WASHINGTON, Aug 22: China is further tightening its political control over Tibet while reducing Tibetan representation in key decision-making positions, according to a new report by the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), which has called for stronger international support for the Tibetan government-in-exile in India.
The ICT has urged the US Congress to restore full funding for humanitarian assistance and other support for Tibetan communities in India and Nepal, besides strengthening the institutional capacity of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), based in Dharamshala.
Bhuchung Tsering, Head of Research and Monitoring at the ICT, said the Tibetan cause enjoys bipartisan support in the US and called for passage of the proposed Assuring the Future of Tibet Act (AFTA).
The legislation seeks to strengthen the international standing of the CTA by recognising it as the democratically elected representative of the Tibetan people.
Tsering also urged the European Union to appoint a Special Representative for Tibet to ensure greater coordination in its Tibet policy and facilitate regular engagement with the CTA.
According to the ICT’s annual Tibetan Leadership Report, China is deepening its control over Tibet through leadership appointments, legislation and Communist Party directives.
The report said China’s policies were accelerating the assimilation of Tibetans, while meaningful Tibetan representation in senior leadership positions remained limited.
China administers Tibet through a centralised party-state system in which the top Communist Party official exercises ultimate authority over the region’s administration.
In 2026, Tibetans held only 62 of 240 senior leadership positions across 10 party, government, security and judicial institutions at the provincial, prefectural and county levels, accounting for 25.8 per cent. Non-Tibetans occupied the remaining 178 positions, or 74.2 per cent, the report said.
It further stated that no Tibetan currently serves as party secretary in any of the five provincial-level administrations covering Tibetan areas.
At the prefectural and county levels, only four of 19 administrations have Tibetan party secretaries, while no Tibetan holds the position of military commander or political commissar, according to the report.
“As China further marginalises Tibetan participation in decision-making inside Tibet, the international community should strengthen engagement with the CTA as a democratic partner and representative of the Tibetan people,” Tsering said.
The report said the Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress Law and Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building provide the legal and ideological framework for China’s evolving governance model in Tibet.
According to the ICT, the model places greater emphasis on political loyalty, centralised Communist Party authority, national security and assimilation policies than on meaningful Tibetan participation in governance.
