As the “Eleventh” (75th anniversary of the CCP’s founding) approaches, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intensifying its efforts to maintain stability in Tibet. Senior officials from the CCP’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and Supreme People’s Court have recently made visits to Tibetan areas. Tibetan exiles have expressed that the CCP authorities are fearful of instability in Tibet, with Tibetans being subjected to forced brainwashing, leading to a critical situation. Scholars point out that the CCP’s suppression of the Tibetan people has never eased.
According to the “Tibet Daily,” CCP Political and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary Chen Wenqing conducted a “research” visit to Tibet and Sichuan from September 10th to 13th. In Sichuan’s Garze, Chen Wenqing presided over a conference on “maintaining stability in areas involving Tibet” and took a tough stance on stability measures in Tibet and the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai.
The report also mentioned that from September 3rd to 4th, the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ying Yong, led a research team to Tibet. Additionally, from September 11th to 12th, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, Zhang Jun, led a research team to Tibetan courts. The National Court Assistance Program for Tibet and Xinjiang was launched in Lhasa on the 11th. Both Ying Yong and Zhang Jun emphasized matters like “anti-separatism” and “prevention of infiltration and sabotage” during their visits to Tibet.
Representative Geng Sangjian of the Tibetan administration in Taiwan told Epoch Times that the visits of high-level CCP political and legal officials to Tibet are likely in response to the recent U.S. legislation supporting Tibet. The CCP’s Tibetan officials have also been promoting the so-called “telling the Tibet story well,” aiming to dominate the international narrative on Tibet. Furthermore, with the upcoming “Eleventh” national holiday and increased international support for Tibet from Europe and America, the CCP is feeling a sense of fear regarding Tibet’s stability, hence dispatching officials to make statements in the region.
In August of this year, senior U.S. officials met with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in New York. In July, U.S. President Biden signed the “Tibetan Policy and Support Act,” which highlights that the status of Tibet under Chinese rule is undetermined, and Tibetan conflicts have yet to be resolved in accordance with international law. The CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested, claiming it sends a severe erroneous message to the separatist forces.
In September of this year, the CCP’s Tibet International Communication Center was formally established. Wang Junzheng, Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region Party Committee, stated that they aim to carry out external propaganda work related to Tibet, “telling the Tibet story well.” In recent years, the CCP has employed new propaganda tactics to counter criticisms of human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, including engaging foreign internet influencers to create positive narratives.
Geng Sangjian stated that the CCP has various strategies in Tibet, such as proposing the so-called new era governance strategy for Tibet. “Every family and individual in Tibet must have their phone checked for any images of the Dalai Lama; if found, the phones will be confiscated.”
On the other hand, the CCP considers Tibet’s religious and cultural heritage and Tibetan ethnic characteristics as breeding grounds for instability, labeling them as so-called “poisons” to be eradicated. Geng Sangjian indicated that all privately-run schools and temple schools in Tibet have been closed, and compulsory education emphasizing CCP ideology is being imposed.
“Xi Jinping now proposes the so-called ‘Community of Shared Destiny for Mankind,’ which prohibits discussing the uniqueness of ethnic groups, their individual languages, and cultures, aiming to assimilate children in technical schools, distancing them from their parents, language, culture, and religion. This is becoming an overt policy of ethnic assimilation.”
He noted that under the intensified control by authorities, the grassroots Tibetan population is completely powerless against the CCP, leading to a critical situation.
However, Geng Sangjian believes that with the U.S. passing this legislation, international attention to the Tibet issue has significantly increased. The CCP’s so-called “telling the Tibet story well” involves fabricating lies to distort history with outdated thinking, attempting to convince the international community, which he believes will have no substantive effect.
Australian scholar Feng Chongyi expressed that Tibet and Xinjiang have always been key areas of stability maintenance for the CCP. Tibetans resist non-violently through means of non-cooperation. The provinces singled out by the CCP have experienced incidents where young monks self-immolated in protests, reflecting the high level of Tibetan hatred and dissatisfaction towards the CCP’s rule.
He stated that while the CCP has established concentration camps in Xinjiang, leading to strong Muslim protests and international attention, Tibetan protests have continuously existed, with CCP suppression never easing. “The CCP suppresses dissenters, suppresses different religions, suppresses different ethnic groups, different nationalities – this is consistent behavior, dictated by its nature.”