Chinese Regime Forces Monks and Tibetans to Witness the Demolition of Buddha Statue

By Nicole Hao January 8, 2022

 

The Chinese regime forced Tibetan monks and Tibetan people to watch the demolition process of a 99-foot tall Buddha statue at Thoesam Gatsel temple in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in December.

The Buddha statue was built after the regime approved the project in 2015, and has special meaning for local Tibetan monks and people.

“For Tibetans, the Buddha statue is more valuable than our own lives,” Kelsang Gyaltsen, representative of the Central Tibetan Administration in Taiwan, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 7. “The Thoesam Gatsel temple is in Luhuo county, which is in a seismic zone together with the neighboring Dawu county. Tibetan people believe that the Buddha statue can protect people from being hurt by earthquakes.”

Gyaltsen criticized the demolition and the regime’s forcing Tibetan monks and residents to watch the process.

“It destroys your [temple’s] properties, blasphemes your gods, and forces you to give up your spiritual beliefs. Ordering people to watch [the demolition]! You can imagine how much mental pressure [the monks and Tibetan residents] suffered during the process,” Gyaltsen said..........To Read More...