Investigations night and day to find offenders
-by Radio Free Asia
Going door-to-door, Chinese authorities are stepping up efforts to enforce a ban on Tibetan children from taking private classes and participating in religious activities during the winter break from school, three sources from inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia.
Authorities are conducting random checks in “residential areas and commercial establishments,” the sources said.
In 2021, authorities in various Tibetan-populated provinces began prohibiting Tibetan children from taking informal Tibetan language classes or workshops during their winter holidays, a move that local Tibetans and parents of affected children said would negatively impact the children’s connection to their native language.
Earlier this month, the Chinese Education Department issued a notice repeating this ban, said the sources who requested anonymity for safety reasons. The notice orders local authorities to intensify their supervision and investigation of supplementary lessons for Tibetan children and to carry out strict disciplinary action against those violating the rule.
Investigations should be carried out in residential areas and commercial establishments at various times of day and night, said the notice to the local authorities.
Local authorities in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, Labrang Monastery in Gansu province and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province have taken measures to ensure the strict enforcement of the orders from the Education Department, sources from each of these regions told RFA.
On Nov. 30, 2023, Lhasa city authorities issued a notice announcing the winter break for all three levels of schools from Dec. 30 until Feb. 27-29, 2024. The notice detailed the kind of education parents could give their children during the break, as well as the work that teachers would need to do during the holiday period. Click here to read more.