China dismisses UN report on wiping out Tibetan identity as 'another allegation'

China has refuted a report by human rights experts of the United Nations (UN) that claims that the country is forcibly separating Tibetan children from their family members and enrolling them in boarding schools in order to assimilate them. In a press briefing held recently, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: "This is certainly not true and apparently just another allegation meant to mislead the public about China and smear China's image."

"As it is commonly seen around the world, there are boarding schools across Chinese provinces and regions to meet the needs of the local students. These schools provide accommodation, catering, and other boarding services. They are not closed facilities and still less run in military style," he added, according to ANI. 

UN experts release report

Ning's remarks come after a press statement issued by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (UN) on February 6 revealed that the Xi Jinping government was allegedly operating several educational institutions attended by about a million Tibetan students to forcibly eradicate their cultural identity and gradually make them incorporate the Han Chinese culture, which is practiced by Hans, an East Asian ethnic group native to China. 

The statement was released by Alexandra Xanthaki, Fernand de Varennes and Farida Shaheed, who said: "We are very disturbed that in recent years the residential school system for Tibetan children appears to act as a mandatory large-scale programme intended to assimilate Tibetans into majority Han culture, contrary to international human rights standards." 

China justifies the residential school system

After the release of the statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the residential school system existed because of geographical constraints such as high altitude and dispersed populace, which makes it difficult to construct schools in every location. "If schools were to be built in every place the students live, it would be very difficult to ensure adequate teachers and quality of teaching in each school," the spokesperson said. 

However, experts of the United Nations argued that the statement is merely a pretext for China's ulterior motive. They noted that the curriculum in the schools is inspired by the Han culture, and lessons are taught in Mandarin Chinese. Furthermore, they said that the schools barely teach Tibetan history, culture and about spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.