Racial Discrimination


International Law

On December 29, 1981, the PRC acceded to the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination(39) (CERD). Article 1 of CERD defines "racial discrimination" as meaning:

Öany distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Discrimination by Chinese authorities against Tibetans on the basis of their race is prevalent in many spheres of life, including public representation, employment, education, health and social services. The US State Department's Human Rights Report for 1996 found that, in practice, discrimination by Chinese authorities against Tibetans is widespread, especially in the area of employment.

Public Representation

Article 5(c) of CERD guarantees racial equality in the enjoyment of political rights including the right to take part in the government as well as in conducting of public affairs at any level. Nonetheless, the majority of government and other public officials in Tibet are either Chinese or directly chosen by Chinese.

All high ranking officials are directly nominated by the higher Chinese authorities and are Communist cadres with proven loyalties to the PRC. People such as Ragdi (Ch: Raidi), Executive Deputy Secretary of "TAR"'s Party Committee; Gyaltsen Norbu, Chairman of the "TAR"; and Gyamtso, Vice Chairman of the "TAR", although Tibetan, are among the Party cadres directly appointed by the Party High Command. Most of the vice-chairmen of "TAR"'s People's Congress and regional government are Chinese, including Li Liguo, Secretary-General of the "TAR" Party Committee since 1994, and Ju Jianhua, Deputy Director of "TAR"'s Foreign Affairs Office since 1996. The position with the most authority in the region ( General Secretary ( has always been held by a Chinese, presently Chen Kuiyuan.

Of the cadres who run the regional or higher level departments in "TAR", 44 per cent are Tibetan.(40) The Chinese cadres are generally given position either in economic planning, in the military or as deputy leaders ( 62 of the 72 counties in "TAR" reportedly have Chinese cadres as deputy heads.(41) In a speech made on November 7, 1997, Chen Kuiyuan stated that the loyalty of any Tibetan standing for an official position would be tested by their past political word ( above all, by the way they had responded in 1995 to the dispute over the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. "We will judge people from their attitude against the Dalai's scheme to split the motherland," said Chen.(42)

Similarly, Democratic Management Committees established by Chinese work-teams in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries comprise individuals directly chosen by the Chinese authorities. These Committees hold a great deal of power, including the authority to expel monks or nuns.

Employment

Under Article 5(e)(i) of CERD, States Parties undertake to guarantee the right of everyone, without racial discrimination, to equal enjoyment of:

The right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, to just and favourable remuneration
(43)

In 1997 the PRC issued a ëWhite Paper' on its human rights in 1996 in which it claimed to attach major importance to the protection of workers' rights. Yet China itself admits that a minimum wage has been introduced everywhere except for the "TAR". Furthermore, workers rights are seriously violated throughout the "TAR" through the use of compulsory and unpaid labour. In Yartoe and Yarlung, Lhoka County, "TAR", each resident, even if a monk, is reportedly forced to work between eight and 12 days per month for nine months in every year. If the worker does not appear for the unpaid work, he is fined.

Chinese authorities admit that a disproportionate number of public officers in Tibet are Chinese. At the private level, Chinese are also likely to make up a considerable proportion of company employees. In the private trading and natural resources Jinzhu Group ( a spin-off of the government's export-import agency ( only 60 per cent of its 400 employees are Tibetan.(44)

There are numerous reports of Chinese settlers in Tibet receiving preferential treatment with regard to employment opportunities, advancement and work benefits. An appeal letter dated December 1996 sent from Lhasa managed to reach India in early 1997. The author writes: "Jobs at all levels are given to new Chinese settlers. All road construction, engineering work and development projects are run by the Chinese which leaves the Tibetans joblessŠ The Lhasa Development Bureau is the main Chinese authority in Lhasa responsible for the many Chinese enterprises in Tibet. Tibetan workers have had their jobs taken away and their very livelihood threatened as a result of policies favouring Chinese employees. Older workers have had their benefits stopped while younger workers fail to receive their monthly salaries on time."(45)

In the early part of 1997, Tibetans working as government tour guides in Lhasa lost their jobs, ostensibly on the grounds that they had made unauthorised trips to India. As of April 1997, between 69 and 72 tour guides, many of whom had held their positions for several years, had been affected by the government decree which was issued in February 1997. To work as a tour guide in Tibet, each guide must pass a test and then pay for the licence. Those tour guides who had visited India in the last two years were required to pay 800 yuan (approx. US$ 100), more than double the price of 300 yuan for the previous year. After payment they were informed that they would be unable to register as tour guides, nor work in hotels. Reports indicated that Chinese tour guides would be appointed to replace the Tibetans.

Education

Article 5(e)(v) of CERD guarantees the right of everyone, free from racial discrimination, to education and training.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted with regard to China's adherence to educational obligations that "school attendance in minority areas, including the Tibet Autonomous Region, is lagging behind, that quality of education is inferior and that insufficient efforts have been made to develop a bilingual education system which would include adequate teaching in Chinese. These shortcomings may make Tibetan and other minority pupils disadvantaged when applying for entry to secondary and higher level schools."(46) The Committee stated that "Steps should be taken to protect these children [in the "TAR"] from discrimination and to ensure their access to higher education on an equal footing."(47)

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination similarly has expressed its concern that "in secondary school and university levels children from minority nationalities are underrepresented," and that "the instruction provided on the history and culture of minority nationalities in the curricula is not adequate as compared to the education provided concerning the history and culture of persons of the Han nationality."(48)

In a survey of 50 Tibetan children who have arrived in exile over the last three years, 58 per cent of the students reported that they had felt discriminated against in relation to Chinese students. Various methods of discrimination against Tibetans relative to Chinese students were described: higher school fees; charges for chairs, desks and books and anything broken in the school; and used books and equipment.

Tibetan students reported that teachers placed far more effort on the teaching of the Chinese students. Some said: "the Chinese teachers gave the Chinese students more attention. When we asked the Chinese teacher questions he would not answer us," while others said: "the Chinese teachers always taught in Chinese and of course the Chinese students understood the teacher much better than we didŠ Yet no one [in the Tibetan class] dared to ask him questions for fear of punishment and the teachers never repeated anything to the Tibetan classes."

The students also reported that they rarely received any lessons regarding Tibetan culture or history; that they were not allowed to honour any Tibetan holidays except for the Tibetan New Year and were forced to celebrate Chinese holidays; that they were forbidden to wear Tibetan clothes to school and from consuming Tibetan-style food. Tibetan students were often forced to renounce Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama and were told they were stupid, dirty or inferior human beings.

A widespread inequality regarding the right to education is the entrance examination, which is commonly held completely or mostly in the Chinese language. Even if a Tibetan student has a satisfactory command of the Chinese language and passes the exam, this does not mean that he or she will necessarily be accepted. Many students said that it was not academic ability that decided which Tibetans would attend school but rather the amount of bribes paid by parents. A long-standing requirement that all students pass an entrance examination in Tibetan was reported to have been dropped in 1997 and all except one of the 17 university courses are now taught in Chinese,(49) despite the fact that 80 per cent of students and many of the teachers at Tibet University are Tibetans.

Health

The right to public health, medical care, social security and social services is guaranteed to everyone without racial discrimination under Article 5(e)(iv) of CERD. Refugees report that, contrary to this provision, Chinese receive free health care in Tibet while Tibetans must pay.

Tashi, who fled to India in October 1997, spent more than one month in Shigatse People's Hospital in 1995. He reported that the local Tibetans were required to pay full price to receive medical treatment while Chinese patients did not have to pay anything. Local Tibetans were required to pay high prices for their hospital expenses: 800 to 1,000 yuan (approx. US$100 to 120) as a deposit; 20 yuan per night for a bed; 200 yuan for a bottle of glucose; and further payment for a check-up.

Tashi reported that, during his short period in hospital, two Tibetans died after they were refused hospital care for not having the requisite deposit. Gyalpo, a 47-year-old man, from Shalu, Shigatse Region, was suffering from critical lung and liver problems. He died after treatment was refused. Another man from Tsongdu, Shigatse Region, also died after he was refused treatment because he was unable to meet the doctor's demand for 1,000 yuan. Tashi confirmed other reports received of Tibetan doctors being expelled from hospitals and replaced with Chinese doctors.

One Tibetan exile who recently visited Tibet described the sharing of a single needle amongst 40 or 50 patients in his local hospital. He estimated the state allocation for health care as a little over three yuan (approx. 35 cents) per person per month and contrasts this with the drug costs of his cousin who suffers from partial paralysis ( requiring expenses of over 6,000 yuan (approx. US$730) per year. This source also says that, despite Beijing's claims of a policy of free medical facilities for Tibet, without a deposit of 5,000 yuan, the "TAR's First People's Hospital" will not admit a patient even in the most critical condition.

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Last updated: 1-Feb-98