sabato 9 dicembre 2017

Tibet and Radio Free Asia


** TIBET [and non]. Glenn: I don't have a date for this subcommittee hearing, but I believe it to be very recent. -mc

House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Issues Testimony From Radio Free Asia

  The House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific issued
  the following testimony by Tenzin Tethong, director of the Tibetan
  Service at Radio Free Asia, at a hearing entitled "U.S. Policy Toward
  Tibet: Access, Religious Freedom, and Human Rights":

  "First, I would like to thank Representatives Ted Yoho and Brad Sherman
  for this opportunity to testify today at this hearing on "U.S. Policy
  Toward Tibet: Access Religious Freedom, and Human Rights." As Director
  of the Tibetan Service at Radio Free Asia, I would like to focus my
  comments on the challenges we face as a news organization of getting
  news from the region and fulfilling our congressionally mandated
  mission of bringing this news to the Tibetan people. It's extremely
  difficult for any of our journalists to have normal access to Tibet,
  which ranks among the world's worst media environments after North
  Korea. Nevertheless, many of them maintain various levels of contact
  with vast networks of trusted sources inside who can provide tips,
  leads, images, video, and confirmation of events.

  "Radio Free Asia's Tibetan Service has had to double its efforts to
  meet the increasing challenges of bringing the Tibetan people reliable,
  timely news and information. During President Xi Jinping's tenure,
  China has grown even more strident in enforcing a comprehensive
  censorship and propaganda operation in Tibet. These tactics are
  designed to keep the Tibetans in the dark as Beijing has stepped up its
  suppression of Tibetan identity and religious freedom, continued to
  seize land and mineral wealth from Tibetan-populated areas in China,
  and increased its attacks on Tibetan cultural heritage by demolishing
  holy sites and demonizing the Tibetan people's spiritual leader, the
  Dalai Lama.

  "On any given day, people in Tibet may wake up without access to the
  Internet and unable to make a phone call because authorities have shut
  down all communications. Tibetans can find themselves stopped and
  searched randomly at roadside security checkpoints, their phones and
  electronic devices confiscated to be probed for sensitive images, like
  those of the Dalai Lama. Nuns and monks from nearby monasteries may be
  rounded up by police to be detained or warned about the use of social
  media. And entire families may be taken into custody under suspicion
  that one individual, or a close relative, has communicated with foreign
  media or NGOs.

  "Beijing has always kept a tight lid on Tibet, mostly to conceal the
  extent of its abuses stemming from its policies in the region. In 2008
  an uprising in Lhasa spread throughout all Tibetan regions within
  China, culminating in the last protests leading up to the Beijing
  Olympics. In recent years, there has been a new form of protest by way
  of self-immolations against Beijing's rule. Last week, RFA reported the
  151st self-immolation protest since the current wave began in 2009. It
  was carried out by a 63-year-old monk from Kardze who called out for
  freedom in Tibet before he set himself aflame. These self-immolation
  protests have explicitly called for greater freedom for the Tibetan
  people and the swift return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. They represent
  the deep frustrations and yearnings of the Tibetan people. But each
  time such a protest takes place, authorities intensify efforts to clamp
  down on the sharing of information. Entire prefectures and regions can
  be plunged into communications darkness in the wake of such protests as
  messaging apps like WeChat are shut down, along with the Internet and
  phone lines.

  "Virtually all expressions of Tibetan identity - including the practice
  of religion and the teaching of the Tibetan language -- online and on
  social media are filtered, monitored or outright censored. Those who
  are considered to have violated what's deemed necessary by authorities
  to preserve stability often suffer severe consequences such as jailing
  and torture. Facebook and YouTube are blocked, and Chinese telecoms
  that control Chinese Internet access have been ordered by the state to
  ban the use of VPNs - removing nearly any possibility for Tibetans to
  access sensitive content on outside social media and websites. China's
  vast system of Internet filters and blocks, known collectively as "The
  Great Firewall," is tightly enforced in the Tibetan regions - where all
  online access and the Internet can be shut down at any given moment.
  Chinese state-sponsored hackers target the Tibetan diaspora and
  organizations outside China, using malware attacks to shut down
   overseas servers and IT infrastructure.

  "Weibo and WeChat, the dominant social media platforms in China, are
  heavily monitored and restricted. Tibetans who use WeChat to keep in
  touch with family and friends, but also to discuss sensitive topics in
  created groups, risk harassment and jail. RFA recently reported how
  Chinese authorities have begun to infiltrate these groups to monitor
  and crack down on individuals. This was especially evident in the
  lead-up to the recent 19th Party Congress. Authorities ramped up
  efforts to police WeChat and warn Tibetan monastery heads about the
  severe consequences their entire establishments would face if monks and
  nuns shared or discussed content deemed sensitive. These measures
   follow on authorities tearing down satellite dishes on Tibetan homes in
   Qinghai and Sichuan to prevent access to RFA and VOA radio
   transmissions.

  "Chinese authorities have also severely limited access to foreign media
  sending correspondents to the Tibetan regions, despite assurances in
  2015 that this could happen. The few correspondents who obtain
  permission are allowed to visit only under the condition of being under
  the constant supervision of state security handlers - making the
   region, in one Washington Post reporter's estimation, as cut off to
  foreign outlets as North Korea.

  "Chinese authorities also bring the heavy hand of law enforcement down
  on any Tibetan caught sharing information of events inside the Tibetan
  regions with foreign outlets. And their far-reaching efforts to stop
  the free flow of information extend well beyond the borders of China.
  Authorities harass Tibet-based families of reporters and stringers
  working for Radio Free Asia in Washington, D.C., as well as in Nepal
  and India. Chinese authorities even target Tibetans using WeChat and
  WhatsApp in the United States. A Tibetan-American in New York, a
   regular listener to RFA who re-sends our programs out over social
  media, was somehow identified by Chinese security authorities.
  Authorities tracked down his family in Tibet, interrogating and
  threatening them with retribution.

  "While Chinese journalists travel and work freely in the United States,
  no RFA Tibetan reporter can obtain a journalist's visa to enter Tibet.
  Even when applying for visas to visit family, RFA Tibetan reporters are
  subjected to extensive questioning by Chinese embassy officials, while
  parallel inquiries are made of family members back home by local
  authorities. Such a process can go on indefinitely, and, more often
  than not, results in a denial. Two months ago, one of our reporters was
  granted permission to visit his ailing brother after weeks of pleading
  for a visa, and was finally able to visit and spend the last few days
  with his brother before he passed away. Another reporter, who had not
  met his family members for 10 years, had to rendezvous in Hong Kong
  because he was repeatedly denied a visa to visit home. Yet another, who
  wanted to visit with relatives in China on a 72-hour,
   non-visa-requirement transit privilege accorded to all U.S. passport
   holders, was denied entry in August because he was identified as a
   Tibetan.

  "Beijing has recently directed increased resources to build up its
  state-sponsored Tibetan language media operations on radio, online, and
  TV, which offers audiences almost solely entertainment programming
   punctuated with propaganda-driven news updates serving the CCP's
  narrative. All the while, they continue to try to deny access to RFA's
  programming on radio and online by jamming shortwave signals and
  blocking access to RFA's Tibetan news website.

  "Despite these efforts, or maybe because of them, Radio Free Asia has
  earned the trust of many Tibetans inside China, who are essential to
  the effectiveness of RFA's journalism. These networks of cultivated
  inside sources enable the Tibetan Service to break news about events
  that would otherwise be ignored by or censored by China's state
   controlled media. RFA was the first to report on the accelerated
   destruction of Larung Gar, and broke the news about the vast majority
  of recent self-immolations. The Tibetan Service has also provided
  exclusive coverage on China's exploitation of mineral wealth and mining
  operations in the region, which have prompted large-scale protests. In
  reporting these developments in Tibet through the years, we have become
  a reliable conduit for citizen-journalists in Tibet who are keen to
  inform the rest of the world of what is happening in their country.

  "The erosion of religious rights and freedoms in Tibet may be best
  illustrated by the accelerated demolition and crackdown on Larung Gar
  this year. Larung Gar is one of the most prominent and vibrant Tibetan
  Buddhist learning centers with monks and nuns from all over the
  country. We reported the forced expulsions and the extensive demolition
  of living quarters by the authorities, and how any monk or nun not
  officially certified as local was immediately expelled. We were able to
  cover these developments at Larung Gar because many of its residents
  sent us reports, photos, and video. Similarly, the year before, local
  activists in eastern Tibet informed us of mining activities in their
  region that was causing extensive environmental damage. When the mining
  was finally halted, the local Tibetans informed us that it was outside
  attention, especially the steady reporting by RFA, which had forced
  Chinese authorities to acknowledge the environmental damage and put an
  end to the mining.

  "Trust is a two-way street for RFA with both our sources and audiences.
  We recently learned that a monk who was among our sources at Larung Gar
  was expelled from the center under suspicion of helping us. He told us
  that though he was devastated, he had no regrets. People are prepared
  and willing to take such great risks to inform RFA, so we can in turn
  inform the Tibetan people. Such feedback reaffirms the importance of
  our mission. As one Tibetan listener inside China recently said, "RFA
  broadcasts clearly about the conditions inside Tibet and where His
  Holiness the Dalai Lama is going to visit and what he is doing. Because
  they broadcast such true information, I strongly trust it." RFA strives
  to keep earning that trust and keep connecting the Tibetan people with
  the truth." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD)