A prominent former Tibetan political prisoner named Lodoe Gyatso was detained late last month for carrying out a lone protest against Chinese government in Lhasa. He has since been handed over to the Sog (Ch: Suo) County Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This is Lodoe Gyatso’s second detention following his release from prison after 21 years in 2013.
A Tibetan monk imprisoned for his direct and plainspoken writings on issues that are considered sensitive by the Chinese authorities was released last Sunday in Tsekhog (Ch: Zeku) County in Malho (Ch: Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.
Gartse Jigme, 42, was released on the evening of 4 February after serving more than five years in prison for allegedly ‘inciting separatism’ through his writings most of which contained his straightforward opinions on wide ranging subjects and issues including the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, self-immolation, rights of Tibetans, environment and minority issues. Gartse Jigme has since returned to his home in Siling (Ch: Xining).
An ailing former Tibetan political prisoner was interrogated for hours and then put under house arrest earlier today by local Chinese authorities in Machu (Ch: Maqu) County in Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.
A Tibetan man succumbed to burn injuries early morning on 24 December after he committed self-immolation to protest repressive policies of the Chinese government in Tibet. Meanwhile Chinese authorities have detained the deceased’s father on unknown charges.
Konpey, 30, carried out the self-immolation protest at around 6 pm on 23 December in Ngaba County town in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo. A 6-second video footage that has become available on social media shows Konpey wrapped in flames and running while a Tibetan woman witnessing the scene is heard crying and supplicating to His Holiness the Dalai Lama: “Your Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, please keep him in your prayers! ” Other onlookers are heard shouting, ‘Kyi Hi Hi ’, a cry of protest, defiance and resistance in the Tibetan tradition. The force of the fire was so strong that it drowned the exact slogans shouted by Konpey.
Chinese authorities released a Tibetan man from prison before the completion of his term to avoid responsibility for his imminent death due to torture injuries. Meanwhile his daughter has been refused school admission because her father had engaged in political activities in the past.
Shonu Palden, 40, was released on 24 July 2013 before the completion of his prison term. He was released early, having served only a little over a year of his two years and nine months sentence, because continued incarceration would have led to his death in prison. Since his early release, he has undergone two massive surgeries in a local hospital to treat various health complications including a serious heart condition he developed in detention. He suffers from blocked arteries, weak eyesight, and breathing and hearing problems.
Today, 10 December, is International Human Rights Day marking the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a set of principles that articulated for the first time the equal and inalienable entitlement of every human being to basic rights and fundamental freedoms and is considered the foundational document of international human rights legal system. The UDHR was drafted by…
Famous Tibetan feminist Jamyang Kyi (penname: Mindruk/Six Stars) who is known for many incisive writings on women and social issues has recently written on social media protesting the confiscation of several books that she had authored. A translated book by her husband Lhamo Kyab (penname: Jhangkar/North Star) was also among those confiscated.
Two posts written by Jamyang Kyi have appeared recently on social media in which the writer, singer and former journalist strongly criticised the manner in which her books and her husband’s book were forcibly taken away by unknown officials from bookstores in Lhasa city and Siling (Ch: Xining) city.
A Tibetan monk who is also a songwriter was released from prison last month after completing a five-year prison term and returned to his hometown in Tridu (Ch: Chenduo) County in Kyegudo (Ch: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham. Lobsang Jinpa, 35, was sentenced on 23 February 2013 along with the famous Tibetan singer Lolo who received…
“On 14 March 2010, some of the students at our school staged a protest carrying hand drawn Tibetan national flags made of cloth. They tried to take down the Chinese national flag hoisted in our school campus. Even the Tibetan teachers at the school took part in the protest. There were four Chinese police officials in civilian clothing. They took…
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has obtained a copy of a Chinese government document that announces the implementation of vague and broadly defined rules on internet censorship in Tibet.
Issued for public notice by the Machu (Ch: Maqu) County Public Security Bureau (PSB) located in Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, the document in Tibetan contains a list of instructions to online chat group administrators and owners of public online accounts on how to conduct self-censorship.
The notice, that took effect on 8 October, contains rules that are local version of two new regulations released on 7 September by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Both the “Management Regulations on Online Public Accounts” and “Management Regulations on Internet Groups” provide that the regulations were passed to “promote the healthy and orderly development of online community” and “uphold the socialist core values.”
To be implemented by the Machu County Internet Police, the notice orders all online chat group administrators and owners of public online accounts to be responsible for “strictly regulating” their group members and the information they post. They are also made responsible for strictly preventing the spread of ‘illegal’ contents on the internet. The notice covers all online groups such as those that provide information including text, picture, audio and video to the public through any registered online platform as well as online chat groups, social media, and instant messaging apps.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is pleased to announce the release of a special report on the eve of the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, opening on 18 October 2017. The report delivers the history and current status of the ‘rights defense’ movement, known in Tibetan as “bsTun rgol khrims gtugs” (Eng: “Defending rights…