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Chushur county (Chin: Chushui) at Monday, 28 April 2008

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:23:47 +0200

Nuns from Shugseb [Shugsib] nunnery and monks from Gangri Thoekar monastery protested locally; county police arrested nineteen nuns (including Dangdug and Tsondue) and four monks [CTA’s wording suggests that this is the total number of people involved in the demonstration]; they are being detained in the county prison.
(reported by CTA, 02 May 2008)

Shugsib nunnery, Tselnashang, Chushur county (Chin: Chushui xian) at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:22:05 +0200

The nineteen nuns from Shugseb [Shugsib] nunnery detained “around” 10 March were released from the county prison on 15 March [see Shugsib nunnery, 10 March 2008; CTA, 02/05/08.]
Meanwhile, “on the evening of the same day” [understood to be 15 March, not 10 March], some “masked people” suspected to be nuns beat some officials of the ‘work teams’ [then present at the nunnery]. The incident led to the imposition of further restrictions within the nunnery.
(reported by CTA, 02 May 2008)

Shugsib nunnery, Tselnashang, Chushur county (Chin: Chushui xian) at Monday, 10 March 2008

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:21:15 +0200

Date unconfirmed; believed to be “around” 10 March: Nineteen nuns organised a peaceful protest from Shugseb [Shugsib] nunnery to Nyen Thangla Chenmo [Nyethang Lha Chenmo; a rangjung - in this case a Buddha figure on a rock face which Tibetans believe to have appeared supernaturally]; they were arrested by police and held in the county prison [CTA does not state whether or not the nuns’ protest reached Nyethang Lha Chenmo].
[See also CTA, Shugsib nunnery, 15 March 2008; CTA, 02/05/08.]
(reported by CTA, 02 May 2008)

Phenpo Lhundrup county (Chin: Lingzhi Xian) at Friday, 14 March 2008

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:14:51 +0200

Lobsang Dawa, a man from Chushul [Chushur] (Ch: Chushui) county in Lhasa Municipality who settled at his wife’s home in [Phenpo] Lhundrup county was arrested in March [date not specified] for participating in a 14 March protest in Lhasa. His younger brother, a monk named Tendar from Ratoe monastery, was also arrested [date unspecified] by Lhasa city PSB.
Their whereabouts unknown [as of 31/07/08]. Some believe Tendar is dead.
(reported by CTA, 31 July 2008)

Lhasa Municipality at Tuesday, 15 July 2008

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:13:56 +0200

Date unspecified: “In July, around 10 monks from an unidentified monastery located in Karze [Kardze] county were transferred [CTA doesn’t state from where] to Sangyib Prison” in Lhasa. Directly contradicting itself, CTA added: “According to some sources, they are likely from Kathok monastery in Palyul (Ch: Baiyu) county” [both Kardze and Palyul counties are located in Kardze TAP]. Information regarding the monks’ arrest is not available; names of three of the monks are:

Tenzin Soepa.
Nyima Tashi.
Gelek.
(reported by CTA, 16 July 2008)

Thoekar monastery, Chushur (Chin: Chushui) county at Monday, 28 April 2008

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:12:02 +0200

Following a protest by monks of Thoekar monastery, the armed forces have imposed tight restrictions within the monastery [see also Chushur county, 28 April 2008; CTA 02/05/08].
(reported by CTA, 02 May 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:17:09 +0200

Six bodies of Tibetans seen to be taken on rickshaws to the Luphu [Luphug] area [in front of the Potala Palace on the flanks of Chagpori Hill]. Two Tibetan men and one woman were seen to be chased by a group of nine armed policemen in the Alipeko area [south of the Barkhor?], the police opened fire on the Tibetans; the woman fell to the ground, managed to get to her feet but the police fired again, she fell completely to the ground [shot dead]. The two men managed to run away. An elderly Tibetan bystander rushed to the woman; the police said nothing and left.
Armed police had reportedly opened fire on a Tibetan family inside their house in Karmakutsang; all family members were killed, including the children.
(reported by FTC, 12 May 2008)

Beijing at Friday, 01 August 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:16:27 +0200

Date unspecified: “Reports from Beijing indicate that as many as 300 Tibetans in Beijing’s Sunday Market have been told to sell their homes and leave Beijing in the lead up to [the] Olympics, implying that they’re being kicked out for good”.
(reported by SFT, 05 August 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:15:32 +0200

Kunsang Sonam was “in the middle of the Lhasa uprising when it happened on March 10 this year” and later managed to escape to Nepal. He reported that tensions already existed before 10 March; an usually large number of policemen were patrolling Lhasa’s streets, which “left the Tibetans clueless aggravating the deep rooted psyche of the past uprisings among them” [quotation of Phayul, not Kunsang Sonam]. Freedom of movement was “already restricted and monitored by authorities”.
According to Phayul, “The protest started from Drepung Monastery and spread like wild fire in the region. In retaliation the Chinese authorities came down hard on unarmed Tibetans with tear gas and firearms”.
Kunsang Sonam [describing 14 March]: “There were gun shots and mass chaos while the streets were filled with smoke. I saw people around me fall down and my friend Nyima, was shot in the chest. A nun died in front of my eyes as did six others during the course of the demonstrations. The Army tanks were quick to come and clear up those who were either wounded or dead to dispose of any physical evidence”.
When his home was raided and belongings confiscated, Kunsang Sonam lost 30-40,000 yuan made from his small business.
(reported by Phayul, 30 July 2008)

Lhasa at Sunday, 16 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:14:15 +0200

On 16 March, the television in Lhasa showed around 200 Tibetans surrendering in Phenbo [Lhundrub] county.
[taken from an eyewitness account, published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 May 2008)

Lhasa at Saturday, 16 February 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:13:26 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”; date given as “16 or 17 March”: At a checkpoint, the eyewitness saw an old Tibetan man of about 75 years of age caught with a photograph of the Dalai Lama. He refused to tear or step on the photograph and was “immediately knocked down”; blood was seen spilling from his head; two police pointed guns at him while a third handcuffed him and they took him away.
[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 May 2008)

Lhasa at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:12:13 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”:
Friends of the ‘eyewitness’, staying in the same hotel, said that “an old Tibetan woman saw around 500 bodies in front of the Jokhang temple. She saw them before daybreak but the bodies were no longer there by the morning”.
Friends from the Luphug area called and reported that the bodies of six Tibetans were brought [to the area?] on three rickshaws.
A relative said by phone that he had seen “two Tibetan men and one woman chased by a group of around nine armed police. The police opened fire and the woman fell down. She stood up and again gunfire was heard. Then she fell down completely. The two men managed to run away. An old Tibetan bystander rushed to the site and took care of the body of the woman. The armed police who killed her said nothing and left the scene”.
A Tibetan policewoman told the eyewitness of “killings and beatings that took place on Guru Bridge Road on 14 and 15 March”; she described how she saw “armed police beating Tibetans to death and that the road was filled with blood”.
A large number of PLA personnel were brought into Lhasa on 15 March.
“Massive arrests started taking place since 14 March”, even of those who had not taken part in protests.
Checkpoints established every 100 metres in Lhasa. Since 14 March [the eyewitness’s statement was made on 22/04/08], every Tibetan in Lhasa without an identity card has been arrested. Anybody found with a photograph of the Dalai Lama was made to tear the picture and step on it; those who refused were threatened with torture and imprisonment.
Announcements were broadcast on television for in both Tibetan and Chinese for protestors to hand themselves in. House to house searches were also launched. Around five armed police went to each house; families ordered outside while their homes searched for Dalai Lama photographs and Tibetan flags.
The hotel where the eyewitness was staying was leased to a Chinese businessman; although several armed police came to the hotel, they did not search it’ they told the [business] owner not to let westerners stay at the hotel.
Since 15 March, phone lines to the monasteries were cut and the public were not allowed to visit. “There were around at least 1500 soldiers surrounding Drepung and Sera monasteries and around 700 surrounding Ramoche temple” [date not provided, but it is implied that this was the number of soldiers surrounding these monasteries on a daily basis since 14 March until at least the eyewitness’s escape in April; it is not clear whether a total of 1,500 soldiers surrounding Drepung and Sera monasteries, or whether that number surrounding each monastery].
“Everybody has been talking about” Lhasa’s prisons being full, and many Tibetans were reportedly being taken to Gormo (Ch: Golmud) [Nagormo (Golmud) Municipality (Chin: Ge’ermu)].
[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 May 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:10:14 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”:
An eyewitness to events outside Ramoche temple at around 11am onwards, who then managed to get to behind the Jokhang temple, described seeing twenty bodies lying in Beijing Road. He recalled that he “didn’t manage to see them closely because it was very dangerous”. [Note: It is suspected that the eyewitness saw the bodies in Beijing Road while en route from Ramoche temple to behind the Jokhang temple, although the order of events in his account suggests otherwise.]
The eyewitness returned to his hotel in the evening. [Note: Very little information provided about events during the afternoon; it is understood that the eyewitness returned to his hotel during the afternoon.] From his hotel’s roof, the eyewitness “continued hearing more and more gun fire and seeing more smoke in the air”; stayed in his hotel room. From the hotel he “continued hearing around five groups of Tibetan protestors, which from the sound of their voices seemed to comprise 200 to 300 people, demonstrating one after another on Beijing Road” and shouting “Free Tibet” and “Long live the Dalai Lama”. The demonstrations had started around 11am and ended around midnight.
Additional remarks made by the eyewitness [published by Tibet Watch seemingly out of chronological order]:

Friends told the eyewitness that a group of Tibetans waving white scarves circumambulated the Jokhang temple three times during the morning of 14 March, shouting “We want freedom; long live the Dalai Lama; release the Panchen Lama”. The protesters then “started warning the shops around the Barkhor to close”. Clashes broke out when armed police “started cracking down on the demonstrators with force”. Most of the demonstrators “faced the PLA and many were killed and others had their legs or arms broken”.
The eyewitness saw a Tibetan woman “killed in front of the Gamchun Restaurant” [it is unclear if he saw the actual killing or if he saw the corpse soon after the woman had been killed]; he saw “police dragging her body towards a police van close by”.
The eyewitness saw forty bodies; friends later told him of many more killed in different location in Lhasa.
The number of armed police “kept on increasing” [through the day in 14 March].
“I myself saw around forty tanks roll into Beijing Road”.
[Note: more likely, according to images available, they were armoured personnel carriers, not battle tanks. Note also that Tibet Watch’s parent organisation FTC published a version of this eyewitness account as a press release on 12/05/08, in which this quote was worded differently: “I personally saw 40 tanks moving down Beijing Road”; Tibet Watch stated “around forty” while FTC was specifically forty.
“I believe that there were at least one hundred tanks brought in to the city”. [Note: more likely, according to images available, they were armoured personnel carriers, not battle tanks. Note also that Tibet Watch’s parent organisation FTC published a version of this eyewitness account as a press release on 12/05/08, in which this quote was worded differently: “I think that at least 100 tanks in total were brought in [to Lhasa]”.
Throughout the day, he continued hearing gunshots and explosions.
Before nightfall he saw “two tank-like army vans with around six armed soldiers on each, opening fire in Beijing Road in every direction”.
The following morning, a business partner called him and said that during the night of 14 March, armed police opened fire on a Tibetan family inside their home in Karmakutsang, killing all family members including the children.

[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]

(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 May 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:04:08 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”:
An eyewitness to events outside Ramoche temple at around 11am onwards, then managed to get to behind the Jokhang temple, where the air was filled with smoke; saw bodies of four Tibetan students in their twenties, two male and two female, lying in blood; the two males had apparently died after ten to twenty minutes of being shot.
[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 May 2008)

Ramoche temple, Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:03:01 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”:
The eyewitness saw a police car parked blocking the gate of the Ramoche temple (friends later told him it had been there since 11 March). At around 11am, the eyewitness watched with several other Tibetans from about 100 metres away as “four monks came to the police car and demanded they remove the car from the gate”. About ten policemen were “engaged in talks with the four monks around the car”; meanwhile, “around 50 monks joined the four monks”, outnumbering the policemen. Then all of the policemen and monks went to the roof of the temple and continued talking. The eyewitness saw the monks’ gestures, pointing at the car. Many Tibetans watched from a distance.
Another police car arrived; a senior policeman ordered all the monks and police to come down from the roof, asked bystanders to move. A man from Kham asked why they couldn’t watch; a minor scuffle broke out between police and the Tibetan onlookers. During that time there “were only around 30-40 policemen and they ran away”. The monks and other Tibetans lifted the police car and removed it from the monastery’s gateway; all the Tibetans started shouting “Free Tibet, Long Live His Holiness, We Want Freedom”. Then after a while, five trucks of armed police arrived; fired tear gas into the crowd; the Tibetans ran away in different directions. The eyewitness ran to behind the temple. Some monks shouted at the Tibetan public not to run, “so many didn’t and faced the crackdown by armed police”. They continued shouting “Free Tibet” and “Long live the Dalai Lama”.
There were 200 Tibetans behind Ramoche temple, opposite the “City Police Station”, and many more in front of the temple. Around fifty policemen on Ramoche Street saw [those behind the temple] and showed their handcuffs â a warning that they would be arrested. Some policemen were filming with video cameras. The eyewitness saw an old Tibetan man (aged 50-60) and his son (around 6 years) who were injured, bleeding, pushed into a police van by around five policemen. Gunfire heard from in front of Ramoche temple. The eyewitness saw five bodies being loaded onto an army truck.
The eyewitness tried to return to his hotel; but it was “impossible to go on the normal streets because of lots of clashes between Tibetan protesters and police in the Ramoche area”; Tibetans were throwing stones at police, who fired tear gas in return. The eyewitness managed to get to behind the Jokhang temple.
[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 June 2008)

Lhasa at Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:00:46 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”:
the ‘eyewitness’ heard that monks from Drepung monastery were “protesting everywhere”. A couple of them apparently stabbed themselves. Drepung Monastery sealed off; nobody is allowed to enter or leave.
The ‘eyewitness’ remarked: “Some Tibetans believe that there were some people inside Tibet who masterminded the protests. A businesswoman who I met told me that an elder friend of her predicted the protests before 10 March. She said that the person had an extensive political background and was aware of many things”.
[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 June 2008)

Lhasa at Monday, 10 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:59:37 +0200

Summary of Tibet Watch’s “eyewitness account”:
The ‘eyewitness’ was told by a friend that around 15 monks and nuns and around
20 lay Tibetans had staged a peaceful demonstration in the Barkhor because of the increased deployment of PSB in Lhasa. The protesters were arrested by the PSB.
The ‘eyewitness’ received phone calls from friends and relatives in Lhasa, warning him to be very careful and return home as soon as possible because “the situation in Lhasa was not looking good”.
[Eyewitness account published in Tibet Watch’s Uprising in Tibet PDF (a.k.a. March-April Protest Log), May 2008. TibetInfoNet has given the date 01/05/08 for all summaries from this PDF; however, it is believed that the protest log was posted online during mid May 2008. A version of the eyewitness account was published as a press release by Tibet Watch’s parent organisation, FTC on 12/05/08.]
(reported by Tibet Watch, 01 May 2008)

Ngaba town (Chin: Aba), Ngaba county (Chin: Aba xian ) at Sunday, 16 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:58:26 +0200

About 200 Tibetan protesters hurled petrol bombs and burnt down a police station, a police officer told Reuters, even as the main government building in Aba county came under siege. Protesters hurled rocks, injuring several paramilitary police officers; security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and arrested five people.
(reported by Reuters, 16 March 2008)

Ngaba town (Chin: Aba), Ngaba county (Chin: Aba xian ) at Tuesday, 18 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:57:33 +0200

Seven trucks carrying paramilitary reinforcements entered Aba on Tuesday, the source said. The soldiers aggressively interrogated people who ventured out at night and any Tibetans walking on the street in groups of more than two people.
(reported by DPA, 20 March 2008)

Ngaba town (Chin: Aba), Ngaba county (Chin: Aba xian ) at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:56:32 +0200

Five more Tibetans were shot dead by paramilitary police, a Tibetan source in Aba [Tib: Ngaba] told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
[Note: the death of eighteen Tibetans reported by DPA to have occurred on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 March were reported by numerous other sources to have occurred on Sunday 16 March.]
(reported by DPA, 20 March 2008)

Ngaba town (Chin: Aba), Ngaba county (Chin: Aba xian ) at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:55:47 +0200

Thirteen Tibetans, including an 8-year-old child, were “shot dead during clashes in Aba town last Friday” by paramilitary police, a Tibetan source in Aba [Tib: Ngaba] told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
[Note: the death of eighteen Tibetans reported by DPA to have occurred on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 March were reported by numerous other sources to have occurred on Sunday 16 March.]
(reported by DPA, 20 March 2008)

Ngaba town (Chin: Aba), Ngaba county (Chin: Aba xian ) at Sunday, 16 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:54:54 +0200

At least 18 Tibetans were shot dead by paramilitary police: Thirteen Tibetans, including an 8-year-old child, were “shot dead during clashes in Aba town last Friday and five more were killed Saturday”, a Tibetan source in Aba [Tib: Ngaba] told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
[Note: the death of eighteen Tibetans reported by DPA to have occurred on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 March were reported by numerous other sources to have occurred on Sunday 16 March.]
On Wednesday 19 March, the Chinese government issued its first reports of violent protests in Aba [Tib: Ngaba]; the official Xinhua news agency said hundreds of rioters attacked government offices, police stations, hospitals and schools, looting and setting fire to shops along the town’s Qiangtang Street on Sunday [16 March]. Xinhua reported that “Many police officers and government officials were injured during the unrest”, without elaborating. However, the government remained silent on allegations that police had opened fire on Tibetan protesters.
(reported by DPA, 20 March 2008)

[Kardze TAP] at Saturday, 28 June 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:53:39 +0200

According to orders contained in an official document signed by Li Changping, the prefecture head, and posted only in Tibetan language on the Chinese government’s Tibet information website, China is planning a sweeping purge of Tibetan monasteries, including banning all worship at those deemed to be major centres of subversion. The document records decisions made by the local Communist Party cadres’ executive committee. Monks with “attitude problems”, or who refuse to change their thinking in line with official demands, will be dismissed or jailed; abbots and other leaders who fail to carry out government orders to “re-educate” their charges will be replaced by the regime’s appointees.
The most drastic action is promised against monasteries where ten to 30 per cent of monks were involved in protests; all religious activities at the monastery will be halted; movements of monks will be closely monitored. All monks or nuns at these monasteries will be required to “re-register”; those who fail loyalty tests will be dismissed and their accommodation demolished.
(reported by The Telegraph, 27 July 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:52:19 +0200

The government’s initial response on the ground was unusually cautious. At the first explosion of violence 14 March, police faded back, leaving the streets open for marauding Tibetans who set fire to shops and attacked Han Chinese businessmen. Only the next day did People’s Armed Police restore control of central Lhasa.
(reported by Washington Post Foreign Service, 28 March 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 28 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:51:34 +0200

The butchers’ shops on Beijing Road were just beginning to re-open for business on Friday; Lhasa residents face inflation.
Inflation reached a 12-year high in February.
A Tibetan woman who runs a small grocery store just off Beijing Road said she had been forced sharply to raise the price of packaged noodles: “It is the fault of my Han Chinese supplier. He is taking advantage of the problems to raise prices”.
Opposite the clutch of butchers, six police in riot gear blocked the entrance to the road [Ramoche Road] leading to Ramoche monastery, where protests on 14 March are believed to have started. Foreigners in the neighbourhood were regularly asked to produce identification.
(reported by FT.com, 28 March 2008)

Lhasa at Thursday, 27 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:50:41 +0200

Having blocked media from entering Tibet since the [14 March] riots, the government invited a small group of reporters, including the FT, to visit Lhasa on a two-day trip. Government officials told reporters that the disturbances had ended and political order had been restored. But on Thursday a group of 30 Buddhist monks interrupted a briefing in the Jokhang Temple shouting “Free Tibet” and other slogans. The young monks claimed reporters were being manipulated; security restrictions around the temple had only been lifted for the visit. Indeed, the area around the temple was completely blocked off on Friday morning to everyone other than residents living inside the police perimeter â as it had been on several other occasions during the two days.
Baima Chilin, deputy governor of Tibet, said that evidence showing that the Dalai Lama was involved in provoking the protests would be presented in “due course”.
(reported by FT.com, 28 March 2008)

Lhasa at Thursday, 27 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:49:34 +0200

About 30 Tibetan monks protested before a group of roughly 25 foreign journalists (including a USA Today reporter) during a tightly scripted two-day tour of Lhasa under the strict supervision of Chinese government officials. The monks pleaded for freedom and begged for journalists not to believe the government’s assertion that peace had returned to Tibet. Jia Yang [Tib: Jamyang?], a 25-year-old monk from Shigatse, said almost 120 monks at the Jokhang Temple had been trapped there since 14 March; “We will be seized after you journalists leave, but I am not afraid of labour camp”.
Pelma Trilek, a senior leader of the Tibet regional government, said the monks will not be punished for interrupting a media tour. He said the monks in Jokhang cannot leave while police collect evidence against rioters. The Lhasa mayor confirmed four other holy sites also are restricted. Tang Rui of the Foreign Ministry said the monks “really know how to tell lies. Whenever they see foreign journalists, they rush over to tell lies”.
(reported by USA Today, 28 March 2008)

Lhasa at Thursday, 27 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:48:16 +0200

A group of roughly 25 foreign journalists (including a USA Today reporter) was allowed into Tibet for a tightly scripted two-day tour of Lhasa under the strict supervision of Chinese government officials. In Lhasa the journalists saw paramilitary police in riot gear marching down a street next to newly hung red banners urging national unity, peace and harmony. No new violence has been reported in several days.
Several alleged rioters in custody confessed to reporters they were sorry for their crimes. Speaking to journalists from behind bars, Dang Zhen [Tib: Tenzin?], an ethnic Tibetan driver who was detained for his alleged role in the violence was asked if the Dalai Lama responsible for the recent riots in Tibet? In what USA Today described as a “minor act of defiance” he answered: “It is hard to say my opinion. He is my religious leader”. Dang Zhen admitted that he kicked in doors of Hui businesses: “I was not paid properly when I once worked for some Hui people, and they gave me urine to drink as water”.
Several classrooms were gutted by fire at Lhasa No.2 Middle School on 14 March. Deji Zhuogar, school principal, said that a week later, the school held a mass rally for teachers and pupils, about 85 percent of whom are Tibetan: “We told the children the violence was caused by law-breakers and the ‘Dalai Clique’”.
(reported by USA Today, 28 March 2008)

Lhasa at Wednesday, 26 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:46:44 +0200

The arrival of the first group of foreign journalists (roughly two dozen American, European, Middle Eastern and Asian reporters) allowed into Tibet “since soon after” the [14 March] riots. The bus ride from the airport seemed purposely slow in an apparent effort to soak up time despite pleas from the reporters to speed up. When the motorcade stopped beyond one of three checkpoints seen on the airport roadway, several reporters hurried toward the police chased by government minders. Five uniformed police stopped cars. Officer Cunluobu [Tib: ? Norbu?] said the post was set up on 14 March and they were checking for “people not wearing seat belts, for violating traffic rules and for having fake licenses”.
Reporters were shown an extended version of video of the violence that has been replayed on state television. It pointed out that rioters targeted not just Chinese and their businesses but also Chinese Muslims known as Hui. The narrator stated: “The armed police did not use lethal measures, only shields and batons were used”.
Officials declined to answer questions from reporters about the suppression and the causes and events leading up to the protests, deferring until interviews arranged for Thursday. The officials from Beijing and the Tibetan government emphasised the violence of what is known as “the 3-14 beating, smashing, looting and burning incident”.
The video and the extent of damage visible on Lhasa’s streets showed how Tibetan protesters targeted many of the symbols of Chinese rule – police stations, fire trucks, a Bank of China and a Communist Party office.
Journalists were monitored most of the time during the first day but did venture outside without minders for several hours; several cars followed the journalists at one point; a cab driver who took journalists around the city was questioned afterward by authorities.
Journalists got an often carefully monitored glimpse of a city divided. Helmeted paramilitary police with batons checked identification papers in Lhasa’s old Tibetan quarter, even as the government said the city was returning to normal. While police presence was visible but not overbearing in the newly built up and heavily Chinese portions of Lhasa, teams of security forces stood in the lanes near the sacred Jokhang Temple.
An acrid odor hung in the blocks near the old city where rows of burned out buildings stand as evidence of the violence. Many shops were closed, some from a lack of business, others from looting that left their migrant Chinese owners with little to sell.
Two Tibetan teachers drinking in a bar said they were enjoying a first night out after nighttime curfews kept them at home eating mainly tsampa – roasted barley – since the day after the March 14 riot. One reason the curfew was loosened, they said, was the foreign media visit.
Police in the Tibetan old city checked ID papers at twilight, letting only residents into the narrow alleys, and by 10pm the area seemed deserted except for the police. Patrols of a dozen police with helmets and shields marched on the streets. Police at checkpoints stopped cars. While they waved the foreign reporters through, a Chinese taxi driver said Tibetan passengers are pulled out and searched.
(reported by AP, 26 March 2008)

Lhasa at Wednesday, 26 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:44:41 +0200

The first group of foreign journalists allowed into Tibet “since soon after” the [14 March] riots were told that the Potala Palace was reopened on Wednesday [the day of the journalists’ arrival] for the first time since the violence.
(reported by AP, 26 March 2008)

Jokhang temple at Thursday, 27 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:43:59 +0200

About thirty young monks at the Jokhang temple stormed into a news briefing by a temple administrator for a select group of foreign journalists on a stage-managed tour, the first journalist allowed into Tibet since the uprising. The monks, some weeping, crowded around cameras; they accused the officials of lying, and shouted “Don’t believe them. They are tricking you. They are telling lies”. The monks said they had been barred from leaving the temple since 10 March. “They just don’t believe us. They think we will come out and cause havoc â smash, destroy, rob, burn. We didn’t do anything like that â they’re falsely accusing us”, said one monk; “We want freedom. They have detained lamas and ordinary people”.
The incident last for about fifteen minutes; police then took the monks elsewhere in the temple, away from the journalists. The journalists were then told, “Your time is up, time to go to the next place”.
Reuters was not invited on the government-organised trip but received news from USA Today’s Beijing-based reporter Callum MacLeod; Reuters’ article referred to footage shown on Hong Kong’s TVB channel and comments mad by Wang Che-nan, a cameraman for Taiwan’s ETTV.
(reported by Reuters, 27 March 2008)

Lhasa at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:42:27 +0200

[Foreigners witnessing events in Lhasa arrived in Chengdu on 16 March.]
Gerald Flint from Volunteer Medics Worldwide, a medical NGO said, “Over the three days in Lhasa…the worst would have been yesterday (Saturday) when it was completely chaotic, everybody with masks on, running and screaming in the streets”; “You could see smoke coming up from the distance”; “A hospital had been burnt and a medical clinic was torched up”. On Saturday, Gerald Flint was held in police custody for several hours before being confined to his hotel in the Chinese part of the Tibetan capital; he said security forces had continued to pour into Lhasa on Saturday. “What was clear… there was a real control of movement of people. Soldiers on every corner, military with full combat gear on. Loads of trucks. The military was really moving in there heavily”. Flint, a former US marine aged 50, reported: “I heard muffled gunshot fire. There was no question about it”. He also reported hearing explosions from Saturday afternoon well into the night.
Chelsea Hockett, an American university student said, “We weren’t allowed to leave the hotel. There was military surrounding it and they wouldn’t let us leave”. Stuck in Lhasa for two days, Hockett said gunfire could be heard throughout Friday and Saturday nights.
“There was gunfire. We didn’t know what was happening. It was probably machine guns. Last night (Saturday), especially, it was really bad”.
Danish student Andreas Larsen-Helms [who apparently landed at Lhasa airport on 14 March] said Lhasa was “packed with military all around and the street was empty. Military kept coming in from all over”; “We were checked four times from the airport to our hotel. We were issued a curfew. It felt like a ghost village”.
(reported by AFP, 16 March 2008)

Lhasa at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:40:38 +0200

Mary Cannesta from Las Vegas was with a tour group in Lhasa; she heard “a lot of gunfire” between midnight [Friday night] and 2.30am on Saturday. During the day she saw “a lot of smoke” coming from the city. Danish tourist Andreas Larsen-Helms saw a monastery surrounded by tanks and scores of soldiers. Foreign tourists in Lhasa said they attempted to use hotel computers to access the Internet, but most Web sites carrying news about the unrest were blocked.
(reported by Cox News Service, 17 March 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:39:09 +0200

Foreign tourists arriving in Chengdu on 16 March said they heard from Tibetans that protesters and bystanders were killed by Chinese security forces [on 14 March]; tourists ordered to remain in their hotels since Friday. Danish tourist Andreas Larsen-Helms said, “There was just a massive military presence and everything was being watched”. One Westerner arriving in Chengdu said his Tibetan guide claimed to have seen a Tibetan girl who had been shot through the neck; the tourist requested anonymity to protect the guide from persecution.
(reported by Cox News Service, 17 March 2008)

Lhasa at Sunday, 27 April 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:38:19 +0200

Date unspecified: In Lhasa, residents report tight security and an oppressive police presence. The city is scheduled to re-open for tourism in May, and only the Jokhang temple remains closed; other monasteries are open to the public.
Tibetan residents have to have two IDs to go grocery shopping: a residence permit and an ID issued by the Lhasa municipal government. Lhasa residents have been told not to leave the city or to move around until the end of May; Lhasa residents are “being forced to criticise the Dalai Lama”.
Those who rent shops or homes have been warned that if they have links to separatists, or if protesters are found on their properties, the property owners will be detained and punished.
(reported by CTA, 27 April 2008)

Kardze, Kardze (Chin: Ganzi) county (Chin: Ganzi) at Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:37:34 +0200

At around 1pm, two nuns from Drakar nunnery handed out leaflets in Kardze town centre calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and saying that Tibet is independent. Chinese security officers saw the flyers and began to collect them, demanding to know who had distributed them.
The nuns, identified as Bumo Lhaga, aged 32, and Sonam Dekyi, aged 30, were seen on a street corner shouting slogans calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and for freedom for Tibetans. They were quickly detained and taken away in a police vehicle; even while they were taken away, they continued to shout.
A second witness said the nuns “were fully prepared for the eventualities that would follow. They were dressed warmly and bundled themselves to face both beating and cold during detention. There were armed Chinese police everywhere but they couldn’t see them protesting for quite some time, and then later when they came for the second round, the police saw flyers. When police asked who had distributed the flyers, they showed themselves and shouted slogans in the presence of police”.
Sonam Dekyi’s mother, contacted by phone on 26 April, said: “My daughter, Sonam Dekyi, fulfilled her purpose in life; she made her own decision to protest, knowing fully the risk and danger that she would face. I am not worried at all. If she doesn’t survive Chinese torture, I have no regrets…As His Holiness wished, she protested peacefully and didn’t resort to any kind of violence”.
The two women are believed to have been taken to Kardze detention centre. The sources told RFA that the nuns’ flyers “indicated that they were acting on their own and that the Drakar nunnery wasn’t involved in the protest”.
A Kardze PSB official said “No nuns were arrested”, adding “I don’t know”.
(reported by RFA, 27 April 2008)

[Kanlho TAP] at Sunday, 16 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:35:58 +0200

“20,000 paramilitaries were being sent” from Lanzhou to the following locations in Gansu Province [TibetInfoNet’s clarification in square brackets]:

Tsoe (Ch: Ganan) city [Chin: Gannan (a.k.a. Hezuo) town, Sangchu (Chin: Xiahe) county]
Labrang (Ch: Xiahe) county [Sangchu (Chin: Xiahe) county]
Machu [Chin: Maqu] county
Luchu [Chin: Luqu] county
Bora town, Gannan city [Bora township is located close to Tsoe monastery, Gannan, Sangchu (Chin: Xiahe) county, Kanlho (Chin: Gannan) TAP. FTC uses two spellings: ‘Ganan’ and ‘Gannan’.]
Taktsang Lhamo, Luchu county [[note: Takstang Lhamo village is split by the border of Ngaba county, Ngaba Q&TAP, Sichuan Province and Luchu county, Kanlho TAP, Gansu Province]

[Note: It is thought that FTC’s 16/03/08 press release was in fact published on 17/03/08 March â see entry for Machu, Saturday 15 March 2008, reported by FTC 16/03/08.]
(reported by FTC, 16 March 2008)

[Kanlho TAP] at Tuesday, 18 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:34:38 +0200

Around 400 to 500 Tibetans marched, set fire to a police station and a government office, according to a monk involved in the protest.
(reported by The Age (with Reuters), 20 March 2008)

Serthar county (Chin: Seda Xian) at Tuesday, 18 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:32:36 +0200

Monks from local monasteries in the county of Seda joined demonstrators on Tuesday morning, with protesters hurling rocks at security forces and shops.
(reported by The Age (with Reuters), 20 March 2008)

Riwa, Dabpa (Chin: Daocheng) county at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:31:39 +0200

The village of Riwa has been the centre of repeated protests. A Tibetan academic in touch with those in Riwa said that police opened fire on Saturday, killing at least three people, while a policeman had his arm cut off during the fighting. About 4,000 police were in the area.
(reported by The Age (with Reuters), 20 March 2008)

Lhasa at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:30:20 +0200

Australian tourist Mike Smith had a flight booked, to depart Lhasa on 15 March: “We got up at 6am…and we were unable to leave our hotel. Our guides said it wasn’t safe for us to leave, and so I think it was about 1pm until we actually left the hotel, our guides were able to organise for a police convoy to come and escort us out of town. We first went to the train station, because some of the people we were travelling with wanted to head east…and on our way there, we went through five or six army checkpoints where army got onto our bus and had a look around and sort of saw who we were and what we were doing, and the thing was surprising for me was that given the proficiency that they rolled into town and shut down the area, they didn’t actually think to check any of our cameras to see if we had taken footage or photos and what we had”.
Mike Smith smuggled two video tapes out of Tibet by road to Kathmandu.
(reported by ABC, 19 March 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:29:31 +0200

Australian tourist Mike Smith: "I was able to capture some footage of the Chinese rolling tanks into town and setting up their military force with riot gear at one end of the town, and at the other end, I was able to capture footage of the Tibetans protesting and rioting in the streets…
“It was definitely a riot; it was violent uprising by Tibetan people, striking out against Chinese influence and anything Chinese…
“It was definitely a political uprising there. Tibetan people didn’t steal anything from the shops that I saw, it was definitely causing damage to Chinese property, and it’s the result of 50 years of Chinese brutality towards these people…
“It was surprising to see how swiftly and proficiently the Chinese government rolled in their army tanks. Initially, we saw four tanks roll in and then three trucks full of army soldiers that barricaded the streets; I’m talking in the vicinity of…200 army troops in the area around the Potala Palace, and a lot of the army troops aren’t actually shown on the video footage that I was able to capture because they were around the corner from where I was…
“I went down onto the street and tried to get some footage of the Chinese army, and at one point I was caught by a Chinese guy, you can see on the footage, he actually looks into the camera, straight down the eye of the camera, and you can see he is ready to strike, and at that moment I basically turned off my camera and got the hell out of that part of town. Definitely, the Chinese didn’t want us there with video cameras documenting what happened.
“I didn’t feel in any way scared of frightened for my safety from the Tibetan people, it was made very clear that they wanted me there to film and document what was happening, and take my story to as many people as possible, and it was very simple, there was shouting and cheering from the crowd, to free Tibet and for China to get out of Tibet. That was very clear what they were saying, ‘Free Tibet, China out’.
“I was able to sneak up to the roof of our hotel that night and get some more footage, after sunset, and by that time the Chinese had progressed up to our end of town and had barricaded the area sort of immediately outside our hotel with trucks and more riot army police, army and police, in riot gear”.
(reported by ABC, 19 March 2008)

Lhasa at Thursday, 13 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:28:24 +0200

Australian tourist Mike Smith: “From what I have heard from the Tibetan people on the street [on 14 March], is the day before [13 March], during a protest which marks the Dalai Lama’s exodus from Tibet, a number of monks were arrested by the police”.
(reported by ABC, 19 March 2008)

Lhasa at Saturday, 15 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:27:30 +0200

Morning: A group of Australian tourists [staying at the Yak Hotel on Beijing Road] were escorted out of Lhasa. Tourist Mike Smith said many tanks and other army vehicles were parked in front of the Potala Palace. The tourists then hired jeeps on the outskirts of Lhasa and drove to Kathmandu, Nepal.
(reported by SMH, 18 March 2008)

Lhasa at Friday, 14 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:26:57 +0200

Australian tourist Mike Smith was on an organised tour of Tibet: “I was in a restaurant near the Potala in Lhasa about 1pm when I heard an explosion and saw smoke rising in a part of town not far away near our hotel [Yak Hotel on Beijing Road]…Then I saw army tanks rolling down the street”. He watched as military vehicles blockaded intersections and security personnel took up positions around the Potala Palace; saw local police in blue uniforms and heavily armed Chinese troops in green with riot gear. Mike Smith headed back towards his hotel and came across several hundred Tibetan protesters smashing and burning shops and overturning cars.
He said: “Most of the protesters were young Tibetan men aged in their 20s…They were smashing anything that had Chinese influence like billboards and signs. They also smashed motorbikes and cars”.
Mike Smith filmed the tanks, armed vehicles and troop carriers through a restaurant window as they manoeuvred on the streets around the Potala. He saw about 50 shops destroyed but said he did not feel threatened: “The vibe of the protest was not of irrational violence but more pent-up frustration that 50 years of peaceful protest had not worked”. Smith said some of the protesters were happy to see he had a video camera and made statements to the camera emphasising that the riot was “about freedom for Tibet”.
As the protesters moved past Smith’s hotel towards where Chinese security personnel had assembled, his Tibetan tour guide pleaded with him to stay indoors: “He basically grabbed me and took me inside the hotel. I wanted to follow the protesters but the tour guide said that if I was caught with a camera I would be deported and he would be put in jail for the rest of his life. It was a difficult situation for me to be in”.
[Note: Mike Smith provided Reuters and ABC News (Australia) with his film footage, which included a clip of a young Tibetan man commenting, “We don’t have any freedom and we don’t have any religious freedom in Tibet”. Although not stated in the reports, the Tibetan man was Smith’s tour guide. While ABC News broadcast sections of the footage and blurred the tour guide’s face, New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) showed footage baring the Reuters logo, and with the tour guide’s face clearly visible. This tour guide was subsequently added to China’s ‘most wanted’ list.]
A 69-year-old Danish member of Smith’s party was hit in the eye by a rock while watching from the hotel roof; unable to get proper medical attention for more than a day.
Smith said people he met in Lhasa told him that the violence had been triggered in part by the arrest of several monks at a peaceful demonstration at the Jokhang monastery [on 10 March].
Smith’s “Chinese-owned hotel” had been damaged by fire [Smith was staying in the Yak Hotel, which has joint Tibetan-Dutch ownership]. Many buildings owned by Tibetans had a white cloth tied to the outside and were left untouched.
Smith did not witness any clashes between the protesters and security forces but said it was a total mismatch: “I saw both sides…It was tanks versus peasant boys with sticks”.
By nightfall Lhasa had been locked down by Chinese forces. A young protester went to Smith’s hotel [Yak Hotel] and said “very many Tibetans died today”. Smith reported that, “From the emotion of the guy it was obvious that a lot of people were killed”.
(reported by SMH, 18 March 2008)

Shugsib nunnery, Tselnashang, Chushur county (Chin: Chushui xian) at Monday, 28 April 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:23:46 +0200

Following a protest by nuns of Shugseb [Shugsib] nunnery, the armed forces have imposed tight restrictions within the nunnery [see also Chushur county, 28 April 2008; CTA 02/05/08].
(reported by CTA, 02 May 2008)

Shugsib nunnery, Tselnashang, Chushur county (Chin: Chushui xian) at Tuesday, 01 April 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:23:09 +0200

Date unspecified: During the beginning of April, officials from the ‘work teams’ [present at the nunnery] “forced and harassed” the nuns to denounce the Dalai Lama. In response to this, the nuns later protested [see Chushur county, 28 April 2008; CTA 02/05/08.]
(reported by CTA, 05 May 2008)

Chushur nunnery, Chushur (Chin: Chushui) county at Monday, 10 March 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:22:20 +0200

Date unconfirmed; believed to be “around” 10 March: Nineteen nuns from Shugseb [Shugsib] nunnery were arrested for protesting [see Shugseb nunnery, 10 March 2008; CTA 02/05/08]. In response to these arrests, all the nuns from Chushul [Chushur] nunnery protested; demanded the immediate release of these detained, threatened further protests. When Chinese governmental ‘work teams’ failed to control the situation, the PAP “intervened”.
(reported by CTA, 02 May 2008)

[Kardze TAP] at Thursday, 21 August 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:20:57 +0200

In an article published by the French newspaper Le Monde (21/08/08), the Dalai Lama is reported to have said that 140 people were killed [on 18 August] in eastern Tibet [Kardze]. The Office of HHDL, France, responded: “We would like to clarify that His Holiness did not mention any number of casualties. In response to a question from the journalist about recent news stating that Chinese troops had fired on a demonstration, His Holiness clearly stated that we had no specific information on the number of casualties. In this particular interview His Holiness said: ‘We just heard that, but no possibility to cross-check. So I don’t know.’ Since receiving this news, efforts have been made without success to communicate with the local affected population in Kardze”.
(reported by Office of HHDL, France, 21 August 2008)

[Kardze TAP] at Monday, 18 August 2008

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:19:55 +0200

In an interview published by Le Monde (21/08/08), the Dalai Lama was reported to have said that 140 people were reportedly killed by Chinese security forces in Kardze (Chin: Ganzi). The Dalai Lama’s office has stated that he “did not mention any number of casualties” on alleged 18 August Tibet shooting. The statement added: “In response to a question from the journalist about recent news stating that Chinese troops had fired on a demonstration, His Holiness clearly stated that we had no specific information on the number of casualties”.
[Note: this explanation does not clarify the matter; Le Monde (21/08/08) published the first article regarding the alleged shooting incident; therefore the journalist could only have asked about ‘140 deaths’ if the Dalai Lama had indeed stated this or if the journalist had heard a rumour about the incident.]
In an interview with AsiaNews, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of Tibet’s Government-in-Exile, also confirmed there was no such massacre by the Chinese army in Tibet in recent days. He attributed the controversy as having stemmed from a “wrong translation” during the Le Monde interview.
(reported by Phayul, 22 August 2008)

Update: Restrictions on the import of religious items from Nepal

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

On 01 July 2009, restrictions on the import of religious handicrafts, mainly statues, from Nepal into Tibet became effective. Non-commercial imports for religious purposes will now only be possible for officially accredited religious institutions, and their imports will have to be authorised, and the transactions supervised, by the appropriate Religious Affairs Bureaus. Although no official reasons have been given for the new policy, it appears that the move by the Chinese authorities is aimed at placing trans-border religious links, and possibly the use of religious funds, under closer scrutiny, while protecting the local markets from Nepali imports.

Update: Shugden in Kham

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 +0200

There is hardly any better evidence for the increasing influence of the Dalai Lama in Tibet, despite five decades of exile, than the impact of his stance on the Shugden cult in eastern Tibet, a region known to Tibetans as Kham, and the largest part of which spreads today over the western Sichuan province and the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The Shugden cult, which the Dalai Lama has linked to conservative and sectarian attitudes, has virtually disappeared from this area where it once flourished like no where else in Tibet, except Lhasa. A declining, though aggressive group of Shugden supporters, however, continue a bitter struggle against local religious leaders who follow the Dalai Lama's line on Shugden, share his views about promoting the unity of Buddhism, and, typically, are active in running social projects. The most prominent case is that of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche; the most recent that of Phurbu Rinpoche(1). Features common to the Shugden leaders in the region are their links to former regional elites, the influence of returned exiles in their midst, their linkages within international networks, close association with Tibetan members of the Chinese authorities and direct or indirect affiliation to Trijang Rinpoche, the cult's most influential propagator in the late 20th century(2).

Update: Recording personal experiences. New insights into the Kardze protests of March 2008

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0200

TibetInfoNet has recently received documentation concerning the protest that took place in the eastern Tibetan town of Kardze (Chin: Ganzi or GarzÃ¨), Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, on 18 March 2008. Although a landmark in the region, the 18 March protests in Kardze have so far been comparatively less well publicised than other incidents in Tibetan areas. The 22-page document, which is summarised here, provides comprehensive, precise and cross-checkable information compiled by eyewitnesses. As such, it attests to the growing realisation by Tibetans inside Tibet for the need to present a dense and fact-oriented picture of their situation, rather than to rely on second hand and inevitably more patchy reports by outsiders. This corresponds with the appeal made on 01 April 2009 by Lodi Gyari, the Special Envoy of the Dalai Lama to the US, for Tibetans to record their "personal experiences of suffering"(1). The document also provides details of the authorities' security arrangements following the protests. It corroborates more incidental observations that the strategy of the security forces was and is primarily aimed at paralysing local life and intimidating the population with overwhelming displays of force. This in turn indicates that the authorities clearly realise that the protests reflect the concerns and aspirations of a broad section of the local population, and this contradicts public statements, propped up by reports in the official press, that these demonstrations are isolated incidents involving troublemakers influenced by external forces. The government's strategy, however, has proven to be only partially successful, as despite all this, Kardze and its vicinity arguably remains to date, as it historically has been, the most restive area on the Tibetan plateau.

Update: The Wuhou District (武侯区), a Tibetan enclave in Chengdu

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and other Tibetan areas of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2008, and the on-going disturbances across the plateau have occasionally highlighted the Tibetan presence in Chengdu, the prosperous capital city of Sichuan province. A fairly recent creation and little known outside the region, the Wuhou quarter of Chengdu is increasingly becoming a major point of exchange, both between Tibetan communities, and Tibet and the outside world.

Update: Great wall, liberated serfs and Barbie dolls

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Fifty years after the Tibetan uprising of 10 March 1959 and one year after the unrest of Spring 2008, China's Tibet policies continue to be based on the belief that economic determinism and robust demonstrations of force, flanked by an, at times, outlandish, narrative about the liberation of serfs, is sufficient to resolve the Tibet issue. In a speech delivered to deputies of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) at the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing on 9 March 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for the building of a "Great Wall of stability" in Tibet, referring to the renowned Chinese edifice as a metaphor for steadfast solidity. Hu specified that the key element to achieve this is accelerated economic development. Meanwhile, the Chinese authorities' ambiguous depiction of the current security situation in Tibet reflects perceived needs to appear confident while maintaining a politically convenient level of alertness.

Update: Chasing shadows in Dharamsala

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0100

A Chinese national, Lei Xun, was arrested in December 2008 in Dharamsala, the seat in exile of the Dalai Lama in India, for spying and acting as an agent provocateur. Reports received by TibetInfoNet about the case reveal persistent, albeit unsuccessful, and at times clumsy, efforts to produce or, if need be, fabricate evidence that would expose the Dalai Lama as the mastermind behind the Tibetan unrest in spring 2008. It appears that the undercover operation was planned on the basis of negative preconceptions about the Tibetan exile society rather than any accurate information. The case also points to the anxiety of the security forces in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) who ordered the operation to come up with some success after their failure to predict and contain the unprecedented disturbances across Tibet in spring 2008.

Update: Autonomy, devolution and the future of dialogue

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The ninth round of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue, held from 31 October to 05 November 2008 in Beijing, was portrayed by both parties as abortive, largely because it brought to the fore irreconcilable conceptions of Tibetan autonomy. But rather than a failure, the recent round of talks appear to have finally provided the necessary clarity about what exactly the dialogue can and cannot achieve in the immediate future. The talks thus outlined what the future of this process might be, for which, whether either side cares to admit it or not, there are no real alternatives. The stalemate delineates the limit of each side's power of agency, and thus by default highlights possible common ground - provided that both sides find the adequate sincerity with which to admit to realities on ground and appreciate that some sort of cooperation is ultimately in their own best interests.

Update: Struggling for influence in Nepal

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Both the Tibetan refugee community in Nepal and the Chinese authorities are putting considerable efforts into strengthening their respective influence in the Himalayan country, which, after more than a decade of virtual chaos, is currently experiencing an in-depth reconfiguration of political power. The emerging picture is that both parties are applying fundamentally different strategies: while Tibetans are seeking support from recently elected parliamentarians, as well as from civil society, China strives to develop its influence on both Nepal's army and the former guerrilla forces whose party, the CPN (M)(1), has emerged from the elections of 2008 as Nepal's strongest political force. The outcome of these efforts might well define the future of the Tibetan community in Nepal.

Update: Managing and servicing the floating population a "key issue for security and development in the TAR"

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0200

The Chinese authorities have created a management team to deal with the floating population(1) in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This initiative was taken in response to the social unrest that swept across Tibetan areas in spring 2008, particularly the ethnic riots in Lhasa on 14 March. It has been interpreted as an admission by the authorities that the riots were triggered by relentless migration from China. However, after careful analysis of official reporting, and consideration of existing long-term PRC policies and ground realities in the TAR, this interpretation appears ill founded. Far from acknowledging any policy errors, the authorities' rationale behind forming the team is to reaffirm existing policies and consolidate the position of mainland migrants in the TAR, many of who were traumatised by the recent unrest. The team will also assume a role in containing the floating population of young Tibetans, many of them migrants from rural regions, whose frustrations erupted in the events of 14 March. Both floating population groups, mainland migrants and rural Tibetan migrants, were assigned specific roles as entrepreneurs and labourers in the long-term plans drafted by the PRC authorities for the TAR. Beyond that, mainland migrants also play a crucial role in providing a stabilising population within the restive Tibetan environment. Rather than a change of policy then, this new management drive represents further state intervention in the aftermath of the events of spring 2008.

Update: Obituary - Thubten Jigme Norbu

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0200

Thupten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of the Dalai Lama, died on 05 September 2008 after a long illness, and was cremated on 11 September in Bloomington, Indiana. In his lifetime, as well as in obituaries, he made headlines as an uncompromising advocate of Tibetan independence, as opposed to autonomy. But rather than just the politician he was often portrayed as, he was a passionate expert on Tibet with fierce emotional ties to his culture and people, and a strong, independent personality. Like the nomads of Amdo, whom he dedicated a large part of his academic life to studying and whom he particularly cherished, he possessed a strong sense of freedom and refused to be constrained by mainstream structures.

News from 06 June 2009 to 19 June 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Miss Tibet crowned Report about monk and nun suicides Six held after religious rally in Lhasa Paris honours Dalai Lama Mine standoff resolved Tibetan crippled by police US pass new Tibet bill Wang Lixiong in Dharamsala Violence increases over farming boycott Chinese writers in Dharamsala

News from 23 May 2009 to 05 June 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Chinese court sentences six monks in Chamdo Dam protest in Tawu County Dalai Lama offers donation to religion department at US university Mine standoff said to be resolved Tibet complaint against Radio 4 upheld Danish premier and foreign minister meet the Dalai Lama Nathu-la border trade grinds to a halt Two Monks disappeared after raid in Labrang Monastery Promotion of Mandarin in TAR Nepali team visits border The Dalai Lama's statement on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Students' Democracy Movement Police blame monk's suicide on stress Restriction on religious activities during Saga Dawa

News from 09 May 2009 to 22 May 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Wanted monks reach India Three Tibetans jailed, charges unknown Dalai Lama is free to visit South Africa any time TCHRD concerned about death sentence Tibetans China warns EU against interfering in internal matters Labrang monk sentenced to life, 2 brothers arrested Dalai Lama envoy reaching out to Chinese people Report blames cadres for Tibetan protests

News from 25 April 2009 to 08 May 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Concerns about the Panchen Lama Monk commits suicide Three religious dignitaries detained in Nagchu Lutsang monks sentenced, two others held Dalai Lama part of Tibet solution: senior US Asia advisor US commission condemns religious repression in Tibet Spanish judge wants to question Chinese leaders Farmers' boycott continues Beijing objects to Paris honouring Dalai Lama

News from 11 April 2009 to 24 April 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0200

20,000 households destined for 'socialist villages' Tibetans clash with Chinese soldiers, several injured Losar marchers from Lutsang monastery released Troops fire into Nyarong protesters, arrest nine TCHRD calls for the release of Jigme Gyatso China arrests Tibetan writer in Ngaba Power audit of EU-China relations Tibetan monk on trial for weapons charge Tibetan arsonist gets suspended death sentence Dalai Lama said China "acting like a child" International support led to Golok Jigme's release Ten Tibetans held for police station bombing School students demonstration in Labrang county RSF concern about physical safety of Tibetan magazine editor

News from 28 March 2009 to 10 April 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Unrest in Kardze continues Dalai Lama's envoy calls on Tibetans "to record their suffering" Journalists call for information South Africa did deny a visa to the Dalai Lama Exile journalists demand access to Tibet Monks stage sit-in outside Chinese court Dalai Lama's New Zealand visa safe-guarded by PM Tibet to provide annual aid to Nepal Prince Charles discusses Tibet with Chinese leader Four sentenced to death trials for Lhasa protests

News from 14 March 2009 to 27 March 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Kalon Tripa says Tibetans ready to talk Three foreigners detained in Kathmandu Bomb blast in Kardze Monks taken for âstudy' after peaceful protest Karmapa gives rare interview Luxury train to Lhasa postponed China arrests a Tibetan civil servant China approves "modern redesign" of Lhasa Nun stages protest march in Kardze Fear of more HIV infections Youths and monks held for marking uprising anniversary Arrests over farming boycott Tibetan writer arrested Danish PM hopes to meet Dalai Lama in May Chinese bank lends to mines in Tibet Ragya monastery encircled and under severe restriction Tibet re-opens to foreign tourists from April Tibetan writer-photographer arrested in Gansu Province Nuns arrested in Kardze China block footage of Tibet violence on YouTube Peace conference "postponed" after Dalai Lama refused visa

News from 28 February 2009 to 13 March 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Anti China demonstrations banned in Nepal Chinese forces surround Tibetan monastery Boycott of official events during Losar Two arrested in Kardze Two monks, three teenagers held for protesting Four nuns sentenced Website proprietor arrested in Gansu province China tightens TAR border controls Nepal tightens security I'll live longer for Tibetan cause: Dalai Lama Amnesty International calls on Chinese authorities to open Tibet Explosions in Golog Troop deployments confirmed European Parliament urges China to negotiate Dalai Lama reincarnation must have China approval China Calls Dalai Lama a Political Exile Chinese police search houses in Lhasa for non-Tibetans Obama raises Tibet issue with Yang

News from 14 February 2009 to 27 February 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Solo protester arrested in Lithang Fifteen Tibetans arrested in Lithang Five more detentions in Lithang Four Tibetans sentenced in Kardze Lithang under siege Nepal Maoists 'arrest' five Tibetans for 'anti-China' activities China-EU summit re-scheduled Dalai Lamaâs Losar message Tibetans ignore New Year China rejects US rights report as interference Beijing "concerned" by possible rallies in Nepal

News from 31 January 2009 to 13 February 2009

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Two sentenced in Kardze Four nuns and two laymen sentenced in Kardze Details of Kardze Protests Emerge Seven monks arrested, abbot missing in Chamdo Nine monks sentenced, other committed suicide More Tibet unrest cannot be ruled out - officials Tibetan nomads, farmers may be losers in China's ecology protection plan So far 76 sentenced for 2008 unrest in TAR Dalai Lama: situation as "very tense" China wants to "improve" regional autonomy Many Tibetan areas closed to foreigners

News: Violence increases over farming boycott

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(Tibet.net) One Tibetan was shot and three others were seriously wounded in Chamdo (Chin: Qamdo) in the TAR during a drive against the ongoing farming boycott campaign in the area. The report of the incidents by Tibet.net said that during the crackdown at the end of May, a man was shot, and two others were taken away after being beaten and injured by Chinese police with batons. Another Tibetan was also beaten with rifle butts. The incidents took place in Jomda county, Chamdo prefecture. Tibet.net said security forces also arrested protesters, including staff members of Vara and Jobhu monasteries in Jomda county. The report also said several retreat lamas of two other monasteries in the area were also severely beaten by Chinese security forces during night raids. Gyune monastery was under siege, encircled by armed forces, and eight of its resident retreat lamas were beaten during a night raid. Retreat lamas of the Palchen monastery were also beaten.

News: Chinese writers in Dharamsala

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(TibetInfoNet) A group of Chinese writers left Dharamsala after a six-day visit. Three of the writers, Li Jianglin Zhu xuyuan and Eliza Han currently reside in the US, while the others, Li Jian Hua, Zhao Qigiang and Yue Jian Yi are from China. The visit was announced as a fact-finding mission and the writers intended to describe the Tibetan exile institution as independent writers. They had audiences with the Dalai Lama and Karmapa and were received by Samdhong Rinpoche, head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). They visited major CTA departments as well as local NGOs. The visit was at the invitation of the Association of Tibetan Writers.

News: Wang Lixiong in Dharamsala

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(TibetInfoNet) Chinese author and husband of Tibetan poet Woeser, Wang Lixiong, arrived in Dharamsala for a two-month visit organised by the Association of Tibetan Writers. The purpose of the visit has not been specified.

News: Tibetan crippled by police

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(Tibet.net) Tibet.net reports that on 14 March 2008, a young man by the name of Phuntsok from Tashi Gang township, Meldrogungkar (Chin: Mozhugongka) county, in the Lhasa municipality, was arrested at his residence in the Karma Kunsang area, located in eastern Lhasa, apparently for no reason. "After the arrest, the PAP [People's Armed Police] beat him fiercely and then locked him - along with other Tibetan detainees - in the storeroom of the Lhasa railway station. He was released after having detained there for 20 days", according to a Tibet.net source. On returning home, the source said, and despite being given medical treatment his condition did not improve. "At the moment, his physical condition is very poor; he has to rely on walking sticks and cannot stand straight due to back injury that he sustained from severe beatings at the hands of the PAP".

News: US pass new Tibet bill

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(VOA) The US House of Representatives passed a bill that further advances US policy on Tibet and authorises its funding for wide-ranging programmes that support Tibetans in Tibet. The bill makes several improvements to an already existing Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 and directs the US government to encourage the Tibetan-Chinese dialogue by coordinating with other governments in multilateral efforts in order to reach a negotiated agreement. The bill further directs the US government to require the National Security Council (NSC) to ensure that US policy on Tibet is coordinated with all executive agencies in contact with the Chinese government. It also authorizes the establishment of a Tibet Section within the US Embassy in Beijing, until such time as a consulate is established in Lhasa. The bill requires the new consulate in Lhasa to "provide services to United States citizens travelling to Tibet and to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet, including Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces". The new provisions were included in "H.R. 2410: the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011".

News: Mine standoff resolved

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(RFA) Talks have resolved a standoff over a planned gold mine in Markham (Chin: Mangkang) county, Chamdo (Chin: Qamdo) prefecture, TAR, at a site Tibetans consider sacred, but questions remain regarding the disposal of poisonous waste at the site, according to sources in the region. The dispute over operations at the mine built by a Chinese firm, Zhongkai Co. had continued for weeks, with hundreds of Tibetans protesting against the mine's planned expansion and blocking access to the area, according to RFA. Both sides agreed that the mine would now cease operations. "It was agreed in writing that there will be no mining in the area", said a local Tibetan man. "All the Chinese security forces deployed in the area will be withdrawn. The Tibetans who are blocking the road will also return to their respective areas". "Chinese authorities will build concrete barriers to block the poisonous residue of earlier mining in the area so that this will not filter down into the drinking water", he added. All points of agreement were set down in writing in the presence of prefecture and county-level officials, the source said.

News: Miss Tibet crowned

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(TibetInfoNet; Tibetpost) 20-year-old Tenzin Chozom from Dharamshala, was crowned Miss Tibet 2009 in Dharamsala at a beauty pageant held for the seventh consecutive year by Lobsang Wangyal Productions. She was crowned by Dr BK Modi, the Chairman of the Spice India Splendour and won IRs.100,000 (UK£1,260; US$2,080; EUR€1,495). Tenzin is from Dharamsala. There were four contendents.

News: Report about monk and nun suicides

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(TCHRD) The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has submitted a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief on the factors and circumstances leading to the increase in suicides amongst Tibetan monks and nuns in Tibet. Suicides have been on the rise in Tibet's monastic community since the spring 2008 protests began and there have been 16 suicides and two attempted suicides.

News: Six held after religious rally in Lhasa

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(RFA) Chinese authorities in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, detained six Tibetans after over 100 gathered and marched in what they told police was an exercise of their right to practice Tibetan Buddhism, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. The rally took place during the Saga Dawa festival. Residents say it was the first large public gathering of Tibetans in Lhasa since protests began in March 2008. "It was not a protest but a sangsol", or a special offering to Buddhist deities, one Tibetan man, a resident of Lhasa, told RFA. Another RFA source said six Tibetans had been taken into custody for questioning. The occasion also coincided with Paris conferring honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama at a ceremony in the City Hall, which the Chinese government strongly condemned.

News: Paris honours Dalai Lama

info@tibetinfonet.net (TibetInfoNet) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0200

(France-Tibet; TibetInfoNet) The Dalai Lama was made an honorary citizen of Paris. The act met strong opposition from China which has been particularly sensitive about French positions on Tibet since the torch relay in Paris in April 2008 and a meeting between President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama in December of the same year. "I receive this distinction as a human being to defend human values, peace and non-violence", the Dalai Lama said as he accepted the title from Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe. Delanoe clarified "I have never been in favour of an independent Tibet, I am not a Buddhist. My positions are bound to the values which Paris stands for".