Invasion of Tibet

W.G.Ewald

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Invasion & After :

1949-51 The Chinese Invasion

China's newly established communist government sent troops to invade Tibet in 1949-50. A treaty was imposed on the Tibetan government in May of that year, acknowledging sovereignty over Tibet but recognizing the Tibetan government's autonomy with respect to Tibet's internal affairs. As the Chinese consolidated their control, they repeatedly violated the treaty and open resistance to their rule grew, leading to the National Uprising in 1959 and the flight into India of Tibet's head of state and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The international community reacted with shock at the events in Tibet. The question of Tibet was discussed on numerous occasions by the U.N. General Assembly between 1959 and 1965. Three resolutions were passed by the General Assembly condemning China's violations of human rights in Tibet and calling upon China to respect those rights, including Tibet's right to self-determination.
After 1959: Destruction

The destruction of Tibet's culture and oppression of its people was brutal during the twenty years following the uprising. 1.2 million Tibetans, one-fifth of the country's population, died as a result of China's policies; many more languished in prisons and labor camps; and more than 6000 monasteries, temples and other cultural and historic buildings were destroyed and their contents pillaged. In 1980 Hu Yao Bang, General Secretary of the Communist Party, visited Tibet – the first senior official to do so since the invasion. Alarmed by the extent of the destruction he saw there, he called for a series of drastic reforms and for a policy of "recuperation". His forced resignation in 1987 was said partially to result from his views on Tibet. In 1981, Alexander Solzhenitsyn still described the Chinese regime in Tibet as "more brutal and inhumane than any other communist regime in the world." Relaxation of China's policies in Tibet came very slowly after 1979 and remains severely limited.
 

W.G.Ewald

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Tibet (1950-present) | Rutgers–Newark Colleges of Arts & Sciences

The historical trajectory of Sino-Tibetan relations, from the thirteenth century until present, is at the heart of Tibet's disputed status. It is widely acknowledged, even by China, that Tibetans possess a distinct cultural identity. Whether certain territories within the People's Republic of China (PRC), to which Tibet lays political claim, should separate and become sovereign is therefore the question that has surrounded Tibet's modern history and informed China's oppressive policies. Between the fall of China's Qing Dynasty in 1912 and Tibet's incorporation into the PRC as the Tibetan Autonomous Region in 1950, Tibet experienced a period of de facto independence. In 1950, communist China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) invaded and occupied Tibet, and in 1951, a Seventeen Point Agreement – arguably imposed on Tibet – formally established China's sovereignty. Resistance arose, most notably in the guerilla group originating in Eastern Tibet known as Chushi Gangdruk, or "Four Rivers, Six Ranges." It operated between 1957 and 1974 with the assistance of CIA arms, ammunition, and training, although the United States was more interested in disrupting communist China than promoting Tibetan independence. On March 10, 1959, a national uprising in the capital city Lhasa led to a crackdown that resulted in the Dalai Lama's flight to India and the deaths of between 10,000 and 15,000 Tibetans within three days.
 

W.G.Ewald

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[PDF]www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/.../Tibet/tibet.pdf[/PDF]
 

W.G.Ewald

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Tibet: A Brief History
Taking the first step toward what has become 50 years of oppression, China's People's Liberation Army invades Tibet, killing more than 10,000. Repeated attempts by The Dalai Lama to negotiate with China are dismissed. In 1950, the 15-year-old Dalai Lama is forced into full leadership of Tibet, while in 1951 a Tibetan Delegation is forced to sign the 17-Point Agreement, promising "Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet." During 1959, The Dalai Lama went to China to speak with Chairman Mao Zedong. Mao told him, "Religion is poison. ... Tibet and Mongolia have both been poisoned by it." Also during this year, the Chinese retaliate against the Tibetan resistance, killing more than 87,000. On March 17, 1959, The Dalai Lama escapes His sacred homeland, seeking political asylum in India. The Chinese declare martial law as thousands of Tibetan refugees begin pouring into India.
 

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