{"id":13164,"date":"2025-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/nieuws\/tibetan-activists-face-intense-scrutiny-during-state-orchestrated-celebrations-for-xi-jinpings-lhasa-visit\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T22:00:00","slug":"tibetan-activists-face-intense-scrutiny-during-state-orchestrated-celebrations-for-xi-jinpings-lhasa-visit","status":"publish","type":"nieuws","link":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/news\/tibetan-activists-face-intense-scrutiny-during-state-orchestrated-celebrations-for-xi-jinpings-lhasa-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Tibetan activists face intense scrutiny during state-orchestrated celebrations for Xi Jinping\u2019s Lhasa visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During state-orchestrated celebrations for Xi Jinping\u2019s second visit to Lhasa, marking the Tibet Autonomous Region\u2019s 60th anniversary, Chinese authorities deployed significant security forces to project stability and harmony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in previous instances, Tibetan activists and individuals perceived by the authorities as undermining the state\u2019s image have faced restrictions on their movement or have been barred from entering Lhasa. The ordeal faced by the family of imprisoned Tibetan businessman Dorjee Tashi exemplifies the broader climate of heightened security and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frustrated with persistent surveillance and repeated obstruction of her rights, Gonpo Kyi, elder sister of Dorjee Tashi, attempted to commit suicide by jumping from the second floor of her brother\u2019s Yak Hotel in Lhasa on 20 August. She reportedly survived the fall but sustained serious injuries to her leg and back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gonpo Kyi has been leading a persistent campaign advocating for the release of her brother, Dorjee Tashi, who has been serving a life sentence in Lhasa\u2019s Drapchi Prison since 2008 on loan fraud charges widely regarded as politically motivated and allegedly fabricated by corrupt local officials after he refused to comply with their demands for luxury favors. Dorjee Tashi has consistently maintained his innocence, even under tort<\/a>u<\/a>re<\/a> during interrogation in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After exhausting all official avenues to seek justice for her brother, Gonpo Kyi and her family began openly advocating for his release in June 2022. Since then, she has repeatedly staged sit-ins in front of the People\u2019s Court of the Tibet Autonomous Region in Lhasa. Her activism<\/a> has been met with repeated repression, including physical assaults, periods of detention and house arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appealing directly for intervention from China\u2019s top leader to defend justice, Gonpo held a large portrait of Xi Jinping<\/a> during one of her sit-ins in front of the gate of the Higher People\u2019s Court in Lhasa on 20 February 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screen grab of video clip<\/a> of Gonpo holding Chinese leader Xi\u2019s portrait during her sit-in in front of the court on 20 February 2024.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Gonpo Kyi was held in confinement during Xi\u2019s visit, authorities restricted the freedom of movement of Dorjee Tashi\u2019s brother, Dorjee Tseten, confining him to Lhoka (Shannan) prefecture, south of Lhasa, and barring him from returning to the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 18, when Gonpo tried to leave the Yak Hotel to appeal visit to her imprisoned brother, security officers forcibly returned her and confined her there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a video recorded the following day<\/a>, 19 August, she is seen approaching a gate guarded by several plainclothes Chinese police officers surveilling her. She states that her right to visit her brother is being systematically obstructed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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