China: No End to Tibet Surveillance Program
21,000 Officials Stationed Indefinitely in Villages
intensive surveillance program in villages across the Tibet Autonomous
Region (TAR) that was due to end in 2014, Human Rights Watch said today.
There are indications that the “village-based cadre teams” (zhucun gongzuodui) scheme, which is unprecedented in China, will become permanent.
In the TAR, where the fundamental rights to freedom of expression,
peaceful assembly, religion and privacy are already highly restricted,
the extension of this scheme signals authorities’ intention to suppress
any signs of dissent or criticism among Tibetans. Since their deployment
in 2011, the teams have carried out intrusive surveillance
of Tibetans in villages, including questioning them about their
political and religious views, subjecting thousands to political
indoctrination, establishing partisan security units to monitor
behavior, and collecting information that could lead to detention or
other punishment. Official reports describe the teams pressuring
villagers to publicly show support for the ruling Communist Party and to
oppose the Dalai Lama.
“The Chinese government’s decision to extend its Tibet surveillance
program indefinitely is nothing less than a continuous human rights
violation,” said Sophie Richardson, China director. “The new normal is one of permanent surveillance of Tibetans.”
