Chengdu — The Chinese despised Tibetan Buddhism, claiming that “Buddhism was an evil religion” and hurting more than seven million Tibetans and other Buddhist believers. An educated young Tibetan said that the Chinese should respect the culture and religion of others. Another case involves Chinese landlords discriminating against Tibetans by refusing to rent rooms to them in the Chengdu city. A Tibetan asked why the Chinese were discriminating against Tibetans and what is wrong to be a Tibetan. These cases show that the Chinese discriminate against Tibetans on the basis of their religion and ethnicity.
The Chinese constitution clearly stated that the equality of all ethnic groups in the Article 4: "All ethnic groups of the People's Republic of China are equal", and prohibits discrimination and oppression of any ethnic group." But in reality, the Chinese government and people do exactly the opposite: they discriminate against Tibetans because of their ethnicity, religion, and culture, and simply being Tibetan is considered a crime.
The constitution also stated that, "this principle of equality is further emphasized by the prohibition of discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, occupation, family background, religious belief, education, or property status." However, Chinese authorities make such discriminations at train stations, airports, workplaces, and educational institutions. They separate Tibetans at train stations and airports and search their personal belongings and phones, which they do not do with Chinese and other nationalities. They favor Chinese over Tibetans in employment, discriminate against them in schools and universities, and force them to speak Chinese and learn the Chinese language and culture. The Chinese discriminating against Tibetans by refusing to rent rooms to them and they despised Tibetan Buddhism, claiming that Buddhism was an evil religion and hurting more than seven million Tibetans and other Buddhist believers.
Recently, a Chinese man stated online that “Tibetan Buddhism is an evil religion,” causing great pain and disappointment among Tibetans and other Buddhist believers. A brave and educated young Tibetan stood up and opposed this Chinese man, stating: "This man has no knowledge of Buddhism and criticizes the religion. He does not respect the religion and culture of others, and despises the religious beliefs of others (Tibetans). I do not understand why Chinese people have such hostility toward Tibetans and despise our religion and culture. Tibetans are very kind, Buddhists are also good and kind, and they have said nothing about this man's criticism of Buddhism. This Chinese man speaks of us with arrogance; if it were another religion, he would not dare to say such things. But they cannot sully the truth."
Another case involves Chinese landlords discriminating against Tibetans by refusing to rent rooms to them in the city of Chengdu, in Sichuan province, China. A Tibetan asked why the Chinese were discriminating against Tibetans and what was wrong with being Tibetan. In a message posted on WeChat (a Chinese social network), the man said: "What's going on with Tibetans? Why do Chinese landlords refuse to rent rooms to Tibetans? The landlord said that because you are Tibetan, he will not rent to Tibetans. Don't discriminate based on ethnicity, don't discriminate, and don't look down on (Tibetans).” “Some Chinese hotels require a deposit to reserve rooms, but when the room isn't as good as it looks online, they don't refund our deposit. These hotels are scammers, what does that mean? Are Tibetans easy to intimidate?” the Tibetan saying with helpless face.
These cases are not the first examples of discrimination against Tibetans, their religion, or their culture by Chinese people. For instance, one Chinese woman was openly discriminating against Tibetans in Shanghai, while another Chinese woman wrote a racist post on October 8, 2022 by saying: 'The government doesn't care. All Tibetans in Lhasa should be wiped out! Leave this place to us Han Chinese!".
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.
