Chinese authorities in Tibet have actually bought the damage of prayer flags in lots of parts of the area in among China’s most direct attacks to date on noticeable signs of Tibetan culture and faith, sources in the area state.

The campaign, referred to as a program of “behavioral reform,” started in June in Qinghai’s Golog (in Chinese, Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and in Tengchen (Dingqing) county in the Chamdo town of the Tibet Autonomous Area, a regional source informed RFA today.

“Government officials and police have summoned the local people to meetings, ordering them to take part in what they called an environmental cleanup drive and movement of behavioral reform,” RFA’s source stated, speaking on condition of privacy.

“Led by the police, local Tibetans are now taking down prayer flags in their villages and on the hilltops,” where they are generally hung in the belief that they will fend off wicked and bring best of luck, the source stated.

Whether brand-new or old, the prayer flags bearing mantras are all being gotten rid of from their standard places, the source stated, including that even the poles on which the flags were hung are being taken apart.

“This is an act of contempt and utter disregard for local Tibetans’ customs and faith,” the source stated, including that he fears this brand-new campaign will spread out and motivate even more limitations on standard customizeds and spiritual practice.

“Chinese authorities in general have always vowed to eliminate any Tibetan behavior that they say will harm people’s productivity and adversely affect their livelihood,” he stated.

“Thus, the authorities have now set out to root out this Tibetan tradition of hanging prayer flags everywhere, directing local officials, the heads of monasteries, and relevant authorities at the district and township level to carry out the order.”

The campaign versus flags came as yearly review by the Tibetan Centre for Human Being Rights and Democracy discovered that Chinese policies methodically deteriorate and ruin Tibetans’ cultural and national identity, with a growing usage of security and online tracking to reduce political dissent, and reinforced limitations on Tibetan children’s right to class guideline in their own language.

Throughout the year, Chinese police and security teams moved into towns and abbeys to keep an eye on Tibetan locals for indications of opposition to China’s guideline, the Dharamsala, India-based center stated, including, “facial-recognition software application and mindful tracking of digital areas [were] released to reduce political demonstrations versus the increased clampdowns on political and civil rights.”

Reported by Lhuboom for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Equated by Dorjee Damdul. Composed in English by Richard Finney.

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