Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHENGDU87
2009-05-22 04:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chengdu
Cable title:  

TIBETAN LANGUAGE INTERNET IN THE PRC

Tags:  PHUM SOCI EINT CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHCN #0087/01 1420449
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R 220449Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3227
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3900
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 CHENGDU 000087 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EINT CH
SUBJECT: TIBETAN LANGUAGE INTERNET IN THE PRC

CHENGDU 00000087 001.2 OF 005


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 CHENGDU 000087

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EINT CH
SUBJECT: TIBETAN LANGUAGE INTERNET IN THE PRC

CHENGDU 00000087 001.2 OF 005



1. (SBU) Summary: The nascent growth of Tibetan language
internet in China slowed with the closure of several websites
and detention of Tibetan e-activists over the past year.
Tibetan language email and websites are nevertheless becoming
increasingly popular among students and intellectuals,
lower-level government officials, and monks due to much improved
language upgrades in Microsoft Vista. Ethnic Tibetans are
networking using Tibetan language e-mail, the Internet,
telephone software such as Skype, and instant messaging
services. Eighty-eight Tibetan language websites, including
eleven government-sponsored sites, are currently available in
China, mostly in ethnic Tibetan areas outside of the Tibetan
Autonomous Region (TAR). Given prior official support voiced by
Chinese authorities for the development of Tibetan language
software followed by the more recent crackdowns, it appears that
Tibetan language internet is viewed by the government as both an
avenue to influence Tibetans as well as a potential threat. End
Summary.



High Plateau Internet

--------------


2. (U) The Internet appears to be becoming more popular and
accessible for China's six million ethnic Tibetans both within
their own traditional areas and in other parts of the country.
According to the China Center for Tibet Studies (a PRC
government funded Tibetology research center in Beijing that
publishes much research in both Chinese and Tibetan),the number
of regular net users in the TAR reached 200,000 this year and
there are an estimated 800 TAR-hosted websites. (Note: most are
in Chinese and aimed at the burgeoning ethnic Han minority
there). In 1998, the first-ever internet bar was opened in
Lhasa and charged 50 RMB (USD 6) per hour for internet access.
Today, Lhasa's approximately 133 internet bars typically charge
just 2 RMB (USD 30 cents) per hour.



Improved Language Support Boosts Websites

--------------


3. (SBU) Chinese language Tibetan websites, such as Tibetcul.com
run out of an ethnic Tibetan area of Gansu Province that was
suspended for several weeks in March 2009, are not new.
However, the rapid improvements in Tibetan language application
software for Windows XP as well as Windows Vista are creating a
second Tibetan language wave of Tibetan internet use. Ever

since Microsoft developed Himalaya Tibetan software with Windows
Vista in 2007, many young Tibetan e-activists have been chatting
in Tibetan through QQ, Skype and sending Tibetan-language
e-mails.




4. (SBU) One ethnic Tibetan IT worker told ConGen recently there
are now over one hundred Tibetan language websites in the world
and 88 of them are hosted in Tibetan areas of China. Among the
88 Tibetan websites, eleven were created for official government
purposes, with the others being semi-official or private.
According to the IT worker, ninety percent of Tibetan language
websites were created in Tibetan areas of China outside of the
TAR, especially in Tibetan areas of Qinghai and Gansu Provinces.
These Tibetan language websites are owned by non-governmental
communities and individuals, such as Tibetan monasteries,
college students, and low-ranking rural Tibetan cadres.



PRC Sees Both Opportunity~

--------------


5. (SBU) Senior Chinese government leaders, including President
Hu Jintao, have officially voiced support for making it easier
to use Tibetan on computers and the Internet. On January 10,
2009 in Lhasa, the TAR government inaugurated a new Tibetan
language software development project. At the opening-ceremony,
TAR Governor Shamba Phuntsog asserted, "the development of
Tibetan language software and the digitalization of Tibetan is
an important part of TAR's stability and development work. This
will not only make it easier for Tibetan masses to use modern
communication, but also will effectively refute Western hostile
forces and the `Dalai clique's proposition that Tibetan culture
is dying out in China." (http://tinyurl.com/ddqk5k
). Official attention given to
Tibetan language on the Internet appears to parallel the
lengthening of Tibetan language PRC state radio broadcasts from
four to eighteen hours daily beginning in March 2009.

CHENGDU 00000087 002.2 OF 005





~ and Threat in Tibetan Language Websites

--------------


6. (SBU) At the same time, however, some Tibetan language
websites have been closed and ethnic Tibetan Web activists
arrested. For example, Kunga Tsayang, a monk from the Labrang
Monastery in Gansu Province, was reportedly arrested by Public
Security Bureau officers in a late-night raid on March 17, 2009
during a general government crackdown across Tibetan areas of
China. Tsayang had written such online political essays as,
"Who Is the Real Disturber of Stability?" and, "Who Is the Real
Instigator of Protests?" A translation of one of his articles,
"Who are the Real Separatists?" can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/oybjop




7. (SBU) Similarly, on October 16, 2007, a day before the Dalai
Lama was due to be honored with the Congressional Gold Medal,
www.tibettl.com/blog was shut
down temporarily. Soon after, www.tibetcm.com
known as "the Lamp" that claimed some
800 registered forum users and blogwww.tibetcm.com/blog
were temporarily shut down and only
reopened after sensitive articles and postings were deleted.
These websites were also suspended for two to three weeks in
March 2009, but have since been reopened. The Chinese-language
Tibetan website www.newtibet.com has
been closed since 2005. Website owners are reportedly often
called to police stations and ordered to delete articles.


QQ Tibetan Language Messaging Shutdown

--------------


8. (SBU) Another indicator of official anxiety over Tibetan
language internet was the February 2009 closure of Tibetan
language messaging on QQ, which is by far China's most popular
internet messaging service. Monitoring Tibetan language
messaging is probably difficult for the Chinese government,
which reportedly faces shortages of personnel both
linguistically capable of reading Tibetan and politically
reliable enough to be depended upon to give accurate reports.




9. (SBU) Tencent QQ (a Shenzhen company, for background see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QQ ) recently received the
following message from an ethnic Tibetan; "Over the past 10
years, QQ has provided high quality services for all the net
users and we are very grateful for that. Since the Himalayan
Tibetan language support was built into the Microsoft Vista
operating system, it has brought an unprecedented benefit for
the development and use of Tibetan language on the internet and
hence all Tibetans are very happy about this. However, Tencent
has recently banned Tibetan language chat on the QQ without any
reason. As a great culture in the big family of China, Tibetan
should be respected and given equal rights in the society;
therefore, we hope that Tencent will solve this problem as soon
as possible and give Tibetans equal rights." (The original
Chinese language text is at http://tinyurl.com/cmhwth
)"




10. (SBU) The recent Tibetan language chatting ban on QQ
indicates the challenges and difficulties Tibetan language users
are facing in China. The Chinese Government often suspends or
shuts down Tibet-related websites in both the Chinese and
Tibetan languages for political reasons, and has detained
Tibetan e-activists for writing, posting and chatting sensitive
things on the internet. This situation appears to have gotten
more serious over the past year, likely due to general security
tightening ahead of sensitive Tibetan anniversaries in March.
At least six well-known Tibetan e-activists have reportedly been
harassed, and their blogs and websites have closed down over the
last 10 months (for example: http://tinyurl.com/cd6qfm
or http://tinyurl.com/corjkr
).



Hot Topics: Religion, Culture, Literature, Education

-------------- --------------


11. (SBU) Hot topics on Tibetan language websites include:

CHENGDU 00000087 003.2 OF 005


religion, culture, literature, the promotion of the Tibetan
language, education, government policies, environmental
protection, and health care. In addition, some of these
websites carry Tibetan language blogs, forums, opinion pollingg,
interviews, on-line movies and songs. Most participants appear
to be Tibetan students, young intellectuals, and monks, as well
as rural/low ranking Tibetan government or Party cadres.



Official Involvement in Software Development

--------------


12. (U) Chinese government offices involved in developing
Tibetan language software include: the Communist Party's United
Front Work Department, the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology, the National Reform and Development Commission, and
the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Private Chinese companies are
also working on such software, including the China Founder Group
and Red Flag Software Company, as well as the Tibet University
and the TAR Tibetan Language Working Committee.







Comments

--------------


13. (SBU) Most Tibetan websites appear to have been created and
are managed by young Tibetans as either a part-time job (with
little remuneration) or hobby using very simple and basic
technology. It does look like anyone is making much of a profit
from Tibetan language websites yet. Shortages of funding and
Tibetan technical expertise remain obstacles to the further
development of Tibetan language websites and e-activism. The
future of e-activism and Tibetan language use on the internet in
China will likely continue to remain closely tied to the
availability of cheap internet access, the availability of
Microsoft Vista and eventually other functionally equivalent
operating systems, and the control/interference exercised by
local authorities.




14. (U) Begin Appendix: Websites with Significant Tibetan
Language (mostly from China, although some are hosted outside of
China):



http://www.tibetnetwork.com

http://www.zangwangzhijia.cn

http://www.tibetsl.net/bbs/

http://www.nbyzwhzx.com/tibetan/

http://www.tibetanms.cn/

http://www.yangchenlhamo.com/Tibetan/home_bo. html

http://www.tibetabc.cn/

http://tibettl.com/index.html

http://www.tibetoo.com

http://www.tibetcm.com

http://www.tibetcm.com/tibetbbs

http://www.tibetcm.com/blog/index.html

http://www.tibetitw.com/main.html

http://www.tibetitw.com/bmb/

http://ti.tibet.cn/

http://www.qhtb.cn/

http://ti.tibet3.com/

http://www.tibet3.com/tibet/music/index.htm

http://www.tibetsl.com/

CHENGDU 00000087 004.2 OF 005



http://www.tibetsl.com/tibetbbs/index.asp

http://www.kawajian.com/

http://www.kawajian.com/ls/

http://www.kawajian.com/shigebao/

http://www.kinggesar.cn/tibet/

http://www.tonguer.net

http://www.xlzwjx.com/

http://www.cte.edu.cn/

http://www.hl88.com/hualong/web/index.html

http://www.tibetanct.com/tibetan/indexz.htm

http://ti.tibet.cn/shaonianbo/snb.html

http://www.tibetinfor.com.cn/zw/fxy/main.htm

http://www.arurahp.com/tibetan/index.asp

http://www.aruratm.com/zw/index-z.asp

http://www.xz.xinhuanet.com/old/zangwen/zangw enzhuye.htm

http://www.tibetanmd.com/tibetanweb/index.asp

http://www.tibetanmd.com/tibetanweb/zhuanti/i ndex.html

http://ti.tibet.cn/zqr/main.htm

http://www.xznjw.gov.cn/xznjw_zw/xznjw_zw.asp

http://ti.tibet.cn/zx/zxlist.htm

http://ti.tibet.cn/women/main.html

http://www.tibet.cn/zw/tsjj/main.htm

http://tibetsd.go3.icpcn.com/

http://www.jzschool.com/

http://ti.tibet.cn/slzx/main.htm

http://www.tibetcm.com

http://www.tubote.cn/

http://www.zmwh.org/tibetanzm/index.asp

http://www.tibetitw.com

http://www.qhkpw.com/lan_z/index.php

http://www.renpochee.com/zw/index1.htm

http://www.rebgongcul.com/

http://www.zangwangzhijia.cn/

http://www.tibetjx.com/tibet/index.asp

http://www.gdqpzhx.com/tibet/

www.tibetyes.com

http://www.bodbbs.com/

http://tibenp.com/index.htm

http://tibenp.com/bbs/

http://zw.tibetculture.net/

http://www.unitingtibetans.org

http://bo.wikipedia.org

http://dobum.org

http://kachepalu.googlepages.com/

http://www.xzflash.com/

http://dwzy.xbmu.edu.cn/zyx/tibetan/index.htm ffice

CHENGDU 00000087 005.2 OF 005



http://ti.tibet.cn/zymd/main.htm

http://www.qhmu.edu.cn/yxdh/zxy/index.htm

http://211.83.241.166/zangxue/tibetan.asp

http://www.utibet.edu.cn/za/

http://www.hzmtc.edu.cn/tn/tnindex.htm

http://www.ttmc.edu.cn/web_t/index_t.jsp

http://tibet.wuyou.com/

http://www.shangshung.net/zangshou.htm

http://www.tibetebook.com/

http://www.tibetmwf.com/

http://trace.org/index-tib.html

http://www.tibetms.com/

http://www.deerlong.cn



End text of appendix.
BOUGHNER