China in ‘takeover’ of Tibetan Buddhist monastery, rights group says
Larung Gar in Sichuan will be split into two sections, with Communist Party officials put in charge of its administration, according to Human Rights Watch
Chinese officials are engaging in a “takeover” of one of the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries with a plan to put Communist Party officials in charge of its administration, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Larung Gar, a sprawling Buddhist centre of learning and prayer in the mountains of southwestern Sichuan province, has already been reduced in size through an eight-month programme of demolition and expulsion that ended in April, HRW said.
The government is now splitting the centre into two sections, an academy and a monastery, divided by a wall, according to an English-language translation of a document shared by HRW, which they said was received in August.
The measures include quotas for recruitment, a management system of “real-name registration” and tags for monks and nuns, as well as placing 97 Communist Party cadres, who are required to be atheist, in top finance, security and admission roles.
