China on Tibet |
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Businessmen and other travellers to China (as well as anyone likely to provide hospitality to Chinese visitors) are often advised to avoid mentioning the “3 T’s”: Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen Square.
Whatever Tibetans themselves may believe, as far as the Chinese government is concerned no discussion about Tibetan independence is merited, let alone tolerable.
Listed on this page are some key documents about Tibet produced by the Chinese government since the 1950 invasion. In addition, we are providing some alternative views on the various documents.
This treaty was signed by the Tibetans on 23 May 1951. The Chinese promised not to "alter the existing political system in Tibet" and that "in matters relating to various reforms in Tibet there would be no compulsion on the part of the central authorities".
Chronology of events leading up to the signing of the Seventeen Point Agreement
This chronology begins in October 1949.
The Tibetan view of the Seventeen Point Agreement
On 20 June 1959, three months after fleeing into exile, the Dalai Lama was able to make his first public statement denouncing the Seventeen Point Agreement.
The document 'Tibet: Its Ownership and Human Rights Situation,' also known as the 'China White Paper', was issued by the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in September 1992. It provides the definitive Chinese Government line on Tibet to date.
Wei Jingsheng is a prominent Chinese dissident who has spent most of the last 20 years as a political prisoner of the Chinese. This article is written as if addressed to Deng Xiaoping, and in response to the Chinese "White Paper" entitled "Tibet - Its Ownership and Human Rights". The article first appeared in the Tibetan Bulletin in January 1994.
Towards the Federal Republic of China
Yan Jiaqi is based in Paris and leads the Federation for a Democratic China. This article first appeared in Tibet Press Watch in December 1993.
State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5
This law, the underlying purpose of which is to ensure the Chinese government has the final say in the identification of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, was passed in July 2007.
Order No. 5 is the latest in a series of Chinese policies on religion in Tibet.
Reaction to the Memorandum for Genuine Autonomy of Tibet
The Chinese authorities rejected outright the Memorandum, given to them by envoys of the Dalai Lama during the Sino-Tibetan talks in November 2008. Click here for the memorandum.
'Serf Emancipation Day' exposes political banktrupcy of Chinese Government on Tibet
A new national holiday which first took place on 28 March 2009, 'Serf Emancipation Day' is designed to propagate the illusion that the Tibetan people were 'liberated' from a system of serfdom when the Chinese Government dissolved the Tibetan Government and established direct rule from Beijing. Click here for our press release.
Sino-Tibetan talks, January 2010
During talks in Beijing between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama, China stuck to its hardline approach on the Tibet issue, with Chinese negotiator Du Qinglin stating that China was only willing to discuss the future of the Dalai Lama, not greater autonomy for Tibet. Du said "there can be no room for discussion, no room for compromise".
During talks between the two sides in 2008, the Dalai Lama's representatives had proposed the 'Memorandum of Genuine Autonomy' and the idea that as an ethnic minority, Tibetans could achieve more autonomy within the Chinese constitution, but this view seems to have been rejected by China, who said that it would not consider the kind of autonomy enjoyed by territories such as Hong Kong or Macau.
Du's statement, carried by the Chinese state Xinhua News Agency, went on: "The only thing there is to discuss, on the premise that you give up separatist words and actions, is the future of the Dalai Lama and the people around him. We hope the Dalai Lama will face reality squarely and return to the patriotic stance."
