Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, June 12: Chinese authorities have once again denied a family visit to imprisoned Tibetan businessman and philanthropist Dorje Tashi, marking the fifth such refusal since his last permitted visitation in 2019. The repeated rejections have raised serious concerns about Dorje Tashi’s health and safety, particularly in light of his documented torture in custody.
According to a new report by Tibet Watch, Chinese prison officials turned away Dorje Tashi’s elder brother Dorje Tsetan and their lawyer Wang Fie on April 29, despite the visit being scheduled a month in advance with all necessary documentation. Authorities vaguely cited a “violation of prison rules” as the reason but failed to provide any specific details or written explanation, as required by Chinese law.
Tibet Watch highlighted that the refusal violates Article 8 of China’s Regulations on Lawyers Meeting with Detained Criminals, which obliges prison officials to “arrange meetings promptly” for properly filed requests or to provide clear justification within 48 hours if a meeting cannot be arranged. In this case, neither was fulfilled.
The 51-year-old Dorje Tashi was a well-known Tibetan entrepreneur with substantial wealth at the time of his arrest. The prominent Tibetan entrepreneur, faced arrest by Chinese authorities in the aftermath of the 2008 Pan-Tibetan uprising in Lhasa. He was accused of making suspicious donations to the exiled Tibetan community and labelled a “secessionist” by Chinese authorities. Despite initially being accused of supporting the Tibetan independence movement, he was ultimately convicted of “loan fraud” in a secretive trial in 2010 and handed a life sentence, with all his properties and assets confiscated. The charges, initially unclear, were only revealed in 2018 to be related to alleged misuse of loan funds, a claim a Beijing-based law firm later concluded was not substantiated by the available evidence.
Following his sentence, Dorje Tashi’s family has repeatedly campaigned and advocated for his release through official legal channels. His sister, Gonpo Kyi has repeatedly led solo peaceful sit-ins outside of the Lhasa People’s Court. However, her activism resulted in grave consequences as she faced physical assaults, including beatings, and intensive interrogation during her detention in a Chinese prison.
The ongoing refusal to allow family and legal visits has only deepened fears that Dorje Tashi may be in worsening health or subject to further abuses. Tibet Watch has urged international bodies to press the Chinese government for transparency and accountability in his case, calling for his immediate release or, at the very least, access to legal and familial support in line with both domestic and international legal standards.
The sister-brother duo were awarded the annual ‘Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Medal of Courage’ award on July 12, 2023 in Dharamshala, honoring them as Tibetan human rights defenders who have shown exceptional commitment to enhancing the rights of the Tibetan people.
Both the United States and the European Union have raised concerns about the arbitrary detention of Dorjee Tashi. During the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council from September to October 2022, the European Union issued a statement calling for his immediate release. The United States recognised the detention of Dorjee Tashi in its 2022 and 2021 State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, highlighting the global attention on the case.
One Response
All political prisoners in occupied Tibet are damned! The Chinese communist party is wedded to ethno-nationalist ideology like Zionist ideology which practises racial segregation or better known as apartheid. In occupied Tibet, even the electric supply to Tibetan homes and Chinese population are different in their velocity. The Chinese homes are said to have two cables for better supply while the Tibetan homes have only one! When its work employment, Tibetans are paid less than a quarter of what the Chinese are paid! In education, Tibetans children are treated with disdain owing to their ethnicity. Tibetans studying in China don’t meet each other or don’t even acknowledge their ethnicity because of the sense of inferiority complex. This statement is coming from a young lady who studied in a Chinese school by returning to occupied Tibet but later she came back to India! There is very strong racism among the Chinese towards Tibetans and other ethnic groups! In other words, THERE IS INSTITUTIONALISED RACISM IN OCCUPIED TIBET AGAINST TIBETANS! As it were, all Tibetans are treated with disdain and abject contempt. Tibetan prisoners are treated harshly as ex-prisoners such as independence nun Ngawang Sangdol, Geshe Palden Sangpo and Tanak Jigme have confessed when they arrived in exile. The Tibetan monks were tortured with csttle prod inserted in their mouth while the nuns had cattle prod inserted in their vagina! Even though out of shame they don’t admit it, they are all raped in the prison by Chinese guards! Ama Ate confessed being raped by a Chinese military officer! Most of us who have never been in a Chinese prison can only imagine the depravity of the regime but will never know the extent of their brutality. In order to understand the extent of Chinese cruelty, here is a brief confession of an Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was born in China but went to Australia at a young age. Having Chinese heritage and bilingual, the Chinese CGTV (China Global Television Network) employed her. However, she fell foul of the communist regime and imprisoned for alleged espionage activity. She was totally innocent but the CCP arrests people as hostages to use them as bargaining chips against nations who they deem as hostile to them. She fell in that category and was one of the most high profile prisoner. Being a Chinese, they would treat her much better owing to their racial affinity! Even so, she was lodged into what they term as RSDL (Residential Surveillance at a designated Location). This is akin to a black jail. The detainee can be tortured especially with Tibetans. They are kept in solitary confinement without ever seeing the sun or anything normal life but constantly lodged in a tiny room with a toilet which is without a door and fluorescent lights beating down on her for 24 hours! The recent arrival, Amdo girl Tsekyi recounts her experience of this inhuman treatment during her incarceration! Cheng Lei recounts that there were two guards constantly watching her. She has to sit surrounded by two guards. one guard stands in-front of her and the other sits next to her gawking their eyes on her constantly! She was not allowed to talk and she cannot move! She had to ask her minders for permission even to scratch herself! She admits having the thought of killing her self out of sheer desperation. This is, according to her the “psychological torture” so the victim loses the will to go through this torture and “confess” to the crimes the regime accused her of! If a foreign national such as Cheng Lei is treated with such cruelty, we can imagine how Tibetans are treated with their racial bias and Han chauvinism! It is heart breaking so many Tibetans have simply disappeared while so many are languishing in the most horrific Chinese jails! It is equally heart breaking that while our fellow Tibetans are standing up for our nation, language and Buddha Dharma at the cost of their life and limb, in exile very few ever think about the pain they are going through and instead of hating the Chinese enemy, many exile Tibetans are more busy in turning against each other! Instead of putting a concerted effort to fight the enemy who has stolen our country and driven us out of our country while oppressing those in side Tibet, most of the exiles are engaged in internal feuding! I feel so sorry for the likes of Dorje Tashi and all Tibetan prisoners in occupied Tibet. You have to wonder if it’s worth it when the people who are supposed to work for their freedom doesn’t care two hoots about their pitiful plight under the most despicable and murderous regime that the world has ever seen!