Martin Pollard / Reuters
In a detailed report by Foreign Affairs, authored by Tenzin Dorjee and Gyal Lo, the focus is drawn to a grave issue in Tibet: the indoctrination of Tibetan children through Chinese state-run boarding schools. This strategy, unlike the internment camps seen in Xinjiang, aims to assimilate Tibetan children into the majority Han culture, stripping them of their native language, culture, and religious ties.
The report highlights that nearly a million Tibetan children are living in these residential schools on the Tibetan plateau. These schools enforce a politicized curriculum that methodically replaces Tibetan identity with a Chinese one. Children, some as young as four, are separated from their parents and enrolled in these schools under coercive strategies.
This alarming situation has prompted international attention and condemnation. The United Nations experts have expressed grave concerns, stating that this large-scale program appears to be a mandatory effort intended to assimilate Tibetans into Han culture, contradicting international human rights standards. Furthermore, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for this program.
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The suppression of the Tibetan language is a key aspect of this campaign. The Tibetan language, distinct from Mandarin, forms a crucial part of Tibetan identity. However, in these boarding schools, Mandarin is imposed as the sole medium of interaction, both in and outside classrooms, gradually displacing Tibetan as the children’s first language.
The Tibet Action Institute’s 2021 report provides a comprehensive analysis of this boarding system. It estimates that around 800,000 Tibetan students aged six to 18 are currently in the boarding system, which doesn’t include over 100,000 children in boarding kindergartens. The report also documents cases where parents are coerced into enrolling their children, countering Beijing’s claim of voluntary enrollment.
The Foreign Affairs report by Dorjee and Lo compares these schools to the colonial-era residential schools in North America and Australia, where indigenous children were forcibly removed from their cultures. The Chinese government’s actions in Tibet mirror these historical practices, aiming to eradicate Tibetan culture and language and assimilate Tibetans into the dominant Han culture.
This approach signifies an admission of defeat by Beijing, acknowledging its failure to win over Tibetans with development and modernization. The authors urge the international community to condemn this colonial boarding school system and advocate for coordinated actions, including sanctions against responsible officials.
The plight of Tibetan children in these schools, as detailed by Dorjee and Lo, represents not only a violation of international law but also a betrayal of the promises made by the Chinese government to respect Tibetan autonomy in faith, culture, and language. This report calls for urgent international attention and action to reverse these policies and protect the future of Tibetan culture and identity.
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