(TibetanReview.net, Feb13’25) –China is said to have expelled more than 1,000 monks and nuns from the world’s biggest centre for the study of Tibetan Buddhism located in Serthar (Chinese: Seda) county, Sichuan province, and demolished monastic living quarters to limit the academy’s community to just 5,000 resident monks and nuns.
It was earlier stated by the Central Tibetan Administration at Dharamshala, India, Dec 27, 2024, that China had deployed some 400 troops at the Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy on Dec 20. This was stated to be accompanied by a helicopter surveillance operation, signalling an intensification of monitoring activities at the academy.
The statement cited sources as saying stringent new regulations would limit residency at the academy to a maximum of 15 years, require all monks and nuns studying in it to be officially registered, with the possibility that their total strength may eventually be reduced to as low as 1,000.
Citing its monitoring group Tibet Watch, London-based Free Tibet (freetibet.org) said Feb 11 that the demolition work had begun in late November and continued into December.
Unlike previous demolitions over 2016-2017, photos and videos have yet to emerge, with China having imposed tight restrictions on the site and even any mention of it on social media. A new directive was issued in 2021 forbidding entry by all non-residents to Larung Gar, the group said.
The report quoted a source, seemingly local, as saying: “For over a month, more than 400 military personnel and related staff were deployed to enforce the state-mandated policy to limit residential quarters to 5,000 in the monastery. Over 1,000 monks and nuns from Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Serthar County have been expelled, and there are plans to demolish all residential quarters that exceed the 5,000-person limit.”
The directive to reduce the academy’s resident monks and nuns was stated to have been first issued in 2016, leading to more than 4,500 monastic students being expelled and more than 1,000 residential quarters demolished over 2016-2017.
It also led to the establishment, in 2017, of a management office manned by six Communist Party members to strictly control all aspects of the monastic academy’s functioning, including its administration, religious studies, and daily activities.
Most of those expelled now were stated to be monks and nuns who had come to study after the mass expulsions that took place over 2016-2017.