China blocks news about fire at Tibet’s holiest temple
BEIJING — A fire broke out at Tibet’s most sacred temple on Saturday, and the public knows no more.
The blaze may have severely damaged the 1,300 year-old temple and many of its precious architectural features, murals and relics; or perhaps it was small and quickly extinguished, and the temple is more or less fine.
On Saturday evening, Tibetan social media users posted photos and videos of the ancient Jokhang Temple complex in the region’s capital Lhasa, a UNESCO world heritage site, with one of its golden roofs engulfed in flames. Hours later, Chinese state media said that the fire had been extinguished and that cultural relics were safe. No deaths have been reported.
Yet authorities since have restricted discussion of the fire on social media, leaving Tibetologists poring over shreds of dubious information to ascertain its most basic facts — how it started, how long it continued, how much damage it caused — and underscoring the Chinese government’s vicelike grip on information in Tibet, a minority region that has historically chafed against Beijing’s rule.
“There’s been this whole process of drip-feeding critical information to certain people, anonymously, unattributed,” said Robbie Barnett, a prominent Tibet expert based in London. “Key Tibetologists are getting this information; key foreigners in China are getting these accounts. But nobody outside knows where they’re from, and we don’t know which of the photos or stories are genuine.”
Jokhang, a crucial destination for Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims, is a sprawling compound of predominantly wood structures built in the seventh century. It lies at the center of Lhasa’s commercial core, surrounded by mazelike streets. Its main chapel is home to the Jowo, Tibet’s holiest statue, which is believed to be blessed by the Buddha himself.
Partly because of the temple’s importance and central location, it was the site of anti-Beijing demonstrations in the late 1980s. Security is reportedly tight.
On Thursday, China’s official New China News Agency reported that arson has been ruled out, that the temple’s roof has been removed “in case of collapse or reburning,” and that the Jowo statue, as well as “all the registered 6,510 cultural relics and the main building,” are intact. The fire affected an area of about 500 square feet, the News Agency said, and “the temple opened to the public as usual one day after the fire.”
Tibet ranks among the world’s most repressive places. Since protests racked the region in 2008, authorities have imposed an intensive surveillance network and lowered their tolerance for dissent. Any criticism of the government, independent news reporting and support for the spiritual leader Dalai Lama — who has lived in India since Chinese forces occupied the region in 1959 — can incur draconian punishment, including jail terms.
The Chinese government restricts access to Tibet for foreigners, making independent verification of the damage from the fire difficult.
Yet information about the temple — photos, videos, anonymous witness reports — has been trickling out, and Tibetologists say it’s cast doubt on the official narrative. They say the compound’s main chapel, the one holding the Jowo, is still closed.