A Tibetan man was taken into custody by Chinese officials in July for sharing pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the popular Chinese social media platform WeChat, reports Radio Free Asia.
It is reported that Rinso, 50, a resident of Thangkor Township’s Village Number three, Dzoege County in Tibet’s traditional province of Amdo, was held over a week and later released. “Police released him on July 16 after he spent 10 days in custody,” said RFA’s source, “without any explanation from the authorities”. The news of Rinso’s detention and release reached outside sources only this month due to the strict blocking of information channels by the Chinese authorities, particularly in this region of Tibet.
“Chinese authorities are closely monitoring discussions on WeChat, and are quick to intervene,” said RFA’s source, speaking in anonymity, adding “It is better to avoid speaking openly about certain things, and to avoid sharing photos“.
The report further said that in May, Chinese authorities issued a bilingual notice, warning against the improper use of WeChat for spreading political news, including discussions on the developments in Hong Kong and Taiwan, which were flagged as particularly sensitive. As per the ruling, only news reports approved by the Chinese government can be shared, and serious infractions of the rules can be punished by as much as eight years in prison.
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