Tibet: Tightening of Control [TCHRD - Publications

Annual Report, 1999 – Tibet: Tightening of Control

Executive Summary
Curtailment of Freedom of Expression
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience
Torture in Prisons and Detention Centres
Religious Persecution
Women and Forced Birth Control
Rights of the Child
Population Transfer
Violation of Subsistence Rights
Enforced Disappearance
Racial Discrimination

1999 marked the official celebration of fifty years of the founding of the People's Republic of China as well as forty years of the "liberation" of Tibet. The symbolic importance of both these events was characterised by various attempts by the Chinese government to display its authority and legitimacy.

Within China and in Tibet there was a tightening of the state's control over every sphere to consolidate its power. Therefore any attempt at questioning the legitimacy of the state was ruthlessly crushed. And yet as the state tightened it's iron grip over its citizens and subjects there were also various protests undermining the state authority, ranging from the protests within China by members of the Falung Gong sect, and the continuing resistance in Tibet and the international community over China's illegitimate occupation of Tibet and the abuse of Tibetan human rights for the past 49 years.

Preparations for the twin anniversary celebrations took the form of an increase in surveillance and repressive measures. The anniversaries were thus a celebration of state control rather than an expression of people’s exercise of their freedom. The harsh suppression of a peaceful demonstration in Kandze in October resulted in the arrest of at least 80 Tibetans. This is an illustration of the extent of freedom of speech and expression granted to Tibetan people. Information received this year about the May 1998 Drapchi protests is equally disturbing. Eight prisoners have had their sentences extended for up to four years. Ten Tibetans are confirmed dead as a result of gun fire and torture following the protests.

The Chinese government claims that there has been "earth-shaking" progress in social development and in the human rights situation in the last four decades under the communist rule. However the Chinese authorities refuse to acknowledge the fact that thousands of Tibetans continue to flee Tibet every year to escape from China's oppressive policies. This year 2,474 Tibetans fled Tibet including 1,115 children below the age of 18.

China continues to violate the human rights of the Tibetan people. Fundamental aspects of Tibetan society, including language and religion are viewed with suspicion by the government and are officially discouraged. The exercise of their right to speech results in their arbitrary arrests and detention. The disparities between the standard of living of Tibetans and the Chinese settlers are glaring. China's population transfer policy is greatly threatening Tibetan identity and access to resources.

Ever since the peaceful demonstrations in Lhasa in the late 1980's, the Chinese government increased its dominance of Tibet. The "Strike Hard" campaign, initiated in 1996 is resulting in widespread violations in Tibet. Over 11,000 monks and nuns have been expelled from their monasteries, as "work team"" imposed restrictive measure on religious activities. In 1999, this campaign was extended to lay communities as well. More than 2,000 Tibetans escape over the Himalayas every year to avoid these repressive and discriminatory measures.

International governments, lured by China's economic prospects, continue to capitulate to the Beijing government. The European Union decided not to co-sponsor a U.S. human rights resolution during the 55 UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, assuring its defeat. During state visits by Jiang Zemin to England and France, extraordinary efforts were made to prevent the Chinese leader from encountering peaceful protesters. These visits ended as victories of commerce and large contracts for British and French corporations, but defeat of human rights.

The World Bank sponsored Western China Poverty Reduction Plan marks the involvement, for the first time of an international organization in a project entailing massive population transfers into Tibet. Two foreign researchers and one Tibetan were arrested in 1999 for attempting to research this project.

The positive developments in international politics in 1999 included the increasing recognition of self-determination movements. The intervention of the international community in Kosovo and East Timor along with the worldwide condemnation of Russia's aggression in Chechnya is an encouraging sign for Tibet. There is an urgent need for increased pressure from foreign governments if Tibetans hope to gain their fundamental freedoms and human rights.

Freedom of Expression

The existence of a right to freedom of speech and expression is rendered redundant by the harsh crackdown on people exercising this right. The expression of any view that contradict Chinese government policies are deemed anti national and the consequences include arrests and detention. In 1999, 115 Tibetans were arrested for peacefully expressing their beliefs.

The "Strike Hard" campaign launched in 1996 aimed at eliminating allegiance to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Panchen Lama and Tibetan nationalism. Initially limited to the monastic institutions, the campaign was broadened in 1999 to include all of Tibetan society. In January of 1999, China launched an "atheism" campaign thereby infringing on the right of Tibetans to freely practice their religion.

In Kandze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture", Sichuan Province, the People's Armed Police opened fire at over 3,000 Tibetans who were holding a peaceful demonstration. As a result, 80 Tibetans were arrested, and an unknown number were injured.

[Full Report]

Arbitrary Arrests and Detention

All forms of expression contrary to the policies of the Chinese Communist Party are grounds for detention in Tibet. In 1999, 130 Tibetans were arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Chinese government. The arbitrary nature of these arrests are reflected both by the reason for the arrests as well as the disregard of procedural safeguards. Once detained, their rights in the areas of pre-trial detention, fair trial guidelines and appellate procedure are violated.

In 1997, China revised their Criminal Procedure Law. These changes fall short of international standards and have not had any impact on the legal protections afforded to Tibetans accused of "endangering national security."

[Full Report]

Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience

There are currently 615 known political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Tibet. Of these, 156 are women, and 62 are serving sentences of ten years or more. 79 per cent of the known political prisoners are monks or nuns. The Chinese authorities monitor information about Tibet very strictly and it is possible that these numbers are higher.

The Chinese government continues to detain ten year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the XI Panchen Lama of Tibet, along with his family. His current condition and whereabouts are unknown. The Chinese authorities have consistently refused requests by concerned government and organisations seeking access to the child, including one by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. He is the youngest prisoner of conscience in the world.

Reports received in 1999, indicate that the prisoners involved in the May 1998 Drapchi Prison protests were beaten severely, placed into solitary confinement, and have had their sentences extended for up to four years. At least ten Tibetans were killed in the days and weeks following the protests. Eight political prisoners including Ngawang Sangdrol, the longest serving female political prisoner (currently serving a total of 21 years) in Tibet, have had their sentences extended.

Prominent political prisoners like Tanak Jigme Sangpo, Ngawang Choephel, Phuntsok Nyidron, Ngawang Phulchung, Jamphel Jangchub, Lobsang Tenzin, Phuntso Wangdu, Gyaltsen Dolkar and Jigme Gyatso are still imprisoned.

[Full Report]

Torture in Detention Centers and Prisons

The prevalence of torture as a means of crushing the resistance of individuals is alarming. There have been reports of the use of torture in almost every institution of the state, starting from incarceration, during initial detention, in transit to detention facilities, during interrogation, and in prisons and detention centers.

The widespread use of torture by agents of the state reduce the Chinese national laws prohibiting torture into hypocritical etchings on paper, with no corresponding realities.

The various methods of torture include: beatings, electric shocks, attacks by dogs, painful shackling, forced labour and exercise, prolonged periods of solitary confinement, deprivation of food and sleep, and denial of adequate medical care.

The Chinese government is a State Party to the Convention Against Torture. Since signing the convention in 1986, 69 Tibetans have died as a direct result of torture by officials of the Chinese government. Six Tibetans died due to torture in 1999. An additional four Tibetans died from torture in previous years, but information on these cases reached TCHRD in 1999.

[Full Report]

Religious Persecution

Since the expression of Tibetan nationalism is intrinsically linked to its religious practices, the Chinese government looks at religious persecution as one of the means to crush Tibetan nationalism.

In January 1999, a three-year "atheism" campaign alleging that Buddhism is "alien" to Tibet was launched. Allegiance to Tibet's religious leaders the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are banned, and the Chinese government attempts to control all aspects of religious activity. These policies are reminiscent of the policies imposed during the cultural revolution.

In 1999, 1,432 monks and nuns were expelled from their monasteries and nunneries, including 49 Tibetans arrested for resisting "re-education"" Since the beginning of the "Strike Hard" campaign in April of 1996, TCHRD has recorded 11,409 expulsions, and 541 arrests of monks and nuns. 244 monks and nuns below the age of 18 have been expelled from their religious institutions. According to Chinese statistics, the number of expulsions represents one third of all monks and nuns in Tibet.

Since 1996, 261 monasteries and nunneries have been subject to the "re-education" programme. The other bodies that infringe religious freedom include the Democratic Management Committees and local Religious Affairs Bureaus. These bodies have the authority to supervise the activities of the monasteries. Under the pretext of supervision there are a number of restrictions placed on the age of the monks and nuns, in an attempt to reduce the monastic population.

[Full Report]

Women and Forced Birth Control

Despite the existence within national and international laws of protections afforded to the rights of Tibetan women, the Chinese government continues to violate these rights. Disregarding legislation guaranteeing concessions for minority groups, coercive family planning measures continue unabated in Tibet. Tibetan women are subjected to forced abortions, contraception and sterilisations by the Chinese authorities. "Unauthorised" pregnancies have resulted in fines, intimidation and denial of privileges, including the right to education and employment for children. There are confirmed cases in 1999 of pregnant Tibetan women dying from forced sterilisation. The Chinese government’s birth control policies results in the reduction of the Tibetan population.

[Full Report]

Rights of the Child

In contravention of its treaty obligations, the Chinese government consistently violates the rights of Tibetan children. As a consequence of transfer of Chinese into Tibet, Tibetan language and customs are becoming redundant. Thus Tibetan children are being deprived of their cultural rights and the long term effect of this is the dilution of the distinctive character of Tibetan identity. The long term effects of a denial of the rights of children is also to ensure that the Chinese authorities cultivate a more "disciplined" and assimilated set of citizens for the future ensuring that the Tibetan resistance will not have a future.

The choice left to Tibetan parents is either to assimilate their children into the new Chinese society, or send them to India for a Tibetan education. Parents are increasingly compelled to send their children on the perilous journey into exile. In 1999, 1,115 children below the age of 18 arrived in India for education in Tibetan schools.

Tibetan children are denied their right to freedom of expression. There are currently 2 political prisoners below the age of 18 in prisons in Tibet and 21 others who were imprisoned as children but are now adults. Tibetan children are also denied their guaranteed right to freedom of religion. In 1999, 244 monks and nuns were expelled from their religious institutions as age restrictions were implemented throughout Tibet.

[Full Report]

Population Transfer

The transfer of Chinese into Tibet is the most serious threat to the survival of the Tibetan people and culture. Population statistics estimate that there are now more Chinese than Tibetans in Tibet. Tibetans are getting marginalised in all sectors of the economy. Combined with repressive birth control measures, it is clear that the effect of the Chinese policy is reducing the Tibetans to an insignificant minority in their own land.

The Western China Poverty Reduction Plan funded partially by the World Bank, if implemented will reduce the percentage of Tibetans in Dulan County from 22 to 14 per cent of the total population.

[Full Report]

Violation of the Right to Subsistence

Despite claims made by the Chinese authorities of economic development and growth in Tibet, the reports received indicate that these "developments" have benefited only the Chinese settlers. According to recent United Nations Development Program data, Tibet places somewhere between 131 and 153 out of the 160 countries on their Human Development Index.

Repressive and unequal rural taxation measures are further exacerbating the conditions of poverty for Tibetan nomads and farmers. The unchecked power given to local authorities results in the further violation of the Tibetan peoples rights, and there have been many cases reported of forced labour being extracted in lieu of taxes. Most of the basic rights associated with a "welfare state" like the right to housing and health remain unfulfilled.

[Full Report]

Enforced Disappearance

In 1999, TCHRD received information on 16 new cases of enforced disappearance in Tibet. Of the 12 cases reported in 1998, the conditions and whereabouts of three remain unknown. The Chinese government continues to detain Tibetans in unknown locations for prolonged periods of time. The families of these victims are not provided with any information about their whereabouts.

The condition and whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the XI Panchen Lama of Tibet and with his family remain unknown.

[Full Report]

Racial Discrimination

Despite being a State Party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Tibetans continue to be discriminated against by the Chinese government. The crucial factor is the lack of genuine political representation as this curtails the Tibetan people's ability to resist discriminatory measures in education, employment, health-care and housing.

Chinese population transfer and economic incentives favoring Chinese in Tibet exacerbate these discriminatory conditions. The Tibetan people are hence becoming the new social underclass in Tibet.

[Full Report]

Recommendations

The evidence that TCHRD has gathered in the past year suggests that in 1999, China has been tightening its control over Tibet. This has resulted in the further violation of the rights of the Tibetan people in every aspect and sector of society as evidenced by this report. We request the International Community, the Chinese Government and the United Nations to urgently consider the following recommendations:

Ensure that China ratifies the ICCPR and the ICESCR and takes immediate steps to incorporate the norms laid down in the two covenants within their national legislation.

In light of the frequent cases of involuntary and enforced disappearances, we urge the UN Commission for Human Rights to set up a working group to investigate the cases of disappearances in Tibet.

We urge the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to demand a report from the Chinese government with respect to various components of the right to subsistence, to compare these with both the real situation as determined by NGO's and with the normative standards established by the ICESCR committee.

We support the proposed Optional Protocal to the CEDAW as it would allow an individual right to petition, ensuring that women victims still have a final recourse under an International Human Rights instrument.

We urge the Special Rapporteur on Torture who is due to visit China in the year 2000 to pay special attention to the material conditions in Tibet. We also strongly urge the Chinese authorities to co-operate with the Special Rapporteur to allow him unfettered access to the necessary information.

We urge the World Bank not to pass the $40 million component of the loan which is a part of the Western Poverty Reduction Project as it would entail a massive transfer of Chinese into Dulan affecting Tibetan identity. We further urge the World Bank and all other International Organisations to ensure that they should not fund any project that involves a policy of population transfer.

Based on the suggestions made by the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance on the importance of follow ups to in situ visits, it is our request that the Special Rapporteur who had last made his visit to China and Tibet in 1994, make a follow up visit to determine the extent of the violations of religious rights in Tibet.

We urge the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial discrimination and Xenophobia to visit Tibet and examine the Chinese Government's policies on education, employment, public representation, health and education, which discriminates against Tibetan people.

We demand that the Chinese government clarify the scope and extent of the term "endangering state security" in it's Criminal Procedural Law which in its present ambiguous form is used to suppress a number of rights, including the right to freedom of speech and expression.

We strongly demand the release of all political prisoners by the Chinese government, including those arrested for the exercise of their right to freedom of speech and expression.

Contravening all international norms pertaining to the rights of the child, the Chinese government has detained Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the youngest prisoner of conscience in the world (the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet since May 1995). We demand his immediate release.

We urge the Chinese government to ensure that prostitution in Tibet is curbed by strictly implementing the laws which deems prostitution illegal.

We urge the Chinese government to lay down a transparent taxation policy, especially in rural Tibet, to ensure that there is no misuse of power by the local authorities.

[ Contents ]
[ Next: Curtailment of Freedom of Expression ]