Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 23: Chinese authorities in Kyungchu County reportedly summoned Tsongon Tsering, a Tibetan youth who posted a video raising serious concerns about environmental damage caused by illegal extraction activities carried out by the Anhui Shanhe Construction Company in Ngaba (Ch. Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in the Tibetan region of Amdo, according to Radio Free Asia.
In a somewhat unusual response, officials listened to Tsering’s concerns and suggestions during the summon. He was subsequently allowed to return home without facing detention or mistreatment, in contrast to the often harsh treatment Tibetan activists experience in similar cases.
In his video, Tsering detailed how the company had illegally extracted sand and stone from the riverbanks since May 2023. The extraction occurred along a tributary that feeds into the Machu (Yellow River) and Drichu (Yangtze River), two of Asia’s most important rivers. Tsering revealed that these illegal practices had severely degraded the local environment, polluted the water, and disrupted the livelihoods of the local Tibetan residents.
Tibetan environmental defenders face severe persecution, harassment, torture, and even death for their efforts to protect Tibet’s environment and natural resources. The environmental defenders who raise concerns about illegal mining, deforestation, and river pollution are often met with harsh retaliation from Chinese authorities. Many Tibetans who speak out are arbitrarily detained, subjected to violent interrogations, and denied their basic legal rights.
A prominent example is A-Nya Sengdra, a Tibetan nomad and environmental activist from eastern Tibet, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2019 on fabricated charges of “gathering people to disturb public order” when he was simply advocating for environmental protection and exposing local corruption. Detained in September 2018, A-Nya was brutally beaten by Chinese security forces and held without trial for over 14 months. His peaceful activism, which challenged China’s destructive environmental policies in Tibet, was the direct cause of his harsh treatment. In June 2020, a court rejected his appeal to overturn the charges, further demonstrating the authorities’ intolerance for any form of dissent.
A 2022 report by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) revealed that of the 50 documented cases of Tibetan environmental defenders over the last two decades, 21 are currently serving prison sentences with an average term of eight and a half years. While five have completed their sentences, it is unclear if all have been released. The whereabouts of 20 remain unknown, highlighting the challenges of penetrating China’s strict information controls. Additionally, four Tibetan environmental defenders have died due to abuse by Chinese state agents—three while in custody, and one fatally shot during a protest.
