[Image: A hidden mural of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. The Chinese authorities’ virulent rhetoric against the Dalai Lama and heavy-handed imposition of religious restrictions are significant factors in the wave of protests in Tibet today. (Photo: ICT)]

April 4th, 2008 by Lhasa Rising on SFT Blog

The Chinese government must be so scared right now… is it losing Tibet? Consider the following three developments:

The Chinese government is desperately organizing political “study sessions” all over Tibet to re-indoctrinate Tibetans working for the Chinese government (whose loyalty Beijing has always questioned). Reading between the lines, this means that China is all the more terrified that Tibetans working for the system secretly support “separatism” — not a bad bet, actually: China’s ruling Communist Party is ordering officials in Tibetan areas into political study sessions, a report said Friday, the firmest sign yet that China is using loyalty tests in areas where recent anti-government protests erupted.

The recently issued order emphasizes the need for officials to oppose Tibetan separatism, highlighting that Beijing was caught off-guard by last month’s protests, the most widespread demonstrations against Chinese rule in nearly 50 years.

“The numerous party members and grass-roots officials must further launch education in opposing separatism and preserving the unity of the motherland,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency said, citing a notice from the party’s powerful Organization Department, which oversees personnel issues.
Two: The Chinese government is resorting to offering blood money. According to The Times, Lhasa authorities today sent out a message by mobile phone to residents, offering a reward of 20,000 yuan (£1,300, or US$2,850) to anyone who could offer information leading to the arrest of wanted Tibetan protesters. The per capita income in Tibet is about $1,000 per year, so Chinese authorities are offering close to three times the average annual income for Tibetans to turn each other in.

Three: The Chinese government is planning quick show-trials for over 1,200 Tibetan protesters just in Lhasa alone. (Why do they bother, when we know the verdict will be “guilty?”) There are 26 days left until May 1st so this means over 46 trials a day, every day, in just one city. Forget about defense attorneys, international observers, transparency, or any semblance of fairness and impartiality… this is wholly the government’s desperate attempt to pretend that this messy business of Tibetan freedom protests is swept under the carpet.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested or turned themselves in to the police in connection with deadly rioting last month in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, one of the city’s top officials said.

Trials will be held before May 1, the deputy Communist Party secretary of Lhasa, Wang Xiangming, was quoted Thursday as saying in the official Tibet Commerce newspaper. The quick scheduling of the trials is an apparent sign of the government’s determination to close the book on the events well before the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing on Aug. 8.

Other Posts by this Author

• The Carnival of Tibetans - April 23rd, 2008
• Dreadlocks of Love - April 9th, 2008
• The Dalai Lama Should Carry the Torch - April 8th, 2008
• ...Of evolved and effective protests - April 8th, 2008
• 10 positive things about the recent events in Tibet - April 7th, 2008
• Nepal as usual kowtows to China - April 3rd, 2008
• Never give up - March 31st, 2008

Posted: 04|3|08 at 8:12 am. Filed under: Free Tibet Blog.
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