(TibetanReview.net, Jul26’24) – China’s campaign to Sinicize the Tibetan culture appears to have reached the doorsteps of villagers in Ngaba (or Ngawa, Chinese: Aba) county in what is now part of Sichuan province where residents have reportedly been ordered to remove and destroy religious symbols and structures from the exteriors and roofs of their homes. Also, the prohibition on Tibetans from organizing or participating in prayer sessions online is being strictly enforced, reported the Tibetan service of rfa.org Jul 25, citing two sources with knowledge of the situation.
The report said the measures had come as Beijing intensified efforts to assimilate Tibetans and adapt Tibetan Buddhism so that its tenets and practices conform with the ideology of the Communist Party of China.
While authorities have thus far demolished religious objects and structures at Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, this is the first instance of religious symbols at ordinary people’s homes being destroyed, the report noted.
In at least four villages in the county, Chinese authorities have been conducting searches of all Tibetan homes since the beginning of July in order to carry out this drive, the report said, citing a local and an exile Tibetan, both speaking on condition of anonymity.
The objects ordered removed include prayer flags, a ubiquitous presence on rooftops of Tibetan homes, and other religious materials.
Also ordered dismantled are stated to include incense-leaf burning structures that are also common outside Tibetan homes, used by Tibetans to perform Sangsol rituals for every important occasion.
No reasons have been given for carrying out this drive, which is expected to be continued in neighbouring Tibetan areas as well, the two sources have said.
Tibetans across the Plateau region have already been under prohibition from organizing religious prayer services online in their social media messaging groups or chat groups. This is now being more strictly enforced, with individuals suspected of engaging in them being summoned for questioning, one of the sources has said.