Dharamshala — The Chinese government forbids Tibetan children from entering monasteries, and prevents young Tibetan children from becoming monks, forces young monks to leave monastic schools for children and forcibly places them in Chinese colonial-style boarding schools. Such practices not only violate the fundamental rights of Tibetans but also constitute acts of genocide aimed at eliminating an entire ethnic group, language, and religion.
Tibetans are deeply connected to their religion, Buddhism, their way of thinking, acting, treating others with kindness, compassion, harmony and without harming them, including animals, taking care of the natural environment and not destroying it, all of which comes from Buddhism. Therefore, when the Chinese government tries to cut Tibetan children from their own religion, it means that it wants to turn these Tibetan children into Chinese children, who are taught only the ideologies of the Chinese Communist leaders, Chinese culture and Chinese history.
The most recent case is that of the Chinese government prohibiting Tibetan children from entering monasteries, putting up a sign saying "Children are not allowed in the monastery" during their winter holidays, which run from mid-January to the end of February 2026, in accordance with the Tibetan New Year. Chinese teachers and school staff also warn Tibetan children not to visit monasteries during their holidays. As a result, when parents secretly take their children to the monastery, the children are afraid to enter. These actions by the Chinese government are intended to cut off the children from their own religion, culture and history.
Unlike Chinese schools, state schools for Tibetan children have an additional department, run by the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which is primarily responsible for managing ethnic minorities, religious groups such as Tibetans, etc. They monitor Tibetan children in schools, brainwash them and try to turn them into Chinese people, who can speak in Chinese and think in Chinese like Chinese people. There are serious concerns that these actions are having an impact on Tibetan children. When Tibetan children come home for winter and summer holidays, they speak to each other in Chinese and answer questions in Chinese, and they are afraid to enter the monastery. Such practices not only violate the fundamental rights of Tibetans but also constitute acts of genocide aimed at eliminating an entire ethnic group, language, and religion.
When China invaded Tibet, it destroyed more than 6,000 Tibetan monasteries and killed thousands of Tibetan monks in the 1950s, but even today, the Chinese government continues to destroy Tibetan monasteries, stupas and Buddha statues, prevents young Tibetan children from becoming monks, forces young monks to leave monastic schools for children and forcibly places them in Chinese colonial-style boarding schools, where only the ideologies of Chinese communist leaders, Chinese culture and Chinese history are taught.
In Tibetan tradition, families sent as many children as possible to monasteries because they believed that becoming a monk meant becoming a good person, learning Buddhism and serving others with kindness, guiding those who suffered from physical or mental problems. But the Chinese government is eliminating Tibetan Buddhism by preventing Tibetan children from becoming monks, destroying monasteries and prohibiting the construction of new ones. These actions harm not only the Tibetan people, but also the Chinese people and the peoples of the world. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, Buddhist knowledge can go hand in hand with science and solve many of the problems facing the world today.
TPI found that in 2025, Chinese government (CCP) continued and intensified its restrictions and oppressive policies on Religion, Cuture, Language, Education and environment in Tibet. CCP deployed armed forces to prevent Tibetans from celebrating the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and arrested Tibetans, including singers, for celebrating His Holiness's birthday. CCP demolished over 300 Buddhist stupas and a large statue of Guru Padmasambhava, and arrested the director of the Dorje Ten Ethnic Vocational School and closed the institution, which had thousands of students. China has also destroyed Tibet's fragile environment by constructing railways, dams, conducting illegal mining activities, and arrested over 80 Tibetans who protested against these actions.
