Dharamshala, 24th December: According to Sikyong, there is a palpable dread that Tibetans may suffer the same fate as Uyghurs and Hong Kong residents. The visit of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping to Tibet in May 2020 was nominally unimportant, but the undercurrents hinted at a deeper goal. In terms of control, there has been an increase in intensity. Increased electronic surveillance on Tibetans residing both inside and outside Tibet is known as the GridLock system. All Tibetans, wherever they are in the globe, are under Chinese scrutiny, with their kin in Tibet being threatened as a result of their behavior outside Tibet.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering uses intellectuals and authors to support his claim that Tibet was never a part of China. Sikyong laments that Tibetans are dying a slow death, genocide in any form, at any speed, Tibetans are slowly dying. He reports that the number of nuns and monks has substantially fallen, and those who remain are being closely monitored. The Public Security Bureau and the Intelligence Department both conduct extensive religious surveillance. He emphasizes that Tibet is undergoing significant social and democratic transition. Big monasteries used to have 3,000-4,000 monks, but currently only have 300-400. Nuns are restricted from moving across the Tibet Autonomous Region because they are seen as a danger by the authorities.
Sikyong laments that the Tibetan language is steadily vanishing. Tibetan children are taught Chinese beginning in kindergarten, assuring that they will have no work options if they do not speak Chinese, which is now the official language. Curriculum control and religion, whether Buddhism, Christianity, or any other, are altering the landscape. China has banned photographs of His Holiness in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Monasteries are off-limits to students and Communist Party cadres. At least five different permissions are required to travel to Tibet Autonomous Region.
China’s Achilles’ Heel is Tibet. China appears to be everywhere, threatening Taiwan, taking Indian territory blatantly, violating UNCLOS, destroying the opposition in Hong Kong, and torturing Uyghurs. And this is causing a shift in the global order.
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