Footage of Tibet floods is being heavily censored in China - and we know little about victims there
On Thursday night, as global headlines led on the devastation in a Himalayan valley, China's state broadcaster opened its main bulletin with the launch of Xi's new book, a selection of his "most important and fundamental works".
Foreign journalists cannot travel to Tibet without government permission. We have just a few hours to get as much information as we can on huge stories like this before videos are scrubbed and voices stifled.
Instead, we have to rely on state media, which has so far focused on incredibly dramatic rescue efforts.
Specialist search teams scaling mountains and cliff faces, or crossing raging rivers to try to get to the worst-affected areas. We don't yet know what happened afterwards, or who they were able to save.
This is not to say that Beijing is unconcerned. Rather, they are very concerned.
China's Premier Li Qiang was quickly despatched to the region, where he was seen inspecting debris removal - a rare visit by the country's second-most important leader so soon after a major disaster.
The reason for what the world might see as a muted response is to preserve the one thing Xi covets for his country: stability.
The Communist Party will fear that such a disaster could fuel discontent, either with the response or the lack of foresight to prevent it.
It may also fear the impact of a tragedy like this and its potential to be a rallying factor, especially in a community where faith has long played a central role.
Although the region has not seen protests in a long time, Tibetan groups abroad have expressed concern over increasing Chinese control, such as new education laws that they say aim to weaken the role of monasteries and the Buddhist faith.
Just hours after the disaster struck, the Communist Party machine tried to rally its grassroots to stem any signs of discontent of its handling of the landslide.
A notice came from the local party office urging members to step up and help in disaster relief efforts in their area and provide emotional guidance or psychological support to affected residents.
The key line instructs them to "make every effort to maintain social order and ensure stability and public confidence in the disaster areas". Those who perform well would be rewarded - and those who do badly "would be held accountable".
It is a warning that will not be taken lightly. Tibetans in the region can be detained or arrested for speaking to journalists or posting anything online that is seen as contrary to the government narrative, according to rights activists.
That is making it difficult for Tibetans outside the region to find out what has happened to their relatives.
The International Campaign for Tibet, while praising the work of first responders in the area, said Beijing had been removing videos and other first-hand information from social media. It called on Chinese authorities to "disclose complete and verifiable information about the damage and casualties".
To try to understand what life is like for Tibetans, the BBC travelled to a town that sits on the edge of the Himalayan plateau last year - just outside what China calls the Tibetan Autonomous region.
There, we spoke to monks at the Kirti monastery in Aba, or Ngaba in Tibetan, which was once at the heart of its resistance to Beijing. "We Tibetans are denied basic human rights," one monk told us.
They said they lived under constant surveillance and claimed the Chinese government oppressed and persecuted Tibetans. The conversations were brief because we could not be seen speaking to anyone for long.
Beijing denies it is violating Tibetans' rights, and points to the heavy investments it has made in the region to boost tourism and integrate it with the rest of the country.
Nevertheless, people in China will not know very much about what is happening in Tibet right now.
Correction 31 August: The headline of this article has been changed to reflect that some footage of the floods is being shown in China, although it is being heavily censored
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Some of the most dramatic footage from the deadly flash flooding is hidden from public view in China
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
On Thursday night, as global headlines led on the devastation in a Himalayan valley, China's state broadcaster opened its main bulletin with the launch of Xi's new book, a selection of his "most important and fundamental works".
Foreign journalists cannot travel to Tibet without government permission. We have just a few hours to get as much information as we can on huge stories like this before videos are scrubbed and voices stifled.
Instead, we have to rely on state media, which has so far focused on incredibly dramatic rescue efforts.
Specialist search teams scaling mountains and cliff faces, or crossing raging rivers to try to get to the worst-affected areas. We don't yet know what happened afterwards, or who they were able to save.
This is not to say that Beijing is unconcerned. Rather, they are very concerned.
China's Premier Li Qiang was quickly despatched to the region, where he was seen inspecting debris removal - a rare visit by the country's second-most important leader so soon after a major disaster.
The reason for what the world might see as a muted response is to preserve the one thing Xi covets for his country: stability.
The Communist Party will fear that such a disaster could fuel discontent, either with the response or the lack of foresight to prevent it.
It may also fear the impact of a tragedy like this and its potential to be a rallying factor, especially in a community where faith has long played a central role.
Although the region has not seen protests in a long time, Tibetan groups abroad have expressed concern over increasing Chinese control, such as new education laws that they say aim to weaken the role of monasteries and the Buddhist faith.
Just hours after the disaster struck, the Communist Party machine tried to rally its grassroots to stem any signs of discontent of its handling of the landslide.
A notice came from the local party office urging members to step up and help in disaster relief efforts in their area and provide emotional guidance or psychological support to affected residents.
The key line instructs them to "make every effort to maintain social order and ensure stability and public confidence in the disaster areas". Those who perform well would be rewarded - and those who do badly "would be held accountable".
It is a warning that will not be taken lightly. Tibetans in the region can be detained or arrested for speaking to journalists or posting anything online that is seen as contrary to the government narrative, according to rights activists.
That is making it difficult for Tibetans outside the region to find out what has happened to their relatives.
The International Campaign for Tibet, while praising the work of first responders in the area, said Beijing had been removing videos and other first-hand information from social media. It called on Chinese authorities to "disclose complete and verifiable information about the damage and casualties".
To try to understand what life is like for Tibetans, the BBC travelled to a town that sits on the edge of the Himalayan plateau last year - just outside what China calls the Tibetan Autonomous region.
There, we spoke to monks at the Kirti monastery in Aba, or Ngaba in Tibetan, which was once at the heart of its resistance to Beijing. "We Tibetans are denied basic human rights," one monk told us.
They said they lived under constant surveillance and claimed the Chinese government oppressed and persecuted Tibetans. The conversations were brief because we could not be seen speaking to anyone for long.
Beijing denies it is violating Tibetans' rights, and points to the heavy investments it has made in the region to boost tourism and integrate it with the rest of the country.
Nevertheless, people in China will not know very much about what is happening in Tibet right now.
Correction 31 August: The headline of this article has been changed to reflect that some footage of the floods is being shown in China, although it is being heavily censored
Read the full story at BBC ↗
On Thursday night, as global headlines led on the devastation in a Himalayan valley, China's state broadcaster opened its main bulletin with the launch of Xi's new book, a selection of his "most important and fundamental works".
Foreign journalists cannot travel to Tibet without government permission. We have just a few hours to get as much information as we can on huge stories like this before videos are scrubbed and voices stifled.
Instead, we have to rely on state media, which has so far focused on incredibly dramatic rescue efforts.
Specialist search teams scaling mountains and cliff faces, or crossing raging rivers to try to get to the worst-affected areas. We don't yet know what happened afterwards, or who they were able to save.
This is not to say that Beijing is unconcerned. Rather, they are very concerned.
China's Premier Li Qiang was quickly despatched to the region, where he was seen inspecting debris removal - a rare visit by the country's second-most important leader so soon after a major disaster.
The reason for what the world might see as a muted response is to preserve the one thing Xi covets for his country: stability.
The Communist Party will fear that such a disaster could fuel discontent, either with the response or the lack of foresight to prevent it.
It may also fear the impact of a tragedy like this and its potential to be a rallying factor, especially in a community where faith has long played a central role.
Although the region has not seen protests in a long time, Tibetan groups abroad have expressed concern over increasing Chinese control, such as new education laws that they say aim to weaken the role of monasteries and the Buddhist faith.
Just hours after the disaster struck, the Communist Party machine tried to rally its grassroots to stem any signs of discontent of its handling of the landslide.
A notice came from the local party office urging members to step up and help in disaster relief efforts in their area and provide emotional guidance or psychological support to affected residents.
The key line instructs them to "make every effort to maintain social order and ensure stability and public confidence in the disaster areas". Those who perform well would be rewarded - and those who do badly "would be held accountable".
It is a warning that will not be taken lightly. Tibetans in the region can be detained or arrested for speaking to journalists or posting anything online that is seen as contrary to the government narrative, according to rights activists.
That is making it difficult for Tibetans outside the region to find out what has happened to their relatives.
The International Campaign for Tibet, while praising the work of first responders in the area, said Beijing had been removing videos and other first-hand information from social media. It called on Chinese authorities to "disclose complete and verifiable information about the damage and casualties".
To try to understand what life is like for Tibetans, the BBC travelled to a town that sits on the edge of the Himalayan plateau last year - just outside what China calls the Tibetan Autonomous region.
There, we spoke to monks at the Kirti monastery in Aba, or Ngaba in Tibetan, which was once at the heart of its resistance to Beijing. "We Tibetans are denied basic human rights," one monk told us.
They said they lived under constant surveillance and claimed the Chinese government oppressed and persecuted Tibetans. The conversations were brief because we could not be seen speaking to anyone for long.
Beijing denies it is violating Tibetans' rights, and points to the heavy investments it has made in the region to boost tourism and integrate it with the rest of the country.
Nevertheless, people in China will not know very much about what is happening in Tibet right now.
Correction 31 August: The headline of this article has been changed to reflect that some footage of the floods is being shown in China, although it is being heavily censored
Read the full story at BBC ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- Some of the most dramatic footage from the deadly flash flooding is hidden from public view in China