CHNADIGARH: The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), in its 2025 report on the human rights situation in Tibet, has painted a stark picture of deepening repression under the People's Republic of China, warning that state control has expanded far beyond political suppression to permeate nearly every aspect of Tibetan life, including religion, language, education and personal expression.
The 2025 annual report on the human rights situation in Tibet, released yesterday in Dharamshala, stated that throughout 2025, the Chinese government continued to strengthen its political and ideological control over Tibet through an expanding system of legal reforms, administrative regulations, surveillance measures and political campaigns aimed at reshaping Tibetan identity and reinforcing loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"More than a decade into President Xi Jinping's rule, state policies centred on 'national unity', 'ethnic harmony' and 'stability maintenance' continued to translate into heightened repression across Tibetan areas, resulting in severe restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, language and education rights, freedom of peaceful assembly, and protection from arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance," the report read.
The report noted that in its Freedom in the World 2025 report, Freedom House gave China a score of 9 out of 100, classifying it as "Not Free", while Tibet received a score of 0 out of 100. It stated that this period also saw the further codification and institutionalisation of state policies governing religion, education, language and social control in Tibet.
"A series of new and revised laws, administrative measures and policy initiatives reinforced the CCP's authority over Tibetan religious institutions, cultural expression and educational systems, while embedding assimilationist policies more deeply into legal and governance frameworks. Under the broader policy framework of the 'Sinicization' of religion and ethnicity, authorities continued to institutionalise mechanisms designed to subordinate Tibetan religion, culture and education to party ideology and state-defined concepts of national identity," it added.
The revised measures for the administration of Tibetan Buddhist temples required monasteries and monastic personnel to uphold CCP leadership, promote "core socialist values", and strengthen patriotic and political education. The regulations imposed tighter administrative oversight over monastic enrolment, education, religious activities, finances and movement, further reducing the autonomy of Tibetan Buddhist institutions and reinforcing the political subordination of religious practice.
It added that one of the most alarming cases documented during this period involved the extrajudicial killing of Tibetan religious leader Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Vietnam following his detention during a joint operation involving Chinese and Vietnamese authorities. The case generated widespread concern among Tibetans and the international community regarding transnational repression and the targeting of Tibetans beyond China's borders.
Calling for greater transparency and accountability, the report said Chinese authorities should repeal laws, regulations and policies that restrict freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and other fundamental rights protected under international human rights law.
The authorities should end all political indoctrination campaigns targeting monasteries, educational institutions, village committees and other sectors of Tibetan society aimed at enforcing assimilationist policies and promoting a singular state-defined Chinese identity.
"The government should ensure Tibetans are able to exercise their rights under the PRC Constitution and the Law on Regional National Autonomy to administer and preserve their own cultural and religious affairs. Chinese authorities should guarantee the rights of Tibetan parents and legal guardians to ensure that their children's education respects and promotes Tibetan cultural identity, language, traditions and values.
The Chinese government should repeal laws and policies that undermine the right to mother tongue-based education and linguistic rights in Tibet. The Chinese government should end the forced closure of private Tibetan schools and cease the involuntary enrolment of Tibetan children in state-run boarding schools without the free and informed consent of parents or legal guardians," it added.
Founded in January 1996, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is the first Tibetan non-governmental human rights organisation established in exile. It is currently a member of the Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and collaborates with numerous leading human rights NGOs.
