Following unprecedented abuse against Tibetan origin Canadian, Chemi Lhamo online by the Chinese Students, Toronto police have started probing the matter. Lhamo’s victory in University election and Uyghur origin Canadian, Rukiye Turdush’s speech on human rights abuse in China were brutally attacked online by Chinese students.
22 year old Tibetan Canadian came victorious in the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus (UTSC) Student Union election. Despite the fact that she won the fair elections of the campus to become the President of the Students Union, Chinese students have been abusing her online for her engagements with Free Tibet campaigns.
In addition to posting abusive as well as threatening messages to Chemi Lhamo on her private social media accounts, the overseas Chinese students have started a campaign against her election and gathered around 10,000 signatures from Chinese students. Another group of Chinese students at McMaster University in Ontario crudely opposed and disrupted a speech by activist Rukiye Turdush’s speech critical of the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighurs.
Following severity of Chinese students attack, the Students For Free Tibet jointly with Uyghur Students have requested the Toronto police to probe for Chinese government interference in the matter. Besides threatening messages, the police is now reviewing around 15,000 different posts in various languages against Lhamo.
Activists and policy experts suggest the students are being directly monitored by the Beijing administration. Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior CSIS official for the Asia-Pacific region explained that it is their strategy to try to undermine, to try to mute any form of opposition or dissidence that could at one point or another gain access to a mic.
The victory for the Tibetan girl who immigrated to Canada with her family 11 years ago is a huge achievement for the Tibetan community as well. Evidently, notable Tibetan personals from across the world lauded her victory in the University and extended their congratulations and best wishes.