16 September 2024
Chinese authorities are compelling those under 18 to leave their monasteries and attend government-run boarding schools.
Recently, three out of five teenage Tibetan monks attempted suicide after being mandated to enroll in a local government school. Eyewitnesses in Sichuan province reported that these young former monks, forced into a boarding school with “unbearable, prison-like” conditions, tried to take their own lives, according to a report.
A video surfaced showing the boys, aged 13 to 14 and dressed in school uniforms, with an individual filming who discusses the suicide attempts. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on September 9 that the footage includes the filmer commenting on the attempts, though the boys themselves do not mention suicide in the video. A second Tibetan confirmed the incident, which occurred in early September.
One of the boys described the situation as “unbearable,” likening the school to a prison, and reported mistreatment, including poor food and physical abuse. Another boy echoed these concerns, stating they were treated harshly and discriminated against.
In Zungchu county, Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, six Tibetans intervened to prevent the boys from harming themselves near a river. The boys were among many young monks who had been relocated from the historic Muge Monastery in August, following a directive from Chinese authorities requiring minors to leave monasteries and attend state-run schools.
The video captured the boys expressing their distress over the school conditions, which they claimed included harsh treatment, inadequate food, and a strict political education that differed from the regular curriculum. They reported being treated differently from other students and facing severe mistreatment, including denial of basic needs like water.
Since 2018, China has increasingly forced Tibetan boys to leave monasteries and attend government boarding schools where classes are taught in Mandarin as part of Beijing’s “sinicization” policy. In August, young monks from Serpo and Drakra monasteries in Zungchu county were also removed.
RFA also reported that a 17-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk in Qinghai province, who was previously granted an exception by school authorities, died by suicide after the exception was revoked and he was required to wear regular clothes and attend classes.
