Reported by Kelsang Jinpa
Translated By TenGyal
Edited by Pema
Even as the Tibetan environmentalist Tsongon Tsering has been released before the completion of his eight-month prison sentence, his right to freedom of movement continues to be curtailed.
According to verified information received from a reliable source today, Tsering—a native of Tsaruma town in Khyungchu County, Ngawa (Aba) Prefecture, Tibet—was released on July 8 before completing his full sentence. Despite the early release, Chinese authorities have imposed strict restrictions on his movements, prohibiting him from attending certain gatherings, including public events such as weddings.
The same source reported that on the day of his release, local residents of Tsaruma village gathered to welcome Tsering home with a small ceremony. However, police arrived shortly afterward and ordered the crowd to disperse, stating that such a gathering was not permitted. Authorities also reiterated that Tsongon Tsering is strictly forbidden from participating in any public assemblies.
According to reports, last year on October 28th, the Khyungchu County Court in Ngawa Prefecture convicted the young Tibetan environmental activist on the alleged charges of “inciting social unrest due to personal grievances” and handed him an eight month sentence. However, Tsering had refused to plead guilty and accept the unjust ruling.
On December 22nd, 2024, the Khyungchu County police summoned Tsering along with some other local residents of Tsaruma for interrogation. After the interrogation, even as others were allowed to return home, the authorities kept Tsering in detention. At that time, the appeal video and all the voice messages on his Kuaishou social media account were restricted and deleted.
On December 15th, last year, in a five minute public petition video posted on his account on the video sharing online platform Kuaishou, Tsering disclosed that since May, 2023, the Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Company, while working on the construction of a new highway in Tsaruma village of Khyungchu County in Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan, has engaged in illegal extraction rock and sand from the nearby banks of the Dhangchu river, causing large-scale damage to the river and local ecology. He further stressed clearly the imminent danger that these activities pose to the local livestock as well as the livelihood of the local residents.
Residents of Tsaruma village hadsubmitted photos and videos as part of a legal complaint to the local Tsaruma authorities, the Khyungchu County Disciplinary Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Water Resources Department, and other relevant government offices in both Khyungchu County and Ngaba Prefecture, documenting the damage caused in their region. However, none of these government bodies responded to their complaint. In September 2023, residents of Tsaruma filed their first legal complaint against the Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Company. Although the Khyungchu Environmental Protection Agency conducted an investigation into the damaged area at the time, the results and findings were never made public.
Between October and December 2023, the villagers repeatedly appealed to the Ngawa Prefecture Water Resources Department, seeking clarification on the investigation’s outcome. However, they received no response from the department.
Based on information gathered by this reporter, the ongoing sand mining in Tsaruma village is directly linked to government-backed construction projects in Ngawa Prefecture. Although it is evident that the Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Company has engaged in illegal sand mining in the area, the likelihood of the villagers’ complaint leading to any meaningful outcome remains extremely slim. There are also concerns that the company may be conducting illegal extraction of other minerals in the same region.
Tsongon Tsering, currently 23 years old, is the only son of Phurko and Wangdon. His father, Phurko is about 60 years old and his mother Wangdon is around 50. Tsering is known to be someone who has consistently taken an active role in addressing local and community issues.
