Tibetan monks

A prominent Tibetan monk received a seven-year jail sentence in China for spreading information in Tibetan regions, which according to reports this week, has been in the midst of an escalating crackdown at the hands of the Chinese regime.

China’s crackdown on Tibetans escalated this week in Sichuan Province after three more self-immolations, with reports of beatings and senior Tibetan monks being summoned by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities for questioning.

A teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, or Rinpoche, doused himself with kerosene and set his body aflame on Jan. 8 in Qinghai Province, China. Sopa Tulku was 42 years old and died on the spot, according to reports

The tempo of self-immolations by Tibetan monks and nuns has quickened in recent weeks with the latest case occurring Oct. 25 in Ganzi, Sichuan.

Two Tibetan monks set themselves on fire Monday in an apparent plea for religious freedom and an end to China’s continued vilification of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

A soldier has told The Epoch Times that Tibetan independence activists in the quake area could be shot.

A Tibetan monk was shot on Feb. 27 after setting himself on fire during a protest in eastern Tibet, reports say.

With the increased security, Lhasa’s monks seem to have thinned dramatically in numbers. Reports from the foreign media allowed into the capital suggest they have been almost absent from Lhasa’s streets, and few remain at the Buddhist monasteries.