Chinese authorities have detained a highly regarded Tibetan monk and 16 of his supporters, a Tibetan writer said on Friday, as Beijing tightens its grip over the region.
The writer, Tsering Woeser, said that rights lawyer Tang Tianhao (唐天昊) confirmed the detention of Karma Tsewang, a popular monk in Nangqian County in western Qinghai Province.
Aside from preaching Tibetan Buddhism, the monk is known for his work on disaster relief, environmental protection and teaching young people the Tibetan language.
Tsering Woeser said Karma Tsewang was taken away by police on Dec. 6 while traveling on business in the city of Chengdu. She said the monk was taken to Chamdo Prefecture, where he has been detained since.
More than 100 laypeople and monks in Nangqian petitioned the government on Dec. 18 to release Karma Tsewang, but 16 of them were detained in the following days, the writer said.
Tsering Woeser said she obtained the information from local residents as well as Tang, who declined to speak to the media out of fear of governmental retaliation, but asked Tsering Woeser to relay the information.
The writer said the authorities have warned the families of Karma Tsewang and of the detained supporters not to hire lawyers.
Police in Chamdo and Nangqian said they had no knowledge of the case. Calls to local governments were either unanswered or answered by people who said they did not know about the case.
Tsering Woeser said that Tang, who was retained by Karma Tsewang’s family, had been denied visits with the monk in Chamdo.
Tsering Woeser said she is concerned that any conviction against the popular monk could upset local residents and cause unrest.
For decades, ethnic Tibetans have resented Beijing’s strict limits on Buddhism and Tibetan culture, as their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, remains in exile. Although Beijing says it has made vast investments to boost the region’s economy and improve the quality of life for Tibetans, many Tibetans say Beijing’s economic policies there have mainly benefited ethnic Chinese migrants.
More than 100 people have self-immolated since 2009 to protest China’s rule over Tibetan areas.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese