Retiring Monks in China? Sad Stories from China

LONDON (Reuters)

Copyright 1998 Reuters Ltd.

BEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have forced elderly monks at a Tibetan Buddhist temple in northwest China to retire, the Qinghai Daily said in an edition seen in Beijing on Wednesday. The authorities retired 49 out of 52 monks aged over 60 at Youning temple in Huzu county in Qinghai province neighbouring Tibet, the newspaper said. The temple's internal management was "chaotic" because it was lax for a long period of time, the newspaper said without elaborating. In future, management of the monastery would come under a local government work unit, the newspaper said, adding that a Communist Party cadre would be responsible for inspecting the monastery and guiding its work. The London-based Tibet Information Network (TIN) said the move was part of an attempt by the Chinese authorities to limit the number of Tibetan monks and nuns. "The measure is being seen as a severe threat to the survival of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the monastery as senior monks have a crucial role in the transmission of religious teachings," TIN said. Retirement is generally unknown among monks in Tibetan monasteries, it said. Many residents of Qinghai province are ethnic Tibetans and loyal to the Himalayan region's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, instead of Beijing. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against communist rule. The newspaper said the authorities also forced 16 monks aged below 15 to return home to complete nine years of compulsory education. Twelve monks aged between 16 and 17 were banished to labour in the countryside, the newspaper said, adding that five monks were defrocked. China, alarmed by widespread support for the Dalai Lama, sent "patriotic education work teams" into Tibet and defrocked hundreds of monks and nuns from monasteries between 1996 and 1997. International organisations say human rights violations are rife in the predominantly Buddhist region of Tibet. China dismisses such criticism, arguing that Tibet's economy has boomed. ."

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