Tibetans Raise Their National Flag on China’s National Day

Hundreds of Tibetans in Seda County of Sichuan Province’s Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture demonstrated against Beijing’s oppressive policies toward Tibet on China’s National Day on Oct. 1.
Tibetans Raise Their National Flag on China’s National Day
10/3/2011
Updated:
10/3/2011

Hundreds of Tibetans in Seda County of Sichuan Province’s Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture demonstrated against Beijing’s oppressive policies toward Tibet on China’s National Day on Oct. 1, raising the Tibetan national flag which was quickly and forcibly taken down by police.

More than 200 monks and civilians participated, Voice of America reported. The demonstration was stifled by authorities and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, as police have stepped up patrolling efforts during China’s National Day and other celebrations..

National Day on Oct. 1, the anniversary of the founding of Communist China in 1949, is a touchy date for Tibetans, some of whom protested for independence and raised the Tibetan flag at Jinshan Square in the heart of the region. No one was injured during the protest.

Police took down a flying Tibetan flag and a Dalai Lama portrait, rankling protesters and heightening tensions in the region.

Ever since large-scale demonstrations against the Communist regime in March 2008 were violently suppressed, Tibetan civilians and monks have unceasingly opposed the CCP’s rule in a variety of ways. Last week, two monks from Kirti Monastery in Sichuan Province’s Aba Prefecture self-immolated to protest the constraints on Tibetans imposed by the regime.

Another issue causing much contention between Beijing and Tibetans is whether or not the current Dalai Lama can choose his reincarnated successor.