We're Hearing Less and Less About What's Going On in Tibet

The Wall Street Journal reports China is making it harder to leave
Posted May 17, 2025 10:00 AM CDT
We're Hearing Less and Less About What's Going On in Tibet
Tibetan prayer flags are shown.   (Getty Images / TheKaran)

It's getting tougher and tougher to learn about what's happening in Tibet from anyone actually living in Tibet—or who formerly lived there. As the Wall Street Journal reports, thousands of Tibetans used to flee to India annually; since 2020, there've been fewer than 100. While Tibet has been governed as part of China since the 1950s, recent years have seen China clamp down even more, the Journal explains. Technology plays a big part: The paper cites "increasingly sophisticated monitoring of digital devices" and a "fortified ... border with an extensive network of security infrastructure, including large surveillance drones with live video monitoring."

But the paper does manage to get one "firsthand account" of what's going on inside Tibet from Nam Kyi. The 25-year-old spent three years in prison after taking part in a 2015 protest that lasted just minutes; she held a photo of the Dalai Lama, whose image is banned, as is the Tibetan flag. A 2022 run-in with police made it clear to her that her WeChat messages were being monitored, and she was threatened with more prison time.

Nam Kyi decided to flee, amassing the $9,000 needed by selling herbs. She and her aunt departed in May 2023 and made it to Nepal within two weeks. There, she saw the Tibetan flag waving freely for the first time. She now attends a school for exiles in Dharamshala, India. The Journal notes it used to be full. Now, it's home to just a "handful of students." (Read the full story.)

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