Ban on Posting Online Birthday Wishes for Exiled Abbot

09.08.2022

Fleur Harmsen

Tibet and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.

         As the birthday of the chief abbot in exile of the Kirti Monastery, named Kiri Rinpoche approaches, China ramped up restrictions preventing people from posting birthday wishes to and photos of the abbot online. Authorities threaten to arrest individuals who defy the restrictions and monks are not allowed to leave their monasteries and gatherings are disallowed. 

Kiri Rinpoche was born in Thewo Takmoe Gang in the Amdo region of Tibet. As a child he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 10th Kirti Rinpoche by leading lamas. With the occupation of Tibet by China, Rinpoch went into exile in Dharamsala, India in 1959 with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. A decade after they went into exile, China invaded Tibet. 

The increase in restrictions violate international human rights law on multiple accounts. Firstly, disallowing individuals to post birthday wishes online violates the right to privacy, the right to correspondence and the right to participate in the cultural life of the community. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that all individuals have the right to privacy, family, home and correspondence under article 12. The latter thus underlines that no State shall interfere with the way in which any individual maintains their correspondence with others regardless of borders nor what they post on social media. Individuals, according to the UDHR are free to use their online platforms in the way they please to do so, as long as there is no direct threat to the State. 

In addition, article 27 of the UDHR writes that all individuals are free to participate in the cultural life of the community in the way that individual pleases to do so. In this regard, disallowing individuals from sending birthday wishes to the abbot blatantly interferes with that freedom. 

Sources and further reading:

Kunchok, S. (2022, August 4). China warns Tibetans not to post birthday wishes online for exiled abbot. Retrieved August 9th 2022 from: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/kirti-rinpoche-08042022175953.html