Students in Tibet have been banned from taking part in religious activities over the summer holidays, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.

The ban will fall hard on Tibet's large Buddhist community, already under pressure as Chinese President Xi Jinping tightens controls over religious observance.

The school regulations apply to all "underage students" in Tibet, the state-run Global Times reported, without specifying their ages.

The regulations follow similar edicts by the ruling Communist Party in other regions with large ethnic minority populations, starting with a clampdown on Islam in Xinjiang, a majority-Muslim region in China's far west.

China is the midst of rolling out newly revised Religious Affairs Regulations, intensifying punishments for unsanctioned religious activities across all faiths and regions.

In Linxia, another heavily Muslim area in China's west, minors under the age of 16 were barred from religious activity and study.

"We have sent notices to both students and their parents, and have had students sign an agreement that they will not take part in any form of religious activity during the summer vacation," an official at a school in Tibet's capital Lhasa told the Global Times.

Beijing says it "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951 and insists it has brought development to a previously backward region.

But many Tibetans accuse it of exploiting the region's natural resources and encouraging an influx of the majority Han ethnic group, which critics say is diluting the native culture and Buddhist faith.

China's constitution protects free speech and religion but critics say in reality there is little room for any opinions that challenge government policies.

This spring a Tibetan who campaigned to preserve his region's ancestral language was jailed for five years for "inciting separatism" in a case which Amnesty International denounced as "beyond absurd".

Local authorities declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Hong Kong academics warn of 'political battleground' at universities
Hong Kong (AFP) July 24, 2018
Pro-democracy Hong Kong academics say they have been sidelined from city universities for their political views as fears grow that education is increasingly under pressure from Beijing. Although semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys rights unseen on the mainland, including freedom of expression, there are growing concerns those liberties are being squeezed as China's tolerance for dissent diminishes. A former member of a top decision-making body at one of the city's leading universities described the ... read more