Outspoken Critic of Chinese Authorities Detained Fourth Time: TCHRD Condemns Chinese Authorities’ Persecution of Tibetan Activists

By Tsering Choephel

DHARAMSALA, 7 August: Tsering Tso, a Tibetan tour guide and outspoken critic of Chinese authorities’ racial discrimination of Tibetans, was detained again on 29 June and subjected to a 10-day “administrative detention” under charges of “endangering social stability” and was later released on July 8, reported the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a Dharamsala-based rights group on Monday.

Condemning the Chinese authorities’ “relentless persecution of Tibetan human rights defenders,” TCHRD stated in the report that Tsering Tso and a group of monks she was taking on a pilgrimage tour to Lhasa and Tsari were stopped on their journey by the local police in Gomri Township, Drachen County.

Two monks, Thutop Namgyal and another one, were arbitrarily arrested and taken into custody, where they were subjected to rigorous interrogation. Tsering Tso, learning of the monks’ arrest, confronted the police, pointing out discrimination meted out to Tibetans, such as that Chinese tourists are allowed to travel without prior permission while Tibetan monks faced restrictions and mistreatment over permit requirements.

The police have reportedly demanded that the Tibetans produce prior permission from both the Monastery Management Committee and the local government for their travel. 

Arguing that the monks’ detention by Drachen County police was “unlawful and in violation of China’s law and domestic policies,” Tsering Tso urged the authorities for their immediate release.

In her recorded confrontation with the local police, which she shared on social media, she criticised their misuse of powers in harassing Tibetan pilgrims. “As law-abiding citizens of China, Tibetans should have the same rights as Han Chinese. President Xi Jinping and the government always profess ethnic unity, but why am I facing this issue? What can I do now? Will you [the local police] not implement President Xi’s policies?” The monks were eventually released around 3 am.

Subsequently, on 29 June, Tsering Tso was detained at her hometown in Yushu on charges of “endangering social stability.” After ten days in “administrative detention,” she was released on July 8. The arrest marks the fourth time she has been detained in five years for “criticising the Chinese government’s discriminatory policies and advocating for equal and fair treatment of Tibetans inside Tibet.”

Tsering Tso, who runs the Tibet World Tours and Travel agency, faced her first detention in 2017 when she advocated for the legal right of local Tibetans to apply for passports in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Yushu Prefecture reportedly assaulted her.

In a video posted on social media platforms, including WeChat and Douyin in October last year, she exposed the discriminatory practices of Chinese authorities against Tibetans, highlighting “how officials from various departments were harassing Tibetan businesses in Tibet, attempting to force their closure by leaving business owners with no option but to comply.”

Consequently, the Yushu PSB sentenced her to 15 days of administrative detention on charges of ‘picking quarrels and provoking troubles,’ an allegation that the TCHRD report says is “frequently levied against human rights defenders, minority groups, critics, and dissent by deterring criticism of government policies.”

TCHRD called on the Chinese government to “uphold the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in its constitution, immediately abolish the discriminatory passport regulations, and allow Tibetans the right to movement and access to pilgrimage sites in Tibet.”