Chinese authorities detain over 100 Tibetans in Nagchu for sharing ‘sensitive content’

Lhasa [Tibet], August 15 (ANI): At least 110 Tibetans in Janglam village Nyanrong County in Nagchu Prefecture were detained on suspicion of sharing videos of preparations for a local horse racing festival.

As of now, 80 Tibetans have been released after being forced to pay a monetary fine but details of 30 detainees remain unknown, reported Phayul citing Tibet Watch.

An anonymous source on the report revealed, “Local Chinese authorities held a meeting with the villagers around 9.30 in the morning.

During the meeting, they asked all the villagers to put their mobile phones in a box on the table and later conducted a search operation.

It was reported that eleven police officers were present at the meeting and they called out names of 110 people and took them to the police station.”

Many local Tibetans were interrogated for the online content on the horse-racing festival on August 9. According to the report, 80 detained Tibetans had to pay a fine of 5000 yuan for their release.

However, prior to the event, Chinese officials had issued a notice to the attendees, warning them with monetary fines and required weekly presence at the police, if they take photos or videos of the officials at the preparation or share them online.

Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and later annexed it. The 1959 Tibetan uprising saw violent clashes between Tibetan residents and Chinese forces. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to neighbouring India after the failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, the supreme Tibetan Buddhist leader, established a government-in-exile in India.

There are, at present, more than 10,000 Tibetans living in Dharamsala alone, and an estimated 160,000 Tibetan exiles around the world.

Since becoming President in 2013, Xi has pursued a firm policy of stepping up security control of Tibet. Beijing has been cracking down on Buddhist monks and followers of the Dalai Lama.

The United States has been raising the issue of human rights violations in Tibet on various platforms.

Recently, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited China to meet Chinese officials. She raised concerns about human rights violations in Tibet, Hong Kong and Eastern Turkestan. (ANI)