Tibetan entrepreneur’s bike tour company ordered to shut down and his bicycles confiscated

Tibet Watch has learned that on 11 March 2022, police authorities in Gamba County (Tib: གམ་པ་རྫོང་།) arrested Pasang Norbu, a Tibetan entrepreneur in his 20s.

Gamba County in southern Tibet. (Photo via gbx.gov.cn)

Despite his bike tour company, Cycling Travel Guide Service, being officially registered, the police ordered its closure. After Pasang continued running his business to support his family, he was badly beaten and taken away by the police. All of his bicycles were also confiscated.

An anonymous Tibetan source who broke the news to Tibet Watch explained that: “Norbu had to pay 18,000 yuan (approximately 2,170 GBP) to obtain the [business registration] licence and his business was going successfully. But the county police authorities ordered him to close his cycling travel guide service in the name of unsafe and illegal activities.”

Since Pasang’s arrest, his whereabouts and current situation remain unknown, and his family have been left in the dark. Pasang left secondary school to support his mother Tsamkyi and younger sister after his father passed away, founding his cycle company in 2020. He is a popular figure in Gamba County and is well-liked by the local people.

His hometown of Gyalrue township (Tib: རྒྱལ་རུས་གྲོང་བརྡལ།) is located in Gamba County, bordering the Indian state of Sikkim, where large numbers of Tibetan refugees have settled after their escape following the 1959 Tibetan Uprising.

Cash Rewards for informing on border crossings

The news of the forced closure of Pasang’s bike tour company emerged following the announcement of stricter border control policies by Gamba County’s Border Defence Committee and Public Security Bureau last year.

On 8 July 2021, Gamba County issued an announcement offering rewards for exposing “crimes of absconding across the country [border]”. They explained that up to 8,000 yuan would be awarded “to the informant; for units and individuals who directly capture illegal entry and exit personnel or organiser(s) or transporter(s) of others illegally cross[ing] the [border]”. The announcement added that there would be “special awards based on the number of people captured”, and “for those who proactively report abnormal situations in the border area […] a reward of 50 yuan or more based on the importance of the information and the degree of harm.”

Stricter surveillance in Gamba County

In a further crackdown on the people of Gamba County, local authorities published an announcement on 18 August 2021, stating the issue of more than 150 ‘police and civilian contact cards’ for locals. These cards contain civilians’ personal details and, according to the announcement, “they are asked to help and contact the police to provide information regarding ‘fire prevention’, ‘anti theft’, ‘prevention of drowning’ and ‘anti- telecommunication fraud slogans’ etc.”

Local authorities said that the contact card system created “a strong and harmonious atmosphere […] promoting the harmony and stability in the jurisdiction to a new level.”