(TibetanReview.net, Feb11’24) – China announced a relaxation in restrictions it had imposed in 2018 on the entry into Tibet’s capital Lhasa of Tibetans from outside the region in a move to revive its flagging economy ahead of the Tibetan New Year, or Losar, festivities, reported the Tibetan service of rfa.org Feb 9. But restrictions, bordering on a ban, continues to remain on Tibetans seeking to travel to the other countries.
Besides, the relaxations have come with restrictions which severely curtail one of the main Tibetan purposes for undertaking the visit, the report said, citing three local Tibetan sources.
Most of the Tibetans who make it to Lhasa after the relaxation of entry rules have been Kham and Amdo people whose historical Tibetan regions are now parts of Sichuan and Qinghai provinces. And their main or only purpose is to undertake pilgrimage to the major Buddhist religious sites that include the Potala Palace, the Barkhor Street, the Jokhang Temple and the Norbulingka Palace.
The relaxation has led to the largest number of arrivals from the traditional Kham and Amdo provinces of Tibet.
However, the TAR authorities have imposed restrictions on visits to a number of these sites, including the Jokhang Temple, the holiest site in Tibetan Buddhism. It has decided to open the site on the first day of Losar, on Feb 10, and then close it from Feb 11 to 16.
Besides, limits have been placed on visits to other religious sites as well, including on forming of large gatherings, during the 15-day Losar celebrations. Devotees must present their identification cards before participating in religious rituals near temples and pilgrimage sites, the report said, citing a Lhasa police order.
Until last year, Tibetans from other regions were required to submit to an office in Lhasa a prescribed application after obtaining the form for the purpose from a local office, while a resident of the host city was required to provide guarantee that the visitors would not engage in any protest activity.
The report also said Tibetans continued to face severe restrictions on undertaking travels outside the country.
“I went to Nepal with a few of my friends last month but in order to go on that trip, I had to deposit 100,000 Nepali rupee [US$750] and give the name of someone I knew in Lhasa as security,” the report quoted one of the sources as saying, speaking, like the others, on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. Besides, only group travel, accompanied by a travel agency representative, was allowed.
“I felt like a prisoner,” the source has said.
In addition, “It’s almost impossible for Tibetans to travel to the United States and other Western countries,” a third source has told rfa.org.