One of the most devastating aspects of China’s assimilation policy is the systematic removal of Tibetan children from their families and communities. Young Tibetans are placed in state-run boarding schools where they are immersed in Chinese language and culture while being cut off from their own traditions, language, and family connections.

Approximately 80% of Tibetan children aged 6-18—over one million young people—are now enrolled in these state-run residential schools. These institutions primarily teach in Mandarin Chinese rather than Tibetan, with curricula emphasizing Chinese national identity and Communist Party ideology while marginalizing Tibetan cultural content. Parents face coercion to send their children away, including threats of losing government benefits and employment opportunities. Students report punishment for speaking their native language, with 60% of surveyed former students experiencing psychological distress and cultural alienation. This educational system serves as a powerful mechanism for assimilation and threatens the intergenerational transmission of Tibetan cultural knowledge and language.

Sources: UN Special Rapporteurs Communication AL CHN 14/2022, Tibet Action Institute “Separated From Their Families, Hidden From the World” (2023), Journal of Genocide Research “Cultural Genocide in Tibet” (2021)

Tibetans are economically marginalized under Chinese rule. The state controls key industries, limiting Tibetans’ access to resources, employment, and entrepreneurship. Discriminatory policies ensure that Tibetans are relegated to low-paying jobs or face unemployment. Economic opportunities are skewed in favor of Han Chinese settlers, further deepening poverty in Tibetan communities.

For thousands of years, Tibetan nomads have sustainably managed the vast grasslands of the Tibetan plateau. Under Chinese occupation, these communities are being forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and placed in urban settlements, destroying a way of life and severing their connection to lands they have stewarded for generations.

Over 2.25 million Tibetan nomads have been forcibly relocated to urban settlements since 2006, under policies labeled as “poverty alleviation” and “ecological protection.” These relocations have devastating economic consequences, with 65% of resettled nomads experiencing significant income decline and unemployment rates reaching 70% in some settlements. Approximately 1.15 million hectares of traditional grazing land have been seized by authorities and repurposed for state-controlled development. 

Sources: Human Rights Watch “They Say We Should Be Grateful” (2021), Cornell University “Pastoral Land Expropriation in Tibet” (2022), Tibet Watch “Women’s Rights in Resettled Nomadic Communities” (2023)

Tibet\’s natural resources are heavily exploited by China for economic gain, often at the expense of the environment. Mining, deforestation, and large-scale infrastructure projects like dams have led to ecological degradation and displacement of local communities. These projects harm fragile ecosystems, affecting Tibetans\’ livelihoods and the broader global climate.

China severely restricts religious practices and cultural expressions in Tibet. Tibetans are forbidden from practicing Buddhism freely, with religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, vilified. Tibetan language and traditions are marginalized in favor of assimilation into Han Chinese culture. This repression aims to erase Tibet\’s unique cultural and religious identity.

Tibetans detained for political reasons are routinely subjected to severe physical and psychological torture. Those who express support for the Dalai Lama, participate in peaceful protests, or simply practice their culture can find themselves in detention centers where torture is commonplace and conducted with impunity. Many detainees do not survive this treatment.

Common torture techniques include beatings with electric batons, prolonged painful stress positions, and extended solitary confinement. The consequences are often fatal, as evidenced by 155 documented deaths in custody since 2009, with over 90% showing signs of physical abuse. The case of 19-year-old monk Tenzin Nyima highlights this brutality—he died from injuries sustained in detention after participating in a peaceful protest. Similarly, tour guide Kunchok Jinpa died from a brain hemorrhage while serving a 21-year sentence for sharing information about protests. Despite extensive documentation of these abuses, no Chinese officials have faced accountability.

Sources: UN Committee Against Torture “Concluding observations on China” (CAT/C/CHN/CO/5), Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy “Death by Torture: Tibet’s Silent Killings” (2022), Human Rights Watch “China: Tibetan Tour Guide Dies from Prison Injuries” (2021)