Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach a crime in China

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, August 1

China has criminalized the Middle Way Approach being advocated by the Dalai Lama for resolution of the issue of Tibet. The Dalai Lama had demanded meaningful autonomy under Chinese sovereignty as a middle way approach for the resolution of the issue of Tibet in the year 2014. This was seen as climb down from complete freedom that many Tibetan exile groups had been demanding.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) sources here said that in addition to the innumerable crackdowns on Tibetans in Tibet under the Chinese rule, support for Middle Way Approach is listed as organised crime. According to a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier this week, Chinese leadership took such measures for the first time.

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Security Bureau published a revised list of definitions of “organised crimes” in February, including “instilling in the masses reactionary ideas such as the middle way,” the HRW said.

The HRW said the new restrictions “aimed to strengthen the power of the Chinese Communist Party at a grassroots level by eradicating the influence of traditional Tibetan leaders and Lamas.”

According to the HRW, China has cracked down on organised community action in Tibet following protests by Tibetan monks against the Chinese authorities in the regional capital of Lhasa in 2008. Beijing has said the measures were necessary to prevent “separatist” movements and to cut off support for the Dalai Lama.

The 101-page HRW report said the newly-issued Security Bureau notice promised citizens anonymity if they reported crimes by underworld forces or “gang crimes” to the police.

Another notice issued in the Tibetan city of Nagqu offered a 1,00,000 Yuan (HK$114,993) reward for tip-offs about any of the listed activities, which include challenging China’s territorial claims over Tibet, raising funds for the “Dalai clique,” and advocacy for the greater use of the Tibetan language. Additionally, traditional Tibetan welfare associations – known as “kyidu” – are now reportedly considered illegal, the HRW report says.