China tightening political grip over Tibet, sidelining Tibetans from key posts: Report

Washington: China is tightening its political grip over Tibet while sidelining Tibetans from key decision-making positions, a new report by a US-based advocacy group has said, as it called for greater international support for the Tibetan government-in-exile based in India.

The Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) on Tuesday asked the US Congress to reinstate full funding for humanitarian assistance and other support to Tibetan communities in India and Nepal as well as for capacity-building efforts within the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).

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The CTA is Tibet's government-in-exile based in India's Dharamshala. It represents the Tibetan diaspora globally and administers community services like education, healthcare, and cultural preservation. While the 14th Dalai Lama remains the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Sikyong (President) is the political head of the CTA.

"India provides the Tibetans with the foundation to do whatever they want. That's why we have been able to build this foundation there and utilise that here," Bhuchung Tsering, Head of Research and Monitoring at the International Campaign for Tibet, told PTI on Tuesday.

Tsering said the Tibetan cause has received bipartisan support in the US, and the Assuring the Future of Tibet Act has been introduced in the US Congress and is awaiting approval.

"The US Congress should pass the bipartisan 'Assuring the Future of Tibet Act (AFTA),' which provides greater legitimacy to the CTA by recognising the institution as the democratically elected representative of the Tibetan people", Tsering said.

The AFTA is a bipartisan US legislation introduced in mid-2026 to firmly solidify America's long-term relationship with the Central Tibetan Administration. The primary goal of the bill is to guarantee that the US government maintains direct, senior-level engagement with Tibet's democratically elected exile leadership.

Tsering also wanted the European Union to appoint a Special Representative for Tibet to improve coordination and coherence in EU policy on Tibet, including regular consultations with the CTA.

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The annual ICT Tibetan Leadership Report, unveiled in Washington on Tuesday, said that through leadership appointments, new legislation, and Party directives, China is deepening political control over Tibet.

The report said China was accelerating its policies of forced assimilation of Tibetans, amid a continued lack of any meaningful Tibetan representation in senior leadership positions.China administers Tibet through a centralised dual-party-state structure where the top Chinese Communist Party official holds ultimate authority over the local ethnic Tibetan governor.

In 2026, Tibetans occupied only 62 of the 240 senior leadership positions (25.8 per cent) across all 10 party, government, security, and judicial institutions in Tibet at the provincial, prefectural, and county levels.

"By contrast, non-Tibetans hold the majority, 178 of the 240 positions (74.2 per cent)," Tsering said.

The report said no Tibetan serves as party secretary in any of the five provincial-level administrations covering Tibetan areas.

Only four of 19 prefectural-level and county-level administrations have Tibetan party secretaries. No Tibetan holds a military commander or political commissar post, it said.

"As China further marginalises Tibetan participation in decision-making inside Tibet, the international community should strengthen engagement with the CTA as a democratic partner and representative of the Tibetan people," Tsering said.

The report finds that the "Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress Law" and "Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building" together form the legal and ideological foundations of a new governance model.

The model prioritises political loyalty, centralised Party authority, national security, and implementation of assimilation policies over meaningful Tibetan representation, the report said.