After Self-Immolation, Coded Tribute to Late Tibetan Floods China’s Twitter

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On October 4, a 43-year-old Tibetan man named Gudrup set himself on fire. Since 2009, more than 50 Tibetans have self-immolated, calling for change; many supported Tibetan independence or autonomy from China, the Dalai Lama’s return, and an end to religious persecution. Most Tibetans who have self-immolated later died from their burns. These suicidal protests are controversial within China, and the Chinese government strongly opposes them.

Meanwhile, Tibetans and supporters of Tibetan independence/autonomy have mixed views: To condone such actions might incite even more tragic loss of life, yet to say they are meaningless seems to betray the memory of those who have sacrificed so much.

Gudrup, who later died from his wounds, was active online. According to an article by Woeser, a prominent Tibetan writer and activist in China, Gudrup had written poetry and articles on his blog and reportedly left this comment on QQ, a Chinese social media platform:

“My brothers and sisters of the land of snows, although looking back at our past, we have nothing but a sense of loss, anger, sadness, and tears, I pray that the coming new year of the Water Dragon brings you health, success, and the fulfillment of your aspirations, and I also hope you can maintain your pride in your culture. However you may suffer and however much you lose, do not lose faith, we must become more unified.” {{Chn1}}[[Chn1]] 雪域藏地的兄弟姐妹们，回顾我们的过去，只有遗憾、愤怒、伤心和泪水，很少有兴高采烈的景象。正值在迎接水龙新年时，祈祷大家健康平安，万事如意，同时希望保持民族自豪感，即使面对痛苦和损失，也不要失去信心，务必加强团结 [[Chn1]] [Translation in part by Phayul, emphasis by TLN.]

On Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, where censorship is a regular fact of life, netizens reverted to speaking in code. This post by the head of a Buddhist charity organization in Tibet featured wording very similar to Gudrup’s final post:

“However grateful you are for others, do not expect gratitude or praise in return; however cruel your fate, do not let the flame of hope go out; however trampled down you feel, do not harbor resentment in your heart; however high your hopes, do not become drunk on them; however terrible your suffering, do not lose heart. Life is a difficult and rugged path, full of uncertainty, but as long as life continues, you must accept its joys and sorrows, the bitter and the sweet.” – Jia Cuo {{Chn2}}[[Chn2]]即使有恩于人，也不要期望别人的赞誉与回报；即使命运多舛，也不要熄灭希望之灯；即使遭人顶撞，也不要小肚鸡肠、记挂于心；即使略有成就，也不要就此满足、自我陶醉；即使蒙受不白之冤，也不要因此而精神沮丧。人生之路坎坷、崎岖，充满无常，但只要生活还在继续，便要接受祸福相伴、酸甜苦辣。–加措[[Chn2]]

This oblique tribute to Gudrup quickly went viral. Some of the 5,000 netizens who chose to comment praised the wisdom of the post, while other Weibo users connected the words to those associated with Gudrup’s passing. @鱼温娃娃 wrote, “I get it,” while another responded with the image of three hands brought together in prayer:.

Information about self-immolations and protests in Tibet is strictly controlled in China’s state-run media. Gudrup’s death was reported by Tibetan sources, but was not reported in Xinhua or any other official mainland Chinese news, and “self-immolation” is a blocked search term on Weibo.

But despite censorship, Chinese social media is difficult to control. More than 40,000 people reposted the charity’s message, spreading word – however subtle – of Gudrup. 

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