cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5231314
In yet another move to tighten its grip over Tibetan culture and identity, China has forcibly relocated approximately 200 students from the Lhamo Kirti Monastery school in Amdo (present-day Sichuan province) to state-administered residential schools. This controversial action is part of Beijing’s wider strategy to control Tibetan education and assimilate Tibetan identity, according to intelligence sources.
The Lhamo Kirti Monastery school, a traditional hub for Buddhist learning, has been entirely shut down. Reports indicate that four Tibetan youths who resisted the forced transfer were detained, subjected to political re-education, and subsequently enrolled in a local government school under duress.
“China is systematically erasing Tibetan identity by promoting Mandarin and Chinese cultural values through state-run schools,” read a note from top intelligence agencies. “Over one million Tibetan children are now in state-administered schools, separated from their families and traditional cultural roots.”
Beijing’s push to transfer students from monastic schools to government institutions is seen as part of a broader effort to suppress Tibetan Buddhism and ensure loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Increasing surveillance, restrictions on religious practices, and control over the appointment of Tibetan religious leaders—including the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama—underscore this strategy.
Recent developments coincide with a heightened security presence in Tibetan areas. In September, Chen Wenqing, the head of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, visited the Tibet Autonomous Region (Bod) and Tibetan areas of Amdo and Kham (present-day Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu provinces). Chen called for a “resolute crackdown” on separatist activities and ordered local officials to prioritize stability.
The increasing arrests of Tibetans for contacting outsiders or resisting state policies have drawn parallels to the ongoing repression of the Uighur population in East Turkestan (Xinjiang). Sources report that detainees are threatened with transfer to so-called “rehabilitation centers” if they fail to comply with government mandates.
This comment is for Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who was abducted by the Chinese government after he was selected as the 11th Panchen Lama. The Panchen Lama is the 2nd most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, after the Dalai Lama.
He was 6 years old when he was taken. He and his family have not been seen for 29 years. I think about him often.