China has blanked out from the country’s online social media scene this month a Tibetan youth in a historically Tibetan territory in Sichuan Province after he urged Beijing in a WeChat call to investigate incidents of collusion between a nationally major construction firm and local officials of various government departments that was devastating the environment of his village due to rampant illegal sand mining.
The youth, Tsongon (or Tsowo?) Tsering, in his late 20’s, was reported to have posted on his WeChat account on Oct 15 a five-minute open video message this week, speaking entirely in Chinese, urgingChinese leaders in Beijing to visit the site, investigate the issue, uncover collusion between government and businesses, determine who is at fault, and rectify the situation.
This escalation to the highest echelons of Chinese power underscores the exhaustion of local and regional channels for redress and the desperation felt by the Tibetan community in Tsaruma (Chinese: Chaerma) Township of Kakhog (or Khyungchu or Marthang, Hongyuan) County of the province’s Ngaba (or Ngawa, Aba) prefecture, in the face of ongoing environmental destruction, said Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet Oct 18.
Authorities have since shut down the man’s account and blocked search terms related to his name on WeChat, reported rfa.org Oct 20, citing two sources from Tibet who could not be named due to safety concerns.
Tsering’s video, which gained significant attention online, was also widely shared by other users on the platform, but even those were taken down and all related content censored by Oct 17, the reported cited the sources as saying.
Sources from the region have also said they fear that Tsering will face punishment for his public criticism of Chinese authorities.
Tsering had said in his WeChat message that Tibetans had repeatedly appealed to the relevant local authorities to act against Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Co. whose reckless and illegal sand mining on the bank of the Tsaruma river had caused severe soil erosion.
“The Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering’s business office has been illegally extracting sand and stones from the river in Tsaruma Village during their road construction work,” he was quoted as saying in the video, holding up his national ID card.
“The large-scale and indiscriminate extraction of sand from the river has led to serious soil erosion in the surrounding area and is posing a threat to the foundations of residents’ homes.”
The video, which has now been removed, reveals drone footage of numerous vast open pits caused by mining of sand from the riverbed of his hometown of Tsaruma, noted tibetwatch.org Oct 18.
He has pointed out that the Tsaruma River is linked to the Drichu (Yangtze) and Machu (Yellow) River systems, two of China’s most important.
Local authorities have admitted the company had acted illegally, but the investigations were perfunctory, the follow-up actions laced with falsehood, and the violations continue with the company paying only a token fine and the case being closed, Tsering has said in dismay.
He has said: “The Ecological Environment Bureau of Khyungchu County claimed, that after receiving the first petition report in Sep 2023, they reported to the county government and its Discipline Inspection Commission, and that the county’s main leaders arranged for multiple departments and townships to verify and investigate. The transportation and water affairs departments handled the matter according to laws and regulations. The results of the investigation and handling were reportedly fed back to the pastoralists of Tsaruma Township multiple times, either in writing or in person. The issue was reportedly reviewed multiple times by the Ngawa Prefecture Water Affairs Bureau and other departments from Oct to Dec 2023, and no objections were raised. In early 2024, the Khyungchu County Discipline Inspection Commission also reviewed the relevant issues and handling, raising no objections.”
“However,” Tsering has continued, “as the complainant, I am completely unaware of and unfamiliar with the above claims. No Tsaruma pastoralists have ever received any such relevant feedback. The claim of ‘no objections raised’” is purely fictitious. This kind of deceptive response is extremely irresponsible and seriously desecrates and tramples on the petition system, causing it to become ineffective.”
He has pointed out that according to the Environmental Protection Law, in addition to necessary penalties for ecological damage, the damaged environment should also be restored. However, the Ecological Environment Bureau of Khyungchu County failed to effectively fulfil its responsibilities in handling this matter and did not effectively stop and correct the environmentally destructive behaviour.
He therefore wanted the authorities in Beijing to “conduct on-site investigations of the damaged local ecological environment, thoroughly investigate the legal responsibilities of illegal enterprises according to the law, pursue the dereliction of duty of relevant department leaders and responsible persons, deeply investigate possible corruption such as official-businessman colluding for benefits, and thoroughly govern to restore an environment where people can live and work in peace and contentment, and return prosperity to the region.”
