TCHRD Condemns China’s Closure of Golok Tibetan School as Intensifying Cultural Suppression
DHARAMSALA, 22 July: The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a Tibetan advocacy group based in Dharamsala, declared today that the Chinese authorities’ forceful shutdown of the renowned Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School in Golok, within the traditional Tibetan Province of Amdo, “signals the intensification of the Chinese government’s accelerated and systematic campaign to assimilate Tibetan cultural identity into the dominant Han Chinese majority.”
The rights group reported that the school was forcibly closed one month after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s June visit to Siling (also known as Xining). During his visit, President Xi had visited the government-run Golok Ethnic Middle School and the Tsongkha Tsechen Dargyeling monastery.
Golok was once famous for its private Tibetan cultural schools, attracting students from across the Tibetan plateau. However, Xi Jinping’s policies and emphasis on cultural assimilation since assuming power have specifically targeted private Tibetan schools to “compel students to attend government-run boarding schools,” the report added.
According to the report, local Tibetans blame Zhang Xiaojuan, former party secretary of Golok (known as Guluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, for the forced closure of the school. “Since his appointment in the region in 2021, the crackdown on Tibetan religious and cultural activities has intensified significantly.”
TCHRD stated that the closure of the renowned Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School in Golok adds to a long list of Tibetan schools forcefully shut down by Chinese authorities, a policy criticised by rights groups and activists as an attempt to erase Tibetan language, culture, and religion.
In 2021, other Tibetan private schools such as Sengdruk Taktse were also forcibly closed in Golok. In 2022, the Chinese government ordered the closure of all Tibetan private schools in Sershul County (Shiqu) in Kardze.
TCHRD notes that Shen Chunyao’s statement, as director of the Legal Affairs Committee of the NPC Standing Committee, solidifies the Chinese party-state’s aggressive efforts to assimilate minority nationalities into a unified Chinese national identity. Shen declared local rules mandating the use and development of ethnic minority languages “unconstitutional.”
The Chinese Communist government shut down the renowned Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School in Golok, within the traditional Tibetan Province of Amdo, on fabricated charges on 12 July.
Established in 1994 by monk Jigme Gyaltsen and managed by the Snow Land Academy of Sciences, the school has faced persistent legal challenges and pressure from local Communist Party officials in Golok. Despite Jigme Gyaltsen being acquitted of bribery accusations, the school ultimately could not avoid closure.
