Authorities in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu have forcibly shut down a Tibetan monastery in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, evicting the monks and nuns by force, said a report from Radio Free Asia.
Monks at Hongcheng monastery, also known as the Yulingta monastery, are shown in videos of the incident holding up banners that read “Forcible defrocking of monks is illegal and unacceptable!” and other protest slogans.
Videos also showed monks sitting on the roof of the monastery shouting down at a group of unidentified people on the ground, said the report.
Nuns wailed in mourning at being made to leave, while others shouted “Stop this! Stop this!” and “Film everything! Let’s jump!”
An employee who answered the phone at the Yongjing county ethnic minority and religious affairs bureau declined to comment when contacted by RFA on Monday.
“I don’t really know about this,” the employee said. “You should call the office. I don’t know about the resettlement arrangements for Hongcheng monastery.”
The employee said Director Cui of the monastery management committee was responsible for “resettling” the monks and nuns.
Repeated calls to Cui’s cell phone rang unanswered on Monday.
An employee who answered the phone at the Xihe township government offices near Hongcheng declined to respond to questions when contacted by RFA on Monday.
“No, nothing like that happened,” the employee said. “Where are you calling from? Name? Phone number? I need you to register.”
Many monks detained
US-based commentator Ma Ju, who has been following the incident, said many monks were detained during the eviction.
He said Hongcheng likely won’t be the last monastery to be targeted.
“They are getting ready to eliminate all Tibetan temples and monasteries within the majority Han Chinese area of China,” Ma said. “This is one of their policies.”
“They believe that this place was a way for Tibetan Buddhism to gain a foothold in mainland China.”
The move is likely linked to a recent visit by the Chinese Communist Party’s Panchen Lama, who said Tibetan Buddhism must not be used as a tool for “hostile foreign forces” to undermine CCP rule.
Online comments said local officials were likely interested in the monastery’s wealth, as it had received a surge in donations during the coronavirus pandemic.
