China’s ongoing ‘anti-gang crime’ campaign has been manipulated by government authorities in Tibet to criminalise the Tibetan people’s right to protest government policy. This has left community members afraid to practice traditions fundamental to their beliefs, thus paving the way for the eradication of their culture.
THE ‘AIMS’ OF THE CAMPAIGN
China’s campaign was introduced in 2018 with the intent of cracking down on criminal practices such as drug dealing, gambling and other gang related activities. A recent report published by the Human Rights Watch shows how the aims of the campaign have extended to include sentencing for Tibetans accused of petitioning or protesting about issues related but not limited to religion, environmental protection and ‘official corruption’.
These restrictive policies pose a serious threat to the freedom of the Tibetan community. Handing out prison sentences of up to 9 years, Chinese courts have used these ‘gang crime’ charges to sentence at least 51 Tibetans for spurious ‘offences’, which are in actuality legally enshrined civil liberties. The Chinese constitution entitles individuals to the freedoms of expression and religion – yet this campaign infringes upon these rights entirely.
CHINA’S CAMPAIGN STRIPS THE TIBETAN PEOPLE OF THEIR AUTONOMY
The suppression of the Tibetan people by the Chinese authorities is no secret. In 2018, the TAR (Tibetan Autonomous Region) Public Security Bureau issued a directive that stipulated that any individual or group acting as ‘spokespersons for the masses on issues such as environmental protection or the promotion of Tibetan language, folk traditions, and culture were to be classed as gang crime.’ Authorities also announced that they would pursue ‘triads’ who promoted ‘the middle way’, thereby targeting supporters of the Dalai Lama’s Buddhist vision of autonomy in the region.
In the Tibetan province of Kham, local authorities convicted 11 Tibetans on the basis of ‘creating hurdles for government policy, not accepting environmental conservation compensation, and stopping others from receiving it, [and] negatively influencing the regular working of the village and party committees.’ Tibetan communities have been subject to environmental exploitation by the Chinese government for years; some refuse the compensation as they want to reclaim community land rather than have it continuously used for business enterprise.
During the summer of 2019, 8 Tibetans living in south-east Tibet were detained for ‘organising a mob to disturb social order’ when they created WeChat groups to criticise the region’s political organisation and access to freedom of speech. The opinions of the Tibetan people are silenced as criticism of government policy is met with criminalisation under this campaign, giving Tibetans no chance to ignite political change in the region.
THE ONGOING REPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN CHINA
This campaign is one of the many examples of how China strips people of their religious liberties. In spite of being a member of the UN and thus accepting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, China systematically violates the rights of various religious groups by not allowing them to express their religious identity and associate with the key beliefs of their religion.
In addition to oppressing the Tibetans, Uyghur Muslims in China (mainly in Xinjiang) are arbitrarily detained by Chinese government authorities and sent to ‘re-education camps’ with the only justification for this being their religion and its ‘ties’ to terrorism. These camps force Uyghur people to renounce Islam and instead pledge loyalty to the Communist Party of China. Detainees are made to sing communist praises and are prohibited from speaking their native language. Whilst not in re-education camps, the Tibetan people were previously ordered to replace Buddhist figures with images of President Xi Jinping during the month of the 60thAnniversary of the Tibetan uprising. China claims that these measures eradicate ‘religious extremism,’ but human rights organisations worldwide criticise this approach and see it as extremist political indoctrination.
Whilst governments and human rights organisations worldwide recognise and condemn China’s hostility towards religious communities, it still has a seat on the UN Security Council, indicating that the world is simply not doing enough to prohibit the oppression of Tibetan and religious people in China today.
Miya is a Law student at the University of Leeds. She is particularly interested in critically evaluating the likes of Criminal and International Human Rights Law to see the extent in which they actually help to combat social injustices in society. Social justice is at the heart of her philosophy.