99 ft Buddha Statue Forcefully Demolished in Tibet

By Tenzin Samten / December 30, 2021;

Photo: Tibet Watch

A statue of the Buddha in Drago in Kham [Ch: Sichuan] has been destroyed under instruction of the Chinese authorities, reports Tibet Watch. The 99-foot high statue, costing 4,000,000 Yuan (US$ 630,000 / £470,000), was built with money raised by local Tibetans and with the full approval of the local authorities. Along with it, 45 huge prayer wheels near Drago Monastery were also destroyed, and large vertical prayer flags removed and burned.

According to Tibet.net, the official website of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, in 1973, Drago “suffered a massive earthquake that caused serious and widespread damage including the death of several thousand residents and [a] 99 foot-tall Buddha statue was built on October 5, 2015 to ward off natural disasters in the future”.

Photo: CTA

In the past three years, higher officials have visited the county and criticised the large statue. “Such a reason fails to justify the basis of destroying the 45 prayer wheels that cost around 1,800,000 Yuan (UD$ 282,500 / £200,000) to build, and the burning down of the prayer flags in the vicinity. Tearing down Buddhist statues and structures is a direct attack on the centuries-long traditions of Tibetans, which include putting up prayer flags to lift one’s luck, erecting religious structures to ward off misfortunes and spinning prayer wheels to accumulate mantras for the well-being of others,” said the report filed by UN, EU and Human Rights Desk of the CTA.

In November the Chinese authorities ordered the demolition of Drago Monastery’s Gaden Namgyal Monastic School after accusing them of violating the rules and not having proper documents. Tibetan sources believe that Tibetan schools are being targeted in the recent surge of the Chinese government’s drive to sinicise Tibetan language, culture and religion.

Photo: TYC

“The forced closure of the Tibetan schools has not only deprived Tibetan children of their right to learn their language and culture, buthas also coerced them to join Chinese government schools resulting in the continuation of cultural assimilation and language oppression,” said the Human Rights desk at the CTA.

In Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan-government-in-exile, Tibetans held a candlelit vigil to show solidarity with the critical situation in Drago under the Chinese repressive policies.