Tibetan scholar Dr Gyal Lo served with legal documents in Canada over China lawsuit
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 5 Nov: Dr Gyal Lo, a prominent Tibetan scholar and one of the leading eyewitnesses documenting China’s residential boarding school system in occupied Tibet, has been served with legal documents at his Toronto home in connection with a lawsuit filed by his former employer, Yunnan Normal University, seeking approximately CAD 203,000 (RMB 965,134.52), according to the Tibet Action Institute, where he works as a Tibet specialist.
The legal documents were served on his wife on 23 September while Dr Gyal Lo was in Geneva advocating for Tibetan children’s rights ahead of China’s review by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The documents, issued by the International Legal Cooperation Centre of China’s Ministry of Justice, included a summons requiring him to appear at a hearing in China on 15 September. The institute said this was the first time Dr Gyal Lo became aware of the proceedings.
According to the institute, Yunnan Normal University first filed a labour arbitration claim against Dr Gyal Lo in June 2023. After the initial claim and subsequent legal proceedings were rejected, the university filed the present lawsuit in January 2025.
The financial demand dates back to October 2020, when the university sought the same amount following a dispute over his mid-term performance assessment and the termination of his employment contract. Dr Gyal Lo, who was preparing to challenge his dismissal legally, left China for Canada in December 2020 after receiving warnings that the dispute was politically motivated and that his life could be at risk, according to the institute.
Dr Gyal Lo is an educational sociologist whose research and firsthand accounts have drawn international attention to China’s colonial boarding school system in Tibet. Since joining the Tibet Action Institute as a Tibet specialist in 2022, he has documented the separation of Tibetan children from their families and the impact of state-run boarding schools on Tibetan language, cultural identity and religious traditions.
The institute estimates that approximately one million Tibetan children between the ages of four and 18 are currently living in China’s residential boarding schools.
The Tibet Action Institute has described the lawsuit as an attempt to intimidate and silence Dr Gyal Lo over his advocacy. Its director, Lhadon Tethong, said the timing of the legal action was significant, as it followed Dr Gyal Lo’s advocacy that contributed to calls by UN human rights bodies in 2023 for China to abolish its residential boarding school system in Tibet.
Dr Gyal Lo said he had fled Tibet to speak freely about the impact of China’s boarding school policy on Tibetan children, adding that the legal action had followed him to his home in Canada. He said the Chinese government would not succeed in silencing his voice.
The case has also raised concerns among Tibetan rights advocates over China’s efforts to pursue critics beyond its borders. The institute cited incidents of alleged harassment involving Dr Gyal Lo’s family members in occupied Tibet, attacks on his academic reputation in Chinese state media, online defamation and suspected surveillance and intimidation in Toronto and Geneva.
The institute also linked the case to concerns over China’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which came into effect on 1 July 2026. It argued that the law’s provisions could be used to target individuals advocating for Tibetan language and cultural rights, including those living outside China.
