Religion

Chronology of Chinese policies on religion in Tibet

In Tibet there was a period of moderate tolerance between 1977 and 1986. This ended with a security crackdown in 1987 following demonstrations by monks from several major monasteries. Since 1994 a range of Communist Party and government structures has been erected in Tibet to keep religious practice under limits acceptable to the Chinese leadership.

Chinese policy on religion in Tibet over the last 46 years can be divided into six periods:

1950-59: Religion was officially endorsed in the 1954 Constitution, but religious activity was strictly controlled through state-run associations.

1959-66: China consolidated its hold on Tibet. Monasteries were targeted as the backbone of Tibetan society. By 1966, before the Cultural Revolution began, 80% of central Tibet's 2,700 monasteries had been destroyed. Of 115,600 monks and nuns only 6,900 remained (TAR Vice-Chairman Buchung Tsering, 1987).

1966-77: During the Cultural Revolution, all religious activity was banned; religious institutions were razed; texts and sacred objects destroyed; monks and nuns imprisoned and tortured; many were killed. By 1978, only eight monasteries were left standing, and 970 monks and nuns remained in the TAR, according to official figures.

1977-86: In 1977, some religious activities were allowed. The Panchen Lama, jailed in 1961 for presenting a criticism of Party policies in Tibet to Mao Zhedong, was released from detention in 1978, and in 1979 the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa was re-opened. Liberalisation policies were initiated by Hu Yaobang in 1980. Money was allocated for rebuilding monasteries, and in 1986 the Monlam prayer festival was celebrated for the first time in 20 years. Tibetans took full advantage of this post-1980 liberalisation; the period between 1983 and 1987 was one of rapid growth for monasteries and nunneries. Many were able to increase their size with little government interference. Garu Nunnery, for example, increased from 20 nuns in 1985 to about 130 by 1987.

1987-1994: Demonstrations in 1987 resulted in a security crackdown on major monasteries. More than 200 monks and nuns were expelled from major monasteries in the Lhasa area between December 1989 and April 1990.

1994-present: In the Third Forum on Work in Tibet, held in 1994, China shifted its religious policy to actively suppress and restrict further religious growth. Previous policies, while repressive, sought to control and manage religious life rather than to suppress it. There are three aspects to the severe measures that began in 1994: