Reported by Jampa Tsering
Edited by Pema Tso
Translated by TenGyal
Kelsang, a Tibetan has been detained for posting information on social media platform about the Chinese authorities forcefully cutting off water and electricity supply to his household.
After the Chinese authorities denied and cut off the basic utilities of water and electricity to his household, Kelsang, a Tibetan from Serdrak Town, Tengchen County, Chamdo, in the so-called Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), had been appealing to the the local authorities of Serdrak Township and Tengchen County for the last nine years from 2019 On 20th March, 2025, he took to social media platforms to highlight his problems after receiving no response or help in any form from the authorities.
On March 24, the Tengchen County Police, in response, detained and accused Kelsang of disrupting social harmony and harming the Party and the government. The authorities also placed travel restrictions on his family. Although he was later released, he was arrested again on April 18 and was not allowed to meet with his family. Under the same pretensive allegations, he also faced difficulty in enrolling his child in school.
In the post he shared online, Kelsang expressed that despite the ongoing construction projects initiated by the local authorities in Serdrak Township to resolve the issues of water and electricity, his family is still experiencing a lack of both water and electricity supplies. He stated that they face a lot of difficulty in carrying out the simple daily chores of cooking, washing and cleaning in his household.Additionally, the electricity cut has made it impossible for him to provide his child with the ability to continue daily studies in the dark of night.They have been enduring these hardships for the last nine years.
He also highlighted that his household was removed from the list of beneficiaries of the Third Phase of Livelihood Diversification Program for Farmers and Nomads in 2024. Despite notifying the township government multiple times about their situation, they have seen no results. As a result, they appealed to the local government to conduct a thorough investigation and make a just decision.
Post Shared by Keslang on Social Media Platform. Photo Sourced From TCHRD
When asked about the reason behind the Chinese authorities cutting off water and electricity supplies for nine years to Kelsang’s household, Dawa Tashi, researcher at Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) explained,
“ Denying and cutting of the supply of water and electricity is a common measure taken by the Chinese authorities in the area. According to the information that we have gathered, Kelsang’s grandfather lost his life resisting and protesting the Chinese regime in the 1950s. As such, the Chinese authorities have always resentfully considered them as a reactionary family. Furthermore, during the widespread protests across Tibet in 2008, when there were reports of pamphlets and documents being distributed in Serdrak Township, Tengchen County, the Chinese authorities detained Kelsang for a few months on the suspicion of distributing documents and pamphlets. At the time, due to lack of evidence, the Chinese authorities weren’t able to detain him for the whole year. A related source describes that these are the causes and conditions.”
Talking about the Chinese government deleting many articles posted by Kelsang, Dawa Tashi went on to say, “ As the Chinese authorities have cut off the supply of water and electricity for nine years, he filed a series of reports to inform the related government offices and leaders. Yet, as he did not receive any decisive response to the problems he was facing from any of them, after exhausting all means, he took to social media platform(s) to publish all the appeals and reports he had filed out of desperation.The subject matter of the posts he shared online is the origin and development of the hardships he had faced. Currently, other than the fact that he’s been detained by the Chinese authorities, there are no further detailed information.”
