Monks aged 15 and under in the Tibetan-populated region of Sichuan are forced to leave their monasteries, and Chinese authorities place them in government-run schools, reports Radio Free Asia.
According to a source, the Chinese government has started to expel young monks from their monasteries, and if they refuse to abide, monasteries are threatened to be shut down. Around 20 novices from Jowo Ganden Shedrub Palgyeling monastery and around 200 from Dza Sershul monastery have already been removed, both in Dzachuka, an area in historic Tibet’s eastern region of Kham.
Chinese authorities have long sought to restrict the size and influence of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, traditionally a focus of Tibetan cultural and national identity.
Bitter Winter reports on how religions are allowed, or not allowed, to operate in China and how some are severely persecuted after they are labeled as “xie jiao,” or heterodox teachings. We publish news difficult to find elsewhere, analyses, and debates.
Placed under the editorship of Massimo Introvigne, one of the most well-known scholars of religion internationally, “Bitter Winter” is a cooperative enterprise by scholars, human rights activists, and members of religious organizations persecuted in China (some of them have elected, for obvious reasons, to remain anonymous).
