Hundreds of Tibetans protesting against a Chinese dam were rounded up in a harsh crackdown earlier this year, with some beaten and seriously injured, the BBC has learnt from sources and verified footage.
Such protests are extremely rare in Tibet, which China has tightly controlled since it annexed the region in the 1950s. That they still happened highlights China's controversial push to build dams in what has long been a sensitive area.
Well, "annexed" seems a bit mild for the invasion, the conquest, the calculated destruction of Tibetan culture, the mass importation of Han Chinese. But technically, yes, annexed. Just as they annexed neighbouring Xinjiang and are planning on the annexation of Taiwan.
The protests, followed by the crackdown, took place in a territory home to Tibetans in Sichuan province. For years, Chinese authorities have been planning to build the massive Gangtuo dam and hydropower plant, also known as Kamtok in Tibetan, in the valley straddling the Dege (Derge) and Jiangda (Jomda) counties.
Once built, the dam's reservoir would submerge an area that is culturally and religiously significant to Tibetans, and home to several villages and ancient monasteries containing sacred relics.
One of them, the 700-year-old Wangdui (Wontoe) Monastery, has particular historical value as its walls feature rare Buddhist murals.
The Gangtuo dam would also displace thousands of Tibetans. The BBC has seen what appears to be a public tender document for the relocation of 4,287 residents to make way for the dam.
We don't hear more about Tibet or Xinjiang for the simple reason that China doesn't allow reporters in – that's what a real totalitarian regime does – so credit to the Beeb here for making the effort. The cultural and perhaps actual genocide of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, once a hot topic, has faded from view as other more, um, media-friendly candidates for genocide have dominated the headlines. Is it still going on? No doubt, but in the face of a Chinese news blackout we just don't know.
Mick Hartley 
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