Tibetan diaspora protests, Dharamsala stays conspicuously silent on PRC’s 76th founding anniversary

DHARAMSALA, 1 Oct: As Tibet remains under Chinese occupation and continues to be ranked as the least free place in the world, China marked the 76th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China(PRC) today with a flag-raising ceremony held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the capital of China. This was at the very square where 39 years ago today, the Chinese government violently cracked down on pro-democracy protesters on June 3–4, 1989. Unabated,  China continues to remain a “global threat” to press freedom, with systematic repression in China and its occupied territories and its propaganda reaching worldwide through its transnational repression. 

While Chinese state-run media portrayed the anniversary as a milestone in China’s advancement in modernisation with the themes of the occasion revolving around national pride, economic resilience, global influence, and  the “Chairman of everything,” Xi Jinping’s leadership, putting on a grand spectacle including military parades, fireworks, and public festivities, China does not fare well when it comes to the Freedom House rankings and the Reporters Without Borders(RSF) World Press Freedom Index. 

The Freedom in the World 2025 report by Freedom House ranked Chinese-occupied Tibet once again as the least free country globally and China as one of the least free countries globally, assigning it an overall score of 9 out of 100,  while RSF in its annual World Press Freedom Index 2025 declared China the “world’s largest jail for  journalists and a global threat” to press freedom. 

While the PRC celebrates its 76th anniversary, the findings of Freedom House and RSF amplify the calls by Tibetans and other occupied and oppressed nations under the Chinese regime,  for accountability. 

Meanwhile, a coalition of over 145 international organizations has issued a joint statement marking October 1st—China’s National Day—as a day of resistance against Chinese occupation of Tibet. 

The statement by the coalition, with a shared goal of supporting the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom, justice and self-determination, highlighted the Chinese occupation of Tibet over the past 70 years, Freedom House’s ranking of Tibet with the lowest global freedom score, and China’s complete and unabated practice of systematic surveillance, torture, and repression while Tibetans continue to resist through cultural preservation and peaceful activism.  

Declaring their unwavering solidarity with Tibetans’ struggle and vowing to continue fighting until Tibet achieves its freedom, the coalition added: “We will not rest, we will not be silenced, and we will never stop fighting until Tibet is free.”

Additionally, calling out the PRC’s “National Day” as a facade for fierce repression, Bodpa Warriors, a Tibetan netizen, wrote on social media platform X, “Every October 1st, Beijing parades tanks and fireworks to project power, yet what lies beneath the red flags is a trail of silenced voices, stolen lands, and broken families. Tibetans mourn decades of forced assimilation, Uyghurs cry out from internment camps, and Hongkongers resist erased freedoms. 76 years of tyranny cannot be whitewashed.”

VoiceofTibet90, another Tibetan netizen, added: “National Day is a holiday in Beijing. In Tibet, it’s a reminder of invasion.”

The Hong Kong Democracy Council stated in a post that “ As #HongKongers from London to Toronto to Vancouver to LA to Taipei protest what we call the #DayOfMourning, #HongKong is festooned in red for PRC national day. The “celebration” is fake, a Potemkin Village staged by the HK puppet government; the CCP’s occupation of HK is real.”

While Tibetans across the diaspora are marking the day in protest and calling out China for its repression, human rights violations and atrocities, Dharamsala, the exiled headquarter of the Tibetan people, remained conspicuously absent with neither protests nor official statements or press conferences from Tibetan NGOs nor the administration – the Central Tibetan Administration. 

The Tibetan Youth Congress, in the midst of convening its 19th General Body Meeting here, said in a post on its official Facebook handle that “The Tibetan Youth Congress strongly condemns the founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.”

Regional Tibetan Youth Congress NYNJ has announced a protest before the Chinese consulate in New York while SFT NYNJ has announced a candlelight vigil protest before the Chinese consulate. Additionally, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Toronto, Canada has also planned a protest before the Chinese consulate in in Toronto. 

In France, SFT and TYC along with some other organisations have collectively planned a protest at a public square facing the Eiffel Tower.