Tibetan president in exile, Penpa Tsering, warned that the ongoing protests in China could “imply serious consequences for communist party leadership.” Chinese cities from Urumqi in the west to Shanghai in the east have been rocked by protests over the Chinese government’s “zero Covid” policy which means tougher restrictions on the movement of people.
Speaking to WION’s diplomatic correspondent, Tsering said that “it is an eruption of emotions that people have been controlling for so long….if he (Xi Jinping) decides to continue with the policy he is doing if feel he is digging his own grave”.
Tsering, who is the Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration based out of Dharamsala, in Himachal Pradesh (India) pointed out that the protests will weaken the authority of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Tibetan President in exile was in Delhi to attend the 7th all-India Tibet support group conference. The meeting discussed several issues including the current human rights situation of Tibetan people, and the protection of the region’s environmental resources. Here is the full interview.
WION: Amid the “zero Covid” policy of the Chinese govt, how has been the situation in Tibet?
Penpa Tsering: When Covid started in Wuhan, the spread as the Chinese government claims has been restricted because China’s claim is that communism is the best system to handle the epidemic, they have been pushing the idea for too long. Now they are in a very difficult position to pull back this policy. In China losing the face is a big issue. Xi Jinping was himself behind this and fortunately for Tibet, in the beginning, not much infection, and it has not spread into Tibet.
Now this year, about four months ago it started spreading and a lot of restrictions were imposed, just as it had spread in any other part of China. But then there are differences in rural and urban areas, you saw what has been happening in Shanghai. Inside Tibet, people were taken in the night in a group of 10, irrespective you are positive or negative and put like sheep and cattle in a building of 10. For the first time, while it is not a political issue, many Tibetans have come out of the self-censorship and mentioned the kind of problem they are facing while China implements the zero Covid policy. While at the top you have the decision of communist party leadership, then at the implementing level so many agencies who want to maybe overtake another agency to prove loyalty to the leadership. So, they take different approaches that are not suitable to the people. It is also in Ughur and other parts of China.
WION: Your view over protests taking place across China.
Penpa Tsering: The recent developments, the protest spreading from Urumqi. In Urumqi, a fire incident happened in a house, and homeowners were not able to get out of the house due to Covid policy. So, if accidentally things happen, it’s not possible for people to come out. That was witnessed by so many others. A lot of announcements pasted on university campuses which students did not like, so all these resulted in events, and protests in Shanghai, Urumqi and other places. It has spread to Beijing and other areas. As of now could not get information from Tibet, it is just filtering as we speak.
WION: Do you think ongoing protests can weaken the authority of Chinese President Xi Jinping?
Penpa Tsering: For sure, it is an eruption of emotions that people have been controlling for so long. If you look at the locations, Shanghai was one of the locations that were impacted by the covid lockdown. Xi Jinping himself made it clear, he supports the program. That is when one particular individual becomes too powerful then you get the credit but also criticism when you are wrong. If Xi Jinping decides to do good, it will be to his credit, but if he decides to continue with the policy he is doing, if feel he is digging his own grave.
WION: He has been confirmed as General Secretary of the Chinese communist party, in an attempt to solidify his position, becoming the president for life.
Penpa Tsering: That has been speculated since the time they removed the two-year tenure, and he went against every tradition of the communist party. Earlier, I was told Xi Jinping could not have his bread alone, it has to be shared. Now we find he took the whole bread for himself. These protests in the last few days, are response to the Chinese leadership post-party leadership issue. That is why these protests assume significance that people are not afraid of coming out, showing their faces, and showing their identity, even though China has a lot of artificial intelligence to control and track people. People now have the courage to rescue people from the police.
These kinds of things have never happened before. Every time the police come, you run away or are taken to prison. But now the new developments are something the communist govt has to think about. That is also the reason why I sometimes, why is China’s unprovoked belligerence on Ladakh. Why China keeps persisting on their unreasonable approach to Taiwan, and the South China Sea, because they need to keep hotspots burning. Something like this happening in China is a threat to the survival of the communist party. If there is no communist party, there are no foreign relations, international relations, or trade. So the survival of the Communist party is first and foremost for the govt of China and as I mentioned before, for more than three members of the politburo to meet together you need the permission of the president. China during Xi’s time military has been transferred from place to place, he doesn’t let them stay in a place for one year so the relationship is not made between military leadership and cadre is not built, in that sense coup is out of also questioned. China is the only country that spends more money on internal security than external security. That itself manifests deep distrust between the rulers and the ruled.
WION: Tiananmen Square protests, do you foresee that?
Penpa Tsering: I am not a fortune teller, I can’t foresee the future, but if this escalates, this is going to be a serious problem for the Chinese govt. Any invasion from outside and destabilizing China is a different ball game, it is very difficult. But implosion from within, because of people’s change in perception of the leadership, wanting more freedom. Now they are under so many restrictions. These could imply serious consequences for communist party leadership.
WION: The 7th All India Tibet support group conference took place today here in Delhi, key outcomes of the meeting.
Penpa Tsering: It is being organized by the core group of the Indian support group for Tibet. This has been there for many years, from the time we came to exile, it sometimes picked up and went. In the mid-1990s, I used to be told, don’t you think the Tibetan issue is dead? Now you found out that the Sino-Tibet conflict is very relevant and particularly when it comes to the security of India, it has a lot of significance. It matters more, also to the Indian govt, not only to the Tibetan people only.
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