A slap in the face: Monks ‘not asked to leave Qinghai quake zone’?

Choni Tsultrim Gyatso NJ | May 14th, 2010 | 11:46 am


Secret China Staff)

Did the Chinese government order the monks to go home? The Yushu prefectural governor, Wang Yuhu, was quoted by state news agency Xinhua on April 22 as saying that no such orders had been given or received by him.
“We put no restrictions on the monks who joined the rescue and recovery operations, nor did we tell them to go home”.

However the next day, a BBC’ report slapped Wang’s face. It said that China’s State Council recognized the positive contributions of Tibetan monks in the relief effort, “while we suggested to them that they return to their monasteries to ensure the high effectiveness and order of quake relief work.”

Monks work tirelessly but asked to leave

Hundreds of rescue workers had rushed to Yushu County in the wake of the 14 April earthquake. The most impressive workers were the monks. They began arriving in Yushu shortly after the earthquake and played a major role in digging people out of the rubble and tending to survivors. They also held cremation ceremonies by preparing hundreds of bodies and praying and burning the corpses in a massive trench outside of Yushu. Some netizens said that “the only intentions the monks have are rescuing people, not getting media coverage. Their relief efforts are more efficient than that of the officials”. Monks’ contributions are highly recognized.

But China’s State Council said in a statement issued by its information office that “the duties of rescue workers in the quake zone are basically over and the focus has moved to disease prevention and reconstruction, which needs “specialized people”, therefore, the monks had been told to return their monastery.
Some netizens responded that, “Spiritual consolation is very critical to the survivors. Not to mention a place like Yushu - high on the Tibetan plateau - Tibetans have their own belief. Pushing the monks out of Yushu is absolutely a major setback to the relief effort”.

The harder the monks work, the more the Chinese government worries

The population of Yushu is 350,000, and 97% is ethnic Tibetan, most of whom worship Buddhism. On April 19, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said that, “Religious factors are too prominent” in the relief proceeding and worried about any disruption and damage caused by “outside forces” .

Therefore, he required grasping unity while helping victims. Some netizens laughed at him and said that, “While the monks are rescuing people full heartedly, the regime still prevents them. How sad it is!”

China Radio Network reported that the monks are far less “complicated” than what the central government suspected. Jiang Ga Luoren, the head of Yushu’s Dajie Monastery, said 83 of their monks went to Jiegu Town as soon as the earthquake stopped and dug people out of the rubble. Their intention was saving people, very pure