On the eve of the 18th anniversary of the “3.14 Incident” in Lhasa, Tibet, a large number of retired soldiers claiming to have participated in the 2008 suppression operation suddenly collectively revealed on Chinese social media platforms that the Chinese military was secretly ordered to change into armed police uniforms and enter Lhasa to carry out suppression missions.
Many commentators also described the orders and on-site situations at the time, including details such as “shoot when you see red,” “rivers of blood,” and the need for fire trucks to wash the streets. Although the related content was quickly deleted, these scattered testimonies pieced together the outline of the actions taken back then.
One retired soldier, Li Derun (pseudonym), who was stationed in Lhasa from Mianyang, Sichuan during that time, told Epoch Times in an interview that before the troops were deployed to carry out the suppression mission, authorities conducted systematic propaganda and mobilization among the soldiers, using manipulated footage to incite hatred.
According to Li, “They showed us many videos with scenes of monks randomly wielding large knives to attack people, as well as using satellite phones and making overseas calls, making it look like a riot. The leaders of the troops said this was a riot planned by foreign reactionary forces.”
Li recalled that many soldiers at the time believed they were facing a violent riot, but upon reflection, the scenes they were shown were likely edited and spliced together.
For example, Li explained, “They would show the Jokhang Temple being filmed, then cut to someone in monk robes wielding a knife against armed police. At that time, we had no access to other information, and we thought these monks were being brutal. Looking back now, it was probably to prepare us for the shooting suppression.”
Many screenshots circulating also showed some netizens claiming to have served in the army at that time confirming each other’s unit numbers and details of changing uniforms. One netizen wrote, “Our battalion was pulled up and halfway through changed into armed police uniforms.” Another commentator mentioned, “The armed police rookies encountered difficulties; our 445 unit was ordered into Tibet, with the commander mobilizing, shoot when you see red.” One person even described the scene at that time as “rivers of blood,” necessitating a fire truck to “wash the ground.”
In some chat groups of retired soldiers, specific unit numbers and operation details were mentioned. Some mentioned units like “8672 unit, 188 regiment passing by,” while others referenced units like “187 regiment,” “422 regiment,” and “38th Armed Police Division.” Another commentator wrote, “The armed police couldn’t handle it, so they received a notification at night to change into armed police uniforms.” Some locals who saw them even questioned, “You can’t possibly be armed police.”
Some netizens also posted a commemorative badge with the Chinese national emblem, claiming it was related to the mission carried out back then. One commentator said, “Wasn’t everyone assigned one?” Another reminisced, “3.14 is a day that’s not easy to forget.” These contents quickly drew attention, but currently, the related posts have been deleted from Chinese social media platforms, making them difficult to trace.
Aside from the violent suppression and brainwashing deception, the Chinese Communist Party also played a numbers game in defining the timeline of the incident. For a long time, the CCP officially labeled the 2008 conflict as the “3.14 Incident.” However, Sun Zhenning (pseudonym), a retired prosecutor who worked in the Sichuan judicial system at that time and now resides in Europe, disclosed to Epoch Times that the true starting point of the protest was on March 10, not the official 14th as reported.
According to Sun, “In fact, a large-scale protest erupted in Lhasa starting from March 10, and this movement continued until the 14th when it was brutally suppressed.”
Sun explained that the reason the CCP deliberately avoided the date of March 10 was that it is the “Tibetan Uprising Day,” commemorating the uprising by Tibetan exiles since 1959. Recognizing the protests began on that day would imply that Tibetan resistance to CCP rule has historical continuity. Sun stated, “By pushing the date to the 14th, the CCP aimed to package a memorial protest movement as a sudden ‘criminal violence event,’ creating legitimacy for the violent clearance operation.”
Sun also revealed little-known judicial details from that time. He mentioned that during the early stages of interrogation, some Tibetan police officers, out of sympathy or conscience, recorded many testimonies from monks that were irrelevant to the cases. “Authorities later discovered that many of the ‘incriminating testimonies’ were recorded by Tibetan police officers, so they quickly ordered the replacement of all Tibetan personnel handling the cases, and replaced them with Han personnel who understood the Tibetan language.”
This decision, Sun stated, quickly led to chaos in the interrogation system: “The problem was, where were they going to find so many Han people fluent in Tibetan? Many cases couldn’t be investigated properly afterward.”
Sun finally pointed out that under the pressure of maintaining stability, the authorities did not follow normal judicial procedures: “Many cases were almost not tried, and the people arrested were mass convicted and sentenced directly.”
Due to Tibet’s long-standing state of information blockade, it has been challenging for the outside world to obtain complete casualty figures. The official statement claimed 19 deaths resulted from the incident, but Tibetan exile groups and several human rights organizations have long believed the actual casualties to be much higher than officially reported.
Some critics have pointed out that the CCP has long relied on force and high-pressure methods to control minority ethnic regions. While this approach may suppress protests in the short term, it creates even deeper divisions in society. With more and more participants from that time beginning to recount their experiences, the history that the CCP tried to bury is slowly being reopened by those who were involved back then.