The Chinese have repeatedly tortured, imprisoned and killed Tibetans for what they claim is national unity. Although the oppression of the Tibetan people began in the 1950s with the invasion of China, it continues today with the same force. From religious oppression and unfair trials to the torture of nuns and monks, the Chinese abuse even the most reverent aspects of Tibetan culture. Political prisoners, whether monks, nuns or lay people, are tortured with total disregard for human rights. Chinese laws were also established to completely eradicate the Tibetan people. Women often have to undergo forced abortions and sterilizations due to China's childbirth policies. Through all these crimes against humanity, China repeatedly commits acts of genocide as established by the United Nations. A precise definition of genocide was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. It states that genocide occurs when “one group kills members of another group, causes serious physical or mental harm, inflicts conditions of life intended to cause its physical destruction, prevents births within the group and forcibly transfers the children of the group to another group” (Destexhe, 1). Using this definition as a guideline, it is clear that China not only committed genocide against Tibet in the past, but continually does so in contemporary society. China's policy of political imprisonment is a clear act of genocide. It is used to incite physical and mental harm and inflict living conditions intended to bring about the destruction of the Tibetan people. Sometimes imprisonment even leads to death. These crimes are all committed under the guise of being legal under Chinese law. A statement released by Amnesty International in 1996 cites these abuses: Torture and ill-treatment remain widespread and systemic in China... these violations occur in police stations, detention centers, labor camps and prisons across the country, sometimes resulting in the death of the victims. . Many acts that constitute torture or ill-treatment, particularly the use of torture to punish, coerce or intimidate a person, do not constitute crimes under the law. (Kent, 222) Many Tibetans are arrested and subjected to such treatment with little or no evidence to support them as criminals. In a sudden "crackdown" that began in February 1992, groups of ten Chinese raided Tibetan homes in Lhasa, arresting more than 200 people. Those arrested would be in possession of "subversive material, such as photographs, tapes or books containing speeches or teachings of the Dalai Lama" (Kumar, 77).