Local Chinese authorities have been attempting to relocate residents of Zurtso Township to nearby government-built housing facilities for quite sometime.
The local authorities claim that the old houses had become unstable due to the tremors felt during the earthquake that wrought extensive damage on neighbouring Nepal. The source, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his family in Tibet, told TCHRD that the new double-storied housing facilities lacked spaces for keeping cattle or growing crops.
Majority of local Tibetans in the region are agropastoralists. If they move into the new houses that are built cheek by jowl, they will lose their land and livelihood sources without adequate compensation. The 7. The source added that Chinese authorities are putting pressure on residents of Zurtso to leave their ancestral houses and move to the new houses.
Among them was Mr Wangchuk who had emerged as one of the strongest voices against the relocation project. In recent years, Chinese migrants working on government construction projects in Shigatse have asked many young Tibetan women in Zurtso and other townships for their hand in marriage.
The migrants would usually negotiate with the parents of the would-be bride and make payments of a few thousand yuans as the price for the bride. There is mounting concern among local Tibetans particularly the parents of missing Tibetan women that their daughters have become victims of bride trafficking and prostitution.
