The Violations of Subsistence Rights Under the New Taxation Policy


With the People's Republic of China (PRC) having signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in October 1997, TCHRD has began a study on the present socio-economic conditions of the Tibetan people inside Tibet. In contrast with claims made by the PRC regarding the advancement of socio-economic conditions in Tibet,(80) the accounts of 70 Tibetan refugees who have recently escaped to India from different parts of Tibet reveal a very poor standard of living in Tibet. The survey focused particularly on Tibetan nomads and farmers.

Accounts of current conditions reveal that China's economic policy in Tibet has severely affected the huge percentage of Tibetans who live in rural areas of Tibet. Innumerable Tibetans report that economic repression is drastically affecting their livelihood and their ability to feed themselves and their family. China's taxation policy plays a crucial role in this repression.

Whether China will abide by the provisions of the ICESCR is uncertain. In fact, the Beijing Government had already proclaimed in November 1989 in a 'White Paper' issued in defence of its human rights record that the most fundamental human right was the right to subsistence.

In 1990, Wei Jingsheng, the leader of China's fledging democracy and human rights movement, wrote to Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping from prison that the Beijing leadership was pushing the Tibetan economy towards poverty with deliberate ill-planning. In March 1990, Dorjee Tseten, then Chairman of the "TAR People's Government", said at the Third Meeting of the Seventh Session of the Chinese People's Congress in Beijing, that the "TAR" was still a very poor region with a per capita yearly income of only about 200 yuan (US$25).(81)

International Law

Article 1(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides that:

All people may, for their own free ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.

Article 11(1) of the ICESCR states that:

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

The Chinese Government has been slow to become a formal party to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The ICESCR has been in force since 1976, but it was not until October 27, 1997, that the PRC signed the convention. The decision to sign the agreement, timed to concide with the start of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's State Visit to the USA, was seen as an attempt by the PRC to deflect growing international criticism of China's human rights records.

The decision to be legally bound by the Covenant means that, as a State Party, the PRC is now obliged under international law to "take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realisation of the rights recognised in the present Covenant." (Article 2(1)).

China's Taxation Policy in Tibet

Article 9 of the Chinese Constitution provides that "the state protects the right of citizens to own lawfully earned income, savings, houses and other means of livelihood." In violation of its own constitution, the Chinese authorities are denying the rights of the Tibetan people to own their income by imposing alarmingly high taxation. Tibetans are subjected to various forms of taxation, some unbelievably high, irrespective of their economic position.

The Chinese Government claims that Tibet practises a high degree of regional national autonomy in the "Tibet Autonomous Region". Yet the so-called tax collection is administered by Chinese officials throughout Tibet and there is no evidence that those who are forced to pay the taxes benefit in any way from the revenue. Although the taxing policy has been in force in Tibet since Chinese occupation in 1959, the outstanding number of reports received in 1997 indicate a far harsher form of taxation policy presently in place, although the policy does not appear to be uniform in all regions.

The tax revenue figures for "TAR" continue to rise as heavier and heavier taxes are imposed. The tax system in "TAR" was said to have been brought into line with the rest of China and a tax income of 380 million yuan (approx. US$46 million) was reported to have been collected from "TAR" in 1996, compared with 14 million yuan (approx. US$1.7 million) in 1992. This figure is expected to further rise to 450 million (approx. US$55 million) for 1997(82).

The Tibetans worst affected by China's economic policies are Tibet's peasants and nomads who live on very meagre means and subsist from year to year on crop harvests and animal products. Forced to work hard in order to have enough to eat, their children are generally deprived of the opportunity to attend school because of the unaffordable fees and the need for them to work at home. A recent arrival from Tibet reported that in August 1995, three tax officials came to collect tax at Gonpo Tsering's home in Kamoche village in Choni County, Kanlho "TAP", Gansu Province. Gonpo's family of eight members was required to pay 50 gyama (approximately 25 kg) of barley per individual as a tax to the Chinese Government. The family paid the total tax of 200 kg of barley, but later that same month the Chinese officials returned to Gonpo's home demanding more taxes and forcibly took half a sack of barley weighing about 50 kg. In the same month, 12 Public Security Bureau officials stormed into the house for the third time. The officials reportedly seated themselves comfortably and demanded more barley tax. Despite the family's appeals that they no longer had enough barley for their own consumption, Chinese officials continue to demand payment. In the confrontation that ensued, one of the officials hit Gonpo Tsering over the head with a stick. In retaliation, Gonpo took a knife from the kitchen and slashed the head of an official. Gonpo was subsequently arrested on the spot and taken to an unknown destination. Two days after Gonpo was taken away, the family was notified to collect his dead body for cremation.

A variety of taxes have been imposed; on land, animals, wool and fur, hides, meat, grains, butter, milk, cheese, hay, fertiliser and medicinal plants. "Old age" and "education" taxes are also charged, even if the person receives no schooling and no social security. In some cases even a "human tax" was reported; one 15-year-old girl from Lhoka, "TAR", said that each member of her family had to pay 160 yuan to Chinese authorities - a total of 1,440 yuan (approx. US$175) - and that if the tax was not paid on time a further fine of up to 300 yuan was imposed.

"Milk Tax" may be imposed not just on milk-bearing animals, but also on male animals. A tax on non-residents who visit Lhasa has also been reported to have been in place since the beginning of 1997. The tax is 29 yuan (approx. US$ 3.50) per month per person per stay and a one-month identity card is issued upon payment. If a person fails to renew the card, a fine of two yuan per day is imposed.

"The Chinese authorities aim to deepen the hardship that already exists in the life of the Tibetan people so that they cannot rise to speak for other freedoms," says 29-year-old Phuntsok Namgyal from Golok Serta County in Karze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" (incorporated into Chinese Sichuan Province), adding, "the tax policy has really forced the nomads in my areas to engage themselves in some other work such as building of houses and road construction."

A new "tax" introduced in 1997 by Chinese authorities is that has been imposed on circumambulation ( Tib: Khorra - the Buddhist practice of circling a sacred object to collect good merit). "This was previously unheard of by the Tibetan people living in this region," reports 27-year-old Tsegye Phuntsok from Kyithang County in Ngari Region, "TAR". Tsegye says, "Each individual is levied three yuan as a tax to acquire the rights to circumambulate the holy Mount Kailash."(83)

Recent reports from Drayab Chamdo Region, where Tibetan farmers have previously depended solely on the seasonal farming of barley, say that high taxes have forced the farmers to find new means of livelihood. Farmers have begun collecting Cordycep Sinensis (Tib:Yartsa Gunbu), a medicinal plant, which they sell at market for two yuan each. Even this small income has been targeted for Chinese taxes. Each farmer must pay a fixed tax of one sang (50 gram) and the remaining plants must be sold to the Chinese authorities for only five mosey each,(86) one quarter of the market price. Yartsa Gunbu is found only twice in a year and a person can collect 50 Yartsa Gunbu at the most per day. Most are unable to do so and some can collect only two. Incredibly, those who are unable to collect enough plants are still required to pay the 50 gram tax and are therefore forced to buy the plant from others to do so.

Another new policy reported is the restriction imposed on the number of animals that Tibetan nomads and farmers are permitted to keep. "We are allowed to keep only 70 per cent of our animals," says Lobsang Gyaltsen from Toe Nyabring County, Shigatse, "and we are required to kill the other 30 per cent. Some animals may be substituted for others. For example, if we have 100 cows we must kill 30 cows or 180 sheep." Lobsang says that this increase in the meat supply has resulted in lower prices representing a further cut to farmers' income. The slaughter of any living creature is considered a great sin by all Tibetan Buddhists and thus some refuse to kill their animals. The animals are then "confiscated" and the family suffers an additional 60 yuan (approx. US$7.5) fine per animal. In addition, for every hide of the animals compulsorily killed, one yuan and seven mosey must be paid.(85)

Sources from Horshe Shang in Golok Serta County of Karze "Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture" (incorporated into Chinese Province of Sichuan) report that Tibetans are also being forced to kill other animals. One refugee said that if they did not kill 20 rats and guinea pigs per month they would be fined 20 yuan for each animal short of the quota, and that they were also forced to kill foxes.(86)

Other nomads have reported that their reserves of meat and butter have also had to be foregone as a tax to Chinese officials, resulting in terrible scarcity of food during the winter months.(87) Sources in Drayab, Chamdo region, say that the people are so poor that it is hard for them to manage even two meals per day. Some, so desperate for food, have had to depend on eating stinging nettles, a kind of plant found on the farming land. The consumption of nettles has reportedly affected many Tibetans, causing their faces to swell and their health to drastically weaken.(88)

In an attempt to earn more revenue, Chinese authorities have even levied taxes on Tibetan hermits who spend years in solitary retreat, often in the mountains, living without material means. A mountain retreat called Dhrak Yepa, Taktse County, in the Lhasa, is home to about 80 religious recluses who have built their own small shacks and live on alms food. On August 22, 1996, six officials from Domtoe Town in Taktse County arrived and made the following announcement: "We have come to enter all names of those who dwell on this mountain as hermits. Up to now we have been very lenient and have not charged you for anything. However, from today onwards you shall have to pay 10 yuan for the space that you occupy, five yuan for the road that you use and 15 yuan for the water and fire wood that you use daily. In total, 30 yuan per month. If you fail to pay, you will have to leave this place." By 1997 about 50 of the hermits had already left. (89)

A similar account from a hermit from Samye Chenpo hermitage in Tranag County, Lhoka Region, "TAR" reported that hermits have been charged a sum of 30 yuan to go into the retreat and that three yuan is subsequently charged every month from the senior hermits and between six to 20 yuan from a newly joined hermit as an additional 'government tax'. When the source left the hermitage in March 1997, only 30 to 40 hermits remained out of the original 200.

Cases of Taxation in Tibet

Cases of taxation in Tibet provided by Tibetans who have arrived in exile in 1997:

According to a Tibetan nomad (name withheld) from Dayab County, Chamdo Region under "TAR" who reached exile in early 1997, his family of nine members were permitted to own two goats, two cows, two dri (female yak), one dzo (a hybrid of yak and cow) and one sheep. The family could neither increase nor decrease this amount. Tibetan farmers who previously depended solely on seasonal farming of barley, have begun to pick Cordycep Sinensis (Tib: Yartsa Gunbhu) in order to supplement their income. Every farmer is levied a tax of 36 gyama of barley and a milk tax of two gyama. From every nomad, one yak is collected as a tax. The Chinese authorities pay 600 yuan (approx. US$75) for a yak which is sold at the market for 1500 yuan. For each sheep 200 yuan is paid, while the market price is 500 yuan.

Karma Tenzin, from Chamdo County, "TAR", who recently arrived in India, reported that in his area they had to pay taxes in the form of food grains, meat, butter and hay. A family of five have to pay: 25 gyama of food grains; 10 gyama of butter; 6 gyama of fresh meat and an unfixed amount of hay. Lobsang Phulchung (21) is from Chideshol Town in Lhoka County, "TAR". There are six members in his family and each individual was distributed with two and a half mu of land (one mu is equal to 67 sq. metres). Each individual is required to pay 12 khel(90) of barley and hence his family has to pay a total of 72 khel to the Chinese authorities. If a family does not meet the required quota even after giving away all of their produce, the family must cover it by making payment in cash. Every farmer has to compulsorily buy fertiliser from the Chinese authorities, either a red sack which costs 50 yuan (approx. US$6) or a white sack costing 40 yuan. Rinzin Choephel (23) is from Gyochu Town, Tsawa Pashoe County in Chamdo Region of "TAR". He has a family of six and they own 35 mu of farming land. He does not know the exact quantity of barley tax that his family must pay. For each gyama of barley collected, the Chinese authorities pay one mosey and five phing whereas the market price is 10 yuan per gyama. For every animal owned, two gyama of butter is charged. Tsingdrol Lhamo (15) is from Lokha Region in "TAR". She is from a nine-member family and owns 30 mu of land. Each individual has to pay six boe of barley in a year (a boe is a wooden container used as a unit of measurement which has a capacity of 14 kg). Hence his family pays a total tax of 756 kg of barley to the Chinese authorities. In her village everyone is required to pay a "human tax" of 160 yuan. Her family has to pay a sum of 1,440 yuan. If they don't pay in due time they are fined up to 300 yuan (approx. US$ 36).

Tsundue Songjoe (16) is from Nyanthok Town in Dhaloe County in Amdo (Ch: Qinghai ). There are six members in his family and they own nine mu of farming land. In 1996 they paid 7,000 yuan as land tax. It is reported that in 1997 the amount has been increased to 10,000 yuan (approx. US$1,200). In 1997 each member of his family had to pay seven yuan as a donation "to cover the expense of the Hong Kong handover".

Phuntsok Namgyal (29) was from Horshe Shang in Golok Serta County of Karze "TAP", in Sichuan Province. He has a nine member family and owns 5,000 mu of pasture land. It is compulsory to fence one's pasture land and the cost of fencing ranges from 8,000 to 9,000 yuan (approx. US$1,000). If people fail to do so, they are liable to be fined 2,000 yuan (approx. US$240). One thousand yuan is levied annually on Phuntsok's family as grazing land tax. A tax of 2,000 gyama of meat is imposed annually. The authorities in return pay two to three yuan per gyama of meat while the market price per gyama of meat is nine to 10 yuan. His family is required to submit 1,000 gyama of milk out of which one yuan for each gyama is returned. A tax of 500 gyama of butter is levied every year from which four to five yuan per gyama is returned whereas the market rate is 15 to 16 yuan per gyama. The family is also required to kill 20 rats and guinea pigs per month. If they fail to meet that quota, they are fined 20 yuan for each animal - a total of 6,400 yuan (approx. US$780).

Ogen Tso (25) is a nomad from Machen Town in Davoe County in Tsongon (Ch : Qinghai). He has a family of three. Every individual has to pay 1.2 sang of Yartsa Gunbu. If they fail to meet the prescribed quota, they are fined 1,500 yuan per individual - a total of 4,500 yuan (approx. US$550) from his family. Three yak must be given annually as a meat tax.

Tsoduk (22) is from Labrang Town, Ganjang County in Gansu Province. He has a family of 12 members and his livestock comprises of 40 yak and 500 sheep. They have to pay 10,300 gyama of meat annually and the authorities return five mosey per gyama - much less than the market price of 12 yuan per gyama. A total of 18,000 gyama of milk is imposed as tax (1,500 gyama per individual), and in return they are paid only one yuan and 7 mosey per gyama. A tax of 15 gyama of butter is also levied and in return they are paid one yuan for each gyama - the market price for butter is 17 yuan per gyama. The family also pays 3,200 gyama of wool as tax for which the authorities pay them two yuan per gyama - the market rate is 12 yuan per gyama. Five hundred yuan is paid as tax for grazing land. Tsegye Phuntsok (27) is from Podrang Town, Kyithang County in Ngari Region, "TAR". His family has six members and own 20 mu of land. Taxing policy is based on the number of mu one possesses. His family has to pay 1,800 gyama of barley annually, in return they receive seven mosey per gyama. The market price is one yuan and five mosey. One member of every family in the township is required to work compulsorily for 20 days in a year without any remuneration. In recent times the authorities have imposed a tax of three yuan on each individual who wishes to acquire the right to circumambulate Mount Kailash.

Tenzin Tsundue (20), from Jingo Town, Machen County, in Tsongon (Qinghai), belongs to a family of six and owns 300 livestock and 2,900 mu of grazing land. Taxes are imposed according to the number of family members. His family has to pay 750 gyama of meat annually out of which two yuan is returned. If sold in the market they would receive eight yuan per gyama of meat. They are levied 1,900 yuan (approx. US$230) as a grazing land tax per year. A 200 gyama tax on wool is levied for which they are returned one yuan and five mosey while the market rate is five yuan. A tax of 15 gyama of butter is also imposed and in return they receive one yuan per gyama from the Chinese authorities, whereas the market price is from 13 to 17 yuan per gyama. They must pay 180 gyama of yak fur as tax, for which they are paid five yuan per gyama, compared with a market price of 14 yuan. His family must also pay one gyama and 80 sang of Yartsa Gunbu and in return they are paid 1,500 yuan, whereas the market price is 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per gyama. A "social security" tax of 600 yuan is paid and, based on the size of their land, his family must also give 1,700 yuan as a "leasing investment". Forty yuan per member in the family between the age of 15 to 60 is charged for the old people's home and, regardless of whether one sends their children to school, an "education tax" of two sheep and one yak per year is levied. In return they receive 150 yuan for the yak and 40 yuan for the sheep but in market these animals fetch a price of 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. Kunsang (22) is from Shamey, Rorkhe County, Ngapa "TAP" (Ch: Sichuan). His family has eight members and own 80 yak and 300 sheep. They give one yak as meat tax and each individual must pay 200 gyama of milk as a tax - a total of 1,600 gyama. Two hundred yuan is levied from his family as a grazing land tax and each family member has to pay 50 to 60 gyama of butter tax making a total of 400 gyama. Between 20 to 30 gyama of cheese is taxed from every member of family, totalling 160 gyama.

Thupten Woeser (17) from Khoche, Gabde County, Golok "TAP", has a family of six members and owns 100 yak, 100 sheep and six horses. They are required to pay 1,200 gyama of meat as tax and in return they get one yuan per gyama - less than the market price of 10 to 12 yuan. As part of the land tax they pay 1,000 yuan every year. For wool 600 gyama is collected, for which they receive two to three yuan per gyama but in the market would fetch 12 yuan. Twenty gyama of butter has to be given at the price of one yuan per gyama, while the market rate is 16 to 17 yuan. Thirty gyama of cheese is collected and 15 gyama of yak fur is collected from which they are given two yuan per gyama, whereas the market rate is three to four yuan. For fencing 10,100 yuan (approx. US$1,200) is charged.

Increase in Beggar Population

The reports received from refugees and tourists of the growing numbers of Tibetans, including children, being forced to beg for survival are indicative of the worsening economic situation in Tibet. One man, who was himself a beggar in Lhasa, reported that there are more than 3,000 beggars in Tibet's capital(91) and that the rate is even higher in Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet.

China seems anxious to "clean up" the problem only when the international spotlight is directed upon them. The man reported that in July 1996, during the visit of a US delegation to Tibet, he and his whole family were arrested and taken to Gutsa Prison, along with other beggars, where they were detained for more than one month. "They told us we were disgracing the nation," said the man. "We were badly beaten as a result of which my teeth were completely broken. After one month we were dropped in a very remote place en route to Chamdo. We heard that many beggars had died in the prison, most of them orphan children and older people."

Foreign visitors to Tibet during 1997 were shocked by the number of Tibetan beggars they saw. Said one woman who visited Lhasa in August; "The Tibetans are distinctly more ragged and impoverished looking than the Chinese merchants. There are an astounding number of Tibetans begging in Lhasa, more beggars than in any other city I have visited, including Calcutta, Ho Chi Minh, Kathmandu and Delhi."

Conclusion

The Chinese tax policy in Tibet has severely affected the life of the Tibetan people, negating the PRC's claims that Tibetan people enjoy a high degree of autonomy and are given special preferential treatment(92). There is little evidence that the tax revenue collected benefits the Tibetan people. According to a new arrival from Kyigodo "TAP" in Kham Region, Qinghai Province, Tibetans in Kyigodo and nearby Sershul Dzong were deprived of foreign relief funds meant for the region following massive snow storms. The source reported that since 1995 the Kham Region has been hit by a series of severe snowstorms. Foreign monetary funds which were initially sent to the region to be distributed among the victims of the massive snowstorms were appropriated by Chinese officials who explained that the funds would be used to buy cattle for the people. Individuals were told that they could keep their share of the money provided they repay double the amount in three years time. No one was therefore willing to keep the funds under such conditions.

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Last updated: 1-Feb-98