On paper, Beijing touts its boarding school policy as a noble effort to uplift Tibet’s “backward” regions—bringing modern schooling to scattered herders. But behind the glossy narratives lies a dark reality. These schools are not simply providing education; they are fundamentally reshaping Tibetan children’s identities, cutting them off from their language, traditions, and families during the most formative years of their lives.
fredag 25. juli 2025
Stealing Tibet’s Children: China’s Shameful Colonial Project to Eradicate Tibetan Identity
In the remote highlands of Tibet, a silent crisis is unfolding, one that threatens not just the present generation, but the very future of a people. For over seventy years since China’s occupation of Tibet, successive Chinese governments have struggled to quell Tibetan resilience. Despite waves of political repression and militarized surveillance, Tibetans have maintained their distinct language, Buddhist faith, and national consciousness. Having failed to suppress Tibetan identity through brute force, Chinese authorities have turned their focus to the most vulnerable: Tibetan children. Now, a new front has opened in this existential struggle: the mass removal of Tibetan children from their families and communities into a vast network of state-run boarding schools.
On paper, Beijing touts its boarding school policy as a noble effort to uplift Tibet’s “backward” regions—bringing modern schooling to scattered herders. But behind the glossy narratives lies a dark reality. These schools are not simply providing education; they are fundamentally reshaping Tibetan children’s identities, cutting them off from their language, traditions, and families during the most formative years of their lives.
On paper, Beijing touts its boarding school policy as a noble effort to uplift Tibet’s “backward” regions—bringing modern schooling to scattered herders. But behind the glossy narratives lies a dark reality. These schools are not simply providing education; they are fundamentally reshaping Tibetan children’s identities, cutting them off from their language, traditions, and families during the most formative years of their lives.
