This is Lobsang Lobzin who set himself on fire and died in Tibet. The wave of Tibetan protests shows no signs of abating. Free Tibet!
This is Dargye who set himself on fire in Lhasa on 27 May along with his friend Dorje Tseten. Dargye survived but we currently do not know anything else about his condition or current whereabouts.
Candles lit outside the Chinese People’s Armed Police compound in Markethang; the place of Tamdrin Thar’s self-immolation on 15 June.
Tsering Gyaltsen, a Tibetan monk in his 40s who has been unaccounted for since February, is reported to have died in Chinese custody in Eastern Tibet. Free Tibet
This photo is of a protest that took place on 21 March. Around 100 monks marched to the local government offices in Bhora Township. They were carrying Tibetan flags and images of the Dalai Lama and calling for freedom.
China gives free gyms to Tibetan monasteries
In late March, Chinese authorities announced they have given Tibetan monks the gift of health and fitness by sending gym equipment to 20 Tibetan monasteries.
Each monastery will receive a full set of 14 pieces of equipment, including a treadmill, an elliptical trainer and a rowing machine. This is especially exciting to the many monks in centuries-old monasteries which are still housed in mud-and-brick buildings in the Himalayans.
According to Chinese sports experts, the monks’ traditional exercise regime that comes with their Buddhist practices is not enough to keep them in shape.
“We want to improve the exercise conditions in the monasteries in order to enrich the cultural and athletic life of monks and nuns,” said Yang Zhanqi, deputy head of the regional sports bureau.
The modern gym equipment provides the monks the opportunity to target specific muscle groups, a luxury they didn’t have before.
Do the Chinese seriously think that some rowing machines and a few treadmills will make up for 50 years of violence and oppression against Tibetans including shootings , torture , detentions and much more?
To read more about the current situation in Tibet and recent protests visit our Tibet Rising pages.
photo credit: Pedro saraiva
Armoured trucks arriving in Rebkong (by FreeTibetUK)
