Chinese President Xi Jinping Makes Unannounced Visit To Tibet

 

BBC: Chinese president Xi Jinping visits troubled region of Tibet 

President Xi Jinping has visited the politically troubled region of Tibet, the first official visit by a Chinese leader in 30 years. 

The president was in Tibet from Wednesday to Friday, but the visit only reported by state media on Friday due to the sensitivities of the trip. 

China is accused of suppressing cultural and religious freedom in the remote and mainly Buddhist region. The government denies the accusations. 

In footage released by state broadcaster CCTV, Mr Xi was seen greeting a crowd wearing ethnic costumes and waving the Chinese flag as he left his plane. 

He arrived in Nyingchi, in the south-east of the country and visited a number of locations to learn about urban development, before traveling to the capital Lhasa on the high-altitude railway.  

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WNU Editor: This is the real reason why he is in Tibet for the first time in his Presidency .... Xi's Tibet Trip And A Troubling Message Amid Border Row With India (NDTV). 

More News On Chinese President Xi Jinping Making An Unannounced Visit To Tibet  

China's Xi visits Tibet amid rising controls over religion -- AP  

China's Xi makes rare trip to Tibet: state media -- France 24 China: Xi visits Tibet for the first time as president -- DW  

China's Xi Vows to Expand Border Construction That's Irked India -- Bloomberg  

China's Xi makes first official visit to Tibet as tensions rise on Indian border -- Japan Times

15 Percent Of Tibet's Population Has Been Transferred To Chinese Internment Camps

China has coerced more than 500,000 Tibetan people into military-style training centres that act as labour camps, a study has claimed. Pictured: Paramilitary policeman stands guard in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet

Newsweek: 15 Percent of Tibet's Population Transferred to Chinese Training Centers as Mass Labor Program Expands: Report 

More than 500,000 Tibetans have been transferred to Chinese training centers since the beginning of 2020, as an existing mass labor initiative expanded in the region. The figure accounts for roughly 15 percent of Tibet's total population. According to a new Reuters report, published Tuesday, the militaristic recruitment program primarily targets rural farmers who are then trained to support Chinese industries. 

Its presence in Tibet, fueled by quotas established by Chinese authorities, marks a significant expansion of a labor program also seen in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in the country's northwest. In Xinjiang the initiative is linked to internment camps that China officially calls "vocational" facilities, where researchers estimate at least 1 million Uighurs were detained over the past several years. Documents obtained by the Associated Press last year confirmed that those held at the detention centers were subject to ideological instruction and behavioral re-education. The Chinese government claimed to have released detainees from the camps in December, but concerns about subsequent forced labor practices surfaced soon after. 

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Previous Post: New Report Says China Has Forced 500,000 Tibetan Farmers Into Labour Camps (September 24, 2020) 

WNU Editor: Another important news story that is being under-reported from the West.

New Report Says China Has Forced 500,000 Tibetan Farmers Into Labour Camps

China has coerced more than 500,000 Tibetan people into military-style training centres that act as labour camps, a study has claimed. Pictured: Paramilitary policeman stands guard in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet

Daily Mail: China is 'coercing' more than 500,000 Tibetan people into mass labour camps, report claims

* The research has suggested that rural farmers and herders have been targeted
* Labour programmes similar to those used against ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang
* Authorities in Tibet have touted the scheme as a tool for poverty alleviation

China has coerced more than 500,000 Tibetan people into military-style training centres that act as labour camps, a study has claimed.

The research, carried out by the Jamestown Foundation, has suggested that farmers and herders have been targeted and taken into labour programmes similar to those used against ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang.

The moves risk a 'loss of cultural heritage' in the politically sensitive region, the group's report warned.

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WNU Editor: The report is here .... Xinjiang’s System of Militarized Vocational Training Comes to Tibet (Adrian Zenz, Jamestown Foundation).

More News On A New Report That Says China Has Forced 500,000 Tibetan Farmers Into Labor Camps

China forces 500,000 Tibetans into labour camps -- Sydney Morning Herald
China 'coercing' thousands of Tibetans into mass labour camps - report -- BBC
Exclusive: China sharply expands mass labor program in Tibet -- Reuters
China reportedly forced 500K Tibetan farmers into labor camps -- NYPost
China forces 500,000 Tibetans into concentration camps -- Post Millenial
Tibet forced into labour camps under China’s ‘draconian scheme’ -- News.com.au
After Xinjiang, China Pushing Tibetans Into Forced Labour, Re-Education Camps -- EurAsian Times

Thousands Of Tibetans Protest In Western China

Tibetan Protests Erupt in Western China -- Voice of America

Reports from China's western Qinghai Province say hundreds or even thousands of Tibetans marched on government offices Friday. The protests come amid attempts by China's government to maintain social stability during a political transition.

Tibetans marched on government offices in Rebkong, a region of eastern Tibet, after a series of self-immolations that drew international attention. Estimates ranged from hundreds to thousands of protesters who began gathering on the streets at 5:00 a.m. Many said they were speaking out against China's education system.

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More News On Massive Protests In Tibet

Thousands of Tibetans protest in China, activists say -- BBC
Tibetans rally in central China -- UPI
Tibetans stage protest and immolations in a message to China’s communist elite -- Washington Post/AP
Tibetans greet China's Communist Party Congress with fiery protests -- L.A. Times
China reveals massive security operation to stop Tibetans setting fire to themselves -- The Telegraph
Six Tibetans set themselves on fire in two days - activists -- BBC
China says no to foreign rights monitors for Tibet -- Reuters
Tibetans are content, China's Communist Party congress is told -- L.A. Times

Chinese Crackdown Being Reported In Tibet

China Detains Hundreds After Tibet Immolations -- Voice of America

Chinese police reportedly have detained hundreds of people as part of a security lockdown in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, after two people set themselves on fire there earlier this week to protest Chinese rule.

The U.S. government-backed Radio Free Asia cited a local source late Wednesday as saying that Chinese authorities have locked up about 600 Tibetan residents. It said many others from outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region have been expelled.

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More News On Tibetan Protests

600 detained in Tibetan capital -- UPI
Witnesses Report Massive Chinese Crackdown in Tibetan Capital -- Voice of America
Arrests reported after Tibet self-immolations -- New York Daily News
Detentions reported in Tibet capital after immolations -- BBC
China detains hundreds in Tibet over self-immolation protests -- The Telegraph
Tibetan woman dies after setting herself on fire -- The Guardian
Two Tibetans self-immolate in Lhasa: is protest spreading? -- John Ruwitch, Christian Science Monitor

Tibetans In India Continue To Protest Against China's Occupation Of Tibet

India Cracks Down On Tibetan Protests During Chinese Leader's Visit -- The Guardian

Tibetan exile who set himself on fire dies as Hu Jintao arrives for summit.

A Tibetan exile who set himself on fire in Delhi earlier this week has died, as Indian police and paramilitaries launch a security crackdown to prevent further protests or self-immolations during the visit of the Chinese premier, Hu Jintao.

Jamphel Yeshi, 27, suffered 90% burns after dousing himself with petrol during a protest on Monday, and authorities fear that more Tibetans will follow suit to protest at Chinese policies in their homeland. About 30 Tibetans have died and another dozen have been seriously injured in the past 13 months in similar protests, mainly inside China.

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More News On Tibetans Protesting In India Ahead Of The Chinese Leader's Visit

India Tightens New Delhi’s Tibetan Districts on Eve of Summit -- New York Times
Security stepped up for Summit -- The Hindu
Chinese President's visit to Delhi provokes Tibetan protests -- NDTV
ForeignAffairs: India places Tibetan community under house arrest for BRICS Summit -- Global Post
Indian Police Round Up Tibetan Exiles Before Hu Visit -- Voice of America
Tibetan Activists Seek Spotlight at BRICS Summit -- Voice of America
Dalai Lama Seen as Instigator and Solution in China-Tibet Struggle -- Voice of America

Update: Turmoil builds in China's Tibetan regions -- MSNBC

Unrest In Tibet Spreads

Tibetan Unrest Spreads As Two Reported Killed By Chinese Troops -- The Guardian

Chinese paramilitaries reportedly kill two more Tibetans during protests as US expresses 'grave concern' at violence.

Chinese paramilitaries have killed at least two more Tibetans during protests and detained about 100 others, campaign groups have reported, as the US expressed "grave concern" at some of the worst violence seen in the mountainous region since 2008.

The clashes this week in Ganzi prefecture, known in Tibetan as Kandze, may have claimed five lives since the start of the lunar new year on Monday, and there are concerns that demonstrations against Beijing's rule could spread more widely.

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More News On The Unrest In Tibet

Clashes between Tibetans, security forces spread in southwestern China; gov’t blames ‘mob’ -- Washington Post/AP
Clashes Spread in Tibetan Region in China -- Time/AP
More Deaths Reported in Fresh Tibetan Violence -- Voice of America
Deadly Confrontation Spreads in Tibetan Region of China -- New York Times
China says one Tibetan killed in second Sichuan clash -- BBC
Two more Tibetans killed by Chinese forces after protests: group -- Reuters
Unrest spreads in China's Tibetan areas -- AFP
Two more Tibetans 'shot dead' in clashes with Chinese forces -- The Telegraph
Tibetan killed as Chinese forces fire teargas at protesters in Sichuan -- The Guardian
Group: Tibetans killed as China forces fire on crowd -- MSNBC
Tibetan shooting comes on heels of human rights criticism -- L.A. times
China Criticizes 'Hyped' Reports of Tibetan Clashes -- Voice of America
Tibetan exile movement calls for international intervention after violence -- CNN
Exiled Tibetan PM Calls for Foreign Intervention Following Clashes in Southern China -- Voice of America
US Deplores Violence in Tibetan Areas of China -- Voice of America

Unrest In Tibet As Tibetan Students 'Take To Streets Over Reforms'

Photo: The Tibetan students are said to be angered by changes to education policy

More Tibetan Students 'Take To Streets Over Reforms' -- BBC

Protests by Tibetan students in China over the right to study in their language have spread, according to a rights group and state media.

Thousands marched in Qinghai province on Wednesday, following a peaceful demonstration in Tongren a day earlier.

It follows unconfirmed reports of plans to curb the use of the Tibetan language in classrooms in favour of Chinese.

Qinghai province is home to many ethnic Tibetans and was the scene of anti-Chinese riots in 2008.

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More News On The Unrest In Tibet

Language protests spread among Tibetan students -- AP
Tibet language protests spread in China: rights group -- AFP
Tibetan student protests spread: overseas group -- Reuters
Tibetan student protests spread -- The Guardian
Tibetan students protest, say China is wiping out their culture -- CNN
Tibetan schools stage protest -- The Telegraph
Tibetans protest against language curbs in Chinese schools -- The Guardian
Tibetan students' protests reach Beijing -- L.A. Times

China Crackdown In Tibet

Troops march through Lhasa today in a show of strength by the Chinese authorities
Photo from Times Online

China Increases Security In Tibet To Prevent Protests -- New York Times

BEIJING — For a second straight year, the Chinese government has increased security across parts of the vast Tibetan plateau to dissuade any Tibetans from holding protests this week to mark the anniversaries of ethnic uprisings. Witnesses who have spent time recently in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and other Tibetan areas of western China say there are more police and paramilitary forces on the streets, some of them bearing automatic weapons.

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More News On Tibet

Hundreds rounded up in Tibet crackdown -- Times Online
Police, military crackdown in Tibet on anniversary -- AFP
Nepal: Tibet Uprising Anniversary Exposes Growing Rift -- Global Voices
Tibetan Activists Mark Anniversary of 1959 Uprising -- Voice of America
China indicates hard line on Dalai Lama succession -- AFP
Dalai Lama Expresses 'Little Hope' for Progress With China on Tibetan Issue -- Voice of America
'Little hope' of resolving Tibet issue: Dalai Lama -- AFP
China accuses Dalai Lama as Tibet anniversary looms -- AFP

Tensions In Tibet On The Eve Of The 50th Anniversary Of The Uprising

Chinese riot police in Xiahe, where hundreds of Tibetans
demonstrated on Friday. Photo: Andy Wong/AP

One Year After Protests, An Enforced Silence on Tibet -- Time Magazine

A year ago the Chinese government was caught off-guard by an uprising by Tibetan activists. Text messages and blogs among Tibetans in exile and compatriots in their Himalayan homeland helped coordinate and cheer on an uprising that embarrassed the rulers of the People's Republic as China just as the country was preparing for its Olympics. A year later, however, the Chinese authorities have moved with dispatch to prevent any recurrence. In the run-up to Mar. 10, the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet after a failed uprising, Beijing has cut off communication between Tibet—as well as areas with large ethnic Tibetan communities—and the rest of the world.

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More News On Tibet

Dalai Lama to demand Tibet autonomy, mourn past -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Tibetans rally 50 years after uprising -- Yahoo News/AFP
Tibetans Rally 50 Years After Uprising -- Washington Post
Home-made bombs thrown at police amid Tibetan crackdown -- The Guardian
Crackdown marks Tibet anniversary -- The Australian
Blasts rock Tibetan area as China ups security -- AP
China's Hu urges Tibet stability -- BBC
Deep divisions over Tibet anniversary -- BBC
Monks taken for 're-education' before Tibet uprising anniversary -- Times Online

Tensions High As China Braces For Tibet Protests

From The AFP:

BEIJING (AFP) — Chinese authorities have imposed a security lockdown in Tibet as the Himalayan region this week marks the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.

Beijing is desperate to prevent protests by monks and nomads after violent unrest last year embarrassed the leadership just ahead of the Olympics in the Chinese capital.

The Dalai Lama has called on his Buddhist followers to remain true to his non-violent cause, while also warning that worsening Chinese repression could provoke further confrontations.

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More News On Tibet

China clamps down ahead of Tibetan anniversary -- USA Today
UK protesters mark anniversary of Tibetan uprising -- CNN
Global acclaim can't hide Dalai Lama's troubles -- AFP
Tibet remains stable despite repeated secessionist attempts -- China View
Chinese FM: China's unity at heart of differences with Dalai Lama -- China View
Martial law grips a Tibet in mourning -- Scotsman
China's grip on Tibet tight, but options limited -- Reuters
Dalai Lama 'too soft' on China, say Tibetan exiles -- The Telegraph
50 years in exile -- Sify News

Dalai Lama Fears "Explosion Of Violence" In Tibet

Workers clear a street in the regional capital of Lhasa after riots. March, 2008.
Photo: AP/Sydney Morning Herald

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

BERLIN (Reuters) – Tibet's exiled spiritual leader has said he fears violence could break out at any moment in the region, a year after protests against Chinese rule erupted into riots.

The Dalai Lama's comments, published on a German newspaper's website Friday, come days before the 50th anniversary of his flight into exile and a year since a Tibetan crowd burned shops belonging to Han Chinese and Hui Muslims in Lhasa.

Chinese authorities said 19 people were killed in the initial riots. Tibetan exile groups said scores more were killed and hundreds arrested across the region in a subsequent crackdown by the authorities.

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More News On Tibet

Protests to mark 50 years since Tibet revolt -- New Zealand Herald
Tensions high in Tibetan community -- Euronews
De facto martial law in force in Tibet, army ready for violent crackdown -- Asia News
Tibet under siege ahead of anniversary, say activists -- Sify News
Tibet official: March Lhasa riots won't repeat -- China View
No martial law in Lhasa on "special" days -- China View

A Year After China Quashed Revolt, Tibetans Simmer With Resentment

From McClatchy Newspapers:

TONGREN, China — Scratch only a little bit, and Dorje, a Tibetan nomad, lets loose with a tirade at the people he simply calls "the Chinese," the majority Han who he says will get no respite from Tibetan frustration this year — or for generations.

"After I die," the 53-year-old grizzled herder says, "my sons and grandsons will remember. They will hate the government."

On the cusp of the first anniversary of a mass revolt on the Tibetan Plateau that marked the worst ethnic unrest in China in nearly two decades, many Tibetans still seethe at living under China's thumb. Some engage in small-scale civil disobedience. Others, including monks, brazenly display photographs of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader they revere as a God-king but that China maligns as a "beast." Nearly all gripe about a lack of religious and political freedom.

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My Comment: I am not surprised. The two ethnic groups have been openly hostile towards each other for decades. It will only take a small reason for a rebellion to start all over again.

Torture Widespread, Routine In Tibet, Report Says

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) – The use of torture in the restless Chinese region of Tibet is widespread and routine and officials regularly ignore legal safeguards supposed to be in place to prevent it, a new report said on Wednesday.

Even when detainees are released, they may die of their injuries, be scarred for life mentally or physically and not be able to afford medical treatment or be denied it completely, the Free Tibet group said.

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Angry China Flexing Muscle With Europe Over Tibet: Analysts

From The AFP:

BEIJING (AFP) — China's unprecedented decision to cancel a summit with the European Union over Tibet shows an increasing willingness for Beijing to flex its ever-strengthening global muscle, analysts said Thursday.

The China-EU summit, due to take place on Monday in France, was called off at the last minute by the Asian giant, which said it was unhappy at French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama after the meeting.

"This is an unusually strong way of sending a signal," said Robbie Barnett, professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York.

"The Dalai Lama has been visiting Western capitals since 1987 but there has not been a response to this degree -- the cancellation of a multilateral summit.

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Dalai Lama Warns Of 'Great Danger' Facing Tibetans

From the AFP:

DHARAMSHALA, India (AFP) — The Dalai Lama warned Sunday of the "great danger" facing the Tibetan people as he addressed leading exiles who vowed continued support for his policy of seeking greater autonomy from China.

"My trust in Chinese officials has become thinner and thinner," the Tibetan spiritual leader told nearly 600 delegates after a week-long review of the Dalai Lama's strategy towards Beijing.

"In the next 20 years, if we are not careful in our actions and planning, then there is great danger to the Tibetan community," he said in the exiles' base in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala.

On Saturday, representatives from the global Tibetan movement ended their meeting by backing the Dalai Lama's "middle way" policy of talks with Beijing seeking what they call meaningful, or greater, autonomy for Tibet.

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My Comment: Demographics favors the Chinese. Within 20 years the Tibetan people will be a minority in much of the country.

China Says Tibetan Separatism 'Doomed'

From Voice Of America:

China has harsh words for Tibet, saying it will never allow independence for a region that is internationally recognized as part of Chinese territory. Beijing's comments Tuesday came as Tibetan exiles hold a meeting in India to decide the future of their campaign against Chinese rule in their homeland. Stephanie Ho reports from the Chinese capital.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang says the Chinese government's position on Tibet is "resolute."

Qin says any attempt to separate Tibet from Chinese territory will be "doomed." He also emphasized that what he describes as the "so-called Tibet government in exile" is not recognized by any other government.

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Tibetans Look To Future, Without Dalai Lama

From Time Magazine:

Hundreds of Tibetan political leaders, activists and individuals from all over the world have just begun a meeting in Dharamsala, India, that is unprecedented in its ambition: to bring all Tibetans together to decide their own future, without the direct guidance of the Dalai Lama.

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Tibetan Exiles Discuss Impasse With China

Police arrest a Tibetan exile outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, March 17, 2008. China said Monday it had shown great restraint in the face of violent Tibetan protests, which it said were orchestrated by followers of the Dalai Lama seeking to wreck the Beijing Olympics in August. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

From International Herald Tribune:

DHARAMSALA, India: Tibetan leaders opened a six-day meeting over the direction of their struggle with China on Monday, after the Dalai Lama, the region's exiled spiritual leader, expressed frustration over years of fruitless talks with Beijing.

The meeting here in northern India, called by the Dalai Lama, comes after his comments last month bemoaning the lack of any progress by his envoys in talks with the Chinese government since 2002.

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My Comment: The Tibetan leaders should have done this a few years ago .... especially before the opening of the Chinese Olympics.

Dalai Lama's Envoys Say Tibet At Crossroads

Image from Conservapedia

From Reuters:

DHARAMSALA, India, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Tibetans voiced frustration on Sunday at a lack of progress in autonomy talks with China, on the eve of a meeting of exiles that could challenge the Dalai Lama's moderate line towards Beijing.

"We have told the Chinese very clearly this time that we have now reached the crossroads," said Lodi Gyari, a special envoy for the exiled spiritual leader.

Gyari took part in talks in Beijing from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5 at which China rejected a long-standing demand for autonomy.

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More News On Tibet

Tibetan Exiles Ponder Fate at India Conference -- Voice Of America
Exiled Tibetans gather in India to discuss new way -- AP
After 30 years of frustration, Dalai Lama seeks fresh answers -- Times Online
Dalai Lama to take a back seat in Tibet's struggle for freedom -- The Independent
Tibetans meet to chart new course -- Gulf News
China rejects 'autonomy' demand of Tibetans -- NDTV
China rejects proposal, say Dalai's envoys -- The Hindu
Chinese minister welcomes Britain's stance on Tibet -- ABC News (Australia)