail address of the lawyers who are willing to provide legal assistance for Tibetans, and they reviled and threatened these lawyers in the following words: “… Wait until I find you beasts, wait and see how I deal with you. Jump now, and try to be in the limelight. Whoever come out to defend the Tibetan separatists, I will claim your life and your family’s lives…”
April 21st
Today Tibet Daily reports: Lhasa City formally started the education campaign with the theme of “Opposing Separatism, Safeguarding stability and Promoting Development.” It will last for two months and is divided into “three steps”. Using both carrot and stick, the campaign will carry out various brain-washing activities to educate party members and cadres among the farmers and herdsmen as well as farmers and herdsmen themselves. Meanwhile, the authorities encourage people to explain by using one’s experience as an example and organize people to denounce [“the evil doing”]. Its aim is to “deepen anti-separatist struggle and counterattack the Dalai clique’s scheme to split [the country].”Dorje Tsedrub, the deputy party secretary of Lhasa Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Lhasa Municipality, claims that the performance in the campaign will be used as important standards to assess the achievements of party members and cadres.
The patriotic Education Campaign whose main theme is to “anti-separatism” has already penetrated into the various counties under carious prefectures in TAR. On April 18 Tibet Daily reports that Sangri County in Lhokha (Ch. Shannan) Prefecture is going to carry out a two-month “patriotic education campaign” among the party members, cadres, retirees, the troops stationing in the region and the armed police, including armed police under the rule of the people’s armed force department of the county and the squadron stationing in the county, youth mainly consisting of primary and middle school students, the farmers, herdsmen, individual businessmen and the religious figures mainly comprised of monks and nuns in monasteries. Furthermore, people who are going to undergo the education campaign are divided into five categories, and the campaign is dived into five phases to be carried out. We can say that nobody can escape the campaign. Judging from this, it seems that every township, every county and every prefecture will carry out the political campaign of the same scale, and this will be another “Cultural Revolution” sweeping across the Tibetan areas and touching on the soul of Tibetans.
Some official Chinese media published the interview with Jampa Puntso, the chairman of TAR, by Hong Kong based Phoenix TV Sataion. Jampa Puntso was a former commander of the rebel faction during the “cultural Revolution”. In Jampa his reply, there are full of loopholes, which are worth analyzing. For instance, first, he claimed that they adopted “a comparatively appropriate method of prevention and control” toward the monks from Drepung monastery who staged a peaceful protest on March 10, and then what kind of method of prevention and control is considered comparatively appropriate? Second, he said that when the March 14 Incident happened, “we absolutely could not use any weapon with killing or wounding power”, however, at present some eye witnesses have already written articles or conducted interviews to reveal that they not only heard gun shots, but also saw with their own eyes that the special police killed many people in Barkhor street.
Third, he said that “we can say that we know, to some degree, the connection and intention of the overseas separatists with those in China, and we are somewhat prepared,” but he further explained that “this time [the events] are premeditated longer than we expected and are better prepared.” Since they already know about the event and are also prepared for it, they did not act on time to avoid the escalation of the incident. Apparently, their action is dereliction of duty. Fourth, he said that ‘those to whom the court of law, the Procuratorate and the Public security Bureau issue joint announcement to urge them to surrender themselves’ are mostly Tibetans, but certainly there are people of other ethnic groups, including Han Chinese.” This is a lie! Because all 170 people on the most wanted list are Tibetan,and there is not any Han Chinese in the list! Lastly, he said that “at the beginning the number of people on the most wanted lists are over 40, later the number increased to over 50, and now the number is over 90. Among over 90 people, as far as I know, up to yesterday, approximately 22 people surrendered themselves. Some of them were captures, and now there are over 70 people on the lists.” This is also a lie! On April 18 the deputy director of Lhasa city Public Security Bureau announced on the press conference that the number of people on the most wanted lists are 170, which include 80 who were captured. The 82 include 11 people who surrendered themselves. Though there are still 77 people on the most wanted lists, but it is still an unsettled question whether they are still at large or were already killed.
On April 17 in Rebkong (Ch. Tongren) County, Amdo (Rebkong County, Tsolho [Ch. Huangnan] Prefecture, Qinghai Province), because some monks from Rongwu Monastery demanded the authorities to release those monks who were arrested earlier, though they did not have any protest, it was a peaceful petition, yet they angered the authorities. As a result, the authorities dispatched armed police who madly beat and arrested people involved. When the seventy-year-old well respected local reincarnate Lama Khaso Rinpoche tried to dissuade the police, his head was injured and he was arrested. When a few Tibetan women saw the reincarnated Lama suffering, they cried out and shouted “Our reincarnated lama is about to beat to death”, immediately they risked their lives to save the lama, consequently, they were arrested, too. Villagers in the neighborhood rushed to stop the police, but they were all arrested. Among those who were arrested, the youngest is 15, and the oldest is 75. The 75-year-old man pleaded the military police to stop, but after he was struck down to the floor with a baton, he was also taken into custody. These people’s two hands were tied with iron wires, and as some were tied too tight, the iron wires cut deeply into their flesh. At that time they arrested up to 100 people, who filled four military trucks. Then, a great number of military police rushed into Rongwu Monastery, viciously beating and capturing several hundred monks. Next they searched the living quarters of the monks, confiscated the Dalai Lama’s photos and DVDS. They also arbitrarily destroy articles, and stole the monks’possessions. They even seized tea from the monks. Some say that the number of monks and lay people arrested in Rebkong is up to 430.
Together with Kaso Rinpoceh, another reincarnated lama named Changtse Rinpoche was also arrested. The beating and arresting of the reincarnated lamas incurred great grief and indignation among Tibetans. When all the villagers from Nyandu village were about to stage a demonstration, they were persuaded to go back home by Khanchen Rinpoceh. When the most well respected and well-known reincarnated Lama Sharitsang met with the officials from Tsolho (Ch. Huangnan) Prefecture, he said excitedly, “In future, do not ask us reincarnated lamas to mediate such incidents, and we will never participate in such coordinating activities. If you continue to do so, you should just close the monasteries. Among the common people, it is said that Shangritsang Rinpoche has already resigned his official positions in the government to show his standpoint, but as Kaso rinpoche was severely injured, he was transferred to undergo medical treatment at Qinghai Provicial Hospital. At present, Rongwu Monastery was still controlled by a great number of military police, and all the religious activities were forced to stop. Many Tibetan cadres feel aggrieved. Some Tibetan cadres wept bitterly,and said “Where are the mountain spirits and protective deities we worship on all the holidays? Today when many people were arrested, unexpected it is a clear and boundless sky.” The relationship between Han Chinese and Tibetan is deteriorating, and curses and abuses between Han Chinese and Tibetans happened now and then. The local people exclaimed, “In fact, the physical harm is far lesser than the psychological harm these incidents caused to Tibetans incorporated with the Chinese system; even if the incident is calmed down, it is hard to heal the psychological harm caused to Tibetans within the Chinese system.”
In addition, on April 14 a great number of military police suddenly arrived at Nyantho Monastery in Ngolha Township, Machu County in Amdo (Kanlho [Gannan] Tibetan autonomous Prefecture, gansu Province), and searched the living quarters of the monks. They confiscated the Dalai Lama’s photos and DVDs, and arrested 150 monks. On April 11 and April 16, several dozens of Tibetans from Tserima Township, Machu County, were arrested. The names we obtained are as follows: the 18-year-old Lhama Tsering, the 19-year-iold Losanggyal, the 22-year-old Tsering Dorje, the 30-year-old Tsarima, the 19-year-old Lhama, the 33-year-old Gesanggyal, the 23-year-old Khrdrup, the 36-year-old Ngondra and his son Jamyang Thome. At present we do not know their whereabouts.
April 22nd
On April 16 Sichuan Personnel Network published the announcement concerning the Sichuan provincial public security organs’recruiting people’s police issued by Sichuan Provincial Politics and Law Committee, the Personnel Bureau and the Public Security Bureau. The first entry reads “The public security organs in Tibetan areas are recruiting 698 people’s policemen for the grass-root police stations and the police affair office.” These include 443 policemen for Ganzi Prefecture, 215 for Nagwa (Ch.Aba) Prefecture and 40 for Muli County in Liangshan Prefecture; in addition, in Ganzi and Ngawa Prefectures the authorities are recruiting people’s policemen for the positions of the special majors, of which 239 for Ganzi Prefecture and 102 for Ngawa Prefecture. These positions include Tibetan language translators. The announcement emphasizes that “all those whose partners, immediate family members, close relatives or relatives by marriage have received death penalty, are serving their sentences or engage in activities to subvert our country in China and abroad” are forbidden to apply for the position.
Because Mount. Everest is located in Tingri County (Ch. Dingri), Shagatse (Ch. Rikaze) Prefecture, yesterday Shigatse Prefecture held the mobilization meeting to ensure the safe arrival of Olympic torch at the top of Mount Everest, requiring the various police forces under the politics and law organizations, various functional institutions, armed police, border defense forces, fire fighting forces and internal security forces to attach importance to the Olympic torch relay. It is learned that when the torch enters Lhasa, the authorities will impose a curfew in Lhasa. At that time Tibetans will be forbidden to go on pilgrimage or circumambulation trips, but the authorities will not admit that they impose curfew in Lhasa. The various travel agencies in Lahsa received the approval from TAR Youth League Committee that after the Olympic torch arrives at Lahsa, at least 20,000 Han Chinese (most of them will be staff working for the travel agencies and tourists) will hold the activity known as “Safeguard the Torch and Love one’s Country” at Potala Square. Furthermore, since May all Tibetans who do not have their household registration in Lhasa or have no regular job there (including monks from other Tibetan areas who are studying in various monasteries in Lhasa) must return to their hometown. Meanwhile, no Tibetans from Amdo or Kham, i.e. outside of TAR, are allowed travel to Lhasa. It is reported that all the areas where the Olympic torch relay passes will use the similar measures to deal with the issue.
Today Tibet Daily published one of “the series of editorials exposing and criticizing the reactionary nature of the Dalai Separatist Clique”, which claims that “from today on, Tibet Daily again publish a series of editorials to expose and criticize the counter-revolutionary nature of the Dalai Separatist Clique.” This article attacked the Dalai Lama with high-sounding words, and determined the nature of the Dalai Lama as “three calamities and the chief boss”, i.e. “he is the ringleader who damages the fundamental interests of the Tibetan people, is the cause of misfortune for Tibetan people, is the disaster for people in China, and is the chief boss of the separatist political clique which schemes for “Tibet Independence.”
Another round of cultural revolution-like political campaigns are carrying out on a large scale in various regions in Tibet. Manling (Ch.Milin) County, Lingtri (Ch. Linzhi) Prefecture organized nine work teams and dispatched to the various townships, monasteries and others. The measures they took include publicizing the issued to mass assemblies, condemning [the Dalai Clique] in mass assemblies, investigating and finding out the real situation, establishing the regulations and rules and implementing the planning vigorously.
The mass arrests of monks are still going on. It is reported that there are only four monks left in Nechung (Ch. Naiqiong) Monastery near Drepung Monastery in Lhasa. When Tibetans talk about the harsh suppression of the various monasteries, they are all very indignant, but are very scared as well. Since all the monasteries have been forced to close, many Tibetans have to offer butter lamps in front of the carved statues of Buddha on the rocks of Chapori Mountain (Ch. Yaowang shan), to pray from monks and lay people who were suppressed by the authorities.
It is reported that in a Sakya Monastery named Nalantho in Central Tibet (Lhundrup Country, Lhasa City in TAR), on April 17 eight monks were arrested. In Shitsang Monastery in Amdo (Cone County in Kanlho [Ch. Gannan] Prefecture, Gansu Province) 32 monks were arrested on April 15 and April 16.In Chopel Tashi Chokor Monastery in Dorkho Township in Amdo (Cone County in Kanlho [Ch. Gannan] Prefecture, Gansu Province), over 200 monks were arrested. In Tatsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery, Sengdo Monastery and Docho Village in Amdo (Dzoge County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) four monks, who are Koncho Tarke, Koncho Retan, Tayi, Bugang Dargyal, and four villagers known as Puntso (20 year old), Ato (19 year old), Puntso (19 year old), Kandro Tsering (14 years old) were arrested. On the night of April 19, over 190 monks from Tatsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery secretly left the monastery to take refugee in the mountains
The monk named Tusong from Kirti Monastery in Amdo (Ngawa County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Orefecture, Sichuan Province) committed suicide at the age of 29 on April 16. He was a blind person. Before he killed himself, he said to his family, “We do not need to mention that you with eyes can not stand such kind of life, Even I, a blind person, can not endure it.”
The information about a few Tibetan artists, teachers and poets who were arrested is as follows: On March 31, the folk artists Dabe, also known as Dawatar, and Dromakyi as well as those who are teaching Tibetan language among the people, including Pachenkya, Lhundrup and Sonam Dorje, were arrested. All five of them were taken to Xining and took into custom. At present we do nto know their whereabouts. On April 1, the well-known female singer and poet Jamyangkyi, who is working at Qinghai Television Station, was summoned by Qinghai Provincial Public Security Bureau and up to now has been taken into custody.
Dabe, also known as Dawatar is the famous bard, who is known as “Golok Dabe” among Tibetan people. On March 3, 2003, after having obtained permission from the local government, Dabe founded Mayul Gesar Art Group (Rma yul ge sar seng chen sgyu rtsal tshogs pa). This is an independent performance group, which has not received any financial aid and whose aim is to develop Tibetan culture by training and educating local people in need. The training program offers dance classes as well as Tibetan and Chinese classes. Some herdsmen will have opportunity to find employment through such studies. He is one of the important cultural figures in Golok. In 1990 he created a kind of Layi (love songs) in 1990; he received awards for his cross-talk performances in 1996 and 2001 respectively. Meanwhile, he also sing and tell Gesar stories, and he issued a VCD entitled “The Art of Telling and Singing Gesar Stories”, which is notes as “the special edition of Gesar stories created and told by Golok Dabe himself.” On the link http://www.tibet3.com/chinese/shis/content/2007-02/02/content_196337.htm one can see he and another Tibetan were performing Geasr cross-talks.
Dromakyi: She is a famous singer. She is also one of the members of Myul Gesar Art group. She also established Black Tent and White Lotus Art Group’(Sbra nag gangs yul me tog sgyu rtsal tshogs pa). Originally she planned to only recruit actresses, but because there were a lot of people who requested to join the group, later she also accepted actors as well. She was the leading role in a few VCD issued by Mayul Gesar Art Group. She is also known for being the host for programs and performances. In addition, she recorded Layi (Love Song) tapes.
Palchenkyap: He is the leader of Machen Cultural Aid Group. This is a cultural aid group which carries out literacy programs in the vast nomadic regions. The group dispatches teachers to teach Tibetan to children of nomads. In order to promote the program, Palchenkyap and two other teachers issued two music VCDs to promote education (one of the VCD is known as “Tibetan Home). In the summer of 2007, they received finaical aid from an American NGO to carry out this education program.
Henzhou (also written as Lhundrup): He is the second in command of Machen Cultural Aid Group and the Literacy Program in nomadic areas. He is also an artist playing dunglen (Tibetan styled lute), and performed for a few VCDs. The lyrics for his songs are mostly about the importance of promoting education and improving women’s living conditions.
Jamyangkyi, whose pen name is Meng Zhu, was born in Sangdo Latsa village in Mangra, Amdo. At present it is under the jurisdiction of Mangra County (Ch. Guinan), Tsolho (Hainan) Prefecture, Qinghai Province. In 1993 she graduated from polytechnic department under Tsolho (Ch. Hainan) Teacher’s College for Nationalities in Qinghai. In the same year, she began to work at the Tibetan language section of Qinghai Television Station. Up to April 2008 she has mainly engaged in editing, broadcasting, translating, writing and directing news programs. In 1994 she began to enroll in a three-year program taught by correspondence sponsored by Qinghai Education College. She is a Tibetan singer who is well-known among all Tibetans and overseas Tibetan communities. She has issued at least five solo albums, including “Black Tent”, “Shambala”, “The Charm of Snow”, “Faraway Lover” and ‘You and Me.”In addition, she also issued three CD and VCD albums, such as “The Charm of Snow”, “Yearning for Tibet”,“Destiny”, etc. She is also one of the few Tibetans who devote themselves to the study of the rights and interests of Tibetan women and children, and she published some articles on the rights and interests of women. In March 2006, she was invited to participate in Tibetan New Year performance sponsored by Latse Library in New York and the Tibetan Studies symposium sponsored by Columbia University. She also has Tibetan and Chinese blogs, which are well received by Tibetan youth. She also wrote many Tibetan poems and articles, and originally planned to publish a monograph.
April 23rd
In order to further control Tibetan and Tibetan communities, recently the various offices and the various neighborhood committees under the Lhasa Municipality investigated into the background of all people under their jurisdiction. All those who are registered local residents need to check their household registration documents, and all outsiders who are not registered Lhasa residents must register now. In the process of registration, both the landlords and the tenants are required to show certificates, identifications or permits to reside temporarily in Lhasa. Meanwhile, the landlords need to guarantee for the tenants, and know “three things” about their tenants: know their names, know their hometowns and know their professions. The authorities will strictly investigate into “those people with three without” (without identification card, without permit to reside temporarily and without any source of livelihood). Tibet Business Daily claims that the fastest way to get the permit to reside temporarily only takes two hours to process, however, in reality, it is far more difficult for Tibetans from other regions to get the permit to reside temporarily in Lhasa than the floating population of Han Chinese and Chinese Muslims (Hui). The monks from Kham and Amdo who are studying in Lhasa will be the first targets to be expelled from Lhasa.
Due to the fact that Olympic torch relay will arrive at Mount Everest in the last ten day period of May, 2008, and it will reach Lhasa on June 20.The local government in the various townships near Lhasa city already notified the farmers that since May 1 they are not allowed to travel to Lhasa or go there to sell cypress leaves for incense offering. Since the authorities will impose curfew which they will not admit to the outside world, at present the Lhasa residents are vying with each other to buy grains and other daily necessities so that they will be well prepared in case they are not allowed to leave their houses at that time. The troops which have started to station in Lhasa since March 14 have not withdrawn yet. They scatter to the yards of various working units, where they live in tents at present. The Lhsa Stadium is filled with tents set up by the troops and their trucks. Since last week, the authorities have issued orders to the various working units to clear out meeting halls and offices. It might be possible that the authorities are preparing for having additional troops to station in Lhasa to safeguard the Olympic torch relay.
We have learned some more information about the work teams to publicize laws and regulations in monasteries sponsored by TAR Public Security Bureau. Late at night of April 10, Thursday, TAR Public Security Bureau suddenly carried out mass arrests of monks at Drepung and Nechung monasteries. On the same night twelve trucks filled with arrested monks drove out the monasteries. At present, except old and physically weak monks, there are not many monks left in the monastery. There are only four monks left in Nechung Monastery. On the morning of April 16, Tuesday, TAR Public Security Bureau summoned all the security cadres and police, and told them that there were assignments for them, but did not disclose to them what their assignments were. All the cell phone were ordered to be turned off, and the directors would designate people to store them away. They showed three movies to these cadres and police, who were provided with free lunch and dinner. They waited until 12 mid-night to take action. First they went to wait for their order at the Horsemanship Training Center, then around 2:00am they were ordered to suddenly arrest monks from Sera monastery. Altogether over 400 monks were arrested. Thus, like the Drepung Monastery, except the old and weak monks, there are few monks left in Sera Monastery. Around 4:00am on April 18, Friday, the police from Chusul Public security Bureau under Lhasa Municipality and the special police from TAR suddenly carried our mass arrest at Droma Lhakang (a temple established in 11 century) in Nyetang, approximately 30 kilometers to the southwest of Lhas. Almost all the monks were arrested. Due to the fact that Nyetang Monastery owns a great number of rare cultural relics, at present the Chusul County government is dispatching cadres to take turn to guard these relics. These cadres jokingly commented that they became monks now. It is leaned that all those on duty from public security bureau, procuratorial organs and people’s courts are given a stipend of 100 yuan every day, not including the extra bonus. On April 18, the highest authority of Chinese Communist party in Tibet, Zhang Qingli visited Drepung and Sera Monasteries. On the same day Tibet Television Station reported that he “went to visit all the cadres of the work team to educate and publicize laws and regulations stationed in the monastery, and had a cordial informal discussion with the members of the Monastery Administration Committee and the representatives of the monks.” It is said that Tibetans scold Zhang severely in secret, and was resentful to Zhang’s action “of rather killing one thousand people by mistake than allowing one [who was involved in ‘subversive activities’] to escape.” Most Tibetans, including those incorporated within the Chinese system, are terrified and disturbed, but at the same time they are very angry, too. They held that in fact Zhang should mainly take responsibility for the incident of March 14. After having witnessed the cruelty of the authorities in suppressing the Tibetans, the false propaganda of the Chinese media and the phenomena that various Chinese regions start to exclude Tibetans, the Middle-aged and young Tibetans who used to be on the side of the authorities were rather shocked, felt lost and even felt a sense of being abandoned. Then they had strong animosity against the authorities. They think that the Dalai Lama is innocent and he has nothing to do with the March 14 Incident. We can say that the Chinese Communist Party have not reflected on the situation at all, instead they continue to implement their mistaken policies toward Tibet. Consequently, CCP has lost popular sentiments among more and more Tibetans.
It is reported that on April 12 monks from Pangsa and Droma Monasterie, nuns from Cholung Nunery and nearby villagers in Medro Gungkar under Lhasa City held a protest against the “Patriotic Education Campaign” carried out by the authorities, shouting such slogans as “Long live the Dalai Lama”, “Free Tibet”, etc. They were suppressed by the local military police, and we learned that several dozens of people were arrested, and many were severely injured. On the same night, a nun named Lobsang Tsomo from Cholung Nunnery hanged herself, and she was only 31 years old.
During the “Patriotic Education Campaign” being carried out in various Tibetan regions, the authorities demand the monastery to hang the Chinese flag on the top of the monastery, and require the monks to take an oath under the red flag with five stars to make a clear class distinction from the Dalai Lama. They even require very monk in the monasteries to have their pictures taken and to be videotaped by holding the red flag in their hands. Meanwhile, they are also demanded to sing their name on a blank paper, but many monks refused to cooperate.
Some working units which have employed Tibetan temporary workers have already fired these Tibetans, and these Tibetans who have lost their jobs are returning home on after another.
April 24th
Tibet Daily continues to publish “the series of editorials exposing and criticizing the reactionary nature of the Dalai Separatist Clique”, attacking the Dalai Lama to be the chief source of turmoil in Tibet.” This shows that Tibet Authorities of CCP does reflect upon their erroneous policies toward Tibet, however, they have shirked all the responsibilities to the Dalai Lama. Furthermore, the wording and style of writing in these editorials is “Cultural Revolution” like clichés. Tibet Daily even published a preposterous article wrote by a Han Chinese who neither believes in Buddhism nor understands Buddhism. He actually questioned the Dalai Lama, saying “Dalai, can you abide by your religious discipline?” This is indeed absurd and ridiculous.
As for the arrangement of work by Tibet authorities recently, we can see that first they subject cadres who are party members, especially those on grass-root level, to strict political education, and try to control their thought in the name of “patriotic education.” Then, they administer the monasteries very strictly by sending work teams monasteries to punish every monk in the name of “legal education.” Finally, they organize the grass-root cadres to penetrate into the local communities, schools, agricultural and pastoral areas, and do not let off any residents, farmers, herdsmen or students. A few days ago, Lhundrup County Middle School transferred fourteen backbone teachers to form what is known as the Publicizing and Explaining Group of “ thoroughly exposing and criticizing the evil deeds of the Dalai clique and deepening the patriotic education.” They organized the students to view the photo exhibition concerning March 14 Incident and watch relevant movies. Meanwhile they had students write articles to expose and criticize the Dalai Lama, then broadcasted them on the school broadcasting station. In addition, they also showed patriotic movies to the students.
It is learned that that the authorities will impose curfew in Lhasa when the Olympic torch relay arrives in Tibet, and after May 1st they will control people who travel into or outside of Lhasa. Therefore, recently the various working units in Lhasa require all their staff to hand in a copy of their I.D. card and a mini-photo. In addition, all people who are included in the household registration also must hand in a copy of their I.D. card and a mini-photo. The reason is that they all need to obtain travel passes, and even the students in primary schools also need to get travel passes. Children in pre-school and children who are not in pre-school yet also must register. Since March 14, all the working units in Lhasa have started to be on duty around the clock, and even during the weekends and holidays they have to have people on duty, too. Such practice will probably not stop until the Olympic is over. In other Tibetan areas the authorities are also implementing similar system on having people on duty around the clock. The various units in Lhasa have warned their subordinates to keep their mouth shut, and they should absolutely not disclose any news to the outside world, in particular the news about making arrests. They claim that people can not spread rumor, and if they find anybody do so, they will thoroughly investigate the incident and punish the person accordingly.
We still do not know the details about monks who were arrested in Drepung, Sera and other monasteries. One can not reach the phones in the monasteries or the monks’cell phones. I strongly appeal to the outside world to pay attention to their situation and provide assistance. Since March 14 many people in Lhasa have been arrested, thus the prisons are fully occupied. Some people were transferred to the warehouse of the Railway Station. At present, some people have been released, but most of them are still in custody and are maltreated. In Lhundrup Country under Lhasa City, the authorities arrested too many people, so the local prisons are fully occupied. Some people are locked up in the local government’s auditorium, which is smelly and dirty with excrement and urine as there are no toilets available for the prisoners. The public health organizations are preparing to disinfect the auditorium.
On March 16 over 500 Tibetan students at Northwest University for Nationalities staged a protest and a quiet sit-in in Lanzhou city in Gansu Province; on March 17 over 100 Tibetan students at Southwestern Institute for Nationalities held a protest and a quiet sit-in in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Recently, it is learned that Northwestern University for Nationalities has required those students who participated in the protest and sit-in to turn in written self-criticism. In the reexamination for MA students at Southwest University for Nationalities there is a survey about this incident.
It is learned that at present over 10,000 armed police are stationing in Machu County in Amdo (Kanlho [Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province), and the number of police is the same as that of the local residents. The first group of armed police who arrived at Machu County has already been replaced because of high-altitude reaction. Those armed police who were dispatch to replace the first group do not eat beef or mutton, so every day pork need to be transport to Machu. It is said that these armed police will station in the area until the Olympics is over. Most businessmen are planning to leave the region, and there are no tourists.
Some of the few students from Mewa [Ch. Hongyuan] County in Amdo (Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) who were shot and injured by the military police on March 17 when they participated in the protest are physically disabled now. Over 30 Tibetans, including those who disclosed the local situation by sending short text messages, were arrested in the county seat.
April 26th
The Hong Kong based Ming Pao published the news article entitled “Armed Police can still be Seen on Lhasa Streets, Tibet Tourism Open to Outside World on May 1.” It reads “ The special correspondent of Ming pao observed the situation in Lhasa and the surrounding areas this week, and found out that Jokhang Temple, Sera and Drepung Monasteries where riots took place are still closed to tourists, and only Tibetan believers are able to enter them.” I have sought confirmation from Tibetans in Lhasa, but it is proved to be false information. In fact, after March 10, the three well-known Great Monasteries in Lhasa – Drepung, Sera and Ganden Monasteries as well as Jokhang and Ramoch Temples in the center of Lhasa were closed one after another. Up to now no tourists are allowed to visit them, and Tibetans are more strictly forbidden to worship there. Even all the communication facilities are still blocked.
Yesterday when the Xinhua News Agency announced that the Chinese Communist Party will hold talks with the Dalai Lama side, at the same time over 1,000 party members attended the public meeting briefing them on the situation of the struggle against separatism sponsored by the offices which are directly subordinate to Tibet Autonomous Regional government. In addition, several hundred party members participated in the mobilization meeting of the education campaign, whose theme is entitled “ opposing separatism, safeguard stability and promote development ,” sponsored by institutions under TAR Political Consultative Conference. The official Chinese media Guangming Daily and CCP websites concerning Tibet are still attacking the Dalai Lama with lengthy articles. In reality, the situation has not improved at all in areas from Lhasa and Beijing.
Some Chinese hold that “it is to hoodwink people no matter with whom CCP is holding talks. This time it is nothing but to request the Dalai Lama to stop the activities to disrupt the Olympic torch relay. After the talk starts, if there are Tibetans who try to attack the torch relay, then CCP will shift the blame onto the Dalai Lama, claiming he is not sincere about his intention to hold talks. Thus, they create an excuse to continue to demonize the Dalai Lama;” “ I personally hold that this is purely a strategy to reduce pressure – an all inclusive one to open a way for the Olympics… By releasing such a message, the Chinese authorities is probably aiming at obtaining a promise to attend the Olympics from the various major western governments”; “ this is an ‘empty’ consultation and discussion for the sake of ensuring the success of the Olympics by calming down the situation concerning the Tibet Issue”; “The Chinese announcement about the talk is a trick played by the Chinese government to cheat the world! It does not have any sincerity! If it is sincere, it should open Tibet to all the journalists in the world to interview and report about situation in Tibet, and allow the human right organizations under UN to go to Tibet to investigate into the massacres!” (see Free China Forum)
Most Tibetans doubt the announcement [by the Chinese government], and they do not have much hope for it. They hold that it is putting on a show for the sake of ensuring that Olympics will not be interrupted, and there will not be any satisfying result for Tibetans. The human rights situation in Tibetan areas, including Lhasa, is very poor, in Lhasa alone, over 150 Tibetans were killed during March 14 Incident. It is learned that up to now since March 14, when some Tibetans in Lhasa passed away, if their relatives took the corpse of the dead to the Sky Burial site (i.e. the Drigungthil sky burial platform), the packed corpses would be open and checked by the military police who set up checkpoints on the way. They are checking to see whether they were victims shot during March 14 Incident. This is the greatest disrespect and an act of profanity toward the deceased, which pained the Tibetans and made them resentful; it is an extravagant hope to hold religious ceremonies by monks in memory of the deceased. It is reported that in the various Tibetan areas the authorities have already started to purge Tibetans incorporated into the system. In Lhasa a few Tibetan policemen were dismissed, and the reason is that they diverged secrets.
Zhang Chaoyang, the CEO of the Chinese Sohu.com, led Tibet report team of Sohu.com to visit Lhasa, and they issued the video clip entitled “ The Exclusive Record from Zhang Chaoyang: Our Tibet is still very Good.” What he calls “a in-spot investigation” is carried at a Sichuan style ho pot restaurant in Lahsa; the so-called “the real life of Tibetans” is his conversation with six or seven people. Except one person, the rest are all Han Chinese who are working in Lahsa. Among them two Han Chinese claim that “their parents have worked in Tibet, and they are the second generation who has dedicate their youth to Tibet. At least 80% of Tibetans are very good to us, and they will not go against the motherland, rather they will stand together with the Chinese people”; they also asset that “ Tibet should not be Tibetan’s Tibet, rather it is Tibet for people of all nationalities in China… our Tibet is still very good”,
Zhang Changyang cheered for this, and said that he will prove to the world that Tibet is very happy, with the assumption that justice is on his side. He is simply more CCTV than CCTV itself. Whereas the steamy hot pot restaurant, the “second generation” acting as the spokesperson for Tibet, the two policemen outside of the window and the overbearing Zhang Chaoyang made the resistance as a result of the great sacrifices made by thousands of Tibetans appear to be rather weak —- in fact, our Tibet is still not very good at all! It is learned that Zhang Chaoyang and others are living in Himalayan Hotel. In order to create the appearance that there will be tourism upsurge in Tibet, they had the Tibetan opera troupe called “Shopa Lhamo” pretended to be busy with rehearsals, and had the staff in charge of the logistics for the travel agency pretend to be occupied with training. In addition, they also had the director of the travel agency to talk about the prospect for tourism. But people in the tourism industry disclosed that this year there would not be tourism upsurge in Tibet.
South China Morning Post published the interview with Peman, the chairman of Qinghai Provincial People’s Consultative Conference, and a Tibetan official from Yushul Prefecture, Qinghai Province, who is not willing to reveal his name. They openly criticized CCP authorities’ miscalculation, and disclosed that the purpose of educating and punishing Tibetan lay people and monks is a “struggle to fight against the Dailai lama for the popular feelings of people in various regions in Tibet,” therefore, “the main targets of this campaign are the monks and their monasteries who participated in the most serious resistance carried out within the last two decades; it is predicated that the campaign will last until August when the Olympics ends.” Pema also boldly mad ethe following remark, “Because we can see military police everywhere, and it seems to be stable now. The problem is how long can such kind of stability last? [The government] dealt with the protests heavy-handedly, and the countermoves they decided do not conform to any regularity, thus, this will only create more animosity.
Tibetans are still protesting against the Chinese authorities. Two nuns, 32-year-old Lhaga and 30-year-old Sonam Dekyi in Draka Nunnery in Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province) were arrested by the police on April 23, when they distributed “Wind-horse” banners with scriptures and leaflets written with such words as ‘Long Live the Dalai Lama” and “Tibet is a independent country,” etc, while shouting slogans in the county seat of Ganzi County.
My statement: My blog is probably subjected to a cyber attack, and it is also possible that its password was changed one more time, as a result, I have not been able to log onto my own blog to update the major events for today. But I am neither bothered by this nor lose heart because of it because this is not an unsolvable problem.
April 27th
Press Statement by Woeser
Beijing Time 10:36 am
April 27th 2008
Ongoing Cyberattack on Woeser’s blog
My website http://woeser.middle-way.net/ has been subjected to a cyber attack. The password was changed sometime yesterday (April 26). Since then I have been unable to log into my own website to either post new material or leave messages. This means that until control of the site can be recovered, postings by visitors are now monitored by whoever can log in with the changed password which I do not have. Please be careful with any of the postings after 1:30 am, April 27th Beijing time.
I am working with friends to recover control. Yet, it might take a while before the problem can be solved. It is possible that I might start another blog later.
The site houses my blog and includes information and comments from Tibetans about conditions and opinions inside Tibet.
This attack is one of numerous attacks by hackers on websites run by Tibetans or western scholars working to help Tibetans. These have happened increasingly in the past few weeks. It is part of the increasing cyberwarfare used by some people to stop others from expressing views and passing on information that they do not want others to know about. It is people who are afraid of the truth who try to stop others from speaking.
Woeser in Beijing
10:36 am
April 27, 2008
Woeser is now posting her update on:
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/04/200804270108.shtml
April 29th
The group of journalists consisting of those from Reuters, CNN and the Japanese newspaper and the official Chinese journalists, has already arrived at the base camp at Mt. Everest, and are planning to interview the Beijing Olympic torch relay. Lhasa is displaying a false appearance of harmony with dazzling red. The red flag with five stars is hanging on top of the Potala Palace and the houses of Tibetan residents. Red lanterns are hanging on the gates of many stores and even on trees on the roadsides. Many Chinese official media reported that today Sera Monastery completely opened to the public, and claim that “the believers are devotedly worshipping in various shrines,” however, according to some Lhasa people, the so-called “common believers” are mostly Tibetans chosen by the authorities to pretend to be the believers. What is worth noting is that when Tenzing Namgyal, the party secretary of the Party Committee of TAR Committee of Nationality and Religious Affairs, gave an account of the current situation of Sera Monastery, he said that “the various religious activities in the monastery has already been carried out as planned, and the Buddhist activities have also already restored to normal. The life and practice of over 500 monks has also restored to normal.” In reality, the number of monks in Sera Monastery is not over 500, in fact, it is over 1,000, over half of whom are monks who come to study in Sera Monastery from Amdo and Kham. This has been the tradition over 500 years since the monastery was founded in 1419, but the CCP official in charge of monasteries claims that there are over 500 monks in Sera Monastery, does it mean that the punishment meted out to the monasteries this time include greatly reduce the number of monks and expel monks from regions outside of TAR? If the authorities take this measure, it proves that the religious tradition of Tibet is suffering serious damage. In addition, does it also mean that over half of the monks are still in custody? I appeal to the outside world to pay attention to the situation.
What I need to point out is that up to now we can not get any calls through to the monks in Sera Monastery, and in fact the life of the monks has not returned to normal yet. Neither can any calls get through to monks in Drepung Monastery nor has the monastery opened to the public. It is very likely that the condition for the monastery to open to the public is to imitate Sera Monastery by purging all the monks from other Tibetan areas outside of TAR. Up to now the monks in Jokhang Temple are still not allowed to leave the monastery, and though one can get calls through to Sera Monastery, all the calls are monitored. Furthermore, all Tibetan households in Lhasa have all been registered, and they were required to hand in a copy of the I.D. card, the household registration and a photo. The police stations have also sent policemen to the various working units to investigate repeatedly.
The Official Chinese newspaper Xinhua News Agency reports as follows: “The Lhasa Municipal Intermediate People’s Court public pronounced the judgment of 30 people who have been accused of violent actions during March 14 Lhasa riot. These people were sentenced between three-year fixed term of imprisonment and life imprisonement. This is the first such sentence in Lhasa since March 14.” The thirty people who were sentenced first are all Tibetans. Among them six are monks, one of whom was sentenced to life imprisonment, two for 20 years and three for 15 years respectively. When they announced the sentences, one person could not stand, and had to sit on the bench. He probably suffered torture in the hands of the police who were extorting confession.
Today Tibet Daily, the official newspaper of CCP Tibet, published three articles of lofty tone, which are all “ violent attacks and unscrupulous bombing” against the Dalai Lama. They are “Dalai: Even if he has Ever-changing Tricks it is still Hard to Conceal his Reactionary Evil Intent ⎯⎯ No. 6 of the Series of Editorials Exposing and Criticizing the Counter-Revolutionary Nature of the Dalai Separatist Clique”, “ Expose Dalai’s Lies to Deceive the World with Firm Evidence” and “Splitting the Home Land will definitely Doom to Fail.” We find such a stark contrast when we compared these articles with the news that China would hold talks with the Dalai Lama published four days ago, and what does this mean? A Tibetan named Jigme Namgyal wrote an article to analyze the situation. He points out that it is due to the obstruction by the interest group who has benefited from “the struggle against separatists” for a long time, and “there are people or groups which pursue material gain within the Chinese Central Government, and it is more likely to have them in Tibet,” and “they have managed Tibet for many years, and Tibet is the treasure site for their official careers and material interests. If the Chinese authorities hold talks with the Dalai Lama, then if the Dalai Lama comes back, the concept of administration of society will change accordingly and the national and religious policies will be transformed, too. Then they will have nowhere to go, thus, they will madly defend [the status quo]. This analysis hits the nail on the head. From Beijing to the various Tibetan areas a great number of Chinese and Tibetan officials who make a living by “opposing separatism”, who are promoted because of “opposing separatism” and who have become rich as a result of “opposing separatism.” It is them who are the obstruction to solving the “Tibet Issue.”
April 30th
Yesterday in Lhasa the authorities announced the sentences for thirty people who were accused of violent actions in March 14 Lhasa “riot”, and the government institutions subordinate to the government, the party committee and the People’s Congress as well as neighborhood committees gathered people to attend the court hearing. Before they entered the courtroom, they were strictly examined. While their I.D. cards were checked, they were also given the relevant documents. Inside and outside of the courtroom filled with the police. It is reported that all thirty Tibetans who were sentenced had been tortured to make them confess. Some of them were propped up by the police while walking into the courtroom. One of them could not stand up, and he probably had a broken leg as a result of beating. Those who attended the court hearing said that the trial itself was “what the authorities say goes.” The trail process was simple. There were no lawyers to defend the defendants, neither were there any statements made by the defendants. The normal procedure was reduced. Due to the fact that the judge’s speech in Chinese needed to be translated into Tibetan, and many mistakes were made in the translation, those attended the court hearing frequently broke into laughter. It is said that judging from the laughter, it seems that people were venting their resentment. Otherwise, how could people laugh at such an occasion. But all the defendants could only put up with these in silence. It is learned that in recent few days the authorities will sentence more people, and there is the tendency to sentence them more severely or sentence them to death.
Because the journalist group including foreign journalists arrived at Tibet and tourists from mainland have started to come to Tibet, and the key issue is that Beijing Olympic torch relay will be arriving at Mt. Everest, therefore, all soldiers who are on duty in Lhasa have changed into civilian clothes. Those who do not know the ins and outs will think that the troops have already evacuated, in fact, the armed forces have been increased, and it is just they have been disguised.
Since yesterday, the soldiers who are on duty at Ramoche Temple and other neighboring areas have all become tourists wearing red sun helmets; the soldiers on other streets became tourists or labor workers, who are in small groups. If one pay close attention to them, one will see some of them have walkie-talkies in their hands. Tibetans remind the journalists to pay attention to groups of people in sun helmets, who, in fact, disguised themselves as tourists. The soldiers who are surrounding Sera Monastery have also changed into civilian clothes, and they each have a badge with words “ safety patroller” on their chest. The streets of Lhasa are filled with undercover agents in civilian clothes. Among the pilgrims who go on circumambulation and engage in religious activities every day one will find undercover agents in civilian clothes and informers who have been bought, and some retired cadres from public security bureaus, the protocuratorates and courts are also working as part-time undercover agents. However, not long ago when Tibet Television Station and Lhasa television Station were broadcasting the most wanted list and claimed that one would receive 20,000 yuan as reward for reporting the suspects to the authorities (in fact it is said that only 2,000 Yuan were given), indeed there were people who telephoned the authorities for reward when they saw monks and nuns were outside.
May 1st
From March 10 to the entire month of April, due to the fact that the peaceful protest staged by the monks in Lhasa was suppressed by the authorities, a large scale protests all over Tibetan areas happened and were also suppressed by the authorities with military power. During the period, the entire Tibetan areas have plunged into the man-made disasters. Thousands of Tibetans have met with the fate of being killed, being arrested, being tortured to confess, being missing, committing suicide or having mental disorder, and this has brought disasters to countless Tibetan families. As for 30 Tibetans who were sentenced by the Chinese court because of their “involvement” in “Lhasa Riot” and were reported by the official Chinese media, their trails are not fair, and there are many serious deficiencies in their sentences. I hope the human rights organizations and individuals who care about human rights issues pay attention to the humanistic disaster who is occurring in Tibet and has not stopped yet!
In Labrang Monastery in Amdo (Sangchu [Ch. Xiahe] County, Kanlho [Ch. Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province), while the military police arrested over 200 monks, they searched the living quarters of the monks and destroyed the possessions of the monks. What is more serious is that they damaged, and even looted the valuable cultural relics in Tibet. It is reported that Jamyang Rinpoche, the abbot of Labrang Monastery (the deputy president of China Buddhist Association, the director of the Advanced Buddhism College of Tibetan Language Family and the director of Gansu Provincial Buddhist association) sent a telegram to the Chinese officials concerning the issue, maintaining that such evil deeds of destroying and looting the cultural relices of the monastery is like another ‘cultural revolution” all over again, but the Chinese officials shirked all the responsibilities to the local officials of Kanlho (Ch. Gannan) Prefecture. The monks from Labrang Monastery who are accused of masterminding and inciting “riot” include Jigme, Kuncho Lhado, Samdrup Yalo, Tsundru, Tsangpalha, Tsage, Paldan, Tendzing, Genden Namda, Jamyang Jinpa and others. They were all arrested and were beat savagely. It is learned that among the monks Jigme, Tenzing and Geden Namda and Jamyang Jinpa are critically ill due to the serious injury, and they are under treatment in hospitals.
Today and yesterday the Chinese official media, including websites concerning Tibet, specially reported the news that Lama Tseten, the head of the vice squad of Dari County Public Security Bureau in Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, was shot to death. The reports claim when he was trying to arrest the prime suspect who was accused of inciting the March 21 Incident by the “Tibetan Separatists,” he died heroically as he was shot by the suspect. The authorities held a solemn memorial meeting for him. However, it is learned that in fact Lama Tseten led the vice squad to Hongkho Township in Dari County to arrest the monk named Chodo who burned the Chinese flag on March 21, they were stopped by monks from Hongkho Monastery and local people. Lama Tseten shot to death the 21-year old monk Chodo, then the police seized his corpse, and arrested Chodo’s father Sangsang Lele. This was more than the locals could bear, thus they clashed with the police. During the clash, Lama Tseten was shot to death. At present, due to the lack of source of news, we do not know clearly what kind of clash happened between the local people and the police. Judging from the fact that the monk Chodo and the head of the vice squad were shot to death, this clash became more serious because of using guns. Moreover, what is more important is that it is a serious issue that the police was shot on the scene. We do not know any details how this conflict ended eventually and what consequences it will bring about for local monks and lay people. In view of the authorities’ actions of “taking revenge” for all the protests in various Tibetan areas, such actions of mass arrests involving large-scale killing will most probably cause Tibetan people to resist vigorously by risking their life, as a result, they will cause more serious humanitarian disaster. I appeal to the authorities to act with restraint so as to allow Tibetans to live.
It is learned that on April 29 nineteen nuns in Shuse Nunnery in Chushul County, Lhasa Municipality, were arrested by the military police. In the caves where monks and nuns engage in practice, four monks were also arrested by the military police. At present, we do not know the details.
Lhasa is creating the great prosperous prospect in Lhasa in order to welcome “May 1st” holiday, and one will see red flags and red lanterns everywhere. In the morning, the pedestrian street of Yuthog Road was filled with armed police, who were putting on a show of “severing the people.” For instance, they were cutting hairs for civilians, treating them, repairing bicycles for them. All the so-called “civilians” were Tibetan representatives chose and dispatched by the neighborhood committees, and the soldiers and civilians were putting on a show of harmony, which was enthusiastically reported by television programs and newspapers. However, all the intersections leading to the street were sealed off, and military police were waiting at these intersections to check the I.D. cards, forcing passengers to take a detour.
According to reports by the official Chinese media, the first domestic tourist group of 32 people took the train to Lhasa to realize “their trip of dream.” Lhasa Municipal government not only organized a large-scale welcome group to meet these tourists at the railway station, but also to organize bonfire and fireworks parties. The local government treated the tourist group generously and exceptionally, which politicized tourism.
May 2nd
Many official Chinese media published articles to offer official explanation for the process of trials for Tibetans who were involved in March 14 Incident, and this is an response to the questioning and criticism by the leaders of western countries and human rights organizations. Therefore, they specially reported that “31 lawyers defended 30 defendants.” All of the lawyers were designated by the court. Except those local lawyers in Tibet, there were two lawyers from Beidou Dingming Law Office in Beijing, but they are not Chinese lawyers who openly signed their names to express their willingness to provide legal assistance to the arrested Tibetans. What merits our attention is Beijing lawyer Sun Wenge’s account of his meeting with the defendant Yeshe: “The first question I asked is whether he has ever been tortured to extort a confession during his imprisonment and trail and how the food was in the house of detention. Yeshe told me that he had not been tortured for confession, and the food there is also very good.” However, the Tibetan lawyer Mimar Drokar described her meeting with the defendant Losang Samten as follows: “When I walked into the house of detention, two doctors were treating the suspects who were detained there. At that time over d dozen suspects were waiting to see a doctor. In addition, two suspects were receiving an I.V. there.” According to the information gathered from investigations into some Tibetans who were released, all those who were arrested, in varying degree, were beaten and abused. There are cases that some monks and common people were beaten to become disabled, were beaten to death or were beaten to become mentally deranged. Some Tibetans were beaten so severely that they were critically ill, as a result, they were transferred to be treated in the hospital, but the local police warned them, saying that they were forbidden to reveal that they were tortured to confess. Therefore, the Beijing lawyer’s claim that the defendant has not been subject to torture does not conform to the fact.
After the Chinese official media solemnly reported the news that a policeman was shot to death, it mentioned that a “Tibetan separatist” was killed by the police. This is the first time China officially admit that they killed a Tibetan protester since the protests happened in the various areas in March, but they did not reveal any more information. There is a comment concerning this on one Chinese website as follows: On the internet we can not find any information concerning a minority of Tibetan separatists’ action to incite some Tibetan herdsmen from the upper Hongkho Township in Dari County to gather a mod and make trouble. We do not know whether the disturbance in Qinghai has any connection to March 14 incident in Lhasa, the incidents in Kanlho [ch. Gannan] and March 16 incident of beating, smashing, looting and burning occurred in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. At that time the only information one can find is the report about people of all walks of life in Qinghai and reincarnated lamas from Kubum Monastery condemned the violent criminal incident in Lhasa. In addition, one also reads about what Jidi Magya, the deputy governor of Qinghai Province, said when he attended the “Conference Introducing the Tourist Products of Qinghai in 2008” in Hong Kong: “The safety in Qinghai is very good and the situation is very stable,” “the various ethnic groups are interdependent of each other, i.e. you will find the situation that “there are you among us, and us among you,” and “it is a very harmonious society.” But we have not seen the report about the disturbance caused by Tibetan herdsmen in Qinghai who were incited by the separatist forces. It is possible that the disturbance was not reported because the scale of the disturbance is not great or the situation was not serious, or it is also possible that the authorities deliberated overlook it because they worry that the report about the incident would create the impression that “the incidents are too widespread.” However, due to the fact that the serious loss occurred in arresting people involved after the incidents, the unknown incident was revealed. This also causes us to wonder how many other incidents happened but were not made public. Can our media tell the public a coherent and completely true story after every incident of widespread impact occurred? Is it possible that the authorities do not want the public to read about the report, then use their imaginations to analyze and seek for the truth of the incident.
It is reported that nineteen nuns from Shuse Nunnery in Chushul County, Lhasa City and four monks practicing on Shuse Mountain who were arrested on April 28 are imprisoned in the prison of Chushul County. In addition, some military police are stationing in the nunnery.
It is learned that recently a thousand armed police and special police suddenly evacuated from Rebgong County in Amdo (Tsolho [Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) without knowing the reasons, but the undercover agents in civilian clothes increased. Among the monks from Rongwu Monastery who were arrested, except seventeen of them are still in custody, the rest have been released. Some monks who were beaten severely are receiving medical treatment in hospitals.
The latest news: On May 3 the two special envoys of the Dalai Lama, Gyari Lodi Gyantsan and Gesang Gyaltsan will embark on their journey to China to hold talks with the Chinese side discussing the situation and future of Tibet. This talk is the first official contact between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government after the protests broke out all over the Tibetan areas and these protests were suppressed by the Chinese authorities since March. The Private office of the Dalai Lama pointed out in today’s news statement that the two envoys would discuss the present intense situation in various Tibetan areas, and convey the Dalai Lama’s deep concern over the Chinese authorities’ dealing with the Tibet incident and make suggestions in order to create peace in Tibetan areas. The statement also claims that the Chinese side accepted the suggestions of the international society and openly express its willingness to have contact and consultation with the special envoys of the Dalai Lama. The envoys would take the opportunity to seek for a breakthrough to satisfactorily solve the Tibet issue.
But the viewpoint of Tibetans in China is as follows: The CCP wants to use the Dalai Lama to quiet down the Tibet issue, the various domestic problems and the threat to Beijing Olympics posed by the international society. Having the so-called “contact and consultation” which they need is equivalent to giving China and some western countries a tranquilizer. As the coordinating party in the conflict, it should be without any favorable interest to any negotiating party, but the Sino-Tibetan talk at present is completely tendentious. It is an effort to satisfy the pressure from the western society and to brag about itself. The Dalai Lama hopes to discuss and explain protests in Tibet since March, but the Chinese Communist Party already proclaimed their verdict to the world, thus, it is not likely to have any result from the talk. In addition, when discussing issues concerning Tibetans in Tibet, yet Tibetans in Tibet, i.e., parities concerned ⎯ which here refers to common Tibetans, not those Tibetans incorporated into the Chinese system ⎯ are absent, thus, this itself is a problem. If no Tibetans who are outside of the Chinese system participate in solving the Tibet issue and there is no voice of Tibetans in Tibet, then the talk will have no substantial breakthrough. Among Tibetans who are involved in talks with the Chinese side, there should be Tibetans who have experience living in Tibetan areas and who understand the Chinese culture and the CCP system. The so-called talk, in fact, is a game of languages, a game of culture, a game of politics, thus, the talks will be doomed to fail if the two parties do not have the background of understanding each other.
May 3rd
Corrections: On May 1st I wrote that “Jamyang Rinpoche, the abbot of Labrang Monastery (the deputy president of China Buddhist Association, the director of the Advanced Buddhism College of Tibetan Language Family and the director of Gansu Provincial Buddhist association) sent a telegram to the Chinese officials concerning the issue…”, but it is the wrong information. The person who reported to the authorities that the military police destroyed and even plundered the cultural relics of the monastery is the Great Geshe Jamyang Gyatso (Ch. Jiamuyang Jiacuo) of the Labrang Monastery (the deputy president of China Buddhist Association, the sutra teacher for the Eleventh Panchen Lama recognized by China. His name is also written as Jiayang Jiacuo in Chinese).
The foreign media reported that the two special envoys of the Dalai Lama will travel to Shengzhen via Hong Kong, and will hold talks with the Chinese side. The official Chinese media did not report this news, but the Wenhui Newspaper in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong based Phoenix Television Station and others reported the news, and they also published the photos of these two envoys. What needs to point out is that they published the wrong photo of the special envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen. The special envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen is the Dalai Lama’s special envoy to Europe and has participated in Sino-Tibetan talks for several times. However, the photo published is that of Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies under the Tibetan Government in Exile and the member of Tibetan Solidarity Committee of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
Some Tibetans say that Tibetan CCP official are completely useless. They should make their standpoints known and let the outside would hear their voice, rather than becoming the mouthpiece of the CCP. Tibetan people will support them. But, will they have enough courage to do so? The fear makes them realize that their lives will be ruined if they express people’s opinions. In Tibet we need courageous leaders. We miss the Tenth Panchen Lama. Without brave leadership and independent intellectuals, the sacrifice made by the common people is wasted.
It is very regrettable that today when the seventh talk between the Tibetan and Chinese governments is about to begin, the official Chinese media still uses Cultural Revolution like languages to demonize the Dalai Lama. For instance, Tibet Daily published the article entitled “ The Dalai Clique is the one who Sabotage the Normal Order of Tibetan Buddhism (part one)”, written by a Tibetan named Dramdul from the United Front Department of the Central Government of CCP. Though he is not a monk, yet he posed as a mouthpiece of Buddhism to affirm that speeches and deeds of “the Dalai Clique” destroyed the normal religious activities of Tibetan Buddhism. He claims that they violated the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, went against the most basic precepts of Buddhism and blasphemed the sprit and tradition of Buddhist patriotism.” Furthermore, for instance, the lead news story is entitled “The True Face of Tibet Youth Congress: the Daring Vanguard of “Tibet Independence” from Violence to Terror,” claiming that the reason for the “Tibet Youth Congress” to grow in strength and put a spin on the situation is closely connected to the secret order the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. In addition, the decisions of the Dalai Clique also have deep “marks” of “Tibet Youth Congress,” etc.
In Lhasa the authorities have created the appearance of harmony. The soldiers who were on duty all took off their uniforms and dressed up as tourists to walk around everywhere. Most soldiers on guard duty changed into the police uniforms, and the same soldier would change into uniforms for ground force, armed police and policemen. The authorities also created the false appearance of the freedom for religious belief. While some work units notified their employees their place of work is to circumambulate the Potala Palace, the neighborhood committees also organized and encouraged people to go on circumambulation tour and to pay homage in Sera Monastery which has been ordered to open to the public by the authorities themselves. They rewarded these people for doing so with bonuses. It is learned that recently there will be another journalist group, including foreign journalists, to visit Lhasa. In order to show that people enjoy the right to hold demonstrations freely, some work units will organize their employees to hold demonstrations, and the content for holding the demonstrations is about some trivial matters.
Besides holding the mobilization assembly with the education activities focusing on “Opposing separatism, safeguarding stability and promoting development,” every work unit in Lhasa also convenes at least one session of the “political study” a week. There are more meetings for the party members. All people, including college students and people of all nationalities, must write articles to “expose and criticize the Dalai Separatist Clique,” and they had to read their articles on the assemblies. They had to named the Dalai Lama and denounce him, in addition, they could only say “Dalai”, and could not add the word “Lama,” otherwise, they would be considered to be someone whose standpoints were not firm. Many Tibetans’ feelings are rather complex. Though they are angry, yet they can not doing anything; they are humiliated, but are very scared as well. Some Tibetan students at the School of Arts and Science under Tibet University were arrested.
Recently some people who were arrested during the March 14 Incident without any reasons were released. It is learned that they were arrested one after another after March 14. While some of them were arrested on their way home from their offices, others were arrested when they were asleep late at night. Many people were locked up in the warehouse of the railway station. Those who were tortured include: Some were forced to shoulder the instruments of torture when they were tortured, thus, those who shouldered the iron club had broken ribs; those who carried mechanical springs had their flesh cut off; those who carried electric wire lost consciousness as they were shocked, etc. Some of them were not given water to drink, so they had to drink each other’s urine, but in the end they did not even have urine to drink. Every day they were thrown a few steamed bread, and all the people would fight for them. Every four or five days they would be transferred to different places. Since they were transferred late at night, they did not where they had been.
However, in other Tibetan areas tragedies which pain the Tibetans continue to happen. On the morning of April 30 in Gonsar Monastery Ñü the old Geluk Monastery of Kham in Derge [Ch. Dege] County, Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) Ñü the work team force the monks to sign their names in the official document entitled “Expose and Criticize the Dalai Separatist Clique”, and also demanded each monk to hand in two photos to paste on the document. The authorities threatened the monks if they did not obey the order, the monastery would be closed. The monks voluntarily gathered at the Hall of the Protective Deity, and took the oath in front of the image of the protective deity that they would rather die than signing their names. We do not know any details about the immediate situation.
On April 28 in the village near Wonpo Monastery in Dzachukha [Ch. Shiqu] County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) the military police searched the villagers’ houses, and destroyed the Dalai Lama’s photos worshipped by the villagers. A woman named Drilhamo was extremely grieved and hanged herself; an old monk over seventy-years old became mentally deranged. Earlier when the authorities held the ceremony to hang the Chinese flag, due to the fact that nobody except a monk attended the ceremony, they had to cancel it. Some local villagers were arrested.
In the last ten day period of March, when the work team was carrying out the “Patriotic Education Campaign” in Seshul Monastery in Kham (Dzachukha [Ch. Shiqu] County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), the well-respected reincarnated Lama Thubten Nyandra said, “ It is totally without any bases to claim that this incident was masterminded by the Dalai Lama. The cause for this incident is that a great number of Han immigrants moved to Tibet to plunder the land resources, and to rob the locals of their rights to receive education and to work. There is no Tibetan who does not want to believe in the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government should hold talks with the Dalai Lama as soon as possible.” From that time on, Thubten Nyandra Rinpoche has been under house arrest.
In addition, it is learned that in Rebgong (Ch. Tongren) County, Amdo (Tsolho [Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) the local court recently tried three monks from Dowa Monastery in secret, and their prison terms are two to three years. In Drakgo [Ch. Luhuo] County (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), Kham, the local court recently held secret trail for six nuns and one lay person. While Khadro Lhamo, Wamo and Droma Yangtso were sentenced to seven-year prison term, Yeshe, Sonam Chodron, Deyang and the lay person Gesang Dorje were sentenced to three-year prison term. Due to the fact that these people were tried in secret, thus, it is impossible to obtain more detailed information.
On May 2, Tibet Forum (in Chinese), http://tibetalk.com/bbs, sponsored by Tibetans in exile was attacked, and all the data on the forum was lost!
May 4th
The one-day talk between Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s special envoys and two Vice Ministers of United Front Work Department already ended, but the two sides have not reached any agreement on how to resolve the political turmoil in Tibet. For many Tibetans, this is an expected but still sad result. It is learnt that many exiled Tibetans outside China have had positive attitude toward the talk, therefore, they were very discouraged. Tibetans in China hold that the Chinese side is not sincere about the talk. Compared with the earlier six rounds of talk, the level of this talk is reduced as they only dispatched vice ministers. Though the Chinese announced to the outside world this is an informal meeting, but given the current situation in Tibet and the imminent Beijing Olympics to be heald soon, this talk has drawn much more attention than any of the earlier talks. The Chinese netizens ridiculed the action saying “next time it will do just to dispatch a bureau chief,” or “the city management will be able to deal with the issue, do not bother the Chairman and the Prime Minister too much.” Some Tibetans also pointed out that the talk is just a show, and it will only be beneficial to the Chinese side. The CCP can set their mind at rest to hold the Beijing Olympic, and the heads of the western countries can also rest assured to attend the Olympics. The sacrifices made by the Tibetans will all be wasted. However, does the CCP really think that they can drag on like this until the Olympics is over?
The large-scale theme exhibition entitled “Tibet: Past and Present” is being held in Beijing Nationality Palace Museum from April 30 to July 15. It is sponsored by the Central United Front Work Department, the State Council Information Office, the State Commission for Nationality Affairs and Tibet Autonomous Region ( Its website address: http://finance.cctv.com/special/xzjx/01). No tickets are sold, and visitors can obtain tickets by showing their I.D. cards. The visitors need to go through security check at the entrance, and their bags also need to be checked. Drinks are prohibited there. There are a great number of security guards. With the themes known as “Tibetan History and the Feudal Serfdom System” and “Ever-changing New Tibet,” the exhibition is creating reasons for the claim that “Tibet has been an inalienable part of China since time immemorial,” and is making great effort to demonize pre-1959 Tibet. Many Chinese people are brainwashed, and some of them wrote the following words on the visitor’s book: “Down with Tibet independence, and Safeguarding Unity.” Pointing at such instruments of punishment as wooden cangue as well as human skin in the showcases, an old woman said to her grandson, “Dalai did all these…” One official is saying “How much benefits we have given to them, and they still revolt, why?” The Chinese official media reports that the “Chinese Panchen Lama” recognized by the China visited the exhibition today; we also see Yang Chuantang, the former party secretary of TAR, and the parents of the “Chinese Panchen Lama.”
At the time when Beijing Olympics is approaching, in view of the distrust of Tibetans and Uighurs, Beijing has started to investigate Tibetans and Uighurs. The main method is for the neighborhood committees to check each household with such excuses as “checking whether people follow the family planning policy,” etc. If they find Tibetan and Uighur tenants, the police will take them away very quickly. In addition, in other regions the authorities have also put into effect preventive measures in large-scale. On April 30, Yuncheng Municipal Party Committee of Shanxi Province convened a telephone conference with the major leaders of the various county party committees and the county government, urgently planning emergency measures to strictly guard against people for Tibetan independence and Falonggong practitioners. It is learned that recently at Guangzhou Railway Station the authorities captured two “Tibetan separatists” who “were about to bomb the train,” thus, at present, the security check at railway stations are strict, and everybody will pale at the mere mention of “Tibetan Separatists.”
It is reported that on May 1, the Ramoche Temple and the “Tripa Lhakhang” ( the Hall of the Buddha of Infinite Longevity) opened to the public, and some believers and some who pretended to be believers went to pay homage. The sentries at the gate of Ramoche Temple and near the intersection have already been removed, but there were many undercover agents in civilian clothes who posed as tourists. There is a work team in the courtyard. There are only approximately 30 monks reciting sutra in the hall, and the atmosphere was stifling. There are originally 28 monks in the “Tripa Lhakang.” Eight of them were arrested, and later five of them were released, but the remaining three will probably be sentenced to jail terms. These three are on the most wanted list. It is learned that recently there will also be Tibetans to be sentenced, and it might be possible that some will receive death penalty. The Lhundrup County in Lhasa Municipality started to release some Tibetans arrested, but they had to hand in 3,000 Yuan. The 31-year-old Dawa from Dedrung Village in Jangkha Township, Lhundrup County was released on March 27 when he was on the verge of death as a result of cruel torture and severe beating, but he passed away on April 1. Twenty Tibetans who were arrested from Ganden Chokho Monastery in Lhundrup County, Lhasa Municipality in March have already been transferred to Lhasa Prison.
The various work units in Lhasa, Nachu, Chamdo, Lingtri, Shigatse and Lhokha (Ch. Shannan) ordered all the employees to make donation to people who suffered from “beating, smashing, looting and burning” of March 14 Incident. The Nachu authorities demanded everybody to donate at least 100 Yuan, but we do not know the details about other regiosn.
On April 26, when the work team carried out the “Patriotic Education Campaign” in Pada Sangdruling Monastery in Dzinda Towship in Dzachukha (Ch. Shiqu) County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), they demanded the monks to sign their names on an official document whose content they did not know, but many monks refused to do so. Up to now we do not know where Gelek Thabkhe, Gelek Drapa, Tenzing Puntso ¾three monks from this monastery who were arrested in Lhasa in March ¾ are imprisoned.
May 6th
This is a record of events that have happened in Tibet between March 10 and May 5 totaling almost 60,000 characters.
During this time my blog has been attacked twice but both times I eventually regained control.
Announcement: The record of events is to be temporarily suspended on May 5; records will continue if there are later events.
May 9th
On May 4, I made a statement on my blog that I would temporarily stop “the Record of the Important Events”. The reason for is that the Dalai Lama’s envoys’ talk with the Chinese side ended that day. It seemed that this could be seen as an end to the protests against the despotic rule of Tibet and the repressions of them since March 10, and it is also an expectation that the situation of Tibetan areas is easing. However, what makes one not optimistic is that incidents still occur frequently in the vast Tibetan areas, and the suffering of the Tibetan people has not been alleviated. In view of this, the Record of the Important Events, which has been suspended for five days, will continue, but not necessarily a daily record.
It is learnt that two Tibetan students at the Institute of Tibetan Studies under the Northwest University for Nationalities were denied their right to sit for the second part of examination for M.A. program, and this has something to do with the demonstration and quiet sit-in participated by several hundred Tibetan students on March 16. One student is Gartu Tsering from Kanlho (Ch. Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the other is Drolma from Ngawa (Ch. Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. The school authorities inquired whether they had been involved in the demonstration and the quiet sit-in, and they admitted that they did. After that, when the school authorities announced the retest list for M.A. program, their names were not on it. It is alleged that the school authorities cancelled their right to retest.
According to some people from a certain university in Xi’an, at present in the various universities in Xi’an, the authorities dispatched the official “Tibetologists” to introduce the official account of Tibetan “history” and the evil deeds of the “”Dalai Separatist Clique” to the faculty and staff. These are only propaganda without any discussions. In accordance with an analysis, similar propaganda may be carried out in the various colleges and universities in China. At the same time, the school authorities convened meetings, demanding the teachers to exercise self-discipline before the Olympics and not to speak irresponsibly. Tibetan monks who are studying or on business trips to Xi’an have to change into civilian clothes when they go out, and the reason is that when they are in their kasaya (monastic robes), they will be pointed at by many people, and some will even be stopped and condemned as “Tibetan Separatists”.
Although the two sides have begun to hold dialogues, the Chinese Communist authorities continued to criticize the Dalai Lama. It was just yesterday Tibet Daily published an comment with harsh wording, which is entitled “Dalai is the Reactionary Politician in Kasaya who is Engaging in Activities to Split the Motherland”.
Some of the people arrested were released, but they had to pay a very high amount of fines. It is learnt that Dabe (Ch. Dabei), the folk artist from Golok (Ch. Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province who was arrested on March 31, was released, but the condition is for him to pay 10,000 yuan. The singer Dromakyi who was arrested on the same day is still in prison because her family can not afford to pay the fine. Dromakyi has three young children and an old mother. It is said that she may be sentenced to several years in prison. According to the Chinese law, after the detention lasts for over 37 days, the police is obligated to issue the arrest notice to the detainee’s family members, otherwise, it will be considered to be extended custody. But Dromakyi’s family has not received any notice. Drolmakyi was arrested on the grounds that she herself sang songs praising and miss the Dalai Lama and allowed other singers to do so in the Makye Ama Nangma Singing Hall run by herself. The singer who was arrested on the same day sang in his album the following lyrics: “ The sun or the moon is not here, and our hope are gone. Is this the karmic fate for us Tibetans?” (“The sun and the moon are similes for the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama).
The hard-line policy toward the Tibetan monasteries and monks are still being implemented. Though it is reported that over 350 monks in Sera Monastery and over 400 monks in Drepung Monastery held religious ceremonies one after another, but earlier each monastery has about one thousand monks, thus, it is clear that we do not know the details about the situation of over half of the monks in these monasteries, and the entire situation is clouded with suspicions. In addition, on May 6 in Polha Monastery in Sangchu (Ch. Xiahe) County in Amdo (Kanlho [Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province) the work team demanded the monks to worship Dorje Shuten, the devil despised by Tibetan Buddhist circle, but this was opposed by all the monks. On May 3 in a Bonpo monastery in Tapa area in Tawu (Ch. Daofu) County in Kham the work team carried out the “Patriotic Education Campaign”, and forcefully held the ceremony to raise and hang the Five-starred Red Flag, but the red flag was taken down by the monks in the evening. Similarly, due to the fact that monks in two monasteries in Wado area in Nyachukha (ch. Yangjiang) County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) refused to hang the Five-Starred Red Flag and to criticize the Dalai Lama, one important Lama named Akho Ako and the reincarnated Rinpoche Thubten were arrested and taken to the county seat. Since May 1, in Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) the authorities held meetings, demanding every monastery and eveyy household must hang the Five-Starred Red Flag and criticize the “Dalai Separatist Clique.”
Although the pressure from the authorities is very strong, yet protests by the Tibetan people are still occurring. On May 1, over 300 nuns in Wada Nunnery in Simu Township in Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) hang two-kilometers-long slogan banners outside of the nunnery, demanding for religious freedom. The head of the nunnery and many nuns were taken to be investigated in the township government, and later the Religious Affair Bureau in Drakgo County dispatched the work team to station in the township government, and also went to carry out the “Patriotic Education Campaign” in the nunnery. On the afternoon of May 7, the nun Lhatrul from Taga Monastery in Seshiti Township in Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) and the villager Bibi (a former nun in Taga Monastery) from Bendegang village in Seshiti Township went to the county seat, shouting such slogans as “Tibet Independence” and “the Long Life to the Dalai Lama”, and immediately they were arrested by the police.
It is learned that Tibetans who were killed due to being arrested or beaten recently are as follows: the 38-year-old Nakchung (Ch. Naqiong) from Gyaru region in Nagwa (Ch. Aba) County in Amdo (Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) was arrested on march 18 because of her participation in the protests occurred in March 16 and March 17,and she was cruelly tortured. She was released on March 26, but she died on April 17 due to the severe injury. The 38-year-old Akar Tashi from Lhatok Township (the hometown of the Dharma King the 17th Karmapa ) in Chamdo County in Kham (Chamdo Prefecture, TAR) was accused of being involved in March 14 Incident in Lhasa, and when the police were arresting him on May 4, he resisted the arrest with a knife and stabbed a police officer, then he was shot and killed by another police on the spot.
In addition, on April 18 the famous monk-writer Sangpo was arrested in Lanzhou. He is a monk from Mushihe Township in Machu county in Amdo (Kanlho [Gannan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province), where he established a private school known as “Shide Gyatso” (Ocean of Peace). He is also a member of a charitable foundation and is the editor-in-chief of Tibetan language periodicals published by Machu County Tibetan Middle School and Machu County Primary School. He was accused of inciting Tibetans in Machu County to participate in demonstration and sending to people outside of China such documents as the photos and video-clips of the suppression etc. On April 28 in Dari County in Amdo (Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province) when the local vice squad arrested the monk called Chodo, shooting occurred. While Chodo was killed on the spot, his mother Wangdron were shot twice and were severely injured. Later, Chodo’s parents, four brothers and sisters and a reincarnated Lama were all arrested and taken away to the county seat.
The 21 Chinese lawyers who signed their signature and openly announced that they would provide to Tibetans arrested such legal services as legal representatives and defense lawyers were severely suppressed by the authorities. Zhou Yongkang, the standing member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the party secretary of the Central Political and Law Commission, sent a special memo concerning this issue; the law firms where these lawyers are working were forbidden by the bureaus/departments of judicature to accept the entrust by the Tibetans, and the annual inspection and registration of their law firms would also be postponed. As for the lawyers themselves, the annual inspection and registration for many of them have also been postponed. Those who signed their signatures but have not participated in the annual inspection yet will also met with the same fate that theirs will also be postponed. The President of the Beijing Bar Association claimed that they will use their wisdom to smash the “ rice bowl” for those lawyers who signed their names on the statement. Since the first ten day period of April up to now, one after another the law firms where the lawyers who signed their names are working received the following notice from the Administration Section of Lawyers under Beijing Municipal Bureau of Judicature: The lawyers from your law firm are involved in representing some sensitive cases, therefore, the annual inspection and registration of your firms will be temporarily postpones. Person of contact: Feng Xinquan, contact Phone: (8610) 58575631, ” ” the annual inspection and registration of the so and so lawyer from your law firm is temporarily postponed.”
On April 29, 2008 the Ngwa Prefectural (Ch. Aba) authorities held the annual business training for lawyers, urging all lawyers to “unify their thinking and action with the unified plan of the central, provincial and state party committees and governments, to coordinate closely with the work arrangement of the prefectural and county party committees and governments, clearly to understand the situation, heighten their vigilance and take practical action to fight back the Dalai clique’s separatist and sabotage acts. ”
Yesterday morning, the Beijing Olympic torch reached the top of Mount Everest. There are five mountaineers who were responsible for the torch relay to the top of the mountain, three of whom are Tibetans. To this end, Tingri County in Shigatse Prefecture in TAR near Mount Everest was garrisoned by a great number of armed police, and its tourism to the outside world was also stopped completely. It is learnt that although the climbing routes had been blocked, the Mt. Everest Olympic torch relay team was surprised to see other mountaineers in the course of climbing, and they considered this as disruption by “Tibetan separatists”. On June 2, the torch relay will be held in Lhasa.
A Chinese journalist who visited Lhasa in April went to Lhasa as a tourist witnessed that several military police on duty were holding theirs guns and pointing at the monastery in front of the Ramoche Temple, but after April 30 the outpost was removed, and these police were dressing up as tourists and monitoring the vicinity. Once an old Tibetan woman threw stones at her, and another time a Tibetan beggar did so, too. She went to a beggar’s home in the concentrated Tibetan inhabited area named Karma Kunsang. The beggar came from Chamdo, and his father was arrested. She also met a Han Chinese woman who is running a school in Lhasa, and this woman hates Tibetans. The woman told her that the number of the Han Chinese (including soldiers) killed by Tibetans during March 14 Incident is over 200, and claimed that they died of stones and knives. The journalist told the woman she could not believe it, but she was reprimanded by the women.
Yesterday afternoon the Dalai Lama’s envoys said in Dharamsala that the meeting in Shenzhen on May 4 is the first step in the right direction, and the two sides agreed to meet again. Soon the date of the next formal talks will be announced.
May 12th - 16th
After May 9, the major event in this week is that earthquake 7.9 on Richter scale hit Wenchuan County, Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. The earthquake also affected more than half of China, and tremors were felt in the neighboring countries. Up to May 16, the victims are over 50,000. Towns and villages were reduced to ruins, and everywhere one’s family is broken up and its member are either dispersed or died. This is indeed a very severe natural disaster.
Wenchuan is known as “lungu”in Tibetan, and together with Lixian (Tashiling) County and Xiaojin (Tsanlha) county it belongs to the Gyalrong region of Tibet. In addition, Wolung Monastery (a Bonpo monastery)is located in Wenchuan, and Samten Monastery (Nyingma school) is in Lixian. According to the general information from the media, there are Tibetan victims in the county seat of Wenchuan County, townships and villages in Wenchuan, Danba (Rongdrak) County in Ganzi Prefecture and Zhouqu (Drukchu) County in Kanlho [Gannan] Prefecture.
Some foreign media such as Voice of Germany (Deutsche Welle), Wall Street Journal and others claim that Wenchuan, where the epicenter is located, “is the region where the Tibetan protests a while ago were very intense,” and “since the anti-government riot occurred in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, there were also a few conflicts between the local residents and the government.” But these reports are grave mistakes. In fact, since the Tibet Incident in March, there occurred some large-scale protests in Amdo region in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, including Aba (Ngawa), Hongyuan (Mewa) and Ruo-er-gai (Dzorge) and Rangtang (Dzamthang) counties. As a result, they were suppressed by the military police. However, Wemchuan and other areas belong to the Gyalrong area, and except some Tibetan students in a few schools held demonstrations, there were hardly any other demonstrations. It is learned that among Tibetan protesters who were arrested in the various counties in Ngawa Prefecture, many were imprisoned in the prisons in Wenchuan, Maoxian and Dujiangyan. The Legal Daily in China reports as follows: The telecommunication and transportation to the Aba severely; In other prisons a few criminals or staff in the prisons died, and a small number of people were injured. The buildings and facilities, to various degrees, were damaged.”
On May 13, the Dalai lama sent a letter of condolence to Hu Jingtao, the President of China, and he made the following statement in Dharamsala: “ I am deeply saddened by the loss of many lives and many more who have been injured in the catastrophic earthquake that struck Sichuan province of China. I would like to extend my deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences to those families who have been directly affected by the strong earthquake on 12 May 2008. I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and those injured in the quake.”
Some religious leaders and Tibetan non-government organizations held prayer ceremonies “to release the souls of the victims from purgatory suffering.”
Monks at several of the monasteries where there have been searches, arrests and damage by the authorities including Drepung in Lhasa, Lingwu Monastery in Amdo (in Rebkong County, Malho TAP in Qinghai), and Kirti Monastery in Amdo (in Ngaba, Sichuan),held prayers and made donations for the victims of the earthquake. Others include Ge’er Monastery in Amdo (Kumbum county in Qinghai), litang Monastery in Kham (in Lithang county, Kardze, Sichuan), Duojiechong Monastery, Xibusha Monastery, and Xiaderi Monastery in Amdo (in Zeku county in Qinghai), and He’angrong Monastery (in Jianzha county in Qinghai). According to RFA’s Tibetan language news, monks at Kirti asked the work team stationed there if they could hold ceremonies but they were only given permission for a single day.
At the day when the earthquake hit the region, Ngawa [Ch. Aba] government issued an urgent official document entitled “Combining work on anti-separatism and safeguarding stability with disaster relief work;” Ganzi Prefectural government also proclaimed “the emergency announcement to conscientiously carry out the present task of keeping stability”, and Liu Daoping, the party secretary of Ganzi Prefecture Party Committee, himself sent letters to the party secretaries of the various county party committees, urging them to “be responsible for both anti-separatism and the disaster relief work. Soon afterward, the government of Danba (Rongdrak) County, which was impacted most seriously by the earthquake in Ganzi Prefecture issued the six-point announcement. Among the points, the second one reads as follows: the county politics and la department, the public security bureaus and other government institutions continue to follow the established plans for the work, heighten one’s alert, closely control the situation and solidly carry out the various tasks to safeguard the stability. In particular, the various check-points leading out of the prefecture should have security cadres and police to stick to one’s posts, and not to slacken any aspect of the tasks. They should strictly guard against the separatist forces to take advantage of the situation to sabotage, strictly prevent people from spreading rumors and stirring up trouble. If any such incident happens, one must adopt the toughest means to deal with the issue quickly.
Tibet Autonomous Regional Government issued an announcement to launch the campaign to donate to people in the regions in Sichuan Province hit by the earthquake,” and the official media claims that “this donation campaign is the most moving and the largest voluntary donation campaign organized by common people in Lhasa in recent years.” However, in reality, the various working units directly deducted from their employees’ salary in accordance with one’s rank, for instance, according to different ranks, TAR Drama Troupe deducted 300 yuan or 500 yuan from their employees.
Shintsa Tenzing Chodra,the deputy director of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People’s Congress Standing Committee, is a reincarnated lama of the Kakyu school. On May 16 in Tibet Daily he maintains “that there were no more than a few well-educated people in the entire Tibet in the past when Tibet was under the suppression of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. At that time except some scriptures in major aristocratic families, there were no such books as novels and stories…”Then, should we consider the numerous well-established Tibetan high-ranking lamas in Tibetan history as well-educated people? Where did Shunnu Dame and the Biography of Pholanas written 300 years ago as well as the world longest epic King Gesar and others come from? What about the Tibetan literary works praised as “ with rich content and pluralistic forms”by the international Tibetan Studies expert R.A. Stein? People can be shameless, but can not be shameless to such extent!
Of the dozen or so monks at Labrang monastery who dared to tell the truth in front of the group of foreign journalists on April 9 who were arrested, nothing has heard on two of them – Take and Zunzhu – and locals think they have been killed. From May 7 when several thousand [?] PAP raided Labrang monastery and detained hundreds of monks through to May 8 and 9 when the monks were protesting, eventually everyone was released except for 7 monks. Confessions extorted through torture are said to be extremely common and some monks were beaten so badly they needed to be treated in hospital. Police forbade the monks from telling their families and outsiders what had happened; and even though the families know what happened they still have to say that the monks are in hospital being treated for illnesses.
In the following places, arrested Tibetans have been beaten to death in prisons. In Luchu county in Kanlho TAP, Gansu a Tibetan who had been detained revealed that monks at the local Xicang Monastery staged numerous demonstrations in the middle of March and that more than 300 people were arrested. Later, most were released but there are still two or three people being held; one of them is a Tibetan who was beaten to death. Someone who was released in Lhasa also revealed that in Lhasa prison a Tibetan beggar from Kham was beaten to death, and there are others who have gone out of their minds from the beatings.
People are still demonstrating despite the pressure. On the four consecutive days from May 11-14 there were violent protests by Tibetans and monks in Kardze county. On the 11th, two nuns were arrested for shouting out slogans and handing out fliers in the county town; On the 12th, a dozen or so nuns protested in the streets calling for the nuns arrested the day before to be released and they were all arrested and badly beaten in the process. They were from Zhage Monastery in Sexidi Township in Kardze county: Suo Lamu, Tudan Zhuoma, Zhage, Lamu Quji (41), Yangji (28), Suonan Yangcuo, Jiayu Chenglie, Busi, Danzhen Caiji, Bumu Deji (29), Ege, and Qiangba Lamu; the nuns Zhage and Yangji were beaten so badly they had to be released. On April 23, two nuns form the same nunnery – 32-year-old Lage and 30-year-old Suonan Deji were arrested for shouting out slogans and distributing handbills. On May 13, the Kardze monks Luosang Qudan, Bandan Cicheng and Luosang Danba demonstrated in the streets and were arrested. On the 14th at about 9 in the morning, the Gadan Quling Monastery nuns Duojie Kazhuo, Lazhen, and Baima Lamu shouted out slogans in Kardze county town, and they were beaten and arrested by PAP; a Tibetan called Suoga who shouted out because he couldn’t stand seeing a nun being beaten was also arrested; around 4 in the afternoon, GadanQuling Monastery nuns Yexie Qucuo, Jiega Lamu, Deyang, and Jicuo shouted out slogans in Kardze county town, and were beaten and arrested by PAP; at around 5 in the afternoon, around 60 nuns from Buronglang Nunnery in Si’e Township in Kardze county staged a peaceful demonstration, but were beaten by the PAP and 52 were arrested. All because of the Pat Ed campaign and forcing people to denounce HHDL. On the 15th, police were patrolling Kardze and watching Tibetans closely; businesses were closed and the situation was extremely tense.
There has been a strong reaction against the authorities’ patriotic education among monks and nuns at all monasteries. In Markham county in Kham (in the TAR) on the 12th and 13th an estimated dozen or so monks were arrested from the famous local monasteries Weise and Longba (phonetic) Monasteries, who were then paraded through the streets on a truck with black sacks placed over their heads.
May 21st
It is learned that after the protest in Lhasa, some Tibetans in Kham (Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province) were also arrested. At present some of them have been released one after another. It is said that the reasons for their arrests are either because they browsed some banned websites, or they know many foreigners, or they were sold out by their friends. Comparatively speaking, the arrested Tibetans were well treated in the Tibetan area in Yunnan Province, and some Tibetan prison guards also looked after them out of sympathy for them. But Tibetans who are working in Lhasa public security organs, procuratorial organs and people’s courts disclosed that the order concerning the treatment of the arrested Tibetans received by Lhasa police is “ to beat them until they confess.”
In Ganzi County in Kham (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), around 4:30 am on May 18, the local police suddenly broke into Purpu Tsering Rinpoche’s residence, and arrested him. Purpu Tsering Rinpoche is the fourth Purongnang Rinpoche of Ganzi Monastery, and he is also the head of Pangri Nunnery and Yatseg Nunnery. He also established an old people’s home, and he is a revered religious figure. The arrest of the well-known religious figure caused much anger and questioning among the people. His arrest has something to do with the protest against the implementation of “ the patriotic education campaign” by over 60 nuns from Pangri nunnery in the county seat of Ganzi County. At that time, over 50 nuns were arrested. Around 10 o’clock on the morning of May 18, many monks and lay people held a protest in the county seat of Ganzi County, shouting such slogans as “Tibet Independence” and “Long Live the Dalai lama”. They were beaten by the CCP military police; the following monks from Ganzi Monastery were arrested: Jampa Dorjem Palden Triley, Jamyang Tsering, Kunga Triley and Tsewu Gelek.
In Tawu (Ch. Daofu) County (Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province), for the past 15 days, many owners of trucks who are engaging in transporting goods have stopped driving their trucks so as to show their dissatisfaction with the authorities’ suppression of Tibetan people. It is learned that there are altogether over 2,000 domestic transportation trucks in Tawu County, and at present several hundred of them have stopped engaging in transportation. Monks from the local monasteries donated money and presented the ceremonial scarves (khata) to Tibetan common people who were injured by the military police in the peaceful protest not long ago. At the same time, the powerful monks of the monasteries announced in the monastery and among the people that due to the undue actions of two Tibetan cadres (one of them is called Yeshe) in the work team which carried out the “Patriotic Education Campaign” in the monastery, from now on the most severe religious punishment known as “Kyidu Lepere” will be imposed on these two cadres and all their relatives. This punishment means that from now on no monks or believers will ever hold any religious ceremonies or any religious activities for them or their relatives, including funerals. It is said that this is the most terrible punishment for the local Tibetan Buddhist followers.
In Lhasa, the Jokhang Temple which had been closed since March 10, opened to the public on May 16. Up to now, except Drepung Monastery and Ganden Monastery which are still closed to the public, Sera Monastery, Ramoche Temple and the Jokhang Temple have already opened to the public.
The TAR authorities claim that TAR tourism industry will be able to receive foreign tourists in the last ten day period of June. It is learned that the time for receiving foreign tourists is after the Olympic torch relay in Lhasa. However, even if Tibet is open to foreign tourists, there will still be many restrictions on such aspects as the citizenship and itineraries. They will mainly receive tourists from Southeast Asia. According to people who participated in cross-county car race and went to Lhasa, Lhasa has almost become an empty city under the military control, and everywhere one will see military cars and trucks whose license numbers are covered by camouflage. There were not many tourists in Lhasa, so the hotel whose rate used to be 600 or 700 a night reduced its rate to 100 yuan a night. But when one enter Lhasa Railway Station, one must go through a temporary building used for security check. This is a building with an area of 100 square meters, in which 60 or 70 husky special police were checking the passenger’s identification card. They treat the Han Chinese fine, but if one is Tibetan, they will even check your hair.
On the evening of May 19, when the Literature and Art Channel of TAR Television Station and Lhasa Television Station were repeatedly broadcasting news about the earthquake, they suddenly started to announce arrest warrants. The arrest warrants, which were stopped issuing for a month, continued to be proclaimed, but they are not new warrants. They are arrest warrants issued to those people who are on the most wanted lists but have not been captured yet, and the amount of reward has also been increased. There are altogether seven people on the most wanted list, and they are all common Tibetans. Among them, the amount of reward for No. 1 person on the most wanted list is 50,000 yuan, and that for No. 13, No. 18, No. 19, No. 45, No. 54 and No. 63 is 20,000 yuan each. The arrest warrants, which raised the amount of reward, was issued on May 18 by TAR Public Security Bureau and have been broadcasted at least twice on T.V.
I met two Beijing lawyers, and they told me that though they are not among the 21 lawyers who sign their names to express that they were willing to provide legal assistance to the Tibetans, their law offices have been notified that their annual inspection has been postponed. They said that this is related to those lawyers who signed their names on the petition. They resent the authorities practice of implicating other lawyers. But they also disclosed that some lawyers who have been implicated do not criticize the government who use their power to interfere legal issues, instead, they complain about these 21 lawyers. It is learned that 21 lawyers who signed their names come from 10 law offices, and this mean that these law offices and all lawyers working for them will be greatly impacted.
It is learned that all the projects in Tibetan areas sponsored by NGOs in China and abroad are basically stagnant, and they are even under complete control. A few NGOs whose projects have not finished yet will not continue to sign the contract once the current contract expires. On May 15 the Trace Foundation in U.S. issued a statement refuting the Chinese media’s continuous accusation of the Trace Foundation’s involvement with Tibet’s alleged crimson revolution.
According to the report on May 18 by Xinhua News Agency, four nomadic counties, including Ngawa (Aba) County, Dzoge (Ruo-er-gai) County, Mewa (Hongyuan) County and Dzamtang (Rangtang) County, were not impacted by the great earthquake centered in Wenchuan. Qin Dalin, the deputy governor of Ngawa Prefecture, said that these four countries are located in the northwestern part of Ngawa Prefecture and are comparatively far away from the earthquake epicenter. In addition, they are not located on the zone of Longmen Mountain Belt, and they are not within the range of over 60,000 kilometers covered by the earthquake zone. However, according to the report, some Tibetans in Wenchuan County, Li Xian County, Pingwu County and others also suffered greatly in the earthquake. In Si-er Tibetan township in Pingwu County there are over 300 Tibetans, whose houses were all collapsed. Six of them were serious injured, and they were saved after being trapped for five days.
Many monasteries and monks in Tibet held religious ceremonies for victims and the injured during the great earthquake one after another, and also donated to the victims. The Jokhang Temple which just opened to the public also held the religious ceremony and donated to the victims. Khaso Rinpoche of Rongwu Monastery in Amdo (Rebgong [Ch. Tongren] County in Tsolho [Ch. Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province), who was seriously injured as a result of being cruelly beaten by the military police, donated 10,000 yuan. The monks from Rongwu Monastery also donated about 50,000 yuan to the victims, and every day they recite scriptures for the victims.
A few days ago when the Dalai Lama was visiting Europe, he had a special interview with the Times. During the interview, the Dalai Lama, for the first time, raise the four conditions for him to return to Tibet. First, the Chinese government must allow foreign media to enter Tibet and give them free rein to report; Second, the Chinese government should allow Tibet to accept foreign medical aid; third, he appeals to the Chinese government to release all political prisoners who have protested peacefully, and meanwhile, there should be fair and open trials for those who engaged in criminal activities; Fourth, there need to be substantive discussions with a view to satisfying the Tibetan people’s aspiration to exercise their basic human rights. This is the first time when the Dalai Lama openly raises the four pre-conditions for him to return to Tibet.
But, on May 20, the Xinhua network published the party secretary of China Tibetology Research Center under the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department Zhu Xiaoming’s article entitled “The Central Government’s Policy toward the Dalai Lama Changed from ‘Two Approval’ to ‘Three Adhering.” The conclusion the article reached about the Dalai Lama is as follows: “The words and deeds of the Dalai Lama around March 14 Incident further prove that he stubbornly adheres to his political standpoint which sets himself against all Chinese people including Tibetan people, and willingly serves as the loyal tool for the western anti-Chinese forces.” It emphasizes that “the struggle between splitting Tibet and anti-separatism will continue to exist. We must sharpen our vigilance and do our job well so as to completely crush the attempt of the separatists’ to split our country and firmly safeguard the national unity.” Judging from this speech, it might be possible that the Sino-Tibetan talk in June will not improve much.
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