By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, August 25: The Chinese authorities in Phenpo Lhundup County have imposed restrictions on the celebration of Reting Monastery’s Phaphong Thangkor festival, a religious ceremony which happens every 12 years in the seventh month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.
The nine-day long ceremony, which commenced on August 24 at the Reting Monastery in Chodhoe township, Lhundup County, was interrupted by the Chinese authorities by deploying men from Public Security Bureau (PSB) and Special Operations Forces. The Tibetans who have come to attend the religious festival were frisked and asked to present ID cards.
“Authorities have made it compulsory for all the Tibetans attending the festival to carry their valid ID cards and if they are caught without one, they will be arrested. The cab drivers were commanded to have their license with them or else the car will be impounded. The government also condemned celebrations and dancing during the festival,” a Tibetan source told the Voice of Tibet on condition of anonymity.
The security has been tightened with hundreds of soldiers patrolling the monastery and the vicinity with festival visitors having to pass through five security check points guarded by officials from the PSB and Special Forces.
The restriction on the festival in Lhundup County, close to the capital Lhasa, could be because of 50th anniversary of the Tibet Autonomous Region next month and speculations about Xi Jinping visiting the capital for the official celebration, sources say.
