Chinese authorities detain Tibetan writer for allegedly contacting exiles outside China

Lhasa [Tibet], January 27 (ANI): The Chinese authorities in Tibet have detained a 30-year-old Tibetan writer and former teacher for allegedly contacting exiles outside the country, US non-profit news service Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.
According to RFA, the writer, known as Palgon, was arrested at his home in August 2022 and has been incommunicado ever since. "There is still no information on where he is being held at the moment," a source said.
"His family members were also not informed or given proper reasons for his arrest other than Palgon's contact with people in exile to offer prayers to His Holiness the Dalai Lama," the source added.
Palgon is from the Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's southeastern Qinghai province.
He used to be an elementary school teacher in the prefecture's Pema county. He, however, later resigned from his role and continued as an independent writer.
China has over the last few months, arrested monks, writers, young protestors, and other Tibetan figures in a wide-ranging crackdown. Those detained are often held incommunicado for months before being sentenced.
Director of the India-based Tibet Policy Institute, Dawa Tsering, said the arrest shows China's attempts to block Tibetans from communicating with the outside world.
"The Chinese government does not want the international communities to know about the harsh policies that they have been implementing on Tibetans in terms of religion, culture, and language," he said, as quoted by RFA.
RFA contacted police in Pema county and Golog prefecture, but they were not available for comment.
Tibet Press recently reported that China denies Tibet's ancient individual existence, claiming it to be a part of the mainland. The legitimacy of China's claim is based on an illegal agreement in 1951.
The Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, also known as the 17 Point Agreement, was signed on May 23, 1951, by a person devoid of legitimate authority to represent Tibet, the Tibet Press has reported.
According to the Tibet Press, China had pledged to keep Tibet's traditional and religious integrity and local ethnic groups' local practices unhindered.
The questioned agreement was signed through coercive means and is devoid of any legal legitimacy, the report further reads.
Non-compliance with the agreement, however, caused the Tibetan uprising of 1959 which was crushed and also forced the 14th Dalai Lama to flee to India with his followers, it states. (ANI)