Tokyo/Beijing, April 25 China's claims of democratic reforms, freedom, and development in Tibet rings hollow given the absence of democracy in the mainland, a report has highlighted.
Writing for 'Japan Forward', Tsewang Gylapo Arya, Representative of the Dalai Lama's Liaison Office for Japan and East Asia, stated that the Chinese regime portrays itself as democratic, claiming former serfs have become masters. However, he noted that even after 76 years of "democratic reforms", no Tibetan had served as party secretary of the autonomous region, describing it as “a cruel reminder” of continued "foreign subjugation”.
Arya stated that 'The Global Times', an official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), recently derided the February polls of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), terming it as "elections without a land" — an "institutional illusion" created by separatist groups in exile.
"Although such commentaries are presented as the views of 'Chinese experts', their blindness to democracy and to the Tibetan diaspora's elections and their growing recognition worldwide call their expertise into question,” the expert noted.
Arya highlighted that, in 1959, the Dalai Lama, along with around 80,000 people, escaped to India, Nepal, and Bhutan, where they organised themselves in exile to support the refugees. He added that they also rallied support from the international community to address the injustice and repression in their homeland.
“Today, after more than 75 years, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama and the CTA, the Tibetans have come a long way, preserving what is being destroyed in Tibet and establishing a vibrant democratic community admired around the world," Arya stressed.
According to the expert, Tibet has been reduced to a showpiece, like “a beautiful cut flower, without any substance or real roots”, while monasteries and nunneries remain under the control of the CCP cadres.
“Children and young people are prohibited from visiting and joining monasteries. All Tibetan schools are closed and replaced with Chinese colonial boarding schools, where around one million children as young as four are forcefully indoctrinated under the regime's assimilative policy,” Arya stated.
“The Tibetan language is likewise discouraged. Those promoting the native language are arrested and tortured under false charges. Laws have been enacted to justify the repression and forced assimilation of minority nationalities,” he mentioned.
Highlighting the widespread abuses by Chinese authorities, Arya said, “Tibetans, both inside and outside Tibet, and their supporters aspire to the freedom and well-being not only of Tibetans, but also of the Chinese people and other ethnic minorities.”
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