Dharamshala — On the 66th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day, the Chinese authorities intensify their repression against Tibetans in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and throughout Tibet, confining them to their homes, authorizing the armed forces to patrol the streets, weapons in hand, to prevent Tibetans from protesting against China, and placing monasteries under heavy surveillance.
According to reliable sources, the Chinese authorities in Tibet cracked down on Tibetans throughout Tibet, a few days before and after the 66th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day, which was on March 10, 2025. They banned Tibetans from traveling and gathering, confined them to their homes. China has deployed large numbers of soldiers, troops, special police, armed police and firemen to control their every move and prevent Tibetans from staging protests or self-immolating to protest against the Chinese government.
Videos show the Chinese armed forces, with their military cars, driving through the streets, and armed police patrolling the streets, weapons in their hands, to prevent Tibetans from protesting against China. The Chinese authorities have also placed the monasteries under close surveillance, fearing that the monks will organise protests or self-immolate to protest against the Chinese government, as they have done in the past.
On March 10, 2025, Tibetans and Tibet supporters around the world commemorated the 66th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day in over 20 countries and 60 cities, in memory of the Tibetan martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Tibet and the protection of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on March 10, 1959, while protesting against China's invasion of Tibet.
Unfortunately, Tibetans in Tibet find it very difficult to commemorate this day. In addition, they are closely monitored and their movements are severely restricted. Despite these restrictions, courageous Tibetans protested against the Chinese government's oppressive policies towards Tibetans, the Tibetan language and religion, as well as the illegal occupation of Tibet. 157 Tibetans (131 men and 26 women), most of them monks, protested against the CCP and called for freedom in Tibet, independence for Tibet and the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet.
China-Tibet: The one-thing you need to know:
Over the past 70 decades, there has been ongoing political repression, social discrimination, economic marginalization, environmental destruction, and cultural assimilation, particularly due to Chinese migration to Tibet which is fueling intense resentment among the people of occupied Tibet.
The communist-totalitarian state of China began its invasion of Tibet in 1949, reaching complete occupation of the country in 1959. Since that time, more than 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation's population of six million, have died as a direct result of China's invasion and occupation. In addition, over 99% of Tibet's six thousand religious monasteries, temples, and shrines, have been looted or decimated resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.
Until 1949, Tibet was an independent Buddhist nation in the Himalayas which had little contact with the rest of the world. It existed as a rich cultural storehouse of the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism. Religion was a unifying theme among the Tibetans -- as was their own language, literature, art, and world view developed by living at high altitudes, under harsh conditions, in a balance with their environment.
