Unusual images from Tibet are shared on social media. Hundreds of people took to the streets there this week to protest against the ongoing corona lockdown. The protesters are not ethnic Tibetans but appear to be Han Chinese who have immigrated to Tibet. The protests are said to have taken place on Wednesday.

Several videos show large crowds of people standing in front of the police. There are also many people in white suits. Health workers in China wear such suits to prevent them from further spreading the virus. In the footage, the police appear to be clashing with the crowd, but the image quality and darkness make everything difficult to see.

This is one of the videos shared by the VOA Tibetan news channel:

Tibet is located in western China and borders India, Nepal and Bhutan. In 1912 the region declared its independence from China. The country was able to act largely autonomously for 38 years and was still heavily influenced by China. This ended in 1950 with the invasion of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to retake the region from China. Since then, Tibet has been under the direct rule of Beijing.

At various times the Tibetan people rebelled against China’s heavy interference. The Chinese government claims to develop the area, but local people feel oppressed. It is becoming increasingly difficult for them to learn their own language and maintain traditions.

In 2008 there was a major uprising by the local population against Chinese rule. He was severely beaten by the Chinese authorities.

Han Chinese

But the images that have emerged show that it is now mainly Han Chinese who are taking to the streets. This would affect Chinese who have come to Tibet because they cannot find work in their own hometown. Because of Corona, they are now stuck and have no work.

The Chinese online platform Weibo tells the story of a woman who claims to have been imprisoned for 80 days. She wants to leave the capital, Lhasa, but the paperwork is complicated. In her opinion, getting out of Tibet takes more effort than going abroad from China.

Corona seems to be a growing problem in rural China and in areas far from big cities like Tibet. There are not enough facilities in these regions to detect and stop new outbreaks in a timely manner. Even in the hospitals there are not enough beds available to treat sick people. The fear of new outbreaks is therefore great.

Eight corona cases were officially reported in Lhasa yesterday. The exact corona situation in Tibet cannot be determined. There are also reports of oxygen starvation in Lhasa.