By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Feb 7: Research group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) unveiled its latest report, titled ‘Chinese Transnational Repression of Tibetan Diaspora Communities’, on February 6, at the Press Club of India in New Delhi.
Transnational repression, as defined in the report, denotes the exertion of governmental influence across borders to stifle dissent within diaspora and exile communities. It predominantly occurs in authoritarian regimes that habitually infringe upon the rights of specific segments of their populace to maintain firm control.
Chinese authorities employ various tactics to control exiled Tibetans, often leveraging their relatives within Tibet through coercion or intimidation. The pervasive surveillance apparatus instils a constant sense of apprehension among exiled communities, eroding trust and undermining their cohesion. Consequently, transnational repression poses significant challenges to the Tibetan diaspora and their aspirations for freedom.
“The international community must provide concrete protections to specific populations, including Tibetan diaspora communities that experience persecution and are targeted for transnational repression,” said Ms Tenzin Dawa, executive director of TCHRD.
“We appeal to all democratic governments to protect human rights on their soil, through their own domestic agencies as well as creating awareness about transnational repression among various law enforcement agencies. Concrete actions such as targeted sanctions and travel bans must be imposed on individuals or government officials responsible for perpetrating acts of transnational repression,” she added.
Key findings of the report include the Chinese government’s efforts to sever connections between exiled Tibetans and their relatives in Tibet, through obstructing communication channels and employing surveillance techniques. Additionally, authorities are spying on exiled Tibetans to gather personal information for infiltration and sabotage purposes. The COVID-19 pandemic has also been exploited for these ends, Dharamshala based TCHRD stated.
Furthermore, Chinese authorities are reportedly pressuring exiled Tibetans to renounce their activism through direct intimidation and threats to their relatives. They also aim to undermine the livelihoods of exiled Tibetans by restricting financial transactions and discouraging participation in cultural events.
The report also suggested that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is executing a comprehensive strategy to erode Tibetan identity, including language and religion, which constitutes a form of “sharp power” aimed at influencing political and cultural environments in targeted countries.
One Response
The communist party of China only believes in violence and intimidation as the only way to achieve its goals. It is in the Marxist ideology that only through violent revolution they can achieve their goals. In any given situation the CCP will always use threat however subtle it may be. In the case of Tibet, it ravaged the whole country with unmitigated violence by demolishing ancient monuments like the Islamic fanatical outfit ISIS did in Mesopotamia the cradle of civilisation. Just as ISIS knocked down the ancient walls and relics of civilisation, the Chinese communists knocked down the cradle of Tibetan civilisation and its magnificent and grand monasteries, libraries and holy relics of Buddhas in the thousands! They however never admitted their crimes and instead ban people from talking about it. This is how they avoid accountability. Today, most Chinese have no idea of the violence the communists used to kill innocent farmers in the name of getting rid of “Land Lords” who were accused of subjecting the people to all alleged exploitation. They killed thousands of farmers in the class struggle, the hundred flower campaign and cultural revolution. If one were to measure the blood spilled by the CCP during these murderous campaigns it will amount to the volume of the Yarlung Tsangpo! However, talking of such excesses by the CCP are regarded as “state secrets”. So, very few people know about it and they can’t talk about it. Thus history is forgotten and the perpetrators go scot free! This is how the CCP attempts to bury the past so its image is not tarnished by its evil deeds! In recent times, Tiananmen square massacre of 1989 is forgotten and so are the atrocities it committed in occupied Tibet! The Chinese public is denied the knowledge of all such heinous crimes and in its place it teaches racial nationalism. It’s Han chauvinism is the new tool to suppress the other nationalities from expressing their linguistic and cultural identity by debasing them as backward and uncultured! Every nationality conquered by the Chinese are “lesser people” from the “great Han”! They extol the virtues of the Han by harking on the grace of the Han which has given the other “lesser people” a life worth living under the sun! It’s very much like Nazi Germany’s ideology of the superiority of the Aryan race complex!
The CCP is trying to suppress all those who disagree with their interpretation of history and demonise them as anti-counter revolutionary or anti-China! Inside China and occupied Tibet, nobody dares to challenge the CCP’s narrative. SO, THE CCP HAS MONOPOLY ON TRUTH! Even singing songs in praise of the Dalai Lama or spotting His photos are illegal! As the Dalai Lama once said, in occupied Tibet, you may have two ears but can use only one – to listen to the Chinese communist propaganda! One may have two eyes but you can use only one eye- to see only the communist painted charade! Not satisfied by the draconian measures to suppress information, the CCP attempts to suppress the freedom of speech in free countries! The free countries of course consists of only the western democracies. Most of Asia and Africa are under the spell of communist China with the exception of perhaps India. Even in India, Tibetan demonstrators are routinely rounded up and hauled into detention centres. I have been to those detention centres myself in 1987, when Tibet was burning! In all fairness, Indian police didn’t mistreat us or beat us. We were detained for a whole day and then released. Some of course are detained longer. In those days, Tibetans were very dedicated and there was no talk of not joining the protests because of being fearful of not getting a visa to visit occupied Tibet or endangering their relatives in occupied Tibet. The lines between Tibetans and the CCP were as clear as chalk and cheese. Unfortunately, it got worse over the years as more and more Tibetans visited occupied Tibet! By the year 2000 some Tibetans kept away from joining the traditional March 10th Martyrs Day under the pretext of reprisals from the CCP in getting visas or bringing trouble to their loved ones in occupied Tibet. The CCP used these tactics to suppress Tibetan dissent in exile in free countries. These excuses were prevalent in every free country Tibetan exiles are living. The CCP peddled Confucius Schools in western countries where Tibetan children and students were barred from spotting their flags and talking about Tibet in universities and schools by using Chinese students as counterforce to torpedo Tibetan voices of dissent. Even the Dalai Lama faced stiff Chinese student protest when He was invited to give a talk in a university in the US. The CCP uses its “patriotic” overseas Chinese to throttle Tibetan and Chinese dissidents from using their freedom of expression in free countries. I have been a campaigner for my country from my school days and since 2013, I have been a “keyboard warrior” having given an iPad by a friend. I have been rebutting Chinese propaganda and fabrication where ever it was being peddled by the little pinks (CCP running dogs) or pro-China outfits or the PRC Government. To my surprise, Utube has cancelled me on 5th of February 2024!!! It was a shock! Never thought they would go to such lengths but they did! I suspect it’s the work of the CCP who is obviously unhappy that there is a counter narrative to their propaganda and dubious claims! Such suppression is happening to the Hong Kong dissidents who have fled to western countries. They have set bounties on them to suppress them from protesting Chinese oppression in Hong Kong. During the election in Hong Kong, only 27% of the population participated!!! It shows the Hong Kong people have no trust in CCP sham elections. Besides, on top of the so called National security law, the HK leader Mr Lee claims to bring more restrictive laws to cage the HK residents like the Tibetans in occupied Tibet! Despite such dim overall situation, no one should be disheartened! The CCP is also in turmoil! There is rampant corruption at all levels of society and its economy has no prospect of recovery and is likely to deteriorate and face stagnation for the foreseeable future. Its coffers are empty and it is finding it hard to pay its civil servants. There will be food shortage in communist China that will likely see instability. Middle class Chinese are fleeing to greener pastures while those who can afford a flight to Ecuador are fleeing China in droves by flying to visa free Ecuador and then making the long journey to the US-Mexican border! Within the last two years the number of fleeing Chinese has tripled to 37,000 who made the long and perilous journey to the US! It goes to show the prevailing situation in communist China is only getting worse as big companies are deserting China for India, Vietnam and other countries! Xi is trying to put up a brave face but he is fast becoming the emperor without clothes!