A listing of the top news developments in and around Tibet during the previous week.

 

Chinese mining projects spark Tibetan protests in Chamdo

Chinese Peoples Armed Police

Chinese Peoples Armed Police confront local Tibetan protestors in Chamdo.

Multiple protests have broken out this week in eastern Tibet in opposition to Chinese mining projects. The first one took place in Dzogang county, where local Tibetans rejected compensation schemes offered by Chinese authorities in exchange for allowing mining operations to move forward. Radio Free Asia reported that one local man jumped to his death from a building in Tongbar town in protest, and another stabbed himself in protest soon thereafter amid ongoing sit-in protests at the county government office. Meanwhile, hundreds of armed police were also deployed to halt protests against similar mining operations in nearby Chamdo county.
 

Chinese propaganda official promises to “seal and stifle” the internet in the Tibet Autonomous Region

Dong Yunhu, head of the Tibet Autonomous Region propaganda department, promised to implement even stricter control over the internet during a recent meeting, as reported by Reuters. These comments, which urged authorities to “bring down pressure from the sky, find and confiscate materials on the ground, and seal and stifle the internet,” come just months after Chinese officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region promised to “silence the voice of the Dalai Lama in Tibet” as part of a campaign to quash authentic Tibetan voices and enforce Chinese Communist Party orthodoxy.
 

Preemptive Tiananmen anniversary crackdown deepens

Activists at a meeting

Activists at a meeting earlier this month focused on the Tiananmen Square crackdown. (ChinaChange.org)

Following the arrest of Pu Zhiqiang last week, a number of other prominent Tiananmen activists have been detained by Chinese authorities. A list of those confirmed to have been taken away so far includes professors, journalists, authors, retired academics, and a number of other dedicated activists. These detentions, which involve flimsy legal justifications, led to an open letter addressed to Xi Jinping written by a group of prominent China scholars calling for their release. The letter concludes:

It is obvious that none of the above-mentioned citizens has committed a criminal offense. Their detention is an injustice to loyal Chinese citizens as well as a harm to the image of China at a time when it is becoming a great power. We therefore ask you respectfully to correct this mistake, and to free unconditionally the citizens who have been wrongfully detained.

 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Netherlands co-organized
by ICT Europe

Dalai Lama

Tsering Jampa, Executive Director of ICT Europe and Tsewang Loanzoen, Chair of the Tibetan Community Netherlands offer His Holiness the Dalai Lama a medal to commemorate his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 25 years ago.

The International Campaign for Tibet and the Tibetan community in the Netherlands marked the 25th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize by presenting His Holiness with a medal on May 10 during a three day visit in the Netherlands, which was co-organized by ICT.

Tsering Jampa, Executive Director of ICT Europe said: “His Holiness’ promotion of the concept of oneness of humanity and the common message of all religions have contributed to better understanding between different communities and religious traditions, while his call to make the 21st century one of dialogue has the potential of reducing violence and promotion of mutually beneficial approaches to international conflict resolution.