The Enemy Within: How the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Undermines Tibetan Self-Determination and Peace-Building

Author: Anna Chong

August 3, 2026

NOTE: The author prefers to use lower case “c” and “p” to challenge the authority of the Chinese communist party (Ccp). 

In addition, there are a lot of op-eds, opinions, and articles commenting on this incident and paying tribute to the late Pawa Lobga Rangzen for his love towards Tibet and the Tibetan community. This article does not aim to endorse the acts of suicide as means of protest, but to decipher the polarised Chinese comments regarding the Tibet issues via a culture perspective. 

HRRC condemns China’s proposal of the Ethnic Unity Law and its attempt to erase ethnic distinctiveness in China. We urge China to protect the rights of Tibetans to practice their language, religions, and culture. 

Left: Tsewang Norbu (1996-2022), a famous Tibetan singer self-immolated in front of the Potala Palace on February 25, 2022 [Image Credit: Tsewang Norbu Weibo]. Right: Lobga Rangzen (1974-2026), Tibetan activist self-immolated in front of the UN Headquarters on July 2, 2026 [Image Credit: Tibetan Government in Exile] 

On July 2, 2026, Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen self-immolated in front of the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York in protest against China’s newly enforced Ethnic Unity Law (the law). The law prioritizes Xi Jin Ping Thought on a shared Chinese identity (Zhong hua min zu) - “All ethnic groups should remain as closely united as the seeds of a pomegranate.”

Under the new rules, schools and governments must use Mandarin as their primary language. Libraries and museums must reflect Chinese mandates of national prosperity. The law also allows the Ccp to hold overseas organizations and individuals accountable for acts of “sedition” or the creation of “ethnic division.” The Tibetan Government in Exile and various overseas ethnic communities and international human rights groups criticised the law. Uyghurs groups label it as a “sinister” tool to legally accelerate the erosion of ethnic sovereignty and cultural identity. 

After the powerful outcry following Pawa Lobga Rangzen’s self-immolation, Tibet’s struggle for sovereignty and identity has once again sparked global attention, particularly among Chinese-speaking (Cantonese and Mandarin) online communities. However, opinions were polarised on one of the latest popular social media platforms, Threads. 

In contrast to an empathic approach to disagreeing or paying respects to the act of self-immolation, most of the polarised comments written in Simplified Chinese with the most likes, centered on two themes and followed a simple formula. First, the posts mock Lobga Rangzen’s religion, Tibetan Buddhism, as a “cult-like belief,” brainwashed by the “Dalai Clique” – a derogatory term invented by the Ccp to describe followers and supporters of the 14th Dalai Lama. Second, they bash overseas Tibetan human rights supporters as proponents of “serfdom” and “human sacrifice." Finally, the posts list China’s mega infrastructure on the Tibetan Plateau or name a few internet ethnic celebrities as evidence that Tibetans in China are living lavish and comfortable lives, denying any form of human rights abuses.    

It is difficult to conclude a generalised view from the Chinese people, however, the International Campaign for Tibet reports that the Ccp’s propaganda efforts regarding Tibet are complex and calculated moves that span a few decades. Two of the most prominent propaganda campaigns are about serfdom and ritual objects. The Ccp designated March 28 as ‘Serfs' Emancipation Day’, claiming its “peaceful liberation” on March 28,1958 saved 95 percent of the Tibetan people from hereditary serfdom. Secondly, the Ccp discredits Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the Dalai Lama, for allegedly killing children and peeling human skin to make ritual objects as a backwards and cruel practice. These narratives remain prominent even though the Ccp’s claim has been proven by various scholars and Tibetans themselves to be socialist propaganda.

As the majority of Chinese are Han, Han Chinese, particularly Mandarin-speaking Chinese, do not have to defend their own language and culture the way Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and other non-Mandarin speaking communities do. 

By manipulating the narratives and stating that the pre-occupied Tibetan society was highly dysfunctional due to its social structure built around monasteries and nomadic lifestyles, the Ccp’s narratives continue to fabricate a false sense of superiority for the Mandarin-Han Chinese identities. Thus, these narratives also create the delusion that Tibetan identities and languages are inferior for both sides of the audience. 

The false sense of superiority from the Ccp towards Tibet can be summarized by the following claims: Firstly, Tibetans are incapable of deciding their future. Secondly, Tibet could only thrive under the Ccp, particularly under the merit systems created by the Han Chinese. Thirdly, religion hinders the economic and human development of Tibet. 

What do Tibetans really want? The farewell messages from the self-immolated provide a glimpse. 

In 2011, a commentator from Hong Kong analyzed the farewell massages in an article, titled “The Agony of Tibet” and concluded the following: 54 percent declared to self-immolate for the sake of Tibet; 38 percent call for the return of the Dalai Lama and prayed for his long life; and 35 percent expressed courage and a willingness to bear responsibility. Lastly, 19 percent said they could not endure the oppressive rule of the Ccp and called for Tibetan independence. Upholding the teaching of non-violence and compassion from the Dalai Lama in their heart, they killed no one but themselves. 

Barbara Demick, in her award-winning book, Eat the Buddha, depicted the hopes of the future as follows: 

“The Tibetans are not some exotic isolated tribe trying to preserve an ancient civilization against the advance of modernity. They want infrastructure, they want technology, they want higher education. But they also want to keep their language and culture and their freedom of religion.” 

The future of Tibet shall be determined by all Tibetans.

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Glossary

• Accelerate: To happen or make something happen more quickly.

• Decipher: To succeed in understanding or interpreting something that is difficult to read or understand.

• Derogatory: Showing a lack of respect or expressing criticism in an insulting way.

• Empathic: Showing the ability to understand and share another person's feelings.

• Erosion: The gradual wearing away of land, rock, or soil by water, wind, or other natural forces; it can also refer to the gradual reduction of something.

• Hinders: Makes it more difficult for someone or something to do something or make progress.

• Lavish: Large in quantity, expensive, or generous; more than is necessary.

• Mandates: Official orders or instructions that must be obeyed, or authority given to someone to carry out a duty.

• Oppressive: Cruel, unfair, and controlling in a way that limits people's freedom; also describes conditions that feel very uncomfortable or difficult.

• Polarised: Divided into two very different and opposing groups or opinions.

• Prosperity: The state of being successful and having a lot of money or wealth.

• Ritual Objects: Objects used during religious, cultural, or ceremonial practices.

• Sedition: Language or actions intended to encourage people to oppose or rebel against a government.

• Self-immolation: The act of killing yourself, especially by setting yourself on fire, often as a form of protest.

• Serfdom: The social system in which serfs were legally required to work on a lord's land and had very limited freedom.

• Sinister: Making you think something harmful, evil, or dangerous is going to happen.

• Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself independently.

• The Tibetan Plateau: A vast, high-elevation plateau in Central Asia, often called "the Roof of the World," covering most of Tibet and surrounding regions.

• Xi Jin Ping Thoughts: The political ideology developed by Xi Jinping that guides the policies and governance of the Chinese government.

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Reference: 

1. https://www.tibetanjournal.com/tibetan-self-immolation-outside-un-new-york/ 

2. https://www.globalstratview.com/tribute-tibetan-patriot-lobga-rangzen/ 

3. https://tibetanparliament.org/press-statement-of-the-tibetan-parliament-in-exile-on-the-self-immolation-protest-for-the-cause-of-tibet-by-patriotic-hero-rangzen-lobga/ 

4. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/01/china/china-ethnic-unity-law-intl-hnk 

5. https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202509/23/content_WS68d1f38dc6d00fa19f7a2a2e.html

6. https://uyghurtimes.com/the-message-amid-the-flames-the-last-testament-of-lobga-rangzen/ 

7. https://savetibet.org/chinas-external-propaganda-on-tibet/ 

8. https://share.google/iEbf2Gk7oN7zXEXXC 

9. https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/china/2016/05/160525_china_watch_tibet_class_struggle 

10. https://youtu.be/HxXoP1X73Hc?si=VoKBIemmgYEoePgH 

11. https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/04/china-harmonization-plan-erasing-tibetan-language 

12. https://tibet.net/seventy-years-of-the-ccps-legitimacy-crisis-in-tibet/ 

13. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers/article/tyranny-of-meritocratic-nationalism-unpacking-the-online-backlash-against-a-tibetan-cyberstar/1129E339C5217DC0236F805F35BD0524?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark 

14. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/sarah-stern-on-the-eradication-of-religion-in-china 

15. https://vot.org/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E3%80%8A%E9%99%BD%E5%85%89%E6%99%82%E5%8B%99%E5%91%A8%E5%88%8A%E3%80%8B%E5%88%8A%E7%99%BB%E8%87%AA%E7%84%9A%E8%97%8F%E4%BA%BA%E9%81%BA%E5%9B%91/