The former chairman of Tibet has been placed under investigation for alleged corruption as part of a wider crackdown in the western Chinese region. The investigation into Qizhala comes at a sensitive time with the exiled Dalai Lama expected to announce succession plans later this year. Qizhala chaired the Tibet autonomous region’s government between 2017 … Read more
Chinese users on the RedNote social media platform have cautioned one another about requests from “TikTok refugees” who ask for street view images of China and photos of Tibet or Xinjiang, warning that such users could be foreign spies. Posts discouraging Chinese users from sharing street views began circulating on the platform last week with … Read more
Many people in the Chinese city of Guangzhou enjoy eating halal noodles, a popular and affordable option around the country. What they probably do not know is that the local government closely monitors these restaurants as part of its ethnic integration programme. Guangzhou, a city of 22 million, is using big data to track the … Read more
Search and rescue workers were battling high altitude and frigid weather as they searched for survivors a day after a massive earthquake killed 126 people in western China’s Tibet autonomous region. The magnitude 6.8 quake struck the county of Tingri, at the foot of Mount Everest, known as Mount Qomolangma in China, on Tuesday morning. … Read more
Beijing — A strong earthquake killed at least 53 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the region of western China and across the border in Nepal. The official Xinhua News Agency said 62 other people were injured, citing the regional disaster relief headquarters. About 1,500 fire … Read more
China’s top political adviser has made a rare trip to view an exhibition about the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhas, a sign that Beijing is getting ready to face the Dalai Lama succession issue ahead of the exiled spiritual leader’s 90th birthday next year, according to an analyst. Wang Huning, China’s fourth senior official and chairman … Read more
The Panchen Lama, Tibet’s second highest religious figure who sits on China’s top political advisory body, will make a rare visit to Nepal, according to Nepalese media reports. It comes just months before the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is expected to reveal a succession plan. That plan is likely to … Read more
President Xi Jinping has called for national security and social stability to be upheld in China’s border regions and for Mandarin to be spoken more broadly in those areas, according to state media. Addressing a Politburo study session on Monday, Xi said maintaining security and stability was the “baseline requirement” for border governance, state news … Read more
Barry Sautman is a professor emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Division of Social Science and visiting professor at Tsinghua University. An expert on China’s ethnic minorities, particularly the Tibetan and Uygur communities, his research focuses on minority rights, cultural preservation and social change. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. … Read more
Maintaining stability and guarding against independence activities are the top priorities for security personnel in Tibetan areas, China’s security chief said during a trip to the western regions last week. Chen Wenqing, head of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission – the ruling Communist Party’s top security body – said security forces must “resolutely … Read more
