Despite accusations that millions of Tibetan students are being forced into boarding schools, a policy of assimilation and genocide, the Chinese government released a white paper highlighting its achievements in Tibetan governance, claiming that boarding is "voluntary." Tibetan scholar Jia Luo refuted this in an interview with Radio Free Asia, stating that those who refuse to attend boarding schools will be punished and blacklisted. Other scholars interpreted the timing of the white paper's release and its omission of the Dalai Lama as noteworthy.
On March 28, China's State Council issued the so-called "Development and Progress of Human Rights in Tibet in the New Era." Professor Su Jiahong of Fu-ying University of Science and Technology in Taiwan noted in an interview with Radio Free Asia that the document's omission of the Dalai Lama may be a departure from past publications. The CCP document's careful wording and deliberate omission of the Dalai Lama may be a conscious effort to avoid controversy, irritate Tibetans' religious and cultural sentiments, shed negative labels, and avoid antagonism with the United States, which has been issuing a series of pro-Tibet legislation.
Su Jiahong pointed out that the Chinese government only released a series of white papers on Tibet at the end of June last year. It is so rare that another one "came out of nowhere" so soon, and the timing was obviously after the Dalai Lama's new book "Voice for the Voiceless" was released in New York in early March.
Dalai Lama publishes new book, says he will not be reincarnated in China - is the White Paper eager to respond?
Su Jiahong said, "In March, both Tibet and China released important documents, suggesting a dialogue across the border. The Dalai Lama had previously announced that he would announce his reincarnation on his 90th birthday, three months from now. This moment is a crucial point. Beijing's white paper, in particular, avoided the negative, even Cultural Revolution-style, attacks on the Dalai Lama that were common in the past. This time, they didn't even mention it. Perhaps future Sino-Tibetan dialogue will see exciting progress in the near future."
How have previous Chinese white papers mentioned the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile or their supporters? Su Jiahong reviewed the 1992 white paper, "Tibet Has Been a Part of China Since Ancient Times," which described them as "separatist forces." The 2009 white paper, "Democratic Reform in Tibet," described them as supporting "feudalism" and "separatism," hindering the modernization of Tibetan society. The 2010 white paper, "Tibet and Human Rights," accused them of inciting violence and separatism. After 2020, the emphasis has been on demonstrating political achievements, with the right to life and development being prioritized as fundamental human rights.
The Dalai Lama's representative in Taiwan, Gesang Gyaltsen, analyzed in an interview with Radio Free Asia that the Dalai Lama's new book mentioned that the reincarnation arrangements would not return to China, which lacks freedom. The Chinese white paper did not mention the Dalai Lama this time, which must be a trick up their sleeve. They hope that when the Dalai Lama makes the reincarnation announcement on his birthday on July 6 this year, it will be helpful for them to gain control of the 15th Dalai Lama. This is not a goodwill gesture towards the Dalai Lama and the resumption of peace talks between Tibet and China, and there is no sign of this.
Gesang Jiancan mentioned China's official position on the Dalai Lama. In February this year, when the Dalai Lama's second brother passed away, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had proposed that if the Dalai Lama gave up his so-called position of splitting the motherland, stopped activities to split the motherland, and publicly recognized that Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of China, then negotiations with the Dalai Lama on his personal future could be held.
China claims the reincarnation of Living Buddhas is "regulated and orderly." Tibetans: This violates Tibetan Buddhist rituals.
Kelsang Gyaltsen noted that the white paper's mention of the so-called "reincarnation of living Buddhas" is intended to control the reincarnation of Tibetan religious leaders and thereby control Tibet. When the Chinese Communist Party violates laws, it often introduces "laws" to justify and legitimize them.
The white paper states that the succession of Living Buddhas is standardized and orderly, and the "Regulations on the Administration of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" effectively safeguards the legitimacy and credibility of Living Buddha reincarnation. Lu Huijuan, editor-in-chief of "Tibet's Sky" and an education scholar, mentioned in an interview with Radio Free Asia that China has even incorporated this aspect into literary novels for product placement.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have condemned the policy of assimilation and genocide against millions of Tibetan students forced into boarding schools. China's newly released white paper states: "Students and parents can voluntarily choose whether to attend boarding school. Students can return home on weekends and holidays, and parents participate in the management and planning of boarding school life, ensuring to the greatest extent possible that students of all ethnic groups have equal access to high-quality education."
White Paper: Tibetans Provided with Food and Housing: Unable to Return Home
The white paper also points out: "School boarding services effectively solve the problem of inconvenience in schooling for students in remote agricultural and pastoral areas. For those in high altitude areas, with harsh natural conditions, scattered populations, and long distances, in accordance with the "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China", some schools adopt the same approach as provinces and cities across the country to provide boarding services, implementing a policy of "including food, accommodation, and basic learning expenses."
Jialuo, a Tibetan scholar who once taught at Northwest Minzu University and revealed in 2023 that about one million children aged 4 to 18 were forced to enter Tibetan boarding schools, refuted the "voluntary theory" on the 29th.
Tibetan scholars refute: those who do not board will be blacklisted and unable to start the first grade, and their benefits will be deprived.
Jia Luo emphasized, "They have no choice. The school dropout control policy introduced in September 2017 has eliminated the right of free choice for principals, teachers, parents, and students. There are penalties for not enrolling in boarding schools. If you don't send your kindergarten child to boarding school, you won't be allowed into first grade. Furthermore, your parents will be blacklisted and will not receive any government welfare support. Township and city governments also have dedicated personnel responsible for enrolling dropouts, leaving parents with virtually no choice."
In 2023, three UN special rapporteurs also condemned the "forced assimilation" of Tibetan children who were forced to stay in boarding schools. In some areas, the boarding rate was as high as 95%.
At the press conference for the white paper's release on the 28th, CNN asked about the specific number of students and the accusations of eroding Tibetan culture. Xu Zhitao, Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, declined to provide a figure, stating only that it was dynamic and changed annually. He also stated that boarding was for students who lived too far to return home at night and that it was voluntary.
Jialuo questioned whether officials were avoiding the real issues of education, asking why they were not providing school buses for 4- and 5-year-olds and elementary school students, but were using scattered residences as an excuse for boarding and assimilation.
He emphasized that the curriculum provided by the Chinese government has little to do with Tibetan culture: "It's all Han Chinese stuff: communism, the Communist Party, Xi Jinping Thought, and it's all in Chinese. The boarding school system has the dual goals of cultivating children to be loyal to the Communist Party and to assimilate into the Han Chinese ethnic group. Last year, a survey found that Tibetan children under ten were no longer able to communicate with their parents in their native language."
Lu Huijuan questioned which provinces in China systematically relocate kindergarten and primary school students to three neighboring provinces for schooling? And why are parents voluntarily separating from their young children? This is completely inconsistent with educational principles.
The Tibet White Paper and officials claim that boarding schools teach Tibetan language and culture, effectively guaranteeing and widely using the Tibetan language and writing system in academic, administrative, publishing, media, and daily life settings. Lu Huijuan criticized this as official rhetoric designed to deceive the outside world. The teaching materials have all been switched to Chinese, with Tibetan banned. Even if some schools offer so-called "elective" classes, offering one or two mother tongue classes per week as a model, how can this be considered a "guarantee"? The White Paper states that "primary and secondary schools in Tibet offer both national and Tibetan language courses." Dawa Tsering, Director of the Tibet Policy Research Center of the Central Tibetan Administration-in-exile, told Radio Free Asia, "No longer mentioning Tibetan language courses in high schools and universities is a tacit admission that Tibetan language classes have ceased in universities and high schools."
A human rights organization used "human rights" as a tool to promote its political achievements in a white paper: Tibet's freedom score was zero, ranking last.
Dawa Tsering mentioned that Freedom House's 2024 Freedom in the World report revealed that Tibet scored zero for human rights, ranking last internationally. The Chinese government, by listing numerous statistics to expose its shortcomings, is lying and blatantly contradicting the reality reported by human rights organizations.
Dawa Tsering gave an example, saying that the white paper boasted that more than 15,000 hours of ethnic language radio programs were dubbed annually, more than 80 ethnic language films were dubbed annually, and 7,300 hours of ethnic language TV programs were dubbed annually. These were all "dubbed" programs translated into Tibetan to promote the Chinese government's policies.
Dawa Tsering noted that the white paper also claims that some areas in Tibet have 100% electoral rights and that Tibetans have achieved a degree of autonomy in their representation, allowing them to make their own decisions. Since Xi Jinping came to power, he has eliminated minority quotas for civil service positions and extra points for Tibetan language exams, using the term "equalization" to mask the deprivation of Tibetans' rights.
Regarding the white paper's claim that Tibet will receive 320,000 foreign tourists in 2024, Lu Huijuan mentioned a Buddhist group visiting Tibet. They were required to have a local guide and tour guide with them throughout the trip, but when they changed their monastery visit at the last minute, they were immediately pursued by police. Clearly, they were under constant surveillance. The so-called freedom and human rights presented to the public are all fabricated and camouflaged. Lu Huijuan countered, "If even highly skilled monks cannot freely choose their reincarnation, where are the human rights?"
