China's Oppression of Tibet

Two years ago, China elected a new leader.  With 8 years remaining on their contract, it will be interesting to see how life in Tibet may or may not change for the better.

Since 1951, Tibet has been under the control of the Communist Party of China.  Mao Zedong (elected leader of the Communist Party 1949) sought to ‘liberate’ Tibet from the rule of the Dalai Lama and bring the country into the People’s Republic of China.  Within a matter of weeks, Tibet’s very small army had been defeated.  Beijing then implemented the Seventeen Point Plan (which Tibetan officials were forced to sign, or faced death.  They later renounced). 

All privately held land was to be socialised and redistributed, and farmers were to work communally.  The majority of the produce grown on this land went to the Chinese Government (according to Communist Principles) and anything left over was split between the farmers.

June 1956; the ethnic Tibetan people of Amdo and Kham were up in arms.  As more and more farmers were stripped of their land, tens of thousands organised themselves into armed resistance groups, and began to fight back.  The Chinese army grew increasingly brutal, and included wide-spread abuse of Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns.

By 1958, as many as 80,000 Tibetans had joined the movement.

March 17 1959; the Dalai Lama left Tibet after talks with the Chinese Government on how to avoid a violent outburst.

March 19 1959; fighting broke out in Lhasa (capital of Tibet) between the Tibetan army, who were greatly outnumbered by the People’s Liberation Army.  The fighting lasted two days; major monasteries were bombed, looted and burned.  Tibetans who were found with weapons and the remaining body guards of the Dalai Lama were executed.  Around 87,000 Tibetans were killed and 80,000 arrived in neighbouring countries as refugees. 

Since 1959, China has slowly been tightening its hold on Tibet.  Although Beijing has invested in infrastructure improvements for the region, particularly in Lhasa, it has encouraged thousands of ethnic Han Chinese to move into Tibet.  Tibetans have been crowded in their own capital; they now form a minority of the population of Lhasa.

Tibet is now suffering greatly as a result.  Due to being held under a supposedly Communistic Regime, Tibetans cannot freely practice their religion (Buddhism); possessing an image of the Tibetan flag holds a prison sentence of seven years; owning an image of the Dalai Lama holds 4 years imprisonment.

Since 2009, 131 Tibetans (and counting) have self-immolated.  The immolators act on behalf of Tibet and the Tibetan people, and their intention is to harm no one else. This painful and sad action emerges from their anguish; they live in a climate of fear and have no other means of expressing themselves.