No religious activities for students during summer vacation: China’s new decree in TAR/ENG

2018. július 19./Phayul.com/TibetPress

eredeti cikk

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, July 19: With the summer vacations soon to begin in schools across occupied Tibet, the Chinese government in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) has ordered students not to engage in religious activities during the break.

According to Voice of Tibet, authorities have made parents sign ‘the Summer break guidelines’ document at a high school in Lhasa city’s Nhew area. The second of the document’s six guidelines state that parents must bear responsibility of not letting their children engage in any religious activities during the summer school break. The parents were however not given a copy of the document.

In a similar incident, Tibetan students at a school in Chamdo in eastern Tibet were warned by Chinese authorities this year against engaging in any religious activities during the Sakadawa, a month-long Buddhist religious event.

Religious freedom, despite being enshrined in the Chinese constitution is a diminishing right in occupied Tibet under Chinese rule. Increasing scrutiny by law and its implementation over the religious freedom for Tibetans has been observed as a key threat by the international community.

In March, Warsaw-based human rights group during 37th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva expressed its grave concern regarding the adverse impact of China’s revised regulation on Buddhism in Tibet.

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) in its statement addressed to the President of UN’s Human Rights Council informed that the revised law, in effect since February 2, strengthens Communist Party’s far-reaching power over people’s lives and beliefs and further threatens Tibetan Buddhism’s continued survival under Chinese rule.