Zhiming Behera, a human rights activist, who lives in the northern city of Zhejiang, said he was “troubled that Chinese officials continue to treat Chinese Tibetans in this way, even during the Chinese Cultural Revolution”.

“The Chinese government seems to be seeking a compromise with the Dalai Lama, so Tibetans accept the Chinese occupation in some ways,” he said. “But there are other Chinese refugees in Tibet, and they should do the same.”

Some Tibetans say they cannot return to a place they cannot feel at home. “I will never return to my homeland, but I can find peace elsewhere,” said Zhang Xingtian, a lawyer who lives in Rongcheng, an area north of Lhasa near the Indian border controlled by Chinese troops.

“The Chinese authorities have promised that Tibetans will be allowed to study, worship and go outside their land. That’s a promise made in the 21st century,” said Mr Zheng. “It means we are not welcome to go back but it will have no effect on the Chinese position.”

The UN human rights office has accused China of war crimes in Tibet and urges Beijing not to use Tibet as a launching pad to push forward a political agenda.

Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry has responded to last year’s “Jiuxi” demonstration against Tibet by stating that the issue should be “resolved by people’s struggle”, and called the protests illegal.

This story has been updated to correct that the UN human rights official is the UK’s deputy special rapporteur on freedom of religion, not Beijing’s ambassador to Switzerland.