Tibet Nepal Friendship Highway
The 850-kilometer-long Friendship Highway was completed and opened to traffic in 1967, with 736 kilometers in China and 114 kilometers in Nepal. It is Tibet's sole outbound highway leading to overseas. The highway itself starts from Lhasa, passing the turquoise Yamdrok Lake, through Chusu, Shigatse, Lhaze, Dingri, Nielamu, on to the Nepali border at Zhangmu, and ends at the defense highway of Katmandu, capital of the Kingdom of Nepal.
The following is from FreeTibet.org:
Human rights in Tibet
Tibetans’ civil and political rights are under constant attack by the Chinese authorities who will stop at nothing to suppress dissent.
Every aspect of Tibetan life is under siege from a Chinese leadership determined to gradually eradicate a whole culture.
The Tibetan flag and national anthem are banned. Possession of a picture of the Dalai Lama can result in torture and imprisonment.
Even children face abuses of their freedom and human rights in Tibet.
Here are just a few human rights case studies of people who have suffered abuses under China's regime.
No right to protest
Tibetans are not free to protest or openly speak about their situation. Even peaceful demonstrations are met with heavy handed, military crackdowns.
Every aspect of Tibetan life is under siege from a Chinese leadership determined to gradually eradicate a whole culture.
The Tibetan flag and national anthem are banned. Possession of a picture of the Dalai Lama can result in torture and imprisonment.
Even children face abuses of their freedom and human rights in Tibet.
Here are just a few human rights case studies of people who have suffered abuses under China's regime.
No right to protest
Tibetans are not free to protest or openly speak about their situation. Even peaceful demonstrations are met with heavy handed, military crackdowns.
In 2008, thousands of Tibetans staged the largest protests in Tibet for over 50 years. Demonstrations swept across the entire Tibetan plateau.
Chinese authorities arrested an estimated 6,000 protestors, of which the fate of about 1,000 still remains unknown.
The upsurge in self-immolations and other protests since 2011 has led the Chinese authorities to step up security and attempt to impose even tighter control over Tibet.
Chinese authorities arrested an estimated 6,000 protestors, of which the fate of about 1,000 still remains unknown.
The upsurge in self-immolations and other protests since 2011 has led the Chinese authorities to step up security and attempt to impose even tighter control over Tibet.
Political prisoners tortured and killed
Prisons in Tibet are full of people detained for simply expressing their desire for freedom. People have been arrested and sentenced to prison for peaceful acts, such as:
- waving the Tibetan flag
- distributing leaflets
- sending information about events in Tibet abroad
The Chinese deem these acts as ‘splittist’ or ‘subversive’.
Many Tibetans are imprisoned on unclear or unspecified charges, their families not informed of their whereabouts.
Released prisoners report of having been subjected to beatings, electric shocks, and being deprived of food and drink. A 2008 UN report found that the use of torture in Tibet was ‘widespread’ and ‘routine’.
Read more about torture in Tibet and see a list of just some political prisoners.
Prisons in Tibet are full of people detained for simply expressing their desire for freedom. People have been arrested and sentenced to prison for peaceful acts, such as:
- waving the Tibetan flag
- distributing leaflets
- sending information about events in Tibet abroad
Many Tibetans are imprisoned on unclear or unspecified charges, their families not informed of their whereabouts.
Released prisoners report of having been subjected to beatings, electric shocks, and being deprived of food and drink. A 2008 UN report found that the use of torture in Tibet was ‘widespread’ and ‘routine’.
Read more about torture in Tibet and see a list of just some political prisoners.
Restricting information
China attempts to control all information in and out of Tibet. TV, radio, printed media and the internet are subjected to strict monitoring and censorship.
Access is blocked to TV and radio broadcasters based outside China, which provide news services in Tibetan languages.
Foreign journalists are rarely allowed entry into Tibet, and when they are, they are closely chaperoned by Chinese officials.
Reporters Without Borders ranked China 175 out of the 180 countries on its Press Freedom Index 2014. Professor Carole McGranahan has also stated that there are more foreign journalists in North Korea than Tibet.
Lack of religious freedom
China attempts to control all information in and out of Tibet. TV, radio, printed media and the internet are subjected to strict monitoring and censorship.
Access is blocked to TV and radio broadcasters based outside China, which provide news services in Tibetan languages.
Foreign journalists are rarely allowed entry into Tibet, and when they are, they are closely chaperoned by Chinese officials.
Reporters Without Borders ranked China 175 out of the 180 countries on its Press Freedom Index 2014. Professor Carole McGranahan has also stated that there are more foreign journalists in North Korea than Tibet.
Lack of religious freedom
Buddhism is central to Tibetan life and monasteries and nunneries are kept under tight surveillance. Police stations are often situated nearby (or inside).
Monks and nuns have been beaten, jailed and tortured.
They are regularly subjected to ‘patriotic re-education programmes’, for weeks at a time.
During these programmes, they are forced to read ‘patriotic’ literature denouncing the Dalai Lama.
Those who refuse to take part, or fail the programme, often have their rights to practice as monks and nuns taken away.
Monks and nuns have been beaten, jailed and tortured.
They are regularly subjected to ‘patriotic re-education programmes’, for weeks at a time.
During these programmes, they are forced to read ‘patriotic’ literature denouncing the Dalai Lama.
Those who refuse to take part, or fail the programme, often have their rights to practice as monks and nuns taken away.
Political rights
A US State Department human rights report published in May 2012 said that "ethnic Han Chinese Communist Party members hold almost all top government, police, and military positions in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other areas of Tibet."
A US State Department human rights report published in May 2012 said that "ethnic Han Chinese Communist Party members hold almost all top government, police, and military positions in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other areas of Tibet."
Introduction to Tibet
"Tibet today is one of the most repressed and closed societies in the world."
Senator Robert Menendez, Chair of US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2012
After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, Tibet’s political and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled into exile in India followed by tens of thousands of Tibetans.
Inside its borders and across the world, Tibetans have never stopped believing Tibet is a nation. Since 1959, they have continued to oppose and resist China's rule and China has responded with intense repression.
In 2014, US think tank Freedom House ranked Tibet among the twelve worst countries in the world for repression of political and civil rights.
Geography
- Free Tibet uses the term 'Tibet' to refer to the three original provinces of U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo.
- When the Chinese refer to Tibet, they invariably mean the Tibet Autonomous Region or TAR, which includes only U-Tsang.
- The Chinese renamed Amdo as the province of Qinghai and Kham was incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan.
Here are just some of the challenges faced by Tibetans as a result of China's occupation.
Economic discrimination
- In many places, Tibetans are a minority as a result of China's encouragement of ethnic Chinese migration to Tibet.
- The language of business in Tibet is now Chinese. Many Tibetans are not literate in Chinese and are disadvantaged in business and the jobs market.
- Most Tibetans work in agricultural sector while most economic activity outside of agriculture is controlled by the central government or state owned corporations.
- Most tourist activity is located in urban centres where the main employees are ethnic Chinese migrants.
- The Chinese government has forced thousands of Tibetans to abandon their traditional rural nomadic lifestyle and move into new housing colonies or towns. Many of these people do not have the skills or experience to compete for jobs in the urban environment.
Religious suppression
- Since 1949, the Chinese have destroyed over 6,000 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and shrines.
- By 1978 only 8 monasteries and 970 monks and nuns remained in the TAR.
- The number of monks and nuns allowed to enter monasteries and nunneries is limited. Any reference or images of the Dalai Lama are banned.
- The Chinese government places officials in every monastery to monitor and often to control religious activity.
Read more about the treatment of monks and nuns in Tibet.
Political oppression
- The Chinese have responded to uprisings with extreme violence and around 300,000 Chinese soldiers are posted in Tibet.
- Tibetans are subject to intense surveillance of their daily activities and communications.
- China has repeatedly violated UN conventions through extensive use of torture against Tibetan political prisoners - often monks or nuns.
- Tibet is governed directly by the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. No Tibetan has ever been appointed Party Secretary - the most senior government post - in the TAR.
No comments:
Post a Comment