Tibet

Relatives of four Tibetan men -- two nomads, a monk, and a school teacher -- traveled from a Tibetan area of Sichuan province to the provincial capital, Chengdu City, to submit appeals to the Sichuan High People's Court following the men's sentencing on November 20, 2007, on splittism and espionage charges, according to a December 4 Radio Free Asia (RFA) report. The Ganzi (Kardze) Intermediate People's Court, located in Kangding (Dartsedo), the capital of Ganzi (Kardze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), Sichuan province, sentenced the four men to prison terms of up to 10 years on charges of splittism, espionage, or both, for actions linked to an August 1 incident at a horse-racing festival in Litang (Lithang) county in Ganzi TAP, according to a Xinhua report published the same day as the sentencing.

Convicting Ronggyal Adrag on the dual charges of "splittism" (Criminal Law, Article 103: "splitting the State or undermining unity of the country") and "subversion" (Article 105: "subverting the State power or overthrowing the socialist system") could result in an unusually long sentence that authorities may intend to serve as a warning to Tibetans that they must adhere to Communist Party policies on ethnic and religious issues. (See the CECC 2007 Annual Report for more information about Party policy and government implementation.) If Tibetans view his punishment as provocative, it may further increase regional tension. Ronggyal Adrag addressed the court, according to the RFA report, and explained the actions that led to his conviction:

The Chinese government State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) issued legal measures on July 18, 2007, that if fully implemented could transform Tibetan Buddhism as it exists in China into a less substantial, more completely state-managed institution, and further isolate Tibetan Buddhist communities from their counterparts outside China. The "Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism" (MMR) (Web site of the SARA (in Chinese), 18 July 07) take effect on September 1.

A court in Ganzi (Kardze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), located in Sichuan province, sentenced the abbot (khenpo) of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on July 16, 2007, to three years' imprisonment for endangering state security with "anti-government propaganda" and by "incitement of [the] masses," according to a February 2, 2008, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) report. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) 2007 Annual Report named Abbot Jinpa of Taglung Monastery, located in Chogtsang village, Seda (Serthar) county, as one of nine Tibetans whom Ganzi authorities detained between March and August 2006, according to news media and non-government organization reports issued between June and September 2006.

Trains leaving Beijing, Chengdu, and Xining will reach Lhasa on a daily basis, and trains departing from Shanghai and Guangzhou will arrive in Lhasa every other day, according to a May 5 Xinhua article. The Xinhua report said that tickets for July 1 departures were already sold out. At this reported frequency of service, four trains should arrive in Lhasa each day, carrying about 1,000 passengers each. That figure is in rough agreement with a May 31 China Tibet Information Center report about the type of rail cars to be used on the inaugural trains to Lhasa. Each train will have four "hard seat" cars (98 passengers per car), eight "hard sleepers" (60 passengers per car), and two "soft sleepers" (32 passengers per car). The fourteen cars can accommodate a total of 936 passengers.