Top Chinese official in Tibet wants Buddhist temples to spread propaganda
By Ishaan Tharoor April 3
China’s top-ranking official in Tibet wants monks in the restive far western region to “revere” science and embrace the “warmth” of Chinese Communist Party ideology.
An article, cited by Reuters, written in a prominent fortnightly party magazine by Chen Quanguo, Tibet’s Communist Party boss, urged Tibet’s nearly 50,000 monks to see Beijing officialdom as “friends.”
That’s a bit of a tricky sell, given China’s long history of repression in Tibet, its demonizing of the exiled Dalai Lama and the recurring gruesome tactic of self-immolation practiced by Tibetan monks protesting the Chinese state.
But Chen espouses the longstanding party line, arguing that, since its annexation by China in 1950, Tibetans have benefited from throwing off the shackles of their thralldom to Tibet’s powerful lamas. In his article, Chen indicates that Tibet’s hundreds of temples should recognize Beijing’s vision of modernity.
“Let the monks and nuns in the temples and monasteries have a personal feeling of the party and government’s care and warmth; let them feel the party’s benevolence, listen to the party’s words and follow the party’s path,” Chen writes in party journal Qiushi, which means “seeking truth.”
He adds: “Monks and nuns should not have to go out of their temples or monasteries to understand the party and government’s policies and social progress, or Tibet’s peace, stability and good fortune, so as to be guided to follow a path of revering scientific culture.”
This may sound benign, but there is an edge to the message. Stability and vigilance against any inkling of separatism are mantras of Beijing’s one-party authoritarian state. Religion — particularly the Buddhism of Tibetans and the Islam of Uighurs in the neighboring restive region of Xinjiang — have long posed an implicit threat to Communist party ideology.
Chen’s insistence on reverence for “scientific culture” is Beijing’s way of saying minority religious practices need to be better controlled. Last year, in remarks addressing counterterrorism measures, Chinese President Xi Jinping insisted “patriotic clergy” in Xinjiang should help their co-religionists “adapt to a socialist society.”
In the months since, Chinese authorities in the region have embarked on a widespread crackdown on Islamic and Uighur cultural practices, including the wearing of burqas and bans even on the growing of lengthy beards. According to my colleagues, they have even embarked on an Orwellian scheme where families in parts of Xinjiang sign “de-radicalization pledges” and encourage locals to report on each other.
This wasn’t the first time Chen made a strong statement regarding religion in Tibet. Two years ago, also in Qiushi, he insisted that China must instruct people in Tibet “to be grateful to the Party, listen to the Party and follow the Party.”
A spokesman from the toothless Tibetan-government-in-exile, based in India, offered this retort: “Ironically, [Chen] is expressing the kind of imperialist mentality that the Communist Party criticizes and claims to fight against.”
Ishaan Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor at TIME, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York.