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A senior official at a Japan-based organization that represents Tibet’s government-in-exile has told the Sankei Shimbun about the harsh reality of China’s crackdown in Tibet.
Arya Tsewang Gyalpo of the Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan & East Asia also spoke about the tight controls over information in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Moreover, he asked Japan and the United States to help tackle the violation of human rights in Tibet.
Ever since the large-scale demonstrations in Tibet in March 2008 (Tibetan unrest) against the Chinese government’s religious oppression, the Chinese authorities have cracked down through ways such as banning Tibetan language study — with demonstrators continuing to self-immolate in protest.
“It’s a mistake to assume the situation in Tibet is peaceful, simply because there is not much negative information coming out of the region,” said Arya, in reference to the lack of coverage on Tibet compared to that on the Uyghur people.
In the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, police stations have been set up all over the city, and a system has been established whereby citizens monitor each other. The situation is reminiscent of the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.
Notably, when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held summit talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on April 16, the conversation not only focused on Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, but also on Tibet.
“I want Prime Minister [Yoshihide] Suga to work with President [Joe] Biden, and for Japan and the U.S. to tackle the human rights issue in Tibet,” said Arya.
Excerpts from the interview follows.
The Chinese government promised to improve the human rights situation when China hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics. How did it go?
The situation has gotten worse. The Tibet Autonomous Region has become a police state. In Lhasa, police stations have been placed across the city like convenience stores, and the stations monitor the citizens.
Moreover, the authorities have set up surveillance groups to ensure that there are no demonstrations. As a result, people no longer trust each other, which is reminiscent of the situation during the 1960s Cultural Revolution.
The Chinese government’s aim is to stop Tibetan people from coming together in numbers.
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