Annual Report, 2000: Enforcing Loyalty
Chapter 3: Rights of Women and Children
In February 2000 China released a White Paper on Human
Rights. This purported great advances in the field of human
rights and personal freedoms, including the specific areas
of the rights of women, and of children.
1
However, reports emanating from Tibet in the year 2000
depict an entirely different reality - one of increasing
discrimination, violence and abuse.
A report released in June 2000 by the Tibetan Women's
Association (TWA) confirms that, "there is a severe
lack of fundamental human rights that five years after
the establishment of the Beijing Platform for Action,
continues to a horrific degree."
2
In the year 2000, 507 women and 900 children below
the age of 18 have fled Tibet.
Tibetan women are
facing harsher and more strictly enforced birth control
policies that have little regard for their cultural and
survival needs of the family, or their good health and
well-being. Discriminatory and inferior health-care is
exacerbating the medical problems caused by the enforcement
of sterilisation and contraception techniques. Unauthorised
children result in exorbitant fines and a total denial of
any rights for the child.
A disproportionately high number of the Tibetans suffering
lengthy sentences of imprisonment for political or
religious beliefs are nuns. Female political prisoners
face a higher risk of dying during detention or shortly
after their release. Supplementary information was
received this year regarding the severe maltreatment and
consequent deaths in 1998 of the five nuns following the
Drapchi Prison Protests. Medical treatment is consistently
denied, minor injuries and illnesses are viewed as excuses
to avoid work or exercise sessions, and serious conditions
are only finally treated to any degree when the prisoner
is in an extremely serious state.
Tibetan children suffer a lack of access to, and
major discrimination within, a deficient education
system. Prohibitive distances, poor facilities, high
fees and biased instruction are all preventing the
young generation of Tibetans from achieving literacy and
obtaining knowledge. Major discrimination in regards to
higher education and employment also discourages all but
the most determined, the futility of aspirations without
financial backing or high level connections is well
realised by Tibetans.
Religious education is also denied to Tibetan children,
and women, particularly nuns, are facing intense and
insidious repression by the Chinese authorities. Potential
expulsion or imprisonment for even the most minor act of
disagreement with the authorities is a constant reality
within an environment of strict control. 143 nuns have
been expelled from their religious institutions in 2000.
The latest figures indicate that there are presently 87
female political prisoners in Tibet, of which 74 are nuns.
There are 17 juvenile detainees, consisting of three
females and 14 males.
Prostitution is also on the increase and although the
majority of the girls are from Mainland China, there is
still a distinct and apparently growing number of young
Tibetan girls that are ending up out of desperation in the
flourishing sex trade. Poor hygiene and a total lack of
risk prevention education are placing these girls at an
even higher risk with the increasing threat of hepatitis
and HIV/AIDS. Beijing's blind eye approach to prostitution
in Tibet is not only contradictory compared to mainland
policies, but often extends to tactic or outright support.
During the year 2000 the Chinese government made blatantly
contradictory statements regarding the population growth
concepts for the "backward western parts of the country
3
."
Officially admitting various adverse effects in the western
regions due to the rising population growth
4
,
measures of control have been strictly targeted at
repressive birth control policies on Tibetans. These
indicated an increase in the application and enforcement
of illegal birth control policies on ethnic minorities who
had previously been exempt, with a flagrant, proclaimed
disregard for existing laws.
5
In practical terms this meant that Tibetan nomadic and
farming families would now be strictly regulated to
the limit of two children, with financial incentives and
governmental pressures to further limit themselves to one,
and cadres and government employees limited to one child.
This is despite the fact that the official figures clearly
show that the population of the "TAR" is distinctly under
the "TAR" Ninth Five-Year Plan target, that the birth rate
has decreased 0.8 per cent since 1991, and that the net
population growth rate has dropped over 50 per cent from
the previous Five-Year Plan, placing it well under the
rate for the whole of the People's Republic of China (PRC)
6
.
Official justification is based on the implication that
population growth rates are hindering economic development,
and therefore familiesâ financial situations would be
improved through adhering to these policies.
The birth control policies enforced by the Chinese
authorities not only abuse the ratified legal rights
of women, but are threatening the survival of Tibetan
families, particularly in the nomadic and farming regions,
and the lives of Tibetan women themselves. The TWA
confirms that, "reproductive rights violations of Tibetan
women are not subsiding, on the contrary, they seem to be
increasing
7
."
The rigid enforcement of these policies is exacerbated by
the pressure placed on Government officials to meet the
family planning targets.
8
In addition to the limit on the number of children a family
may have, a minimum of two or three years between children
is enforced, and a prohibition on single mothers exists.
When looked at in an overall context for the long term,
these policies are not only undermining the traditional
means of subsistence of rural Tibetans but create a major
factor towards potential racial genocide.
Tibetan families also face further threats to their
survival from the severe financial hardships imposed
not only by the excessive fines levied if the policies
are not adhered to, but by the ongoing costs involved in
conceding to these regulations. Reports received in 2000
present a frightening picture of unrealistic solitary
financial demands and debilitating ongoing costs placed
on Tibetans via these policies. The incentive of high
revenue gains for the Chinese government is creating an
intensely difficult burden for the majority of the Tibetan
population, who already lives on or below the poverty
line.
9
In contrast, the Government has a practice of
Îrewardingâ families restricting themselves to one child.
Additionally, extra children are openly denied basic human
rights such as education, sustenance, and healthcare,
and the parents are potentially subject to the loss of
employment.
10
Khando Kyi,
29, worked for the Family Planning Department.
11
Her responsibilities included introducing and monitoring
birth control policies, and ensuring that the laws on
Marriage, and Mother and Child Care were being implemented.
The department collected annual fines, which not only
included the 2,000-3,000 yuan (US$250-375) for an extra
child, but also around 80 yuan (US$10) if there wasnât a
gap of two to three years between children. Additionally,
in January 2000 it was decided that fines of 200-800 yuan
(US$25-100) would be collected from community funds for any
excess children in villages. One-child families, however,
are provided with a monetary incentive of 12 yuan (US$1.50)
a month until the child reaches the age of 16.
Dolma,
a 25-year-old farmer
12
says that not only is the mother of a third child fined
5,000 yuan (US$625), but single mothers are also fined
1,800 (US$225) yuan.
The county considers third children illegal and denies them
registration which allows them an ID card and full status.
This then precludes access to schooling, and other basic
rights, and is in direct contradiction to the ratified
Principles of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
13
Not only faced with these crippling fines as a disincentive
for exceeding the birth control limits, Tibetan women have
contraceptive procedures routinely enforced upon them which
are placing their lives at serious risk. The Beijing +5
report on the Status of Tibetan Women
14
confirmed these claims and additionally drew attention to
the reluctance of Tibetan women to seek any health care
due to a fear that they will consequently face forced
abortions or sterilisation. The report also indicated
that the maternity mortality rate in Tibet is 3.2 times
higher than that of Mainland China.
15
In direct contravention to the CEDAW Convention, ratified
by China in 1980,
16
and their own central government policy which formally
prohibits the use of force to compel persons to submit to
abortion or sterilisation,
17
evidence shows that Tibetan women are suffering permanent
disabilities and death from involuntary sterilisation and
contraception procedures. Poor healthcare facilities,
inferior quality medications, and unskilled medical
practitioners are the major causes, exacerbated by the
racial discrimination that leads to even lower levels of
care and hygiene in hospitals for Tibetans. This heightens
even further the difficulties for rural families already
suffering from the lack of family members required to
undertake everyday duties, by not only eliminating an
able-bodied member of the community, but in the case
of permanent disability, increasing the workload and
financial strain for the family by creating a totally
dependent member.
During an interview in February 2000 a
25-year-old nomad
18
stated that,
"In Tibet nowadays there are a lot of problems, but the
most difficult thing is the problem of birth control."
He reported that families either have to pay a 3,000 yuan
(US$375) fine for an extra child, the hospital fees for
an abortion, or the costs of contraception. He related
the reality for Tibetan women facing the serious health
risks from the enforced sterilisation policy. A healthy
20-year-old woman from his village underwent compulsory
sterilisation after her second child, and returned
seriously ill, dying soon afterwards. The doctors
claimed that she had "a serious illness". The wife of his
brother also underwent the same operation. She returned
permanently weak and ill, and is unable to eat, her body
rejecting every type of food. Consequently she has been
unable to work since the operation.
Yangchen,
19, from Terda village, Sichuan Province, described
the family planning policies implemented extensively in
her region. Health officers from town and county levels
regularly inspect the villages and women with the maximum
allowed number of children are summoned to the hospital
for sterilisation. Fines for extra children range from
2,000-3,000 yuan (US$250-375), all aid may be cancelled,
and belongings are confiscated in lieu of payment when a
woman is unable to pay. The village leader is required
to register every birth and report them to the county
authorities.
The Intrauterine Device (IUD) is the most commonly utilised
form of contraception. These have to be replaced every
three years, the cheaper versions cost 30 yuan (US$3.75),
while the more affluent women can afford the better quality
200 yuan (US$25) versions. However, one woman from her
village has died and two others suffer ongoing physical
problems related to these devices.
Upon her arrival in Dharamsala during 2000, 19-year-old
Tamden Tsering
related how in her village in Haiyan County,
Tsojang "TAP", Qinghai Province, all the women with two
children were forcibly sterilised. However, three of
the women died following the procedure, and a month-old
baby of one of these women also died a few weeks later.
No compensation was provided to the families. Tamden
Tsering stated that, "All the women in my village are very
scared of this procedure, but they cannot escape it."
19
Evidence is also revealing that not only is the right to
chose the method of contraception perpetually denied,
but that there is widespread inconsistency throughout
the various regions as to the availability of these
contraceptive methods. Enforced sterilisation, IUD
insertion, slow-acting forearm implants or oral tablet
contraception are being utilised in apparently random
combinations by different local authorities. At best
these presents only a token effort at offering a genuine
freedom of choice within the birth control policies; more
often there is direct enforcement of regulations with no
options offered. Consequently, not only are women faced
with extreme restrictions that affect their daily lives
and compromise their religious beliefs, but they have
little or no choice in the method undertaken to achieve
their compliance.
20
There are even accounts of some instances where women do
not know following surgery whether they have been fitted
with an IUD device or undergone sterilisation.
Druklha,
a 23-year-old nomad,
21
related how family planning was introduced to her village
in 1980 restricting families to two children. Since then,
a fine of 5,000 yuan (US$625) is levied for a third child,
and surgical sterilisation is compulsory for women after
the second child. She stated that there is no choice in
contraceptive methods, which means that the women have
no right of refusal to what has repeatedly been proven
as a high risk surgical operation for Tibetan women.
In Druklha's village there are about 80 families, out of
which 70 to 80 women have undergone compulsory surgical
sterilisation.
There is ongoing evidence that the use of political
pressure to enforce sterilisation continues. Women who
are reluctant to undergo surgical sterilisation after the
birth of their two children are given no option, as they
will be labelled political reactionaries if they oppose
official policies and suffer the serious repercussions
that this entails. Consequently, many women are forced
to undergo sterilisation in order to Îrespect the rules
of the Stateâ. One report indicates that those who speak
out against birth control are criticised for "defying the
Chinese government" and in one township women who had not
undergone sterilisation were accused at a family planning
meeting of being "guilty of opposing socialism".
22
A disturbing aspect that has been revealed by testimonies
taken during 2000 is the additional repression and control
that some regional authorities are exerting via the birth
control policies. Twenty two-year-old
Dhondup
from Qinghai Province, revealed that - in addition to an extremely
severe birth control policy introduced there in 1994, with
a fine of 1,500 yuan (US$187.50) being paid annually for
seven years for an extra child - the women there face
a terrifying yearly ordeal. Tibetan women are subject
to an annual lottery for sterilisation, regardless of
their age or marital status. The girl or woman who is
randomly selected cannot refuse, and, for being such a
"good example", she is "rewarded" with a cash payment
and an official position in the local administration.
Chinese women are blatantly not included in this lottery.
Tenzin,
a 21-year-old former monk
23
,
reported that in Labrang County, Gannan "TAP", Gansu
Province, every married woman is issued with a yellow
certificate and has to attend every one of the regular
birth control meetings. The certificate must be on
prominent display inside their house, easily visible to the
regularly inspecting officials. These visits involve the
presentation of both the children and the certificate.
This certificate also stipulates that women with two
children must undergo sterilisation at the town or county
hospital.
Additional factors faced by Tibetan women, as an ICLT report
24
testified, is the denial of pre- and post-natal care, due
to an inability to pay or closed facilities, and that any
care received was frequently described as ineffective. "One
child told the interviewers that his mother went to the
hospital on the night that she went into labour and was
told that it was closed. She gave birth on the floor and
the baby died."
Previous estimates for the number of brothels in Lhasa
alone have been placed as high as 1,000 and this is a
conservative figure.
25
This is despite the Chinese Law prohibiting prostitution
26
,
and Beijing's claims that it has been "stamped out".
27
There are two main types of brothel recognised; those that
solely and specifically operate as a brothel, and the many
bars, clubs, night-clubs and karaoke bars that act as known
operating areas for the girls. Many of these places have
back rooms available for the prostitutes and their clients,
making it unnecessary for them to leave the premises.
Another danger emerging within Tibet is the increasing risk
of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. Research indicates that up to
80% of prostitutes in some areas of China has hepatitis.
28
Although this fact is denied by the Chinese authorities,
HIV/AIDS is recognisably on the increase in China and
will inevitably become a major health problem in Tibet.
Unfortunately there is little information available
regarding the actual current situation, but reports
indicate that preventative measures and education regarding
these diseases are virtually non-existent.
29
Even basic risk-reducing measures are not utilised, or are
inconsistently employed. One recent report from Lhasa
indicated that although some prostitutes used condoms
when with Chinese clients, who brought their own, they
were disliked and therefore not used by most Tibetan men.
30
The increase in prostitution, especially with the high
inflow of Chinese mainland prostitutes, poses an obvious
threat of spreading HIV/AIDS, and the authorities' ongoing
condonement of this illegal practice is doing nothing to
prevent it. "Although the central government and various
provincial and local governments have attempted to crack
down on the sex trade, there have been numerous credible
reports in the media of complicity in prostitution by
local officials. Thus far, actions to crack down on
this lucrative business, which involves organised crime
groups and business persons as well as the police and the
military, largely have been ineffective.
31
Lhasa, however, is not the only area subject to the
introduction and growth of prostitution in Tibet.
There have been widespread reports received of increases
in the sex trade in various towns throughout Tibet, and
consistently these are accompanied by the allegations of
official and police complicity, or even outright support."
Rinchen Paldon,
a 20-year-old school teacher
32
reported in October 2000 that prostitution had been
unofficially condoned in Pashoe township. She states that
initially discretion was observed, with trade undertaken
in bars and karaoke establishments, but in 1997 shelters
were built for the dozens of prostitutes that had come
in from China, allowing them to carry out their business
quite openly.
According to one newspaper report,
33
Dram, a small Tibetan village just over the border from
Nepal, north of Kathmandu, has become a popular and regular
haunt for Nepalese, who are attracted to the flourishing
prostitute trade there. Nepalese businessmen, travellers
and truckers constitute the bulk of the clients at the 12
or so bars that have offered "various forms of sex" since
the mid-90s. The report claims that, "these bars are
distinguished by the twinkling lights on the signboards
outside", and the girls are all of Chinese ethnicity.
Prices range from NC Rs.1,000-2,000 (US$110-220), and
the owners of the bars are reported to pay tax to the
government, although this claim has not been officially
confirmed.
On 1 July 2000 Beijing launched a "Strike Hard" campaign
aimed at drugs, illegal gambling and prostitution.
According to a newspaper report
35
in December 2000 there has been some reduction of
prostitution in China, but even that has been recognised
by the local police as a temporary measure of limited
effectiveness. However, there is no indication that
this campaign has been implemented within Tibet at any
level, thereby reinforcing the evidence for governmental
complicity in prostitution within the Tibetan regions. A
testimony by a 20-year-old Tibetan girl who worked for
a year in a bar-cum-brothel in Lhasa described how when
the PSB came to inspect the establishment, a bell was
rung at the front desk and all the prostitutes upstairs
would leave. These visits were rare however. The young
girl also claimed that her Chinese friends told her that,
"in Tibet it's allowed to do this but· in China it isn't
allowed. The authorities would close down such places in
two or three days."
36
Thupten, a former resident of Kham who arrived in India in
November 2000, spent 10 days in Lhasa during his flight
from Tibet. He discovered that many poor people from
Eastern Tibet are coming to Lhasa in pilgrimage or in
hopes of employment, and these include many young boys
and girls. He described how the beautiful young girls
are being preyed upon by both Tibetan and Chinese bar and
restaurant owners, who are particularly on the lookout for
these people. They identify them when they arrive and then
offer them work at the bar or restaurant. After a period
of normal work, they are then pressured by the employer
into becoming a prostitute at the establishment. Thupten
said that most of these girls are "young and pitiable".
This scenario was recently confirmed by a western tourist
in some notes relating to an interview held with a young
prostitute in Lhasa.
37
The 17-year-old girl ran away from home in Shigatse to
work in Lhasa, and was offered prostitution work outright.
Her employers are Tibetans and the bar is rented from the
government. Her living area is the same as her working
area, and is described as in poor condition and hygiene,
with a lack of any real privacy. The young girl sits at
the bar, drinking and smoking, and looks to be in poor
health, with dry, discoloured hair and dirty, yellow-tinged
skin. The notes also observe that there seems to be an
excess of prostitutes in Lhasa for the available clientele,
with many girls sitting idle for extended periods of time.
China's claim that "Ethnic minority peoples also enjoy
freedom of religious belief, supported by specific state
policies"
38
has been repeatedly refuted by evidence arriving
from Tibet. China supports the International Covenant
protecting the right to religion
39
,
but continuously contravenes this agreement with flagrant
open oppression of monks, nuns, and juvenile members of
the clergy,
40
and of arbitrary detentions and brutal torture of a
dispropotionately high number of nuns.
Nuns and children under the age of 18 are denied their
right to practice religion. An official order forced
government workers to withdraw their children from
religious institutions.
41
These orders were further reinforced with instructions
in an article in Tibet Daily, issued by Lhasa
Municipality Education and Athletic Department Disciplinary
Committee, for parents that, "Young children should be
educated in atheism in order to help rid them of the bad
influence of religion".
The most prominent recent example, which portrays the
current state of religious repression, is the sudden
flight of the 14-year-old
17th Karmapa.
Forced to
abandon his traditional seat at the Tsurphu Monastery, he
travelled to exile in Dharamsala. Denied free access to
his religion and a balanced and unbiased education within
it, he reluctantly decided that his only choice was to
flee to a country that offered him these opportunities,
despite the repercussions he knew would follow.
However, despite their displayed reluctance to apply
ratified, legalised human rights laws and regulations
within their own country or in Tibet, the Chinese
authorities are far from slow in utilising recognised
laws in an international forum to attempt to achieve their
own requirements.
Ngodup Palzom,
the elder sister of the Karmapa,
who fled Tibet with him in January, described the
threats by the Chinese authorities, conveyed to her via a
maternal uncle. "The Chinese have threatened to retaliate
against our parents, relatives and followers unless we
return to Tibet. In case we do not return on our own,
China will pressurise our parents to make an appeal to
the international community to get their son back as he
is a minor and was influenced by certain elements to flee
Tibet." Her uncle also stated that Chinese authorities
claimed "India would have to concede to returning the
Karmapa if they increase the pressure due to international
laws regarding minors."
41A
Tibetan nuns are subjected to various forms of harassment
and denials of the freedom to practise their religion,
despite the Chinese government's statement that, "The
state protects the freedom of religious belief and the
normal religious activities of citizens."
42
"Work teams" in the nunneries are regular occurrences,
not only disrupting the daily study routine, but also
attempting to force the women to deny their basic and
fundamental beliefs within their religion. Any hint of
rebellion results in major consequences, often leading
up to expulsion from their institution combined with
prohibition in partaking of any religious ceremony at all.
They regularly also end up under constant surveillance
by the authorities and suffer a total loss of freedom of
movement.
Tsetan Lhamo
is a 17-year-old nun from Nyemo County, Lhasa Municipality,
who arrived in India in May 2000. When she first joined
her nunnery there were 10 nuns, now there are seven.
In 1998, about 23 nuns from three separate nunneries
were summoned to the township by local officials for
"patriotic re-education" meetings. For four months,
the 10 officials conducted frequent morning and afternoon
sessions, where the nuns faced individual examinations. Two
nuns were expelled during this round of sessions, charged
with "avoiding re-education sessions and showing a bad
expression to the officials." They are prohibited from
joining any other nunnery.
In July 1999, county and township authorities conducted
"re-education evaluation" sessions in the nunneries.
Officials spent three days re-examining each nun
individually then summoned all the nuns to the township
for a further eight days of "re-education" and evaluation,
this time in the presence of PSB officers.
Concurrently, village authorities registered all the
possessions of the nunnery. During this procedure,
two more nuns were expelled, for "disobeying orders and
showing a bad expression". Both nuns are now prevented
from partaking in any religious activities or joining
a nunnery. They are under constant political scrutiny,
having to report twice a month to the township PSB for
the next three years. Officials repeatedly instruct the
nuns to find work in a hotel or business, but both wish
only to escape so that they can continue their religious
studies in India.
When ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
China agreed to treat detained minors with humanity and
respect, and with consideration for the child's best
interests.
43
Once again, evidence is proving the notorious disregard
by the Chinese authorities for fundamental human rights
across all sectors of Tibetans. According to a preliminary
report released by the ICLT in June 2000, "·children even
as young as six years old may be detained for political
offences, held in harsh conditions without charge or
access to family, and suffer beatings, electric shocks,
and psychological forms of torture."
44
The report also states that they often shared cells with
adults, and some were even forced to watch guards torture
other prisoners.
There were also claims that in incidences of juvenile
arrests, police often would not inform the family. Prison
officials also would routinely not tell the children how
long they would be detained. None of the children had
been granted access to a lawyer at any stage, and only
two out of the 19 children interviewed for the report
attended brief court hearings. The report also states
that police abuse children outside of the prison system,
therefore these incidents do not show up in reports of
political imprisonment.
In early April 2000, groups of students were returning
home from schools in India to spend their holidays with
relatives in Tibet. The Chinese authorities arrested
some of the students at the border town of Dram, and
others in Lhasa. The Dram group was initially taken to
the Nyari Prison in Shigatse, from where some of them
were transferred to Lhasa. They were all arrested on
suspicion of being involved in political activities,
and there have even been some charges of indulging in
"dissident activities".
The Chinese Constitution proclaims that it "... protects
the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese nationals
residing abroad and protects the lawful rights and
interests of returned overseas Chinese ..."
45
,
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that
"Everyone has the right to leave any country, including
his own, and to return to his country."
46
That Chinese persecution and discrimination prevented the
students from receiving an education in their own country
and so initially enforced them to exercise their right
to leave, is a fact the authorities conveniently chose
to refuse to recognise. However, in addition to ignoring
these accepted rights, the authorities also designed the
circumvention of their implementation by the claims that
any citizen associated with schools administered by the
Tibetan Government in Exile is politically in collusion
with the "splittist Dalai Clique". This then conveniently
places that person in the "endangering state security"
category, and therefore subject to prosecution.
Ngawang Sangdrol,
currently serving the longest prison
sentence for a female political prisoner, was originally
arrested as a juvenile.
47
Ngawang Sangdrol's valiant, non-violent battle for freedom
and independence was recently recognised by the European
Parliament, when she was nominated in October this
year as one of four final candidates for the Sakharov
Prize for Freedom of Thought. The Sakharov Prize has
been awarded every year since 1988 to an individual or
organisation that has made a significant contribution to
promoting human rights. China's reaction was standard
rhetoric. Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhu Bangzao warned
the European Parliament that, "We are strongly opposed
to the European Parliament using this Sakharov Prize to
interfere in China's internal affairs."
48
At 11 years old,
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima,
is currently the world's youngest political prisoner.
Three days prior
to the disappearance of the then six-year-old boy and
his parents on 17 May 1995, the Dalai Lama recognised
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the XI Panchen Lama of Tibet.
Following many conflicting reports on their whereabouts,
the Chinese government finally admitted in May 1996
that they were holding the young boy and his parents.
In November 1999 China made a statement acknowledging that
he was still under their "protection", but continues to
deny any outside access to the child and his parents to
authenticate their claims of good health and well-being,
despite ongoing pressure from international governments
and non-governmental organisations.
Jampa Tsering,
a 28-year-old nomad, is from Lhari County,
Nagchu Prefecture, birthplace of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
He reported that in March 1999 the Panchen Lama's parents
returned briefly to visit their own parentsâ house, leaving
again the same day. People were prevented from meeting
them during this time and the locals have no knowledge of
the family's whereabouts. Authorities permit no questions
to be raised about the Panchen Lama or his family.
In October 2000, during a round of human rights dialogues
with China in London, British officials raised the issue
of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. In a written report to the
British Parliament, Foreign Office Minister John Battle
stated that, "We pressed the Chinese to allow access to
the boy by an independent figure acceptable to the Chinese
government and Tibetans to verify his health and living
conditions. The Chinese stated that the boy was well
and attending school. They said that his parents did not
want international figures and the media intruding into
his life. Two photographs claimed to be of the Panchen
Lama were shown to us but not handed over." Chinese
officials displayed two photos from the opposite side of
the conference table to the British team - one of a boy
writing in Chinese on a blackboard and the other of a boy
playing table tennis. There was no means to positively
identify the child, the photos merely showed a boy of
approximately the correct age. There was also no means
to determine his location.
"The right to receive education in New China is guaranteed
and realised,"
49
reads the high claims from a government attempting to prove
to the international community that it is fulfilling the
demands made by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
50
Yet again, however, evidence coming out of the Chinese
controlled Tibetan regions is consistently revealing
the reality behind Beijing's claims, and presenting a
completely different ground reality than the niceties
expounded by the Chinese authorities.
Recent claims that, "By the end of 1999, 83.4% of the
schooling children in Tibet entered school for education,"
51
have to be viewed with scepticism regarding both the actual
figure purported and the quality of schooling that those
in the education system receive. One report on Tibetan
children indicates that the illiteracy rate in Tibet may
still be as high as 70 per cent.
52
Additionally and even more condemningly, a claim by the
authorities that 80 per cent of students sent outside of
the "TAR" for study were Tibetans compared to 20 per cent
Chinese, was recently disproved by their own census that
showed figures of 504 Tibetan students compared to 515
Chinese.
53
The closure of the internationally sponsored Gyatso
School for Orphans in Chamdo Prefecture in October 1999
has not only interrupted those children's education, but
resulted in many of them living on the streets. The forced
withdrawal of students from Indian schools administered
by the Tibetan exile government compelled students, many
in their final yearsâ of study, to abandon their education
and reluctantly return to a restricted and limited future.
This order depicted yet another clear contradiction in
implementation of policies, as the students voluntarily
returning from the same umbrella of schools were detained
upon return for their association with the "splittist"
exile government.
Reports flowing out of Tibet also indicate that racial
discrimination is still rampant within the education
system
54
,
and that there is a low rate of attendance of Tibetan
students in the schooling system is undeniable, especially
in rural areas where the majority of the Tibetan population
lives.
Thupten Gelek,
a 22-year-old nomad
55
along with his siblings, received no schooling in Tibet,
as the nearest school was 50 kilometers away with no
connecting road. In the 25 villages under the township's
jurisdiction there is as estimated population of 5,000.
He related how in 1997 schools were set up to cater for
groups of six villages, but poor facilities and funding
contributed to the average attendance record being only 30
days per year. In addition, the teachers had to juggle
teaching duties around their everyday nomad or farming
duties that provided their livelihood.
56
The most common reasons for a lack of education within
the testimonies received during the year 2000 from recent
arrivals were the lack of realistic schooling facilities,
the often extremely discriminatory and exorbitant fees
demanded, and an overriding concept of futility due to the
lack of employment or further education opportunities upon
the completion of study.
Even the Chairman of the "TAR" Government,
Gyaltsen Norbu,
acknowledged that
"... one third of children in the "TAP"
cannot afford to go to school."
57
This directly contravenes the Convention on the Rights of
the Child that demands free education for all children.
58
A 25-year-old student
59
stated that, "There are a lot of difficulties that the
outside world should be aware of·.School fees are very
high, so you canât get an education." He reported school
fees as high as 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) annually, and that
though there are private teachers available, few can afford
any schooling at all. "A few people, if their families
are rich, can go to school. Even if they finish school
it is useless, they canât get a job."
According to a nomad
60
the Chinese school in his county is in much better
condition than the Tibetan middle school, and receives
financial help. The Chinese students are provided with
uniforms and books whereas the Tibetan school students
must purchase theirs. The fees for the middle school were
previously 300-400 yuan (US$37.50-50) per semester but this
has now increased to 1,200 yuan (US$150) per semester.
The nomad also claims that there is high illiteracy in
his county and that literacy programmes are sporadic and
primitive. A few years ago books were given to students
who had to return home and teach reading and writing to
those in their family who were illiterate. They were
instructed to get all those whom they taught to write in
the book and then present it to their teacher back at the
school.
Although there are still some Tibetan-language schools
available, it is well recognised that for any slight
chance of further education or employment, knowledge of
Chinese is essential. This leads to Tibetan children
attending classes taught in Chinese, without a thorough
grounding in the language. Rather than understanding
this dilemma, their Chinese teachers and classmates,
thoroughly indoctrinated with the standpoint that Tibetans
are an ignorant and backward race, regard their inability
to understand- and their consequently poor grades - as
proof of this perception. This is valid justification
to them to treat them as inferior, and this is expressed
in the form of insults, discrimination and even violence,
from all sections of the Chinese education system- staff
and students alike. This is despite China's Constitution
prohibiting the abuse of personal dignity.
61
The mistreatment of Tibetan students in schools is another,
widespread abuse of civil right of freedom from cruel or
degrading treatment or punishment
62
.
Reported maltreatment range from insults and social
injustices, to unusually violent and dangerous forms of
corporal punishment. In the recent report by the ICLT,
63
descriptions of punishments to Tibetan children in
schools included the suffering and witnessing of beatings
with prickly plants used as a whip, and injuries with
objects such as thrown glass, wire whips or bamboo.
Other punishments included kneeling in cold water for
half a day, standing outside in the sun for hours, slaps,
disrobing, public verbal humiliation, such as being called
"mei," a derogatory term meaning the child does
not exist, being pin-pricked and then having the pricked
skin burnt with incense, kneeling on broken glass with
pant legs pulled up, running around on one's knees, and
balancing an iron chair with an outstretched arm and being
hit on the knees if the chair falls.
Facilities for Chinese students are also often reported
to be far superior to those supplied for the Tibetans,
and there are many schools unavailable to the majority
of Tibetans. Chega is a 32-year-old nomad from the
Sichuan Province, who arrived in India in July 2000.
He describes how in his county there are schools that
are especially designated for children of government
officials and Chinese immigrants that are superior in
every respect to the village schools. Nomadic children
rarely get an opportunity to attend these schools as
they donât achieve the required grades. There are 300
families in his village, out of which only a couple of
people are literate. Chega claims that even the village
leaders are mostly illiterate. There is no school in his
village, and although there is a school in the township,
he states that, "These schools are just for name's sake."
The school is too expensive for nomads to afford, and
the education imparted to the students is inadequate and
Chinese-orientated.
Despite the provisions under the Chinese law that all
ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their
own spoken and written languages,
64
school curricula are distinctly biased towards Chinese
topics and contents. In 1987 the "TAR" People's Congress
passed legislation calling for Tibetan to be used as the
sole instruction at primary level and stipulating that
Chinese language should only be introduced from age nine.
The legislation promised to set up Tibetan language junior
secondary schools in the "TAR" by 1993 and to make most
university courses available in Tibetan shortly after
2000. "TAR" Deputy Secretary Tenzin commented, "There
is conclusive evidence that nothing can substitute the
effect of using Tibetan [language] to raise the educational
quality and to improve the nationality's cultural level."
However, according to a recent report,
65
a number of retrograde steps were taken in 1996 in line
with recommendations of the 1994 Third Work Forum in Tibet.
The budget for Tibetan academic and literary publications
was drastically cut. Pilot projects for extending
Tibetan [language] education to secondary schools·met
a similar fate. Around the same time, Tibetan language
courses at Tibet University, Lhasa, were discontinued.
The situation deteriorated further in 1997 when the "TAR"
Deputy Party Secretary Tenzin disclosed a decision to
make Chinese mandatory for Tibetan students right from
primary school. Tenzin said that the 1987 policy was
"impracticable" and "not in conformity with the reality of
Tibet" and that "the decision to allow grade one to three
boys and girls to be taught only in the Tibetan language
will do no good to the children's growth." "TAR" Deputy
Party Secretary Raidi stated that an ethnic nationality
which studies and uses only its own spoken and written
language definitely is an insular ethnic nationality which
will have no future or hope.
66
Within a decade the 1987 legislation had been revoked. At
a meeting of China's National People's Congress in March
2000, Zhou Yongkang, Communist Party Secretary for Sichuan
Province, announced that the teaching of Tibetan in schools
was "a drain on government resources".
Lessons are even utilised unabashedly for propaganda
purposes, and Tibetan culture, history, and religion are
all strictly forbidden subjects, denying Tibetans any
opportunity to further their knowledge of their own land
or people.
67
The Chinese authorities blatantly proclaimed this when
Chen Kuiyuan, Party Secretary of the "TAR", stated that,
"The success of our education does not lie in the number of
diplomas issued to graduates from universities, colleges·
and secondary schools. It lies, in the final analysis,
in whether our graduating students are opposed to or turn
their hearts to the Dalai Clique and in whether they are
loyal to or do not care about our great Motherland and
the great socialist cause."
68
The fact that rights of Tibetan women and children
are still being grossly violated is undeniable.
International scrutiny is doing little or nothing to
prevent forced abortions and sterilisation on women, or
substandard and highly discriminatory schooling system
for Tibetan children. This attack on the existence of
Tibetan children and on their right to learn their own
language, culture, and history, are indicative of Beijing's
oppressive policies.
Religion, far from being a protected and nurtured area of
Tibetan culture, has become a focus for the implementation
of alarmingly severe repression and direct brutality.
The refusal to allow children to study in religious
institutions, and the removal of their teachers, affects
both the religious and educational aspects of a child's
life. Nuns constantly face repression and potential
imprisonment, as following the religious path - even when
permitted by the authorities - is almost considered as a
borderline act of "endangering state security".
With the majority of Tibetans living in rural areas
and documented as living below the global poverty line,
the widespread abuses and restrictions imposed on their
everyday existence is negatively effecting their quality of
life and even their ability to sustain life. Many women do
not have access to hospitals for childbirth, and there is a
lack of pre- and post-natal care and education. Debatable
quality, discriminatory health care, often at life-risking
distances away, is too often at an unattainable cost,
resulting in the avoidable deaths of women and children.
Young girls, escaping the impossible poverty of home
life, are fleeing to the cities to end up in desperate
situations, and resort to abandoning their dignity
and risking their health to survive by prostitution.
Parents are forced to send their children on expensive
and life risking journeys over the Himalayas to receive
an education and the opportunities of a life in freedom.
It is an undeniable fact that Tibetan women and children
suffer gender and age specific abuses of human rights from
the Chinese government, often in a systematic process
designed with long term physical, mental and cultural
degenerative effects. National laws and international
declarations have proven to be totally ineffectual in
preventing the loss and violation of these rights for the
women and children of Tibet.
[ Next:
Chapter 5: Subsistence Rights --> ]
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[ Notes ]
[ Recommendations ]
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