In an interview with FRANCE 24, the president of the Tibetan government-in-exile warned that Tibet is "dying a slow death". Penpa Tsering said that Chinese government policies are aimed at the "eradication" of Tibetan identity. Among them, Tsering cited the policy of forcible schooling of some 1 million Tibetan children in what he described as "colonial-style boarding schools" in which the youngsters are separated from their families, taught only in Chinese and forced to pledge allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.