When Chinese officials at the end of February forced local villagers to sign their approval for the mining to proceed, one village head refused to sign and was taken into custody, the source said.

“Karma, the head of Markor village, said that he would sign his name only if the local Chinese officials produced a letter from two Tibetan higher-ups named Radi and Tenzin showing their own approval for the work, and he was detained by the police