Three Tibetans have been arrested and detained by the Chinese government for their social media activities on the platform WeChat. The activities concern private conversations with their family and friends which took place around the 30th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
There is speculation that the arrests have resulted from the tightened surveillance by the Chinese government on this platform. WeChat is a popular social media platform used by 70% of the Tibetan diaspora to stay in contact with their family and friends overseas. The platform’s popularity stems from the fact that other global social media platforms are banned by the Chinese government and so cannot be used within China and Chinese-occupied areas. WeChat is controlled by the Chinese company Tencent and is monitored by the Chinese government. Additionally, it is an easily accessible platform that does not require computer literacy.
The International Campaign for Tibet states on their website: “Authorities in the Chinese-occupied Sangchu stated that ‘any information harmful to the [Chinese Communist] Party, government and society on WeChat would be regarded as a criminal act’.” WeChat is becoming increasingly dangerous for Tibetans.
The three detained Tibetans are Lubum Dorjee, an artist in the Tibetan traditional art form of Thangka painting, who was born deaf; Tsegan who is in his mid-30s, and an additional person who has not yet been identified. The arrests are not a one-off event; similar cases have taken place including that of Tibetan Rinso who shared a picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama through WeChat and was subsequently arrested and detained for 10 days; the Tibetan monk Sonam Palden who was held for sharing thoughts on the Tibetan language and Chinese policy on WeChat; and a Tibetan named Wangchuk who was arrested after sharing information about Tibetan books on WeChat.
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