Chinese officials force Tibetans to sell their land for peanuts in eastern Tibet
By Lobsang Tenchoe
DHARAMSALA, July 8: Chinese officials in eastern Tibet have forced Tibetans to sell their land for a minimal price or face jail term.
In yet another rampant case of land grab by the Chinese authorities, Tibetans in Riwoche county in Chamdo, which was a part of traditional Tibetan province of Kham but now incorporated into Tibet Autonomous Region, are forced to accept a minimal price for their land and threatened with imprisonment if objections are raised against the order, reports RFA, July 7.
Claiming the land belongs to the Chinese Communist Party, Tibetans lands are being confiscated by the Chinese officials in Riwoche county.
Secretly striking a deal with the builders, the Chinese officials make a staggering profit leaving Tibetans in the lurch.
“They offer compensation at a nominal rate of 25 yuan [$ U.S. 3.74] per square meter of land, with anyone refusing to sign on these terms threatened with jail time, the same piece of land could easily bring from 1,500 to 2,000 yuan [$ U.S. 224.57 to 299.42] in the current market” RFA quoted an anonymous source as saying in its report.
The Chinese officials have allegedly informed the Tibetans about their plans to take over the land for development in May when most of the Tibetan residents were away in the hills collecting cordyceps or caterpillar fungus, a valuable medicinal fungus.
In the name of development projects, Tibetans are constantly subjected to forced land grab or minimal compensation causing standoffs between the local Tibetans and the Chinese officials. Objections to which results in torture and imprisonment leaving Tibetans with no choice but to submit to the Chinese officials.
