Protest actions of the Tibetans in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

This article examines the methods of protest actions of the Tibetans residing in the territory of the People's Republic of China. The inability for legal self-organization and representation of the interests of ethnic minorities in the public space of PRC leads to the emergence of new forms of expressing protest moods, such as social network movements. Tibetan Buddhism is an important element of integration and construction of the identity of Tibetan society, which intensifies both positive and negative effects of China’s religious policy, and thus, causes various forms of disturbances from individual protest to large-scale temporary training centers of Tibetan Buddhism. The Russian scientific literature on the “Tibetan question” gives ample attention to China's religious policy pertaining to the Tibetan Buddhism monasteries and protests of Tibetan monks. The monasteries that have consolidated the religious and political power since the region became part of PRC, received particular attention of the party; organization and participation of the Tibetan monks and nuns in the protests seemed as the logical continuation of their traditional social role. The article systematizes the methods of protest activity of laity Tibetans, who believed that opposing the state policy implies the defense of their identity, which subsides due to the state homogenization project.