On March 10th, which marked the 66th anniversary of Tibet Uprising Day, many Tibetan exiles gathered around the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, India to protest against the cultural genocide policies implemented by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Tibet. On the same evening, a candlelight vigil was held in Taipei, Taiwan by a Tibetan community group to urge attention to CCP’s human rights abuses and to hope that the freedom-loving people of Taiwan and Tibetans stand together.
According to reports from the Central News Agency, Tibetan exiles organized in groups of 5 to 10 under the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) took advantage of a moment of relaxed vigilance by Indian security forces around noon to rush towards the Chinese Embassy, protesting against the persecution of Tibetans.
The exiled Tibetans outside the Chinese embassy held banners and flags, shouting “Free Tibet,” only to be forcefully dispersed by Indian police. A Tibetan woman at the protest site tearfully expressed that despite living in free India, their hearts are still in Tibet, yet to experience true freedom. Children in Tibet are taken from their homes by the CCP government at a young age and sent to official boarding schools, where Tibetan language, culture, and traditions are gradually erased.
The Tibetan Central Administration, representing the Tibetan government-in-exile, condemned the top Chinese officials for implementing a “deliberate and dangerous strategy to erase the identity of the Tibetan people.”
After the protest, the Tibetan Youth Congress issued a statement emphasizing that March 10th marked the 66th anniversary of the CCP’s illegal and violent invasion of Tibet. Over the years, the CCP has systematically oppressed Tibet, including restrictions on the use of the Tibetan language, destruction of temples, persecution of cultural intellectuals, and more. The Tibetan Youth Congress called on the international community to continue to pay attention and assist in defending Tibet’s religious, cultural, and basic freedoms until a just resolution to the Tibet issue is achieved.
Earlier reports from Radio Free Asia revealed that the Tibetan Central Administration in Dharamsala, India released a report exposing the CCP’s systematic assimilation policies towards Tibetans, especially in restricting the use of the Tibetan language.
The report, based on interviews with over 50 Tibetans, found that Beijing authorities are targeting Tibetan identity from cultural, linguistic perspectives. Specific measures include abolishing Tibetan language examinations in the college entrance exams, closing private Tibetan cultural institutions, and establishing boarding schools in various Tibetan regions since 2014, separating Tibetan children from their families and forcibly assimilating them.
According to the Central News Agency, a candlelight vigil organized by the Tibetan Welfare Association in Taiwan and the Taiwanese branch of the Tibetan Youth Congress was held on Liberty Square on the evening of March 10th, with around 100 people in attendance.
National Human Rights Commissioner Tian Qiujin attended the event that evening.
Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chen Pei-yu, who expressed solidarity at the event, noted the increasingly severe human rights issues faced by Tibetans in China, such as the extinction of language, culture, and religious freedoms. These are situations that individuals living in free democratic lands may find difficult to comprehend.
She pointed out that in recent years, the CCP’s oppression of Taiwan and the global democratic alliance has intensified, with behaviors becoming more extreme and persecutions of human rights more brutal, as the CCP recognizes the growing power of democracy and freedom.
Chen emphasized that in the face of such difficulties and challenges, only by continuing to work together can these issues be resolved.