Dharamshala, 27th January: Strategic expert Brahma Chellaney drew parallels between the Taliban and Xi Jinping, claiming that Chinese officials smashed a 99-foot monument of Lord Buddha in a Tibetan province of Sichuan in the same way that the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas.
According to the Tibet press, China is aiming to eradicate Tibetan religion, culture, and identity by switching Tibetan language schools to Chinese and cutting Tibetans off from ancient customs.
The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan damaged two historic and massive 15th-century sculptures of Lord Buddha at Bamiyan in 2001, causing worldwide outrage and condemnation.
Following official complaints that the statue had been built too high, authorities in China’s Sichuan province forced Tibetan monks and other local residents to watch the demolition of a large and venerated Buddha statue last month, according to the Central Tibetan Administration, citing Tibetan sources.
According to the Tibet Press, a study of commercial satellite images by Radio Free Asia (RFA) confirmed the statue’s destruction.
It went on to say that Chinese authorities compelled monks from the Thoesam Gatsel monastery, as well as Tibetans living in Chuwar and other adjacent towns, to observe the demolition, which began on December 12 and lasted for nine days.
According to the Tibet Press, the statue was first erected with the full backing of local Tibetans in Drago County, Kham Tibet, with the total agreement of the local authorities for Buddhist acceptance that it would prevent starvation, war, and possible calamities of fire, water, earth, and air.
Local Chinese authorities, however, proclaimed the construction records to be false and asserted that the statue’s height was not permitted in the area at the time of demolition.
According to the Tibet Press, local villagers and monks who were compelled to witness the demolition said they had all the legal documentation for the construction of the enormous Buddha statue and that it was demolished six years after it was created.
The US State Department has expressed grave concern for Tibetans and demanded that Chinese authorities respect Tibetan human rights. It claims to stand for the protection of Tibet’s environment as well as Tibetan traditions’ unique cultural, linguistic, and religious identities.