10.08
·Developing
·Importance III
·Sources 1
Zhang Yi, a dissident from Wuhan, was arrested by Chinese Communist Party authorities on suspicion of "inciting secession" after showing a photo of the Dalai Lama to a Tibetan woman at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet. His family learned on October 8, 2026 that the Lhasa Public Security Bureau had transferred the case to the procuratorate for review and prosecution. Zhang Yi remains detained at the Lhasa Detention Center, and his lawyer has not yet been granted access to the case files.
07.28
·Reported
·Importance III
·Sources 4
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
Zhang Yi, a Wuhan dissident who had previously been sentenced for taking part in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was taken away by police while traveling in Lhasa, Tibet in July 2026, and was formally approved for arrest on July 28 on the charge of inciting secession.
07.01
·Reported
·Importance IV
·Sources 2
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
On July 1, 2026, Zhang Yi, a leader of the 1989 student movement, was taken away by police while sightseeing at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, after showing a Tibetan woman a photo of the Dalai Lama on his phone. On July 28, the Lhasa Municipal Procuratorate approved his arrest on suspicion of inciting secession.
1989.03.08
·Reported
·Importance IV
·Sources 1
·Beijing
On March 8, 1989, Li Peng issued a martial law decree for Lhasa on behalf of the State Council, following Deng Xiaoping's approval of martial law in Tibet, preventive arrests, and the decision that journalists and cadres could be shot on the spot; troops entered Lhasa on March 7.
1989.03.06
·Reported
·Importance V
·Sources 1
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
Beginning on March 6, 1989, large numbers of armed police forces in Lhasa fired without warning at Tibetans gathered at the Jokhang Temple. Tibetans on retreat routes were ambushed, and Tibetans who had not taken part in the gathering were also strafed, provoking open opposition from the regional Party committee, people's congress, CPPCC, and public security department.
1989.03.02
·Reported
·Importance IV
·Sources 1
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
On March 2, 1989, a large number of Tibetans gathered in the square in front of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, shouting "down with corrupt officials," demanding the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet and the return of power to the Tibetan people. Hu Jintao dispatched armed police to clear the area, but it failed.
1989.03
·Reported
·Importance IV
·Sources 1
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
During the Lhasa crackdown in March 1989, in opposition to the indiscriminate shooting by armed police, more than 3000 Lhasa public security officers disobeyed orders and withdrew from the city, refusing to cooperate with the armed police.
1989.02.07
·Reported
·Importance IV
·Sources 1
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
On the morning of February 7, 1989, the Snow Lion flag symbolizing Tibetan independence was raised in the main hall of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. More than 200 Lhasa police tried to force their way in to seize the flag but were driven out by the crowd. When the armed police returned the next day, the flag had already been hidden by Tibetans; the armed police took away more than 20 people and seized belongings to use as evidence.
1988.12
·Reported
·Importance III
·Sources 1
·Lhasa own content archive., Tibet
At the end of 1988, Hu Jintao was dispatched by Deng Xiaoping to Lhasa to serve as Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Soon after taking office, he encountered the death of the Panchen Lama and turmoil in Lhasa.