Dharamshala — In further crackdown on Tibetan dissents inside Tibet, a Tibetan writer and blogger Shokjang and his brother in law have been arrested by Chinese authorities in Rebkong County of north-eastern Tibet (Ch: Tongren County, Qinghai, China) for writings allegedly engaging in splittist activities.
"Druklo, pen name Shokjang, a 31-year-old Tibetan writer and blogger was detained by Chinese security officials from a hotel in Rebkong County, Amdo Region of north-eastern Tibet, on March 18, 2015. Although the circumstances of his arrest are not known," Ven Jigme Gyatso, a Tibetan living in exile told The Tibet Post International.
According to sources, "this is the second time that Shokjang has been detained by the authorities. He was arrested on April 6, 2010, along with his fellow student Tashi Rabten (penname - Theurang) when they were at the Northwest Nationalities University in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province in Northwest China."
Theurang's writings on the 2008 protests inside Tibet and his book 'Written in Blood', copies of which were later confiscated by government officials.
"Chinese officials told his family that he will be released to home soon. His brother in law Tashi Nyima released after few days but shokjang remained in Chinese police custody without any formal charges filed against him after his arrest," sources added.
Born in Khaja township, Gengya Yultso, Sangchu County near Labrang Monastery, northern-eastern Tibet, "Shokjang has complete his undergraduate studies at University in Lanzhou," he said.
Sources said that "as a student at the University, Shokjang written several articles about the situation in Tibet and he had won great respect from the Tibetan community. His writings including 'The Power of the Heart' and 'For the Freedom, I Have No Regrets,' against the injustice and repression under which Tibetan people live. However Many of his writings which were later confiscated by Chinese authorities."
"His wife's name is Lhamo Tsering and has a 3-year-old kid. His stepfather's name is Tamding and mother's name is Lhamo Kyi, Ven Jigme said, adding: "the current condition and whereabouts of the arrested disappeared writer remain unknown."
After Shokjang's arrest and disappearance, Sources reportedly said that "many of his fellow writers have expressed their solidarity with Shokjang and his innocence. About 30 articles which has been already posted on a number of social-networking websites, including the messaging app WeChat."
Many Tibetans, including monks have been arrested and jailed in recent years for circulating information about protests and cases of self-immolation. More than 50 Tibetan dissents, including writers, bloggers, singers and environmentalists, have been detained or are imprisoned, mostly after sharing views or information about conditions in their homeland.
Chinese authorities barred foreign journalists from visiting Tibet after that March 2008 peaceful protests. Since then the regime has imposed severe restrictions on internet and phone connections by increasing a wider crackdown on communications across Tibet in an attempt to prevent any news reaching the outside world.
In Tibet today, Tibetans are being arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and tortured for merely expressing their suffering under Chinese rule. However, authorities in Beijing still claim that "China 'peacefully liberated' Tibet, and that the "Tibetans are living in a Maoist socialist paradise."
Reporters Without Borders ranks China 175 out of 180 countries, for freedom of the press and Amnesty International calls China an "authoritarian state" as do the U.S. and EU.