Dharamshala, 7th February: The Chinese government devised a range of strategies to stifle communication between Tibetans inside Tibet and Tibetans outside Tibet, some of which are implemented openly and others in secret.
According to VOA, a print shop owner in Ngaba prefecture who wishes to remain anonymous claimed “Chinese officials declared (verbally) to all printing shops in and surrounding Ngaba prefecture at the end of 2021 that printing, filming videos, and showing photos of ex-pat Tibetan Lamas were illegal. These kinds of behaviors will be prohibited in the future. Punishment is certain if this is done. The order of a Chinese official must be followed.”
The source continued that the three major Gelug schools, Sera, Drepung, and Gaden, as well as venerable lamas of other important Tibetan Buddhist monastic schools, are forbidden from financially sponsoring monks and laymen in Tibet. This appears to be for the purpose of influencing the religious sectors outside of Tibet, which is critical to the Tibetan language’s survival. The Chinese government has increased its efforts to tighten its grip both physically and online.
The source went on to say that the Chinese government has recently launched an investigation into various internet mediums, and Tibetans inside Tibet who communicate with Tibetans outside Tibet via the internet have been closely monitored. There have been several cases of police summons and investigation, as well as regular warnings, resulting in the loss of internet freedom.
If you write terms like Tibetan independence, Tibetan freedom, or other related terms, on the so-called Baidu app(similar to the google app), which is used by news providers, displays a colored text message warning you to pay attention to the illegal form of the contents of the text you are searching for.
The Chinese government is tightening restrictions in all directions and closely monitoring communications, making it difficult to maintain contact with those outside Tibet.
-Translated and paraphrased from VOA Tibetan.
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