Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, June 23: The head of a prominent Tibetan monastery is in critical condition in a hospital in Chengdu after being tortured during detention for opposing the construction of a major hydropower dam in eastern Tibet, according to the London based research and advocacy group Tibet Watch.
Gonpo Tsering, 45, head of Yena Monastery in Shiba Village, was reportedly subjected to brutal torture following his arrest in February 2024 during a peaceful protest against the Kamtok (Chinese: Gangtuo) dam project in Derge County, Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Ch: Ganzi), Sichuan province. Tibetan sources say Tsering has suffered severe brain injuries, lost his eyesight, is unable to speak or swallow, and is experiencing serious breathing difficulties.
Gonpo Tsering was among hundreds of Tibetans, including fellow monks and local villagers, who protested the construction of the 1.1 million-kilowatt hydroelectric dam in the sacred mountains of Gèndong. The controversial project threatens to displace entire communities and submerge centuries-old Buddhist monasteries along the upper reaches of the Drichu (Yangtze) River, a lifeline for millions downstream in China.
Among those arrested was abbot Jamyang Lekshay, whose kneeling plea to halt the dam construction with his thumbs raised in a traditional sign of supplication went viral on social media last year. He has since been sentenced to four years in prison and is currently incarcerated at Yagnga Prison, according to Tibet Watch.
Following the protests, Chinese authorities initiated a sweeping crackdown in Derge, deploying paramilitary forces and targeting Yena Monastery for “focused rectification and re-education”, according to a report by Radio Free Asia. Access to the area, home to around 4,000 people including monastics, has been heavily restricted, with even Han Chinese travellers barred from entry despite holding transit permits.
Despite appeals from Tibetan residents and criticism from environmentalists, Chinese officials have pressed forward with the dam project. The move reverses a 2009 decision by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, which had ordered Huadian Corporation to halt illegal dam construction in the region over ecological concerns.
Experts and Chinese scientists have repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by building large dams in the geologically fragile upper reaches of the Yangtze, including heightened risks of landslides, seismic activity, and disruption to water and food security.
In July 2024, a coalition of 13 UN human rights experts raised alarm in a formal communication to the Chinese government, warning of the “dire and irreversible environmental and climate impacts” posed by the Kamtok dam. The letter also highlighted the potential for “irreversible destruction of important cultural and religious sites” in Tibet.
Nevertheless, Beijing has accelerated dam development in the region, part of its broader strategy to harness Tibet’s rivers for national energy goals, a policy critics say comes at the cost of environmental safety and the cultural survival of the Tibetan people.
One Response
The evil Chinese communist Party is recklessly plundering Tibet’s rich resources among which the rivers of Tibet are even more precious than gold! It has been predicted long time ago by UN Secretary Boutros Boutros Gali and the wife French President Madam Mitterrand that future wars will be fought about water. Today, there is a severe disruption of the Indus river to Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in Kashmir by militants who killed 26 innocent Indians. Communist China is diverting Tibet’s rivers to China or building gigantic dams to produce hydroelectric power for the use of the Chinese in China. The Tibetans whose rivers are stolen along with the our country are left high and dry and when Tibetans protest for degradation of environment, robbing Tibetans of their livelihood by submerging their fertile lands, holy monasteries and sacred landmarks, they are imprisoned, tortured and killed! This regime is the most evil regime which has no respect for human rights, International laws or sense of shame. The treatment of Tibetans by the Chinese occupier is worse than Adolf Hitler’s treatment of the Jews or Natanyahu’s treatment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Just as the Nazis and Natanyahu has not a shred of consideration for their occupied people, COMMUNIST CHINA HAS ONLY CONTEMPT FOR THE TIBETANS WHOSE COUNTRY THEY ARE OCCUPYING! It is the most vicious and evil regime the world has ever known. Just like Natanyahu is decapitating all Palestinian, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders by murdering them, communist China is doing the same to the Tibetan leadership!!! They are decapitating Tibetan leaders in occupied Tibet by butchering them to death in police custody! However, the evil regime cannot sustain the illegal occupation and oppression of the Tibetans for perpetuity. The regime will collapse because it has no legitimacy and it is corrupted to the core! More and more Chinese both inside China and outside are rebelling against the illegitimate regime!