Tibetans forced to demolish school attached to monastery in western China
Nov 06, 2021
Sichuan [China], November 6 : Tibetan school officials were forced to demolish a school attached to Drago Monastery in Karze prefecture in western China's Sichuan province last month, Radio Free Asia reported quoting a monk living in southern India.
According to RFA's Tibetan Service, this decision comes after Chinese authorities accused the temple of violating land-use laws.
"The Gaden Rabten Namgyaling, a school administered by Drago Monastery, was condemned in late October by local Chinese authorities, and monastery officials were ordered to demolish the school building in three days or a government team would destroy the building and confiscate school property, including the building materials," said Kalsang Norbu.
School officials and volunteers gathered to hastily take down the school, he added, reported RFA adding that Norbu had shared videos and photos of the demolition.
"The land law covers only local residential buildings," he told RFA, describing the demolition as improper.
He also informed that the monastery-run Gaden Rabten Namgyaling school was refurbished between 2014 and 2018.
Speaking to RFA further, Norbu said: "The Chinese government expelled about 20 monks under the age of 18 during those four years."
According to RFA sources in the region, Chinese authorities have long sought to restrict the size and influence of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, traditionally a focus of Tibetan cultural and national identity.
Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and later annexed it. The 1959 Tibetan uprising saw violent clashes between Tibetan residents and Chinese forces.
The 14th Dalai Lama fled to neighbouring India after the failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, the supreme Tibetan Buddhist leader, established a government-in-exile in India.
