Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CHENGDU189
2008-09-10 07:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Chengdu
Cable title:
LHASA: FEAR CURTAILS VISITS TO TIBETAN HOMES
how-toVZCZCXRO9219 RR RUEHGH RUEHVC DE RUEHCN #0189 2540727 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 100727Z SEP 08 FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2928 INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3563
C O N F I D E N T I A L CHENGDU 000189
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G
E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/10/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: LHASA: FEAR CURTAILS VISITS TO TIBETAN HOMES
REF: A. CHENGDU 188
B. CHENGDU 184
C. CHENGDU 183
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General, Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
The Family
----------
C O N F I D E N T I A L CHENGDU 000189
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G
E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/10/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: LHASA: FEAR CURTAILS VISITS TO TIBETAN HOMES
REF: A. CHENGDU 188
B. CHENGDU 184
C. CHENGDU 183
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General, Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
The Family
--------------
1. (C) During ConGenOff's August 25-30 visit to Lhasa (see
refs),an ethnic Tibetan man invited ConGenOff to visit his home
several blocks from the Johkang Temple. The man told ConGenOff
in his apartment that constant patrols by People's Armed Police
armed with machine guns make people feel they are in jail. In
the months following March 14, many people were arrested and
homes searched. Such security sweeps, however, are no longer so
frequent. The man explained that the police hid themselves or
changed into plainclothes when foreign diplomats visited in late
March. The man said that he had been to India twice and had met
the Dalai Lama.
2. (C) Pointing to the two shortwave receivers at the end of the
room, the man said he heard that a new U.S. law called for
establishing a consulate in Lhasa. The man, his son and his
daughter started to get worried that they might get into trouble
with the police for "talking recklessly" (luan shuo hua) with a
foreigner. ConGenOff left shortly thereafter and returned to
his hotel by a circuitous route.
The Students
--------------
3. (C) At a bookstore, ConGenOff met two cousins from a rural
county two days by bus from Lhasa. The elder cousin, in his
early twenties, is a college student, while his 17-year-old
young cousin is in Lhasa for a year to study Mandarin Chinese.
They invited ConGenOff to the one-room apartment they rent for
500 RMB per month on the edge of town. After sharing their
hometown delicacy of dried yak cheese, they said, "We Tibetans
love the Dalai Lama very much." After a short discussion about
the Dalai Lama, the students became worried that someone would
overhear the conversation. ConGenOff returned to his hotel
shortly thereafter.
BOUGHNER
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G
E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/10/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: LHASA: FEAR CURTAILS VISITS TO TIBETAN HOMES
REF: A. CHENGDU 188
B. CHENGDU 184
C. CHENGDU 183
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General, Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (d)
The Family
--------------
1. (C) During ConGenOff's August 25-30 visit to Lhasa (see
refs),an ethnic Tibetan man invited ConGenOff to visit his home
several blocks from the Johkang Temple. The man told ConGenOff
in his apartment that constant patrols by People's Armed Police
armed with machine guns make people feel they are in jail. In
the months following March 14, many people were arrested and
homes searched. Such security sweeps, however, are no longer so
frequent. The man explained that the police hid themselves or
changed into plainclothes when foreign diplomats visited in late
March. The man said that he had been to India twice and had met
the Dalai Lama.
2. (C) Pointing to the two shortwave receivers at the end of the
room, the man said he heard that a new U.S. law called for
establishing a consulate in Lhasa. The man, his son and his
daughter started to get worried that they might get into trouble
with the police for "talking recklessly" (luan shuo hua) with a
foreigner. ConGenOff left shortly thereafter and returned to
his hotel by a circuitous route.
The Students
--------------
3. (C) At a bookstore, ConGenOff met two cousins from a rural
county two days by bus from Lhasa. The elder cousin, in his
early twenties, is a college student, while his 17-year-old
young cousin is in Lhasa for a year to study Mandarin Chinese.
They invited ConGenOff to the one-room apartment they rent for
500 RMB per month on the edge of town. After sharing their
hometown delicacy of dried yak cheese, they said, "We Tibetans
love the Dalai Lama very much." After a short discussion about
the Dalai Lama, the students became worried that someone would
overhear the conversation. ConGenOff returned to his hotel
shortly thereafter.
BOUGHNER