The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to eliminate Tibetan culture, religion and language to tighten its grip on the next generation, Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT) secretary-general Tashi Tsering said yesterday.

His remark came after the Wall Street Journal in June reported that China is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build a broad network of preschools for Tibetan kids as young as four, seeking to inculcate loyalty to the CCP early in life.

Tibetan children are taught in Mandarin, and take lessons that emphasize Chinese culture as well as glorify the CCP and Chinese identity before they have a chance to absorb the Tibetan language and way of life, the report said.

Photo: Screen grab from the Mainland Affairs Council’s Facebook page

Teachers tell children that their clothes, shoes and well-being are gifts from the CCP, it said.

China has for at least two decades directed Tibetan children to state-run boarding schools at ever younger ages, trying to gut Tibetan culture and blunt generations of opposition to CCP rule, it said.

The number of preschools in Tibet increased from about 500 in 2012 to nearly 2,500 in 2022, the report said, adding that the number of Tibetan children enrolled in preschools has surpassed 90 percent, up from 52 percent 10 years ago.

When culture is stripped away, only oppression remains, the Mainland Affairs Council wrote on social media last week in response to the report.

Tashi Tsering said that China has been trying to eliminate Tibetan culture, and the Chinese government has implemented such measures more strictly since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) took office.

The CCP promotes “patriotic” education in Tibet, and by “patriotic,” it means being obedient, listening to the party and not having any criticisms, he said.

Many children in Tibet are forced to leave their families for this so-called education that aims to make them forget their language, culture and religion, Tashi Tsering said.

This is to brainwash Tibetans and make all of them speak Mandarin in the end, he added.

When Xi visited Tibet last month, many Tibetans were “arranged” to welcome Xi at the airport, Tashi Tsering said, adding that the authorities tried to create a false impression that Tibetans like being ruled by the CCP to brainwash overseas Tibetans.

They would not succeed, he said.

The Chinese government has also criticized the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation and issued a decree in 2007 requiring all reincarnations of “Living Buddhas” to be determined and approved by state authorities, Tashi Tsering said.

The Dalai Lama previously said that the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue and that his successor would be born outside China.