Qinghai Province officials have held religious policy classes for Tibetan Buddhist representatives.

Gonpo Tashi, head of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee’s United Front Work Department, overseeing a meeting at the event. May 2020.

The classes were run by the Qinghai Provincial Tibetan Buddhist Institution. They started on 8 May and included 9 days of training. Over 100 people are reported to have participated.

The head of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee’s United Front Work Department, Gonpo Tashi, oversaw an opening meeting with the Tibetan Buddhist representatives on 8 May.

Tashi is reported to have spoken to representatives there about the importance of supporting the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the socialist system and taking a firm stand on issues like separatism.

Tibetan Buddhist representatives were asked not to forget their mission, to adhere to the leadership of the party, set a model for reform and make contributions to national unification with religious and social harmony.

Qinghai contains the second largest area of Tibet after the Tibet Autonomous Region,  as defined by Chinese government boundaries and has an important influence on Tibetan Buddhism.

A source told Tibet Watch that the Chinese government is sinicizing Tibetan monasteries and trying to use the reincarnation system as a tool to control Tibetan Buddhism.

In September last year, Free Tibet reported the Chinese government had demolished large areas of one of Tibet’s biggest Buddhist sites, Yarchen Gar.

Local sources report that 6,000 residents have been evicted.

A picture of the event. May 2020.