Chinese authorities in Tibet have over the past month continued and expanded demolition of the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, satellite imagery analyzed by Radio Free Asia shows. It is the latest in a series of moves by Beijing to downsize the major center of Tibetan Buddhist learning which at its peak in the early 2000s was home to 40,000 Buddhist monastics. Last year, Chinese authorities expelled thousands of Tibetan monks and nuns from Larung Gar, which is in Serthar county (Seda in Chinese) within the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture…
Category: RFA
Zhu Rongji used economics to exert greater control over Tibet
The late former premier of China Zhu Rongji wielded the economic hammer during China’s rapid economic rise in the 1990s and 2000s to increase Beijing’s influence over Tibet, an expert told Radio Free Asia shortly after Zhu’s death on Wednesday. Zhu, 98, died at 11:06 a.m. in Beijing of an unspecified illness, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. As premier alongside President Jiang Zemin from 1998 to 2003, Zhu had spearheaded China’s accession to the World Trade Organization and ushered in an era of rapid economic growth and full integration…
Satellite imagery shows work underway on Laos’ latest large Mekong River dam
Construction is underway on Laos’ latest large-scale Mekong River dam, satellite imagery analyzed by Radio Free Asia shows. Experts told RFA that the Pak Beng hydropower project will be like the other mainstream Mekong River dams, with Vientiane hopeful that sacrificing riparian ecosystems and relocating nearby villages will be worth the expected benefits to the economy. With dozens of hydropower dams either built or under construction on the Mekong River and its tributaries, Laos has gone all-in on its controversial economic strategy to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia” in…
PNG’s closure of Taiwan trade office signals expanded economic ties with China
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Papua New Guinea’s decision to close Taiwan’s trade office in Port Moresby is puzzling from a diplomatic standpoint, but it signals a coming expansion of its economic relationship with China, experts told Radio Free Asia. Last month, PNG’s Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko announced in an official statement the immediate cessation of operations and the formal closure of the physical presence of the Chinese Taipei Economics Office, citing Port Moresby’s “unwavering commitment to honoring, respecting and upholding Papua New Guinea’s foundational One-China Policy,” which…
Explained: China’s ‘ethnic unity and progress promotion’ law
It’s called the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress—China’s newest law under President Xi Jinping, passed on March 12, 2026, and in effect since July 1, 2026. The law contains 65 articles, many of which have raised concerns among Tibetans and rights groups. In this explainer, we focus on four key areas of the law that have drawn the most attention: identity, language, religion, and its reach beyond China’s borders. First, it seeks to reshape how ethnic identity is understood in China. The law calls on Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians,…
Exclusive: Kim Aris warns ASEAN against legitimizing Myanmar military government
Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese In the months following the 2021 Myanmar military coup, ASEAN banned the junta from attending its annual summit. Earlier this year, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing oversaw staged, multi-phased elections which resulted in his being named President in April. On July 12-13, ASEAN foreign ministers held their first direct, in-person informal meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister in Bangkok. Kim Aris on ASEAN and Myanmar (RFA Video) Kim Aris, son of Aung San Suu Kyi, spoke to RFA on July 20 about ASEAN’s…
Myanmar removes at least 15 statues of national hero Gen. Aung San nationwide
Myanmar’s military-backed government removed or destroyed at least 15 statues of Gen. Aung San, who led the country to independence from British rule and was the father of jailed former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, residents tell Radio Free Asia. Since former general Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as Myanmar’s new president in April, the removal of statues of Aung San in public areas have increased in Magway, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Sagaing, and Mandalay regions, according to an RFA tally. aung-san-suu-kyi-father Women show the three-finger salute as they…
China’s Pacific missile test sends message to U.S. allies, analysts say
China’s test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific this week was aimed at signaling its growing military reach to U.S. allies across the region, analysts told Radio Free Asia, as Beijing sought to frame the launch as a routine exercise. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Monday that a Chinese navy submarine launched a missile carrying a dummy warhead toward international waters in the Pacific at 12:01 p.m. local time, describing it as a “routine arrangement” in annual military training and not directed at any specific country or…
Tibetan activist dies after setting himself on fire outside UN headquarters
Content warning: This story contains language that readers may find disturbing. A Tibetan activist died Thursday after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. Lobsang Palden, popularly known as Lobga Rangzen, a longtime Tibetan activist based in New York, died at Bellevue Hospital after succumbing to his injuries, Jamphel Choesang, president of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey, told Radio Free Asia. The self-immolation comes one day after China’s new ethnic unity law went into effect, with critics warning that…
Dalai Lama undergoes left knee surgery in New Delhi
NEW DELHI, India — The Dalai Lama has undergone surgery on his left knee on Monday, his personal physician confirmed. Dr. Tsetan D. Sadutshang, the Tibetan spiritual leader’s longtime personal physician, appeared in a video statement from New Delhi, where the Dalai Lama, 90, is recuperating following the procedure. “Today, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama had a very successful knee surgery on his left knee, and his right knee was done in New York in 2024,” Dr. Sadutshang said. “I am here to relay this message to all the…