News and Views on Tibet

Tibetan social media influencers reporting on Dingri earthquake restricted

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
A Tibetan girl from Kham has reportedly been ordered to shut her tiktok and not livestream content of Dingri earthquake by Chinese police (Screengrab/X)

Tsering Dhundup

DHARAMSHALA, Mon 13: Chinese authorities have imposed strict restrictions on social media influencers in Tibet on reporting facts and situation of Dingri County in Tibet, following the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Dingri County, Shigatse Prefecture last week. The earthquake has triggered over 500 aftershocks, causing damage to life and property.

Social media users who attempted to report from the affected area have faced bans on livestreaming, forced account shutdowns, and restrictions on sharing accurate information. Authorities have also prevented individuals and organizations, particularly Tibetans, from entering the region, citing cold weather conditions and claiming that sufficient emergency relief resources are available.

While reporters from international media outlets are not permitted in the region, Chinese state media is allowed to cover the situation making it difficult to verify key details, including the actual death toll, number of injuries, and other conditions on the ground. Despite efforts by social media users from Tibet to provide updates, increasing restrictions have further hindered the free flow of accurate information.

Several Tibetan social media broadcasters have publicly stated that they are being pressured by Chinese authorities to spread misinformation and prevent livestreaming to conceal the true extent of the situation. Chinese state media reported that, as of January 9, 126 people have died, 337 people had been treated for injuries, with 246 discharged from the hospital, and approximately 3,600 houses destroyed. However, these figures have not changed since then, while social media posts from individuals who managed to reach the area suggest that the number of deaths is higher than reported.

Chinese state media continues to portray the government’s response as comprehensive, reporting that 224 relocation sites have been established for 47,500 people, offering access to makeshift clinics, libraries, and counseling services. Despite these claims, hundreds of vehicles carrying relief supplies from Tibet’s traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo have been prohibited from distributing aid directly to local Tibetans. Authorities have instead ordered all supplies to be stored in government warehouses. Videos circulating online show large quantities of food and essential supplies stacked outside the Dingri local government office. 

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) issued a fact sheet on January 11, calling on the People’s Republic of China’s government to provide timely emergency rescue, medical aid, and rehabilitation services. The CTA also urged China to grant unrestricted access to international aid organizations, ensure transparent reporting on casualty numbers, and guarantee sufficient post-earthquake rebuilding efforts. Additionally, the CTA called for disaster preparedness in Tibet, particularly in regions prone to earthquakes.

The CTA appealed to the international community to assist with relief and recovery efforts, continue to highlight the ongoing situation in Tibet, and ensure that Tibetan cultural identity is respected in media reporting. The CTA also called for the cessation of Chinese propaganda terminology, including references to Tibet as “Xizang” and Shigatse as “Xigatze.”

2 Responses

  1. China’s proposed dam in Tibet turns headache for India
    Nava Thakuria
    It’s a matter of serious concern for every Indian, particularly those settling in the eastern part of India, as they are living under a ‘water bomb’ with the controlling authority to a foreign nation ruled by a Communist regime, which has no credible bilateral relation with the largest democracy on the globe. The recent earthquake that hit the Tibetan plateau killing over 125 residents and injuring several others has only precipitated the anxiety as the particular land continues to be occupied by the Communist China. The immediate fear remains, if a high intensity tremor hits the China-made massive hydropower project on Yarlung Zangbo (or Tsangpo, which becomes Brahmaputra in the downstream covering northeast India and Bangladesh someday and it collapses, a trail of devastation will grip the entire Brahmaputra river basin comprising eastern Bharat localities along with the north Bangladesh.
    Often called as the third pole of Earth, the Tibetan plateau faced a powerful earthquake and aftershocks on 7 January 2025, where tremor was also felt in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India’s eastern localities. The quake with the intensity of 7.1 (in Richter’s magnitude scale) in the region maintaining an average elevation of over 4000 metre also destroyed more than 3,500 houses in the thinly populated high altitude Himalayan areas. Over 400 people were rescued and nearly 30,000 people have been relocated after the tremor, where the epicentre is located which is around 80 kilo metres away from the base of Mount Everest. As the internet service is heavily restricted in Tibet by the Beijing administration, the actual picture may surface a little later.
    As the Communist government in Beijing is going to construct a large dam on the upstream of Brahmaputra, which may be the world’s largest hydropower project and hardly 22 km away from Arunachal Pradesh border, New Delhi must pursue the matter with serious concern. As usual the Chinese officials continue arguing that the USD 137 billion hydro project with the capacity of annual 300 billion kilowatt-hours electricity generation in Shigatse region of Tibet will not have a major impact on the downstream areas. All Assam Engineer’s Association (AAEA), a forum of graduate engineers, argues that a major earthquake with the epicentre near to the project may wreak havoc in lower riparian places covering the eastern localities of Bharat. So the AAEA urged the Union government in New Delhi to strongly deal with the Beijing administration for safeguarding the entire region.
    Earlier, both the chief ministers of Arunachal and Assam expressed their concern over the Tibetan dam and urged the centre to address the issue with Beijing. Arunachal CM Pema Khandu recently conveyed his anxiety to New Delhi, where Assam government chief Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted that the large dam may damage the entire ecosystem of the rivers in the lower riparian region. Sarma apprehended that if the dam is wrongly handled, the fertile region in eastern India will have to face serious consequences and solely depend on the rainwater fall in Bhutan and Arunachal.
    Lately, New Delhi is also constructing a dam over Brahmaputra in Arunachal as a precautionary measure to the ill-effect of the Tibetan dam in case of Beijing releasing excessive water suddenly. So the Siang upper multipurpose project is not planned only for generating electricity but also maintaining the natural flow of water in the river round the year. However, the Siang dam has been opposed by local people and human rights groups asserting that it would destroy the fragile ecosystem of the region and also displace hundreds of thousands of indigenous families living nearby the project.
    As there is no pragmatic water-sharing treaty between India and China, New Delhi recently asked Beijing to respect the core principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses 1997 encourages countries sharing a river to use its water fairly and sustainably. But Beijing is yet to honour the convention guidelines regarding the Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, all originate in Tibet. So it’s the time to increase international pressure on Beijing so that the Communist regime agrees to follow the established water sharing principles.

    1. I totally agree with nava thakuria! We must raise this issue on the international level to stop the Chinese communist regime from endangering the lives, limbs and livelihood of Tibetan people in occupied Tibet and millions of others in India and Bangladesh! This regime has brought nothing but disaster after disaster to the people of China and other occupied countries like Tibet, East Turkistan, Manchuria, Southern Mongolia and Hong Kong by first the so called “Great Leap Forward” which at least 35 million were killed while others estimate 50 million were killed as a direct result of its reckless policies of the CCP! Then, it launched the so called cultural revolution which sought to destroy everything in the name of “destruction before construction”! Millions of people were murdered by the red guards who in a frenzy of madness that enveloped every nook and corner of communist China and its occupied territories including the total vandalisation of ancient and historical heritage of China, Tibet, East Turkistan and others! It killed millions of intellectuals during the anti-Rightest campaign to eradicate all thinking souls! In 2019, it released the deadly Wuhan virus that had killed millions across the world and ruined the economies of every nation! Now, it is bringing another deadly project which would displace atleast a million unfortunate Tibetans from their ancestral homes, their source of livelihood, their grazing ground for the live-stock, ancient monasteries and their irreparable ancient scrolls and paintings. It will cause phenomenal environmental degradation and ecological collapse which will have cascading effects on social and economic systems, leading to widespread instability and global conflict! If the ecosystem is destroyed, it will increase flooding due to soil erosion and lack of trees. What is happening in LA and California are the result of ecological collapse that has resulted in global warming that let to wild fires and landslides, earthquakes, droughts and tsunamis! Everybody knows, how Eastern India (Assam) faces flooding, landslides and crop devastation every year. The poor people of this region are often reduced to begging to survive after their crops are washed away! It’s the same story in neighbouring Bangladesh! We saw that even the islands that were used to accomodate Rohingha refugees were flooded and they had no where else to go. Bangladesh has close to two million Rohingha refugees who fled Burma in the aftermath of persecution by the Burmese Junta. If the mega dam in Metok (which the Chinese call
      Yarlung Tsangpo dam) goes ahead, it will
      only exacerbate the situation to the down stream countries and this will destroy life, limb and livelihood of millions of Indians and Bangladeshis too! So, it’s a mammoth tragedy for the Tibetan people, Indian and Bangladeshi people! All because the Chinese totalitarian regime wants to plunder Tibet’s resources without a hint of shame and without the slightest benefit for the Tibetans who are the custodians of Tibet. This is Chinese communist imperialism and colonialism at its ugliest avatar and the true face of the evil the communist regime is! THIS MUST BE STOPPED DEAD ON ITS TRACKS!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *