For nearly three decades, Radio Free Asia has provided critical Tibet coverage, serving as an information lifeline for Tibetan audiences living under China’s authoritarian rule and connecting them to Tibetans in exile – and all the while offering a rare window into life in the highly restricted region.
Through shortwave radio and digital platforms, RFA Tibetan has reported epochal moments in the history of modern Tibet.
It recorded first-hand accounts of the widespread protests in Tibet in 2008 and the subsequent wave of self-immolations. RFA documented the Dalai Lama’s historic voluntary devolution of his temporal powers in 2011 and transfer of it to the democratically elected leader of Tibet’s exile government, or the Central Tibetan Administration.
Audiences in Tibet have secretly accessed RFA broadcasts at great peril to their own lives. They have contended with China’s sophisticated censorship apparatus, deliberate signal jamming, and the risk of prison.
RFA journalists and their in-country sources – partnerships of information-sharing nurtured over many years – have also risked their personal safety. They have shed light on under-reported events on Tibet and countered Chinese propaganda. They have exposed the impact of China’s assimilationist policies, including its efforts to wipe out Tibetan religious, cultural, and linguistic identity.
RFA Tibetan has countered that trend through daily broadcasts in three different Tibetan dialects: Ukay, Khamkay, and Amkay. It has been a key source of information on Tibet for policymakers, governments, legislatures and rights groups.
On the 25th anniversary of RFA, Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, had this to say about the importance of the broadcasts:
I very much appreciate the work (of RFA). The world needs knowledge of what is really happening on this planet, particularly those areas where there are restrictions in information, and here, Radio Free Asia is really very, very useful.
So now, firstly, I want to thank those people who worked for that … Your work is very relevant to today’s world, especially in areas where (there is) no free information available.
Dalai Lama
Coverage of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and activities
Since it began broadcasting, RFA has offered extensive coverage of the Dalai Lama. That has featured exclusive interviews and provided our audiences unfiltered access to the Tibetan spiritual leader’s teachings, public addresses, global travels, and engagements with world leaders. This is information that Beijing has sought to censor in Tibet, while punishing those found accessing it.
RFA has reported the Chinese government’s persecution of Tibetans who simply possess images of the Dalai Lama. There have been arbitrary detentions, torture, and lengthy prison sentences handed to Tibetans caught sharing or listening to his teachings, displaying his photograph, or celebrating his birthday.
RFA has tracked the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to obstruct the recognition of Buddhist reincarnate lamas and to interfere in the Dalai Lama’s succession – while publishing the Dalai Lama’s statements to counter that: that he will be reborn in a free world, outside of Chinese control; that he rejects any Chinese government claims to authority over the reincarnation process.
Religious and linguistic persecution in Tibet
RFA has meticulously documented China’s systematic efforts to erode Tibetan cultural identity, where children and monks as young as five are being removed from Tibetan-language schools and are forcefully admitted in Chinese boarding schools. RFA journalists have revealed how new educational policies mandating Mandarin as the primary language of instruction have effectively marginalized the Tibetan language in Tibet.
RFA has exposed the Chinese government’s intensifying control over Tibetan monasteries through new administrative regulations and forced closures. RFA has detailed China’s efforts to accelerate the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism, where monastic education requires “patriotic education” and legal study.
Population caps in Buddhist academies such as Larung Gar have forced thousands of monks and nuns to disrobe, and admission criteria now include loyalty tests to the Chinese Communist Party. RFA reports have revealed the government’s strategy of controlling religious institutions from within while publicly claiming religious freedom.
2008 protests in Tibet and self immolations
In 2008, RFA was the first media outlet to break the news of the mass protests in Lhasa that quickly spread across the Tibetan plateau. RFA journalists provided rare, source-based coverage as Tibetans rose up to protest Chinese oppression in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.
According to official Chinese state media, over 150 incidents occurred between March 10-25, 2008, in Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces.
While Chinese state media attempted to portray the events as isolated riots, RFA documented the geographic breadth of the demonstrations, their peaceful origins, and the subsequent harsh crackdown that led to numerous deaths, thousands of detentions, and the most severe restriction of movement and communication in Tibet in decades.
Beginning in 2009, RFA also documented a wave of self-immolations across Tibet, with the first monk setting himself alight in February 2009, followed by a dramatic escalation after 2011.
To date, over 157 self-immolations have been confirmed inside Tibet and in exile communities, with RFA carefully verifying each case. This reporting has preserved the final statements of many self-immolators, revealing their consistent demands for freedom, the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet, and an end to Chinese repression.
These acts of ultimate protest involved Tibetans from all walks of life—monks, nuns, students, nomads, farmers, and parents—ranging from teenagers to people in their 80s, though the majority were young monks between 18-30 years old.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, RFA provided rare insights into the situation inside Tibet, reporting on lockdown conditions and government prioritization of political stability over public health.
RFA coverage of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, as well as the recent 2025 Dingri earthquake, highlighted both the devastation in Tibetan areas, challenged Chinese government narratives, and shed light on the remarkable community-led voluntary response that outpaced official relief efforts.
Environmental and human impact of unchecked development
RFA’s investigative reporting has exposed the environmental and cultural devastation resulting from China’s aggressive development policies in Tibet, including the submersion of the historic Atsok Monastery due to a dam expansion.
RFA also broke the story of the recent Dege protests in 2024, where hundreds demonstrated against the planned construction of a massive dam on the Drichu River that would submerge at least six ancient monasteries and force the relocation of at least two villages. RFA revealed how Chinese authorities arrested hundreds of protesters in February 2024, including monks and local residents, with many facing beatings and interrogation.
RFA has revealed the devastating impact of mining on Tibet’s fragile ecosystem and the local communities dependent on these resources. The coverage of China’s massive forced resettlement programs has shown how more than two million Tibetan nomads have been forcibly relocated from their ancestral grasslands into urban settlements, destroying traditional sustainable livelihoods and creating new social problems while clearing land for resource extraction.
Democratic government-in-exile
RFA has chronicled the remarkable development of Tibetan democracy-in-exile, from the first direct elections of the Kalon Tripa to the most recent 2021 elections for Sikyong – the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration. Following the Dalai Lama’s devolution of political power in 2011, RFA documented the historic first democratic transfer of leadership to Harvard-educated legal scholar Lobsang Sangay, who served two terms.
RFA reporting on the 2021 elections captured the vibrant democratic process that elevated Penpa Tsering to the Sikyong position, highlighting candidate debates, unprecedented voter participation across the global diaspora, and the peaceful transition of power.
RFA also provided in-depth reporting on Sino-Tibet talks that sought to negotiate prospects of “genuine” autonomy for Tibet under China as per the Central Tibetan Administration’s Middle Way Approach – which urges greater cultural and religious freedoms guaranteed for ethnic minorities under provisions of China’s constitution.
Nine rounds of formal discussions later, the talks ground to a halt in 2010 after China rejected the proposals although there was no call from the Tibetan side for independence. Foreign governments, including the U.S., have urged Beijing to resume dialogue without preconditions.
Stories of Tibetan resilience, defiance, and hope
Throughout it all, RFA has highlighted stories of Tibetan resilience, resistance, and achievement. RFA has profiled artists preserving traditional music despite restrictions on cultural expression; young entrepreneurs building sustainable businesses that honor Tibetan craftsmanship; athletes overcoming political obstacles to compete internationally, and scholars working diligently to digitize ancient texts at risk of being lost forever.
RFA’s coverage has celebrated the Tibetan spirit and determination to thrive against all odds, maintaining cultural identity through innovation and adaptation in both Tibet and exile communities worldwide.
Edited by Kalden Lodoe, Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington.
