Chinese authorities are reportedly trying to forcibly seize lands of Tibetan villages to construct a hydropower dam in Lingya village of Rebgong county in Qinghai province of Tibet. Local authorities have issued instructions to impound lands and have also ordered the locals to co-operate. They have threatened that those who do not vacate their land will not be compensated for the same. Lingya hydropower dam construction is one of the key projects under China’s 13th Five Year Plan. The total area of the hydropower dam is about 4.58 million square meters with an investment of about 245 million Yuan. Rebgong, called Tongren in Chinese, is in Malho, or Huangnan, Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, a Tibetan populated area in China’s Qinghai province.
2. Tibetan villages located in the area of the reservoir project include Shu-Ong-Kye, Shu-Ong-Nyi-tha, Langya, Malpa-Jam, Malpa-Kharnang-Kharshi, Malpa-Chauwo. The area of the reservoir project extends to the lower northeast of Malpa Khagya village from the upper northeast of Langya village. The construction of the reservoir is expected to start soon.
3. According to locals if the Rebgong County forcefully confiscates their lands as they do not have any other source of income, they would be compelled to find temporary jobs in Chinese towns and cities. China’s rural urbanization, forcible relocation of Tibetan nomads & farmers to urban areas and continuous migration of large numbers of Han Chinese in Tibet is evident of Beijing’s strategy to forcefully assimilate Tibetan minorities into the dominant Han-Chinese majority.
4. Chinese infrastructure and development projects in these areas have led to frequent stand-offs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms and local officials of improperly seizing land and disrupting the lives of local people.
