An Ignoble Experiment: A young Tibetan flees

A young Tibetan flees his homeland – and reveals how China is eroding his culture

(Photo Illustration by CNN/Getty Images)

Choegyal Dawa couldn’t contain his emotions when he finally came face-to-face with an image he hadn’t seen openly displayed since he was a small child: a portrait of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s spiritual leader.

“I was so excited I burst into tears,” Choegyal said of seeing the large portrait, which is banned from being displayed within China, at a center for new Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, earlier this year. “Then I felt that I had reached a safe place, that I was free.”

This was the first time the 25-year-old had left China – his first stop in a journey that’s made him one of just a small number of Tibetans who have fled the country for exile in recent years.

His story is a rare first-hand account of coming of age in the Tibetan region at a time when the area has been transformed by policies under Chinese leader Xi Jinping – and as another flashpoint looms over the future succession of the 91-year-old Dalai Lama.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has increasingly stressed the need to “Sinicize” religion and mounted what critics say are intensified efforts to supress dissent and tighten control of China’s ethnic minorities, particularly in Tibet and neighboring Xinjiang.

China has now codified that drive in a sweeping new ethnic unity law, which came into force July 1.

Beijing says the rules aim to “forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.” But rights groups say they deepen forced assimilation and language erasure – and raise the stakes of advocating for minorities, even overseas.

Choegyal shared his story with CNN – and chose to use his real name – in order to give a full account of the changes that he has seen in the Tibetan region during his lifetime.

He fears his generation is the last in China with the kind of opportunities he had to formally study Tibetan history, language and culture throughout their education – a shift that he says is already creating a generational break.

“The older generation can’t communicate with the younger generation now. If grandparents want to tell some stories about Tibet or their own stories, the younger generation can’t understand them,” Choegyal said. “They’re completely cut off.”

(Johnny Erling)

Elite retreat

Every summer, China’s political elites retreat to Beidaihe, a humble seaside town frequented by crowds of ordinary Chinese families, around 186 miles (300 kilometers) east of Beijing, that’s long been a haven for Communist Party leaders.

The annual leaders’ vacation is cloaked in mystery; it’s not known exactly which day they’ll descend on the town, but security starts tightening in early July.

Drones are banned, and visitors are not allowed to take hot air balloon rides or private trips on boats around the coast.

Then, sometime at the beginning of August, as if on cue, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and some of his closest aides disappear from public view.

No announcements are made, but public records show that China’s top leaders tend to take a break in August that lasts around 10 to 14 days. During this time, they don’t typically appear in public except in matters of national urgency, like natural disasters.

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