Tibet has always maintained a distinct cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic identity. Situated on the remote Tibetan plateau at the centre of Asia, Tibetans possess a strong sense of independent history that is linked to this distinct identity and particularly its relationship with Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibet possessed all the conditions of statehood under international law but due to its isolationist policy it did not develop formalised international relations, though it did maintain bilateral relations with its neighbours. At no time was Tibet an integral part of China. Neighbouring countries, particularly British India, recognised Tibet as being de-facto independent through the first half of the twentieth century.

In 1949, in an act of unprovoked aggression China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet. Despite Tibetan attempts to work with the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese promises of autonomy in the Seventeen Point Agreement between the Tibetan government and the Chinese in 1959 the young fourteenth Dalai Lama fled into exile in India. What followed was a brutal clamp down of the Tibetan independence movement by the Chinese forces.

Instead, of liberation, China’s occupation of Tibet has been characterised by political and economic suppression, with Tibetan’s being denied the right to decide their destiny. China has consistently denied Tibetans their basic human rights. Not only are Tibetans prevented from practicing their traditional way of life and culture, but political protest is brutally crushed with protestors subjected to torture. They are. Many Tibetans have escaped the oppression in Tibet by risking their lives climbing over the Himalayas into India and Nepal.

China’s occupation of Tibet provides China with (something) square miles of strategically important territory as well as access to key natural resources including water and minerals. Though the PLA claimed to be liberating Tibet, in almost six decades of occupation Tibetans have gained little from Chinese presence, suffering not just from human rights abuses but also poverty and meagre access to education and healthcare.

Also, China’s exploitation of Tibet’s unique economic resources is often to the detriment of Tibet’s unique environment. Not only are Tibetans subject to economic discrimination and the destruction of their traditional way of life but they must also compete against growing numbers of Chinese immigrants for employment and resources. Independent research puts the number of Chinese in the TAR at 5.5 million versus 4.5 million Tibetans; in Kham and Amdo, Chinese outnumber Tibetans many times over. Tibetans are now a minority in their own country.

Since the construction of the railway the threat to Tibet and its people has risen even higher. Not only does easier access into Tibet allowed China to strengthen its control over Tibet, but also it facilitates increased levels of ethnic Chinese migration into Tibet and eases Chinese extraction of Tibet’s valuable mineral resources. The threat to Tibetan’s political culture, economy and environment is high and this is why imperative that something is done.

Free Tibet Campaign uses the term 'Tibet' to refer to the three original provinces of U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo (sometimes called Greater Tibet). When the Chinese refer to Tibet, they invariably mean the Tibet Autonomous Region or TAR, which includes only U-Tsang. Amdo and Kham were re-named by the Chinese as the province of Qinghai and as parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces, respectively.

Economic discrimination

Chinese occupation has failed to improve the lives of most Tibetans. Instead they now live as a discriminated minority in their own land. Little economic development has taken place in Tibet, and the jobs and opportunities available are loaded in favour of Chinese migrants.

The majority of Tibetans are employed in the rural agricultural sector, which attracts little investment and is declining. To compound this situation, the Chinese government has forced thousands of Tibetans to abandon their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Since 2000 the Chinese government has been implementing resettlement and land confiscation and fencing policies in pastoral areas inhabited primarily by Tibetans. They are forced to abandon their traditional way of life and are moved into new housing colonies or towns. This is part of Chinese moves to “bring development” and “civilising” Tibet.

But few alternatives are provided. The Tibetan economy is not industrialised and most economic activity outside of agriculture is controlled by the central government or state owned corporations. In urban centres Tibetans are a minority as a result of Chinese encouragement of ethic Chinese migration.

Tibetans are not being provided with the opportunities to gain the skills, such as education, to gain from economic growth. Instead, Tibet’s largely rural and agrarian population is discriminated against. Economic discrimination begins with the failure to provide Tibetans with the skills to succeed. Tibet’s poor education system means that 45% of Tibetans illiterate (dropping to 41% in urban areas) and only 11.5% have some kind of secondary education. This lack of education prevents most Tibetans from taking advantage of economic opportunities in urban areas.

In contrast, China’s state controlled economy is biased in favour of those that can speak Chinese fluently, are familiar with Chinese work cultures and possess connections with the government or business networks in China. Further bias against the Tibetans is visible in the lower tax assessments for Chinese traders and the dominant position of Chinese in government administration.

The Chinese government has made little effort to ensure sustainable economic growth in Tibet, with the largest driver of GDP growth in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) derived from government spending, which is reliant on Beijing subsidies. Government and party agency spending in the TAR is the highest of all provinces in China and the TAR is the only province in China where government expenditure on administration exceeds that on education. Little of this spending is aimed at improving the lives of Tibetans. The most recent Chinese government data, from 2005, indicates that in that year total investment in the TAR was 72% of GDP. Almost none of this investment took place in rural areas and only 6% was in education and 1% in heath, social welfare and social security. By contrast 13% was spent on public administration.

With most non-agricultural economic activity controlled by the Chinese state or private Chinese companies, Tibetans do not benefit from their own resources. There is no evidence of Tibetans benefiting from the extraction of their natural resources through industries such as timber or minerals. Instead the building of the railway has ensured that such resources can be rapidly expatriated out of Tibet.

The Chinese government claims that Tibet’s economy has benefited from the tourist industry. The construction of the railway has resulted in a dramatic rise in tourist inflows and revenues. But Tibetans are not the beneficiaries, but instead the operators are Chinese owned, and most tourist activity is located in urban centres where the main employees are ethnic Chinese migrants.

Religious suppression

Tibetan Buddhism is a key component of Tibet’s unique cultural identity and as a result China has attempted to destroy Tibet’s cultural heritage and limit religious freedom. Since 1949, the Chinese have destroyed over 6,000 Tibetan monasteries and shrines and have sought to extensively interfere in Tibetan Buddhism.

After the invasion China consolidated its control over Tibet and targeted the monasteries, the backbone of Tibetan society. By 1966, 80% of central Tibet’s 2,700 monasteries had been destroyed and only 6,900 monks and nuns from a total of 115,600 had survived. Tibet then suffered further under the Cultural Revolution when religious institutes were targeted further, texts and sacred objects destroyed and monks and nuns targeted. By 1978 only 8 monasteries and 970 monks and nuns remained in the TAR according to official figures.

Since the 1970s there has been some liberalisation, with the Chinese allowing the holding of key Buddhist festivals and some monasteries and nunneries to be re-built. The continued strength and importance of Tibetan Buddhism is indicated by the rapid growth in monasteries and nunneries. This has resulted in the Chinese imposing strict restrictions on religious life. The number of monks and nuns allowed to enter monasteries and nunneries is limited and any reference or images of the Dalai Lama are banned. In addition, through patriotic re-education the Chinese government impose strict controls and surveillance over the monasteries of Tibet.
 

 

 

The Chinese state has also sought to interfere in Tibetan Buddhist practices by seeking to approve the re-incarnations of key Lamas. The most notable case has been the Chinese state’s decision to place in secret imprisonment the recognised re-incarnation of the Panchen Lama, Gendun Choeky Nima, and instead impose their own Panchen Lama. A 2007 declaration on Chinese government role in reincarnation has sought to formalise the Chinese Communist Party’s control over Tibet’s religious life. This will allow the Chinese state to control and re-shape the future of Tibetan Buddhism with minimal input from Tibet’s religious leaders. This will serve to further suppress religious freedom inside Tibet.

Political oppression

Since the Chinese occupation there have been many instances of well-documented human rights abuses. It is estimated that since 1950, the Chinese have killed 1.2 million Tibetans. The International Commission of Jurists concluded in its reports, 1959 and 1960, that there was a prima facie case of genocide committed by the Chinese upon the Tibetan nation.

China’s totalitarian regime has prevented any significant Tibetan involvement in the political process. Any political protest is crushed with extreme violence as was seen during uprisings in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Through extensive surveillance of the population China has ensured that the Tibetans now live in a state of permanent fear. In addition, an estimated 300,000 Chinese soldiers continue to be posted in Tibet, ready to clamp down on any attempts by Tibetan’s to call for their freedom.

Since the Chinese occupation there have been many instances of well-documented human rights abuses. It is estimated that since 1950, the Chinese have killed 1.2 million Tibetans. The International Commission of Jurists concluded in its reports, 1959 and 1960, that there was a prima facie case of genocide committed by the Chinese upon the Tibetan nation.

 

 

China’s totalitarian regime has prevented any significant Tibetan involvement in the political process. Any political protest is crushed with extreme violence as was seen during uprisings in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Similar scenes were apparent recently in March 2008. Through extensive surveillance of the population China has ensured that the Tibetans now live in a state of permanent fear. In addition, an estimated 300,000 Chinese soldiers continue to be posted in Tibet, ready to clamp down on any attempts by Tibetan’s to call for their freedom.

Though China has ratified a number of UN conventions, including those related to torture and racial discrimination, it has repeatedly violated these in China and Tibet. China has extensively used torture against Tibetan political prisoners, often monks or nuns. This is in violation of Chinese ratification of various UN conventions on torture, women, children and racial discrimination. The Chinese continue to flout these conventions.

Environmental exploitation

Tibet’s location at the top of the Himalayas provides the country with a unique natural environment, with a number of rare animal and plant species and geological features. During their occupation of Tibet, China has sought to exploit these natural resources with little sensitivity to protecting or sustaining this unique environment.

Example of this environmental destruction include the Tibetan Antelope which has been driven to the brink of extinction as a result of its habitat being destroyed, changes to land use and unregulated hunting. Equally, since the 1950s over half of Tibet’s available forest stock has been felled and exported to China with little regard for its impact upon the environment. Intense logging in eastern Tibet has resulted in increased levels of flooding, not just in China but also in South and South East Asia. Though attempts at conservation have been made since the 1980s, success has been limited.

China's predominant interest in Tibet is now based on resource extraction and land for Chinese colonists. The Chinese government recently confirmed that Qulong in Tibet is home to copper deposits of 7.89 tonnes, the second largest in all China or Tibet. Mining and mineral extraction are now a significant proportion of economic activity but few Tibetans are the recipients of any financial benefits. Instead the building of the new railway will further facilitate the theft of Tibet’s natural resources and their wealth out of their country.
 

 

Developments inside Tibet are frequently insensitive to Tibet’s environment or culture. The building of the Yamdrok Tso Hydropower station has served to damage the Yamdrok Tso, a lake that Tibetans believe is the dwelling place for the life force of the Tibetan nation.

Meanwhile, the Indian government reports that three nuclear missile sites are located inside Tibet, a country that is avowedly peaceful. Also, nuclear waste has been dumped near Lake Kokonor, Tibet’s largest lake, risking contamination.

Political solution

Since being forced into exile in India, Tibet’s political and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has consistently sought to negotiate a peaceful solution with the Chinese. He has adopted the ‘middle way’ approach by giving up any demands for Tibetan independence in favour of greater and genuine autonomy. Further, he has established a Tibetan democratic tradition and sought to minimise his role in the political process of governance by supporting the creation and running of a fully operational Tibetan Government in Exile.

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile have produced a number of proposals aimed at resolving the situation. However, despite numerous attempts to negotiate with the Chinese, little progress has been made. 
 
Throughout the protests of March 2008, which soon turned violent, the Dalai Lama remained steadfast in his dedication to peaceful means; an attitude which has won him great international acclaim.

As a Nobel prize and Congressional Gold Medal winner, Tibet's spiritual leader is seen as a figurehead peaceful protest worldwide.