Tibet Controversy

Purpose of this post: For anyone who wants to be educated and understand the complexity of this troubling huge chunk of land.

Quick Timeline of Events

• 630-800 BUDDHISM SPREADS THROUGHOUT TIBET
• 800s-900s TIBET & CHINA REGARDED ONE ANOTHER AS EQUALS
• 821 TIBET & CHINA SIGN TREATY OF UNCLE AND NEPHEW
• 1200s MONGOL WARLORD GHENGIS KHAN
  
  • What? Khan threatens Tibetan stability but dies w/o invading Tibet
• 1240 INVASION BY GHENGIS’ GRANDSON
  • What? Godan Khan invades Tibet and appoints Sakya Pandita, Tibet’s most eminent lama, as Vice-Regent of Tibet
• 1279 MONGOLS SUBDUE THE CHINESE
• 1368 CHINESE OVERTHROW MONGOLS & EST. MING DYNASTY
• 1642 TIBETANS INVITE GUSRI KHAN, a Mongol prince, to visit TIBET
• 1645 QING DYNASTY OVERTHROWS MING DYNASTY
• 1700s SANGYE GYATSO FORGES MILITARY ALLIANCE W/ GALDAN KHAN
• 1706 MONGOL TROOPS KILL GYATSO AND ARREST 6TH DALAI LAMA
• 1723 THE NEW BEGINNING
  • What? China’s emperor stations a civilian advisor in Tibet to replace Tibet’s military governor and pulls Chinese troops out of Tibet
• 1750 CHINA’S EMPEROR REORGANIZE TIBET’S GOV’T.
  
  • What? Tibetan kingship abolished and power in hands of Dalai Lama
• 1793 BLOCKED!
  • What? Tibet’s gov’t reorganized again and blocks off Tibet’s total communication from the outside world.
• 1839-1942 OPIUM WAR: BRITAIN DEFEATS CHINA
  • What? Value of Chinese dollar drops due to drug
  • Significance: Expansion of Britain influence over Asia
• 1851-1864 TAIPING REBELLION
  • What? Languid Chinese gov’t did nothing to ease suffering from droughts, famine, and floods
  • Casualty: 30 million Chinese
• 1894 – CHINESE & JAPANESE WAR
• 1904 – BRITAIN INVADES TIBET
  • What? Tibet began negotiations with Russia as an ally
  • Significance: Britain thwarts any alliance
  • Casualty count: 300 T’s and 40 B’s
• 1904 – ANGLO-TIBETAN CONVENTION: BRITAIN & TIBET
  
  • Reason:
  • Problem: Britain continued to recognize Chinese authority over Tibet
• 1906 – ANGLO-CHINESE CONVENTION: BRITAIN & CHINA
  • What? Britain felt it was much more important to have China than Russia
  • Contradiction: In early 1900’s, China was not considered a threat to Britain and Britain did not clearly understand the sensitive relationship between China and Tibet.
  • Significance: All negotiations will take place thru Chinese officials and no foreign powers allowed into Tibet especially Russia
• 1910 – CHINESE INVASION OF TIBET
• 1910 – 1ST ATLAS PUBLISHED IN SHANGHAI DENOTES TIBET AS PART OF CHINA.
• 1911 – CHINESE REVOLUTION
  • What? End of Manchu Dynasty (over 200 years of ruling)
  • Significance: New leadership with Republican government (Parliament & President) replacing Emperor
  • Anything else? Yes, Republic of China IMMEDIATELY declared that all former imperial lands including Tibet still belonged to China
• 1913 – 13th DALAI LAMA FORMALLY DECLARES TIBETAN INDEPENDENCE
• 1913 – SIMLA CONVENTION
  • Purpose: Britain hoped that Tibet could maintain autonomy over internal affairs thereby not allowing China to pose any threat to Britain’s interest in Asia.
  • What? Tibetan diplomats agreed to allow certain amount of Chinese control under the condition that Chinese limits were clearly defined.
  • China allowed to control foreign and military affairs of Tibet in exchange for Tibet to retain control of domestic affairs.
  • End result: Closer relationship b/w Britain & Tibet BUT ambiguous relationship b/w Tibet & China//China agreed in principle but failed to sign formal document.
    
• WWII NEUTRALITY CRISIS
  • What? China wanted to build a military supply route thru Tibet. Despite Tibet’s opposition, both Britain and U.S. urged Tibetan leaders to withdraw opposition to allies.
    
• 1947 – CHANGE OF HANDS
  • What? Britain granted India its independence. Change of leadership did not change the ambiguity of Chinese and Tibetan relationship.
    
• 1949 – CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY (CPP)
  • What? Created People’s Republic of China. Under new leadership of Mao Zedong, China renounced all negotiations of Tibet’s future.
• 1950 – FULL SCALE MILITARY ASSAULT
  • What? More than 40,000 Chinese troops reached Lhasa.
  • International Presence: Despite pleas from Dalai Lama, UN could only provide moral support and safe haven because Tibet was not a member of the United Nations.
    
• 1951 17-POINT AGREEMENT
  • What? Tibet granted China control over Tibet//Chinese would leave Tibet’s political system intact//respect authority of Dalai Lama
• 1954 SINO-INDIAN AGREEMENT
  • What? India gave all military outposts, telegraph facilities in Tibet to PRC//references to “Tibet region” of China
  • Significance: India’s first public acknowledgment that Tibet was part of China
    
• LIFE UNDER CHINESE RULE
  • Pros: Establishment of Western medicine//opening more hospitals//improved agricultural productivity
  • Cons: Chinese attempt to restrict the importance of Tibetan Buddhism//elevate Panchen Lama’s authority//stripped away monk’s political status and privileges
• 1959 – DALAI FLEES TO INDIA
  • What? Under pressure to visit Chinese officials alone, Dalai Lama escaped to India
  • Significance: More than 100,000 Tibetans followed suit to India
  • Chinese Reaction: Replaced Tibetan gov’t with Panchen Lama as military dictator//banned freedom of speech, movement, and association//shut down all communication b/w Tibet and India//Chinese sent many of Lhasa’s inhabitants to labor camps
    
• 1963 CHINA ESTABLISHES TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION (TAR)
  
  • Significance: Tibet was closed off from foreign visitors
  • And..? Oh yeah, Panchen Lama refused to further participate in the puppet gov’t. So what did China do? Denounced him and kept him in custody under harsh living conditions.
    
• CULTURAL REVOLUTION
  • What? Single farms converted to communes with all production going to Chinese people//PLA imprisoned and tortured SUSPECTED enemies of state//all literature replaced with Mao’s communist doctrines//destruction of monasteries
  • Worst part? Children were forced to accuse parents and friends in trial!!
    
• 1969 WORLD SOLIDARITY DAY
  • What? Against the religious ban, Tibetans left work to honor Saka Dawa (anniversary of Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death)
  • Significance: About 3,000 young Tibetans attacked PLA troops killing 200 soldiers. Leading to an uprising in SW China killing another 1,000 Chinese soldiers
  • Chinese reaction: Chinese began loosening their grip by allowing Tibetans to wear traditional dress and relaxed restrictions on travel and religious practices.
    
• 1981 MOVEMENT TO MIDDLEGROUND
  • What? Chinese reopened 45 monasteries//farmers allowed to produce barley instead of wheat (Chinese realized barley is most suitable to Tibet’s climate)//
  • Significance: 43 major projects including passing of Law on Regional Autonomy for Minority Nationalities. This allowed immigrant Chinese to enter Tibet to work on the new projects
    
• 1985 WU JINGHUA
  • What? WU JINGHUA appointed head of Tibetan Communist Party
  • Significance: Wu Jinghua is ethnically close to Tibetans//allowed for dispersion of Tibetan culture
    
• 1988 LESS THAN FULL
  • What? Dalai Lama proposed a plan of Less than Full Independence; however, China refused AGAIN..
  • Significance: Radical Tibetans unpleased with Dalai Lama’s proposition//violence erupts when 30 Tibetans march to center of Lhasa to protest Chinese cancellation of Dalai Lama’s visit
    
• 1992 OUTSIDE INVESTMENT
  • What? Chinese opened Tibet to Foreign Investment
    
• 1995 WHO’S THE NEW PANCHEN LAMA…
  • What? Dalai Lama appoints Gedhun Choekyi Nyima the new Panchen Lama; however, China selects Gyaltsen Norbu as the new Panchen Lama. Nyima is taken into custody.
  • Significance: The Panchen Lama is in charge of selecting the next Dalai Lama, thus who is really the next Panchen Lama??
• MARCH 13, 2008
  
  • Tibetans clash and cause damage Chinese merchant shops along with unprovoked beatings of Chinese bystanders

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*This has been a never-ending conflict damaging the lives of many Tibetan and Chinese people (mostly Tibetan) What is done is done and thus, both sides should look in the present and agree to peaceful terms. Unfortunately it is known that both sides are stubborn; however, the times are more pleasant without Mao Zedong at the helm. There is much more hope for these two sides to negotiate and be winners.

Source: TIBET: DISPUTED LAND, by Peter Kizilos, Lerner Publications, Minneapolis, 2000