Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, June 9: China continues to block US government officials, journalists, and other visitors from entering Tibet, according to the US State Department’s latest annual report on access to the region.
The report, released on May 29 and mandated by the 2018 Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act (RATA), marks the seventh consecutive year documenting these restrictions.
The 2025 report revealed that US officials made five requests in 2024 for permission to visit the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (Tibetan province of U-Tsang and part of Kham) . None were approved by the Chinese government, echoing the complete denial of access since 2019. Despite increasing their efforts to gain entry compared to 2023, US officials faced continued rejection.
Outside the so called TAR, in Tibetan areas of Chinese demarcated regions like Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan (which includes parts of traditional Tibetan province of Amdo and Kham), US diplomats and travellers encountered pervasive surveillance, harassment, and restrictions on movement. Such tactics hinder engagement with local Tibetan communities and stifle independent reporting and observation.
The report noted a sharp decline in US visitors to the TAR since 2019, when an estimated 10,000 Americans travelled to the region. The current number of visitors remains unknown due to limited data from Chinese authorities and the need for special travel permits. This decline reflects China’s stringent travel restrictions, including the requirement for special permits and the persistent denial of access to US officials, journalists, and independent travellers.
Tibetan-Americans seeking to visit their homeland face even stricter barriers. The State Department found they endure more intense visa scrutiny, intrusive background checks, and coercive measures like mandatory tracking software downloads. Once in Tibetan-inhabited areas, Tibetan Americans frequently experience heightened harassment and intimidation by Chinese security forces.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities continue to selectively grant access to foreign influencers and bloggers, whose curated tours and state-approved narratives contrast with the experiences of those denied entry.
One Response
Despite the CCP’s propaganda, TIBET IS A VAST PRISON SINCE IT WAS ILLEGALLY AND BRUTALLY OCCUPIED BY EVIL COMMUNIST CHINA! Communist China’s treatment of Tibetans is exactly the same as that of Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Just as the Palestinians are under unimaginable colonial barbarism by Israel, Tibet is under unimaginable brutality by the most ruthless and blood thirsty regime on earth! Israel is incrementally gobbling Palestinian land to satiate its imperialist impulse while communist China is erasing even the historical name of Tibet in order to permanently occupy Tibetan regions of Kham and Amdo! Israel incarcerates thousands of Palestinians for standing up to Israeli occupation of their land. In occupied Tibet communist China is incarcerating thousands of Tibetans for standing up to protect their language, way of life and their land! Israel doesn’t allow foreigners to visit Gaza. The CCP doesn’t allow anybody to visit occupied Tibet by anybody except its selected personalities to propagate CCP propaganda! Just as Israel looks to the Palestinian population as “animals” and subhumans, the Chinese communists look to Tibetans as animals and subhumans! That is why, Tibetans are locked in their country without even free access within the country. The people from Amdo cannot travel freely to Lhasa nor the Lhasa residents can travel freely to Amdo or Kham! TIBET IS A VAST PRISON LITTERED WITH ARMY POSTS, POLICE CHECK POINTS AND CHINESE GESTAPOS EVERYWHERE SNOOPING ON THE TIBETAN POPULATION. The population is treated like a cage animal with cameras everywhere including their homes. The Tibetans are afraid even to meet a foreigner because the CCP’s paranoia about foreigners. It includes not only westerners but even Indians! The policy of the CTA to not protest Chinese barbarism in Tibet and instead say nothing, see nothing has not only emboldened the Chinese occupiers but Tibet lost international attention owing to shocking pronouncements by pro-China leaders who proclaimed, “Tibet is internal affair of China”!!! Today, world leaders speak of Uyghur genocide and Hong Kong but not Tibet! The CCP is now openly practising the stealing of Tibetan children to be brought up as Chinese like the European colonisers did in their attempt to Europeanise the indigenous population in their colonies. Just as the European imperialists had the audacity to believe their culture is superior and the natives should be Europeanised, the Chinese communists harbour the same imperialistic and chauvinistic attitude and have embarked upon decimating Tibetan religion, language, culture and forcibly impose Chinesenization of Tibetans in order to ethnically cleanse the Tibetans! They don’t want this evil to be seen by the outsiders so, Tibet is locked like a prison. NO ONE CAN GO IN AND NO ONE CAN GO OUT. IF THIS IS NOT LIKE GAZA, WHAT IS?