This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

beijingwalker · Feb 16, 2022

This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 16, 2022 at 18:20

Kunchok Dolma, a Tibetan dance teacher who is also proud be a Chinese, poses for a photo in Chengdu in southwestern China's Sichuan province on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. "I am a true Tibetan, and at the same time I am also a true Chinese," said Kunchok Dolma, who is a devout Buddhist and also teaches modern dance in flawless Mandarin.

GARZE COUNTY, China--As a speedskating team was winning China’s first Olympic gold medal of the Beijing Games, all seemed quiet in the villages that line the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.

It was a stark difference from 14 years ago, when China hosted its first Olympics. That summer, foreigners filmed deadly clashes between Tibetans and security forces in Lhasa, the regional capital. News of the violence ricocheted online, fueling protests, hunger strikes and self-immolations across the Tibetan region.

Today, Tibet has fallen quiet. There are no monks marching on police stations. No overturned cars or hurled stones.

The once-relentless waves of protesters setting themselves afire has slowed. No self-immolations have been reported in the past two years; over the prior decade, there were more than 150.

The residents seem to pay little heed. Monks amble the streets, thumbing prayer beads. The devout spin handheld prayer wheels. Han Chinese shopkeepers bargain with Tibetan customers over incense and images of Buddha.

Here, many young Tibetans are forging a new bicultural identity — one that celebrates their culture without challenging Beijing’s rule. It’s evident in a plaza where crowds gather each evening, dancing to Tibetan tunes infused with Buddhist mantras and set to a thumping beat.

“I am a true Tibetan, and at the same time I am also a true Chinese,” said Kunchok Dolma, 28, a Tibetan in Chengdu who is a devout Buddhist and also teaches modern dance in flawless Mandarin. “There’s no conflict between these things.”

She is bothered that Tibetans can no longer obtain passports, by job postings that openly bar Tibetans from applying, and by restrictions on travel to Lhasa. But, given the region’s troubled past, she largely accepts state policy as being for the greater good.

“When we’re treated differently, I do feel like it’s rather unfair,” she said, “but I understand why it is the way it is.”