Tibetan rights activist Tsering Tso detained for 2 weeks

Read RFA coverage of this story in Tibetan.

A Tibetan rights activist, known for publicly criticizing Chinese authorities online, was detained for two weeks from Nov. 29 in Qinghai province on alleged charges of “spreading false information” and “causing trouble” on social media, two sources told Radio Free Asia.

Tsering Tso, 39, was held under “administrative detention” from Nov. 29 to Dec. 13 for her activities on social media by the Public Security Bureau in Trika county, known as Guide in Chinese, which said she fabricated facts and posted false statements online in November 2024.

Tso has been detained or harassed at least five times in the past five years, including for allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions, spreading false information about Chinese officials, and violating internet regulations, sources told RFA.

More specifically, her most recent detention was related to a video Tso posted on social media around Nov. 20, where she filmed a police officer at the Public Security Bureau denying her application for a passport entry and exit permit, saying that she had been listed as having a criminal record.

Tso did not reveal any details about her treatment by officials during her detention and her current condition after release is unclear, the sources said.

Following her release on Dec. 13, a defiant Tso, however, posted on her personal WeChat account saying, “The laws in Qinghai province differ from those in China. Each time I report on the police force’s discriminatory practices and violations of their disciplinary rules, they exert their power to arbitrarily detain and pressure the whistleblower on false charges of creating trouble.”

Tso, who operates a travel company through which she organizes tours in various parts of the country, including Lhasa, has repeatedly advocated for equal rights for Tibetans.

She has spoken out about the abuses of power by Chinese authorities and about the hardships Tibetans face in starting and running businesses in their homeland.

In two videos obtained by the Dharamsala-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy advocacy group on Oct. 16 and Oct. 19, 2023, Tso can be seen highlighting the difficulties of obtaining a license to run a small business and accusing local leaders of corruption and misusing their power for personal gain.

Earlier this year, Tso was subjected to a 10-day “administrative detention” in Yushu prefecture in June and July for “endangering social stability.”

This came after she called out the discriminatory practices of Chinese authorities against two Tibetan monks who were traveling on a pilgrimage, requiring them to obtain additional permissions and subjecting them to interrogation while the Chinese tourists were not required to do the same.

Additional reporting by Dorjee Dolma. Translated and edited by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.