In rare appeal, Tibetan calls for company to stop digging up river

A Tibetan from Sichuan province has made a rare public appeal on Chinese social media, calling on authorities to take action against a company that he accuses of illegally extracting sand and gravel from a local riverbed, Tibetan sources with knowledge of the situation said.

In a 5-minute video posted on WeChat on Oct. 15, Tsongon Tsering from Tsaruma village in Kyungchu county said Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Co.’s digging has caused severe soil erosion and a drop in water levels in the Tsaruma River.

Such public appeals are rare due to fear of reprisals from the government for speaking out against authorities or state-approved projects.

Authorities have since shut down his account and blocked search terms related to his name on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media platform, said two sources from inside Tibet, who like others in this report, declined to be identified out of fear of retribution.

Tsering’s case illustrates how authorities silence Tibetans who accuse Chinese companies of violating environmental regulations or harming the environment.

In the video, Tsering says Tibetan residents had made repeated appeals before local authorities for action against the company for causing environmental harm, but to no avail.

“The Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering’s business office has been illegally extracting sand and stones from the river in Tsaru Ma Village during their road construction work,” he says in the video while holding up his ID card.

“The large-scale and indiscriminate extraction of sand from the river has led to serious soil erosion in the surrounding area and is posing a threat to the foundations of residents’ homes,” he continues.

Tsering’s video, which gained significant attention online, was also widely shared by other users on the platform but even those were taken down and all related content censored by Thursday, Oct. 17, the two sources said. 

Sources from the region said they fear Tsering, who hails from Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, will face punishment for his public criticism of authorities.

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Four other sources inside Tibet confirmed Tsering’s statement that the sand extraction from the local river has caused environmental harm and that locals had reported the issue to various government departments at the village and county levels.

They also provided photos and videos as evidence of the damage, but no action had been taken, said the sources. 

Tsering’s video, which had around 10,000 views in a day’s time, received more than 500 comments from netizens, the majority of whom expressed support for his appeal and called for environmental protection and for the Chinese state media and authorities to address the issue. 

Tsering also tagged official Chinese media outlets in his post to draw their attention.

Affects the Yellow and Yangtze

In the video, Tsering explained that the Tsaruma River, where the extraction is taking place, is linked to the Yangtze and Yellow River systems, two of China’s most important.

“The pollution of these river sources and the protection of local ecosystems and biodiversity are deeply interconnected issues,” he said. “Moreover, this directly affects the water resources of Asia and the conditions of the high-altitude frozen soil.”

On Oct. 17, a source told RFA that following Tsering’s online appeal, the Kyungchu County Development and Reform Office had promised a thorough investigation into the matter. 

An official from the Ngaba Prefecture Ecological Protection Office said his office was aware of the issue and investigating it in collaboration with the Sichuan Provincial Ecological Environment Monitoring Office, Chinese state media reported. 

The agencies would release their findings soon, he said.

“Although environmental protection policies were introduced many years ago, implementation issues persist in our area,” said Tsering in the video. 

Brushing it under the rug

In it, he confirms that the county’s Ecological Environment Bureau responded to his complaint in April 2024, confirming that the construction company had extracted sand and stones from the river and that it had been fined.

But Tsering said the response merely covers up for the relevant business enterprise and tried to brush the problem under the rug.

“They have addressed minor issues while avoiding the major ones, and have not taken any action to restore the ecological environment or manage the soil erosion situation,” he said. “They have simply erected barriers around the endangered house foundations and considered the matter resolved.”

Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering, registered in China in June 2012, is involved in various construction projects including road construction, urban development, hydropower projects and environmental protection works. 

RFA Tibetan could not reach the company for comment. 

Additional reporting by Dorjee Tso and Tashi Wangchuk for RFA Tibetan. Translated and edited by Tenzin Pema and by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.