Washington, Aug 22: China is strengthening its political control over Tibet while reducing Tibetan participation in senior decision making positions, according to a new report by the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).
The advocacy group has called for greater international support for the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Tibet’s government in exile based in Dharamshala, India.
The ICT has urged the US Congress to restore full funding for humanitarian assistance and other programmes supporting Tibetan communities in India and Nepal. It also called for continued assistance aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the CTA.
The organisation said stronger international engagement was necessary as Beijing expands policies that it says are aimed at assimilating Tibetans and consolidating centralised political authority.
CTA seeks stronger international recognition
Bhuchung Tsering, Head of Research and Monitoring at the ICT, said India has provided the Tibetan community with an important foundation for maintaining its institutions and supporting its people.
The CTA represents Tibetans living outside Tibet and manages community programmes covering education, healthcare and cultural preservation. While the Dalai Lama remains the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Sikyong serves as the political head of the administration.
Tsering said the Tibetan cause continues to receive bipartisan backing in the United States. He urged Congress to approve the bipartisan Assuring the Future of Tibet Act (AFTA), which was introduced in 2026.
According to the ICT, the proposed legislation seeks to strengthen Washington’s long-term engagement with the CTA and recognise it as the democratically elected representative institution of the Tibetan people.
Tsering also called on the European Union to appoint a Special Representative for Tibet. Such a position, he said, could improve coordination within EU policy on Tibet and facilitate regular engagement with the CTA.
Report highlights limited Tibetan representation
The ICT’s annual Tibetan Leadership Report examined political and administrative appointments across Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas.
The report said Beijing is using leadership appointments, legislation and Communist Party directives to further centralise political authority.
According to the report, Tibetans held 62 of 240 senior leadership positions across 10 party, government, security and judicial institutions at provincial, prefectural and county levels in 2026.
That represented 25.8 per cent of the positions, while non-Tibetans occupied 178 posts, or 74.2 per cent, the report said.
The ICT further claimed that no Tibetan currently serves as Communist Party secretary in any of the five provincial-level administrations covering Tibetan areas.
At the prefectural and county levels, only four of 19 administrations were reported to have Tibetan party secretaries. The report also said that no Tibetan holds a military commander or political commissar position.
Beijing’s governance model under scrutiny
The advocacy group said China’s governance framework in Tibet increasingly emphasises political loyalty, centralised Communist Party authority and national security.
It pointed to the Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress Law and directives linked to Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building as key elements of what it described as a new governance approach.
According to the report, these measures give priority to Party authority and assimilation policies while leaving limited space for meaningful Tibetan participation in senior decision-making.
Tsering said the declining presence of Tibetans in leadership positions should prompt governments abroad to deepen their engagement with the CTA.
As China continues to consolidate political control in Tibetan areas, the ICT argued that international governments should treat the CTA as an important democratic partner and representative institution for Tibetans living in exile.
The report has renewed calls for greater diplomatic, financial and institutional support for Tibetan communities and their representative institutions outside China.
