Detained Tibetans denied proper food, medical care by Chinese authorities: Report
Sep 17, 2021
Tibet [China], September 17 : Over a hundred Tibetans, who were detained in recent time by Chinese authorities in Sichuan's Kardze prefecture, have been reportedly denied proper food, medical care and clothing.
At least 121 residents of Dza Wonpo township in Kardze's Sershul (in Chinese, Shiqu) county have been arrested during the last three weeks amid a crackdown by authorities on language rights and possession of banned images of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported citing sources.
Many were members of a local group promoting the use of the Tibetan language, now being replaced under government orders by Chinese as the sole medium for classroom instruction in local schools, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA, citing local sources.
"Although there are many groups that work toward the preservation of the Tibetan language, the Chinese authorities are mainly focused this time on one of these groups, called the Association for the Preservation of the Tibetan Language," RFA's source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Chinese government is now significantly reducing ethnic Tibetans' access to education in their own language, the source said, adding, "And this has led Tibetans to resist these attempts, and we are therefore seeing many language rights activists suppressed and arrested."
Earlier, Chinese authorities have also threatened to shut down a Tibetan school if they fail to provide classroom instruction exclusively in Chinese while the government has also announced a ban on private tutoring in a bid to lighten the burden on children and parents.
But around 68 per cent of the tutoring industry in Shanghai is facilitated in the English language, and this could be a major reason behind Beijing's move, Radio Free Asia reported.
The Chinese authorities are also gearing up for increased control over Tibetan Buddhism, where monasteries are forbidden to give traditional monastic education, which forms an integral part of Tibetan Buddhism.
Monks and nuns are, instead, subjected to regular "patriotic education" and other political campaigns that are fundamentally against the basic tenets of Tibetan Buddhism.
Due to China's occupation, Tibet's environment has been destroyed, the resources have been illegally mined and transported and the rivers have been polluted. Their occupation has led the Tibetans devoid of their basic rights and the human rights situation inside Tibet continues to deteriorate and worsen each passing year under the Chinese Communist Party's oppressive and repressive hardliner policies.