Therefore, the best course of action is to present
them.
Part
One
I. Ownership of Tibet
Tibet is located in southwest China. The ancestors of the Tibetan race
who lived there struck up links with the Han in the Central Plains long
before the Christian era. Later, over a long period of years, the numerous
tribes scattered on the Tibet Plateau became unified to form the present
Tibetan race. By the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Tibetans and Hans had,
through marriage between royal families and meetings leading to alliances,
cemented political and kinship ties of unity and political friendship and
formed close economic and cultural relations, laying a solid foundation
for the ultimate founding of a unified nation. In Lhasa, the capital of
the Tibet Autonomous Region, the statue of the Tang Princess Wen Cheng,
who married the Tubo tsampo, king of Tibet, in 641, is still enshrined and
worshiped in the Potala Palace. The Tang-Tubo Alliance Monument marking
the meeting for this purpose between Tang and Tubo erected in 823 still
stands in the square in front of the Jokhang Monastery. The monument
inscription reads in part, "The two sovereigns, uncle and nephew, having
come to agreement that their territories be united as one, have signed
this alliance of great peace to last for eternity! May God and humanity
bear witness thereto so that it may be praised from generation to
generation."
In the mid-13th century, Tibet was officially incorporated into the
territory of China's Yuan Dynasty. Since then, although China experienced
several dynastic changes, Tibet has remained under the jurisdiction of the
central government of China.
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
In
the early 13th century, Genghis Khan, leader of the Mongols, established
the Mongol Khanate in north China. In 1247 Sagya Pandit Gonggar Gyamcan,
religious leader of Tibet, met the Mongol Prince Gotan at Liangzhou
(present-day Wuwei of Gansu, China) and decided on terms for Tibetan
submission to the Mongols, including presentation of map and census books,
payment of tributes, and the acceptance of rule by appointed officials.
The Tibetan work Sagya Genealogy written in 1629 includes Sagya Pandit's
letter to the religious and secular leaders in the various parts of Tibet
that they must pledge allegiance to the Mongols and accept the regional
administrative system prescribed for Tibet. The regime of the Mongol
Khanate changed its title to Yuan in 1271 and unified the whole of China
in 1279, establishing a central government, which, following the Han (206
BC-220) and Tang dynasties, achieved great unification of various regions
and races within the domain of China. Tibet became an administrative
region directly under the administration of the central government of
China's Yuan Dynasty.
The Yuan emperor established the Xuanzheng Yuan or Ministry for the
Spread of Governance to directly handle important military and political
affairs of the Tibet region. Choice of its members lay with the emperor
and its reports were submitted directly to the monarch. Yuanshi, the chief
minister having real authority in the Xuanzheng Yuan, was a post generally
held concurrently by the right-hand prime minister of the central
government who was in charge of the whole nation's governmental affairs.
In the Tibetan region, local military and administrative organs were
set up under the name of the High Pacification Commissioner's Office,
which was under the Xuanzheng Yuan. Under the jurisdiction of this office
were 13 wanhu offices (myriarchies each in command of 10,000 households)
and more qianhu offices (chiliarchies each in command of 1,000 households)
handling civil administration. The names of these organizations and
official posts were decided by the central government of the Yuan Dynasty.
It also had troops stationed in Tibet. A royal prince and his descendents
were stationed on the eastern border of Tibet at the head of an army. When
Tibet was enmeshed in trouble, the prince could enter the area from nearby
garrison to perform his duty of guarding the security of the border
region. In 1290, when the head of a wanhu office rose in rebellion, the
central government of the Yuan Dynasty dispatched the prince into Tibet at
the head of his army to put it down.
The central government of the Yuan Dynasty sent officials into Tibet to
set up post stations, whose size varied according to the local population,
topography and resources. These post stations were linked up in a
communication line extending from Tibet up to Dadu (present-day Beijing).
The central government of the Yuan Dynasty also dispatched officials
into Tibet to conduct censuses, establish the number of corvee laborers in
areas under various wanhu offices and decide the number of corvee
laborers, provisions and animal transport the areas along the post route
had to supply. Such censuses were conducted three times in Tibet, in 1268,
1287 and 1334. The Tibetan work History From the Han and Tibetan Sources
records them in detail.
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
In
1368 the Ming Dynasty replaced the Yuan Dynasty in China, and inherited
the right to rule Tibet.
The central government of the Ming Dynasty retained most of the titles
and ranks of official positions instituted during the Yuan Dynasty. In the
central and eastern parts of present-day Tibet, the Dbus-Gtsang Itinerant
High Commandery and the Mdo-khams Itinerant High Commandery were set up
respectively. Equivalent to provincial-level military organs, they
operated under the Shaanxi Itinerant High Commandery and, at the same
time, handled civil administration. In Ngari in west Tibet, the E-Li-Si
Army-Civilian Marshal Office was instituted. Leading officials of these
organs were all appointed by the central government.
The third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chengzu (reigned 1403-1424) saw
the advantage of combined Buddhist religious and political power in Tibet
and rivalry between sects occupying different areas. So he conferred
honorific titles on religious leaders in various parts of Tibet such as
the "prince of Dharma," "prince" and "national master in Tantrism."
Succession to such princeship needed the approval of the emperor, who
would send an envoy to confer the official title on each new prince. Only
then could the new prince assume his role. According to the stipulations
of the Ming court, the prince had to dispatch his envoy or come in person
to the capital to participate in the New Year's Day celebration each year
and present his memorial of congratulation and tribute. The Ming court had
detailed stipulations that limited the dates for presenting tributes, the
number of personnel allowed in the capital, the route to be taken, and
also provisions to be supplied by local authorities along the route. The
tablets wishing longevity to the emperors before which the prayers had to
prostrate themselves are still kept in some of the monasteries in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Lama are the two leading incarnation
hierarchies of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The Gelug Sect rose
during the Ming Dynasty, and the 3rd Dalai Lama was the abbot of one of
the sect's monasteries. The central government of the Ming Dynasty showed
him special favor by allowing him to pay tribute. In 1587 he was granted
the title of Dorjichang or Vajradhara Dalai Lama.
Any official of the Tibetan local government who offended the law was
punished by the central government.
Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911)
When the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming
Dynasty in 1644, it further strengthened administration over Tibet. In
1653 and 1713, the Qing emperors granted honorific titles to the 5th Dalai
Lama and the 5th Bainqen Lama, henceforth officially establishing the
titles of the Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Erdeni and their political and
religious status in Tibet. The Dalai Lama ruled the bulk of areas from
Lhasa while the Bainqen Erdeni ruled the remaining area of Tibet from
Xigaze. In 1719, Qing government troops were sent into Tibet to dispel the
Zungar forces which had been entrenched in Lhasa for three years, and set
out to reform Tibet's administrative system. The Qing emperor made a young
Living Buddha of the Xikang area the 7th Dalai Lama and had him escorted
into Tibet, and appointed four Tibetan officials renowned for meritorious
service "Galoins" to handle Tibet's political affairs. From 1727, High
commissioners were stationed in Tibet to supervise local administration on
behalf of the central authorities. Officials were also assigned about this
time to survey and delimit the borders between Tibet (i.e. Xizang) and
Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai.
In order to perfect Tibet's administrative organizations, the Qing
Dynasty on many occasions enacted "regulations" to rectify and reform old
systems and establish new ones. The Authorized Regulations for the Better
Governing of Tibet, promulgated in 1793, had 29 articles. Their major
purport was:
The Qing government holds the power to confirm the reincarnation of all
deceased high Living Buddhas of Tibet including the Dalai Lama and the
Bainqen Erdeni. When the reincarnate boy has been found, his name will be
written on a lot, which shall be put into a gold urn bestowed by the
central government. The high commissioners will bring together appropriate
high-ranking Living buddhas to determine the authenticity of the
reincarnate boy by drawing lots from the gold urn. (Both the gold urn and
lots are still preserved in Lhasa.) The tonsure of the incarnate Living
Buddha, his religious name, the choice of the master to initiate him into
monkhood and his sutra instructor all have to be reported by the high
commissioners to the imperial court for examination and approval. The
central government will send high officials to supervise in person the
installation ceremony for the new Dalai Lama and the new Bainqen Erdeni
and also the ceremony for their taking over reins of government at coming
of age.
The high commissioners will supervise the handling of Tibetan affairs
on behalf of the central government, enjoying the equal standing with the
Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Erdeni. All the Galoins and those below them
are subordinates.
The ranks and numbers of Tibetan civil and military officials, and
procedures for their promotion and replacement are stipulated. The
highest-Ranking Tibetan officials including four Galoins and six Deboins
are to be appointed by the central government. The annual salaries of the
Galoins and Deboins will be paid by the central government.
A regular army of 3,000 will be organized in Tibet. The regulations
stipulate ranks and numbers of military officials, the source of troop pay
and provisions, plus weaponry and places where troops are to be stationed.
In addition, some 1,400 troops will be transferred from the interior to
stations in various localities of Tibet. Both Tibetan and Han troops are
put under the command of officers sent by the central government.
A mint will be set up in Tibet along the lines established by those in
the interior to make official money for circulation. On the two sides of
the silver coinage the words "Qianlong Treasure" will be cast in the Han
Chinese and Tibetan.
The annual financial receipts and expenditures of the Dalai Lama and
the Bainqen Erdeni will be subject to checking by the high commissioners.
Tibet's taxation and corvee labor will be born by the whole society on
an equal footing. Only those nobles and large monasteries who have made
real contributions will enjoy preferential treatment and exemptions, but
these must be examined and approved by the high commissioners and the
Dalai Lama, who will issue them licences for this purpose.
Merchants from Nepal and Kashmir wanting to do business in Tibet must
register. The registration book must be filed with the high commissioners
for record. The appropriate officials will issue laissez-passers to them.
Any foreigner applying to enter Lhasa must be examined for approval by the
High Commissioner's Office. The high commissioners will issue
laissez-passers to Tibetans who apply to go to Nepal or other places, and
set the leaving and returning dates for them.
National boundary markers will be erected in a number of places where
southwest Tibet borders on countries like India and Nepal. The high
commissioners will make an annual tour in Tibet to inspect the defense
arrangements of the troops stationed there and matters concerning border
markers.
All foreign affairs involving Tibet will be left completely in the
hands of the high commissioners. No Galoin is allowed to maintain
correspondence with the outside, and all letters and alms received by the
Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Erdeni from the outside must be submitted to
the high commissioners for censorship and decision concerning a reply.
Criminal punishment will be reported to the high commissioners for
examination and approval.
Between 1727, when the high commissionership was first established, and
1911, the year the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, the central government of
the Qing Dynasty stationed more than 100 high commissioners in Tibet.
Republic of China
(1912-49)
In the autumn of 1911, revolution took
place in China's interior, overthrowing the 270-year-old rule of the Qing
Dynasty and establishing the Republic of China.
Upon its founding, the Republic of China declared itself a unified
republic of the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Tibetan and other races. In his
inauguration statement on January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen, the provisional
first president of the Republic of China, declared to the whole world:
"The foundation of the country lies in the people, and the unification of
lands inhabited by the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui and Tibetan people into
one country means the unification of the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui and
Tibetan races. It is called national unification." The five-color flag
used as the national flag at that time represented the unification of the
five main races. In March the Nanjing-based provisional senate of the
Republic of China promulgated the republic's first constitution, the
Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China, in which it was clearly
stipulated that Tibet was a part of the territory of the Republic of
China.
In order to form the first parliament of the Republic of China, the
Beijing government promulgated on August 10, 1912 the Organic Law of the
Parliament of the Republic of China and the law on elections for members
of parliament. These statutes specified the methods for Tibetans to
participate in elections, and the right of elected parliamentary members
to have a direct say in government affairs. When the Chinese Kuomintang
formed the national government in 1927 in Nanjing and held the national
assembly in 1931, both the 13th Dalai Lama and the 9th Bainqen Erdeni sent
representatives to participate. Article I of the General Outline of the
Constitution for the Political Tutelage Period of the Republic of China,
formulated during the assembly, stipulated that Tibet belonged to the
territories of the Republic of China. The Tibetan local government and the
Bainqen's administrative body, Kampus Assembly, also sent representatives
to the national assembly in 1946 called by the Nanjing national
government.
As in the previous Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the central
government of the Republic of China exercised jurisdiction over Tibet. The
Bureau of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs (renamed Mongolian and Tibetan
Council in May 1914) was established by the central government in 1912 to
replace the Qing Dynasty's Department in Charge of Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs. The bureau was responsible for Tibetan local affairs. The central
government also appointed a representative to Tibet to carry out the
responsibilities of the high commissioners stationed in Tibet by the Qing
Dynasty. After the Nanjing national government was set up, a Commission
for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs was established in 1929 to handle the
administrative affairs of the Tibetans, Mongolians and other ethnic
minorities. In April 1940 the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs
opened an office in Lhasa as the permanent mission of the central
government in Tibet.
Traditionally, the Dalai Lama, the Bainqen Erdeni and other high Living
Buddhas had to be recognized and appointed by the central government in
order to secure their political and religious legal status in Tibet.
Despite the fact that incessant foreign aggression and civil wars weakened
the central government of the Republic of China, it continued to grant
honorific titles to the Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Erdeni. On many
occasions the Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Erdeni expressed their support
for national unification and for the central government. In 1919, the 13th
Dalai Lama told a delegation sent by the Beijing central government, "It
is not my true intention to be on intimate terms with the British.... I
swear to be loyal to our own country and jointly work for the happiness of
the five races." In his later years (in 1930), he said, "My greatest wish
is for the real peace and unification of China." "Since it is all Chinese
territory, why distinguish between you and us?" He further elaborated,
"The British truly intend to tempt me, but I know that our sovereignty
must not be lost." He also publicly expressed his determination "not to
affiliate with the British nor forsake the central government" (Liu
Manqing: A Mission to Xikang and Tibet). The 9th Bainqen noted in his
will, "The great plan I have promoted all my life is the support of the
central government, the spread of Buddhism, the promotion of the unity of
the five nationalities and the guarantee of national prosperity."
The death of the 13th Dalai Lama in December 1933 was reported to the
central government by the Tibetan local government in the traditional
manner. The national government sent a special envoy to Tibet for the
memorial ceremony. It also approved the Living Buddha Razheng as the
regent to assume the duties and power of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan local
government also followed the age-old system in reporting to the central
government all the procedures that should be followed in search for the
reincarnation of the late 13th Dalai Lama. The present 14th Dalai Lama was
born in Qinghai Province. Originally named Lhamo Toinzhub, he was selected
as one of the incarnate boys at the age of 2. After receiving a report
submitted by the Tibetan local government in 1939, the central government
ordered the Qinghai authorities to send troops to escort him to Lhasa.
After an inspection tour in Lhasa by Wu Zhongxin, chief of the Commission
for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, in 1940, Chiang Kai-shek, then head of
the central government, approved Tibetan Regent Razheng's request to waive
the lot-drawing convention, and the chairman of the national government
issued an official decree conferring the title of the 14th Dalai Lama on
Lhamo Toinzhub.
People's Republic of
China
The People's Republic of China was founded in
1949 after decisive victories in the Chinese People's War of Liberation.
Beiping, Hunan and the provinces bordering on Tibet--Yunnan, Xinjiang and
Xikang--were all liberated peacefully from the rule of the former
Kuomintang government. In light of the history and reality of Tibet, the
central people's government decided to do the same for Tibet. In January
1950, the central government formally notified the local authorities of
Tibet to "send delegates to Beijing to negotiate the peaceful liberation
of Tibet." However, the then Tibetan Regent Dagzhag Ngawang Sungrab and
others who were in control of the Tibetan local government, supported by
some foreign forces and disregarding the interests of the country and the
Tibetans, rejected the central government's call for negotiation on the
peaceful liberation of Tibet. They deployed the main body of the Tibetan
army in the Qamdo area in east Tibet for armed resistance. Under such
circumstances, the central government was left with no choice and had to
order the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to cross the Jinsha River in
October 1950, and Qamdo was liberated.
Following this event, the central government once again urged the
Tibetan local government to send delegates to Beijing for negotiations.
The central government's adherence to the policy of peaceful negotiations
greatly supported and inspired the patriotic forces in Tibet. The
upper-class patriotics, represented by Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, stood for
peaceful negotiation, winning the endorsement and support of the majority.
The 14th Dalai Lama who had assumed power ahead of time accepted the
proposal. In his letter to the central people's government in January
1951, he said, "I have come to govern at the warm and earnest request of
all Tibetans"; "I have decided to fulfill the people's desire through
peaceful means"; and delegates would be sent "to seek a solution to the
Tibetan issue with the central people's government." In February 1951, the
Dalai Lama appointed Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme as his chief plenipotentiary and
Kemai Soinam Wangdui, Tubdain Daindar, Tubdain Legmoin and Sampo Dainzin
Toinzhub as delegates and sent them to Beijing to handle with full power
the negotiations with the central people's government.
On May 23, 1951, the Agreement of the Central People's Government and
the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of
Tibet (i.e., the 17-Article Agreement) was signed after the delegates of
the central people's government and the Tibetan local government had
reached agreement on a series of questions concerning Tibet's peaceful
liberation. It was stipulated in the agreement that the Tibetan people
should unite and drive out imperialist aggressive forces from Tibet; the
local government of Tibet should actively assist the PLA in entering Tibet
and consolidating national defense; national regional autonomy would be
instituted in Tibet; the central government would not alter the existing
political system in Tibet or the established status, functions and powers
of the Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Erdeni, and officials of various ranks
would continue to hold office as usual; the policy of freedom of religious
belief would be upheld and the religious beliefs, customs and habits of
the Tibetan people would be respected; the spoken and written language and
school education of the Tibetan nationality would be developed step by
step, along with agriculture, livestock raising, industry and commerce in
order to improve the people's livelihood; foreign affairs involving the
Tibet region would be under the unified management of the central people's
government. The agreement also explicitly stipulated that in matters
relating to reforms in Tibet, there would be no coercion on the part of
the central authorities, and reform would be carried out by the Tibetan
local government of its own accord.
The agreement for the peaceful liberation of Tibet enjoyed the approval
and support of the people from every ethnic group in Tibet. A conference
of all ecclesiastic and secular officials and representatives of the three
most prominent monasteries was called by the Tibetan local government
between September 26 and 29, 1951 to specifically discuss the agreement. A
report to the Dalai Lama was approved at the end of the conference. It
stated, "The 17-Article Agreement that has been signed is of great and
unrivaled benefit to the grand cause of the Dalai and to Buddhism,
politics, economy and other aspects of life in Tibet. Naturally it should
be implemented." The Dalai Lama sent a telegram to Chairman Mao Zedong on
October 24, 1951, in which he wrote, "On the basis of friendship,
delegates of the two sides signed on May 23, 1951 the Agreement on
Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. The Tibetan local
government as well as ecclesiastic and secular people unanimously support
this agreement, and under the leadership of Chairman Mao and the central
people's government, will actively assist the PLA troops entering Tibet in
consolidating national defense, ousting imperialist influences from Tibet
and safeguarding the unification of the territory and the sovereignty of
the motherland." The Bainqen Lama and the Kampus Assembly also issued a
statement, pointing out that the agreement "conforms fully to the
interests of all ethnic nationalities of China, particularly those of the
Tibetans." On October 26, with the support of the Tibetan people, the PLA
entered Lhasa without a hitch.
After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the central people's government
and upper-class patriotic forces of Tibet did a great deal of work to
implement the 17-Article Agreement. In 1954 the Dalai Lama and the Bainqen
Erdeni came to Beijing to attend the First Session of the National
People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China. In his speech
at the congress, the Dalai Lama fully confirmed the achievements in the
implementation of the 17-Article Agreement over the preceding three years,
and expressed his warm support for the principles and provisions
concerning national regional autonomy in the draft of New China's first
Constitution, which was under discussion at the congress. Talking about
religious issues, the Dalai Lama said that the Tibetan people had deeply
held religious beliefs, and they were formerly made anxious by fallacious
rumors spread by some people that "the Communist Party and the people's
government will extinguish religion." However, he added, "the rumors that
aim to sow discord have all been exploded and the Tibetan people know from
our own experience that we have freedom of religious belief." He expressed
the desire to gradually build Tibet into a land of prosperity and
happiness under the leadership of the central people's government and with
the help of people of other ethnic groups. On September 20, the Dalai
Lama, the Bainqen Erdeni and the other Tibetan deputies, along with the
deputies from other ethnic groups, approved the Constitution of the
People's Republic of China by casting their ballots. At the session, the
Dalai Lama was elected a vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, and
Bainqen Erdeni a member of the NPC Standing Committee. In their capacity
as state leaders, they exercised their rights of participating in the
management of state affairs in accordance with the Constitution.
On April 22, 1956, the Dalai Lama became chairman of the Preparatory
Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. In his speech at the inaugural
meeting, the Dalai Lama said, "In 1951, I sent delegates to Beijing to
negotiate with delegates of the central people's government. On the basis
of fraternal unity, the Agreement of the Central People's Government and
the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of
Tibet was signed. Since then, the Tibetan people shook off forever the
fetters of imperialist enslavement and trammels and rejoined the large
national family. Like our sibling races throughout the country, the
Tibetan people fully enjoy all rights of national equality, and are
embarking on a bright road of freedom and happiness."
II. Origins of So-Called Ｖ１‘Tibetan
Independence'
For more than 700 years the
central government of China has continuously exercised sovereignty over
Tibet, and Tibet has never been an independent state. Now millions of
files in both Chinese and Tibetan recording historical facts over more
than seven centuries are being kept in the archives of Beijing, Nanjing
and Lhasa. No government of any country in the world has ever recognized
Tibet as an independent state. British Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne,
in a formal instruction he sent out in 1904, called Tibet "a province of
the Chinese Empire." In his speech at the Lok Sabba in 1954, Indian Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said, "Over the past several hundred years, as
far as I know, at no time has any foreign country denied China's
sovereignty over Tibet." The Dalai clique and overseas anti-China forces
used to claim that between the 1911 Revolution and the founding of the
People's Republic of China in 1949, Tibet became a country "exercising
full authority." Historical facts refute such a fallacy. The simple
reality that the installation of the 14th Dalai Lama needed the approval
of the national government is sufficient proof that Tibet did not possess
any independent power during that period. Therefore, the so-called
"Tibetan independence" which the Dalai clique and overseas anti-China
forces fervently propagate is nothing but a fiction of the imperialists
who committed aggression against China in modern history.
How Have Imperialists Instigated
Tibetan Independence?
There was no such word as
"independence" in the Tibetan vocabulary at the beginning of the 20th
century. After the British imperialists started the Opium War of
aggression against China in 1840, China was reduced from an independent
sovereign country to a semi-colonial country. Imperialist forces took
advantage of a weak Qing Dynasty and began plotting to carve up China,
Tibet included.
In order to bring Tibet into its sphere of influence, British
aggressors invaded China's Tibet twice in 1888 and 1903. The Tibetan army
and civilians rose to resist but were defeated. In the second aggressive
war against Tibet, the British army occupied Lhasa, and the 13th Dalai
Lama was forced to flee from the city. The invaders compelled the Tibetan
local government officials to sign the Lhasa Convention. But because the
Ministry of External Affairs of the Qing government believed the Lhasa
Convention would do damage to national sovereignty, the high commissioner
stationed in Tibet by the Qing government refused to sign it, leaving it
ineffectual.
After their failure to assume full control of Tibet through direct
military incursion, the imperialists changed their tack and began plotting
to separate Tibet from China. On August 31, 1907, Britain and Russia
signed the Convention Between Great Britain and Russia, which changed
China's sovereignty over Tibet into "suzerainty." This marked the first
time Chin's sovereignty over Tibet was altered into "suzerainty" in
international documents.
The year following the 1911 Revolution, Britain took advantage of the
political chaos in China after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the
new birth of the Republic of China, and put before the Chinese Ministry of
Foreign Affairs a five-point demand, indicating the denial of China's
sovereignty over Tibet. When the Chinese government rejected the British
demand, the British blocked all the roads leading from India to Tibet. In
1913 the British government inveigled the Tibetan authorities into
declaring independence and proposed that "Britain be the weaponry supplier
after total independence of Tibet;" "Tibet accept British envoys'
supervision of Tibetan financial and military affairs in return for
Britain's support of Tibetan independence;" "Britain be responsible for
resisting the army of the Republic of China when it reaches Tibet;" "Tibet
adopt an open policy and allow freedom of movement of the British." (Zhu
Xiu: 60-Year Chronology of Tibet) However, Britain's schemes failed.
In 1913, taking advantage of the fact that Yuan Shikai, who had usurped
the presidency of the Republic of China, was eager to get foreign
diplomatic recognition and international loans, the British government
forced the Beijing government to participate in a tripartite conference of
China, Britain and Tibet, namely the Simla Conference held at the behest
of the British government. Before the conference, Charles Bell political
officer sent to Sikkim by the British-Indian government, privately met
with Lon-chen Shatra, the representative of the Tibetan local government
to the conference. Bell trumpeted to Lon-chen Shatra that "suzerainty"
implied "independence." In his book Tibet: Past and Present, Bell wrote,
"When I met Lon-chen Shatra in Gyantse, I advised him to bring down all
the documents which he could collect bearing on the Tibetan relationship
to China in the past, and on the former's claims to the various provinces
and districts which had from time to time been occupied by China." Stirred
up by the British, the Tibetan representative raised the slogan of
"Tibetan independence" for the first time. He also claimed "Tibetan
territory includes Qinghai, Litang, Batang and Dajianlu." When these
demands were rejected by the representative of the Chinese government, the
British delegate introduced the pre-arranged "compromise" scheme, which
divided China's Tibetan-inhabited areas into "inner Tibet" and "outer
Tibet." "Inner Tibet," including Tibetan-inhabited areas in Qinghai,
Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, would be under the jurisdiction of
the Chinese government. With regard to "outer Tibet," including Tibet and
west Xikang, the Chinese government was requested to "recognize the
autonomy of outer Tibet" and "refrain from interfering in its internal
affairs;" "however, China may still send its high commissioner to Lhasa
and maintain an escort army of no more than 300 soldiers." The essence of
this "compromise" scheme was to change China's sovereignty over Tibet into
"suzerainty," and separate Tibet from the authority of the Chinese
government under the pretext of "autonomy." Naturally these unreasonable
demands were strongly opposed by the Chinese people. On July 3, 1914, the
Chinese government representative Chen Yifan upon instruction refused to
sign the Simla Convention. In his statement, Chen said, "Government of
China refuses to recognize any agreement which His Majesty's Government
and Tibet might conclude independently either now or in the future." The
Chinese government also sent a note to the British government, reiterating
its position. Therefore, the conference broke down.
In the summer of 1942, the Tibetan local government, with the support
of the British representative, suddenly announced the establishment of a
"foreign affairs bureau," and openly carried out "Tibetan independence"
activities. These actions, as soon as they were made public, were
condemned unanimously by the Chinese people. The national government also
issued a stern warning. Under this pressure, the Tibetan local government
had no choice but to withdraw its decision and reported the change to the
national government. At the "Asian Relations Conference" held in New Delhi
in March 1947, the British imperialists plotted behind the curtains to
invite Tibetan representatives and even identified Tibet as an independent
country on the map of Asia in the conference hall and in the array of
national flags. The organizers were forced to rectify this after the
Chinese delegation made serious protests.
Around the end of 1949, the American Lowell Thomas roamed Tibet in the
guise of a "radio commentator" to explore the "possibility of aid that
Washington could give Tibet." He wrote in a US newspaper: " The United
States is ready to recognize Tibet as an independent and free country." In
the first half of 1950, a load of American weaponry was shipped into Tibet
through Calcutta in order to help resist the PLA's entry into Tibet. On
November 1 of the same year, US Secretary of State Dean Acheson openly
slandered China's liberation of its own territory of Tibet as "invasion."
In the same month the United States prodded some other countries to
propose a motion at the United Nations for intervention in China's Tibet.
The scheme was unsuccessful in face of the stern stand of the Chinese
government and the opposition of some countries.
Historical facts over more than a century clearly demonstrate that
so-called "Tibetan independence" was, in reality, cooked up by old and new
imperialists out of their crave to wrest Tibet from China. The 14th Dalai
Lama in his early years pointed out, "It was the imperialists who, taking
advantage of the Tibetan people's antipathy to the Qing Dynasty and the
reactionary Kuomintang government, attempted by enticement, deception and
instigation to get the Tibetan people to separate from the motherland and
come under their oppression and enslavement."
How Does the 1959 Armed Rebellion
Occur?
Before peaceful liberation in 1951, Tibet
was under a feudal serfdom characterized by the dictatorship of
upper-class monks and nobles. The broad masses of serfs in Tibet eagerly
wanted to break the shackles of serfdom. After the peaceful liberation,
many enlightened people of the upper and middle classes also realized that
if the old system was not reformed, the Tibetan people would never attain
prosperity. In light of Tibetan history and the region's special
situation, the central people's government adopted a very circumspect
attitude toward the reform of the social system in Tibet. The 17-Article
Agreement stipulated that the central government would not use coercion to
implement such reform and that it was to be carried out by the Tibetan
local government on its own. During his visit to India in January 1957,
Premier Zhou Enlai of the State Council handed a letter from Chairman Mao
Zedong to the Dalai Lama and Bainqen Lama and the accompanying Tibetan
local government senior officials. The letter informed them of the
decision of the central authorities that reform would not be conducted
during the Second Five-Year Plan period (1958-62); whether reform should
be conducted after six years would still be decided by Tibet according to
its own situation and conditions then.
However, some members of the Tibetan ruling class were hostile to
reform and wanted to preserve the serfdom forever so as to maintain their
own vested interests. They deliberately violated and sabotaged the
17-Article Agreement and intensified their efforts to split the
motherland. Between March and April 1952, Sicab Lukangwa and Losang Zhaxi
of the Tibetan local government gave secret support to the illicit
organization "the people's conference" to oppose the 17-Article Agreement
and create disturbance in Lhasa, demanding that the PLA "pull out of
Tibet." In 1955, Galoin Surkang Wangqen Geleg of the Tibetan local
government and others secretly plotted an armed rebellion in the
Tibetan-inhabited area of Xikang Province. Rebellion broke out in that
area in 1956 and the rebels besieged the local government institutions and
massacred hundreds of government staff as well as common people. In May
1957, with the support of Galoins Neuxar Tubdain Tarba and Xainga Gyurme
Doje, a rebel organization named "four rivers and six ranges" and later
the rebel armed forces named "religion guards" were founded. They raised
the slogan of "Tibetan Independence" and "opposition to reform" and
further intensified their rebellious activities. The armed rebels harassed
Qamdo, Dengqen, Heihe and Shannan. They killed cadres, disrupted
communication lines, and attacked institutions and army troops stationed
there by the central authorities. They looted, cruelly persecuted people
and raped women. A merchant named Dongda Bazha in Nedong County was
captured together with his wife because he refused to take part in the
rebellion. The rebels tied up the couple and lashed them before killing
the husband and raping his wife. The then Tibetan local government
admitted that many Tibetan people lodged complaints against the rebels
with it. In August 1958 alone, there were more than 70 complaints.
The central people's government, in the spirit of national unity,
repeatedly urged the Tibetan local government to punish the rebels to
maintain public order. Meanwhile, it told the Galoins of the Tibetan local
government, "The central government will not change its decision on
postponing reform in Tibet and in the future, when the reform is
conducted, the policy to be followed will still be one of peaceful
reform." However, the reactionary clique of the upper social strata in
Tibet took the extreme forbearance of the central government as a sign of
weakness and easiness to bully. They declared, "For nine years, the Hans
have not dared to touch our most glorious and sacrosanct system. When we
attacked them, they could only parry our blows without being able to
strike back. So long as we transfer a large number of troops to Lhasa from
outside, the Hans will surely flee at the first blow. If they don't run
away, we will carry His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Shannan, and gather our
strength there to launch a counter-attack and seize back Lhasa. If all
these efforts fail, we can go to India."
The armed rebellion in Tibet was supported from the beginning by
foreign anti-China forces. In his book The United States, Tibet and China
American Norman C. Hall reveals that in 1957 the CIA culled six young men
from among Tibetans residing abroad and sent them to Guam of the United
States to receive training in map-reading, radio transmission, shooting
and parachuting. Subsequently, the United States trained 170 "Kamba
guerrillas" in batches in Hale Camp, Colorado. The trained "Kamba
guerrillas" were air-dropped or sneaked into Tibet to "launch an effective
resistance movement" to "oppose the Chinese occupation." An article
entitled The CIA Tibetan Conspiracy in the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern
Economic Review disclosed in its September 5 issue of 1975 that in May
1958, two agents trained by the Americans in the first batch brought a
transceiver to the headquarter set up by the rebel leader Anzhugcang
Goinbo Zhaxi in Shannan to make contact with the CIA. Before long, the
United States air-dropped arms and ammunition, including 20 sub-machine
guns, two mortars, 100 rifles, 600 hand-grenades, 600 artillery shells and
close to 40,000 bullets, to the rebels in the plateau called Chigu Lama
Thang. During the same period, the United States clandestinely shipped
large amounts of arms and ammunition overland to the rebels entrenched in
the Shannan area.
With the collusion of the Tibetan serf-owners bent on retaining serfdom
and the foreign anti-China forces, the rebellious activities soon became
rampant. The climax was the elaborately planned armed rebellion in Lhasa
on March 10, 1959.
On February 7, the Dalai Lama took the initiative and said to Deng
Shaodong, deputy commander of the Tibet Military Area Command, and other
officers, "I was told that after its return from studies in the
hinterland, the Song and Dance Ensemble under the Tibet Military Area
Command has a very good repetoire. I would like to see its show. Please
arrange it for me." Deng and the other officers expressed immediate
readiness and asked the Dalai Lama to fix the time and place for
performance. They also conveyed the Dalai Lama's wish to Surkang and other
Galoins of the Tibetan local government and Paglha Tubdain Weidain,
adjutant general of the Dalai Lama. On March 8, the Dalai Lama said he
would go to the performance in the Tibet Military Area Command Auditorium
at 3 pm on March 10. The Tibet Military Area Command carefully prepared
for the occasion. But on the evening of March 9, the Miboin (mayor) of
Lhasa provoked citizens by saying: tomorrow the Dalai Lama will go to the
Military Area Command for a banquet and a performance; the Hans have
prepared a plane to kidnap the Dalai Lama to Beijing; every household
should send people to Norbu Lingka, the residence of the Dalai Lama, to
petition him not to attend the performance in the Military Area Command.
The next morning, the rebels coerced more than 2,000 people to mass at
Norbu Lingka, spreading the rumor that "the Military Area Command is
planning to poison the Dalai Lama" and shouting slogans such as "Tibetan
Independence" and "Away with the Hans." The rebels hit and wounded Sampo
Cewang Rinzin, a former Galoin of the Tibetan local government and then a
deputy commander of the Tibet Military Area Command. They stoned to death
Kainqoin Pagbalha Soinam Gyamco, a progressive patriot and member of the
Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. His body was tied
to the tail of a horse and dragged through downtown as a warning.
Subsequently, the rebel leaders convened the so-called "people's congress"
and "people's conference of the independent state of Tibet," intensifying
their efforts to organize and expand armed rebellion. They brazenly tore
up the 17-Article Agreement and declared "the independence of Tibet,"
launching a full-scale armed rebellion against the motherland.
Although Norbu Lingka was controlled by the rebels and it was hard to
make contact with the Dalai Lama, acting representative of the central
government Tan Guansan managed to send three letters to the Dalai Lama on
March 10, 11 and 15 through patriots. In them, Tan expressed his
understanding of the Dalai Lama's situation as well as his concern for the
latter's safety. He pointed out that the rebels were making reckless
military provocations and demanded that the Tibetan local government
immediately work to stop them. The Dalai Lama penned three letters in
reply to Tan on March 11, 12 and 16. In his letters, the Dalai Lama wrote,
"Reactionary, evil elements are carrying out activities endangering me
under the pretext of ensuring my safety. I am taking measures to calm
things down." "The unlawful activities of the reactionary clique cause me
endless worry and sorrow.... As to the incidents of yesterday and the day
before, which were brought about under the pretext of ensuring my safety
and have seriously estranged relations between the central people's
government and the local government, I am making every possible effort to
deal with them." In the letter of March 16, he said that he had "educated"
and "severely criticized" officials of the Tibetan local government. He
also expressed the desire to still go to the Military Area Command a few
days later. All three letters of the Dalai Lama have been photographed by
reporters of the Xinhua News Agency and published, and are still well
preserved.
However, on the evening of March 17, Galoins Surkang, Neuxar and Xaisur
and other rebel leaders held the Dalai Lama under duress and carried him
away from Lhasa to Shannan, the "base" of the armed rebel forces. When the
armed rebellion failed, they fled to India.
After the Dalai Lama left Lhasa, about 7,000 rebels gathered to wage a
full-scale attack on the Party, government and army institutions before
dawn on March 20. The PLA, driven beyond its forbearance, launched under
orders a counterattack at 10 am the same day. With the support of
patriotic Tibetan monks and lay people, the PLA completely put down the
armed rebellion in Lhasa within two days. Before long, the PLA suppressed
the armed rebellion in Shannan, where the rebels had been entrenched for a
long time. Armed rebel forces who fled to other places were dissolved.
The PLA was highly disciplined in the course of quelling the rebellion
and this won the wholehearted support of Buddhist monks and laymen. They
took the initiative to help the PLA in putting down the rebellion. Various
self-defense, joint-defense, livestock protection and other forms of
joint-defense teams sprang up in various places to build roads, provide
transport, dispatch mail, serve as guides, boil tea, send water, stand
sentry and give first-aid to wounded PLA soldiers, effectively isolating
the rebels.
III.
The Dalai Clique's Separatist Activities and the Central Government's
Policy
How Does the Dalai Clique Carry Out
His Separatist Activities?
Starting from the point of
maintaining the unification of the motherland and national unity, the
central government adopted an attitude of patient waiting towards the
Dalai Lama after he fled abroad. His position as a vice-chairman of the
NPC Standing Committee was preserved until 1964. However, surrounded by
foreign anti-China forces and Tibetan separatists, the Dalai Lama
completely renounced the patriotic stand which he once expressed and
engaged in numerous activities to split the motherland.
-- Publicly advocating that "Tibet is an independent state." In June
1959, the Dalai Lama issued a statement in Mussoorie, India which read
"Tibet had actually been independent." In March 1991, during his visit to
Britain, the Dalai Lama told the press that Tibet "is the biggest occupied
country in the world today." He proclaimed on many occasions that "the
task of realizing the independence of Tibet has fallen upon all Tibetans
in and outside Tibet."
-- Setting up the "government in exile." In the early 1960s, the Dalai
clique convened the "people's congress of Tibet" in Dharamsala, India,
which established the so-called "Tibetan government in exile." A so-called
"constitution" was promulgated, which states that "the Dalai Lama is the
head of state," "the ministers shall be appointed by the Dalai Lama" and
"all work of the government shall not be approved without the consent of
the Dalai Lama." The 1991 revised "constitution" of the Dalai clique still
stipulates that the Dalai is "the head of the state." The Dalai Lama and
his so-called "government in exile" kept levying an "independence tax" on
Tibetans residing abroad, established "offices" in some countries,
published magazines and books advocating "Tibetan independence" and
engaged in political activities for "Tibetan independence."
-- Reorganizing the armed rebel forces. In September 1960, the Dalai
clique re-organized the "religion guards of the four rivers and six
ranges" in Mustang, Nepal, which carried on military harassment activities
along the Chinese border for ten years. Its first commander-in-chief
Anzhugcang Goinbo Zhaxi wrote in his memoirs Four Rivers and Six Ranges
that "a series of attacks were organized on Chinese outposts" and
"sometimes, 100 or 200 Tibetan guerrillas went as far as 100 miles into
the area occupied by the Chinese." The Dalai Lama wrote articles praising
Goinbo Zhaxi.
-- Spreading rumors and calumnies and plotting riots. Ignoring facts,
the Dalai Lama fabricated numerous lies to sow dissension among the
various nationalities and incite the Tibetan people to oppose the central
government during his 30-year self-exile abroad. He said that "the
17-Article Agreement was imposed on Tibet under armed force"; "the Hans
have massacred 1.2 million Tibetans"; "owing to Han immigration, the
Tibetans have become a minority in Tibet"; "the Communists in Tibet force
women to practice birth control and abortion"; the government opposes
religious freedom and persecutes religious people; traditional Tibetan
culture and art are in danger of extinction; the natural resources in
Tibet have been seriously depleted; there is severe environmental
pollution in Tibet, etc. The riots in Lhasa from September 1987 to March
1989 were incited by the Dalai clique and plotted by rebels who were sent
back to Tibet. The riots incurred severe losses to the lives and property
of Tibetans.
The Dalai's words and deeds have showed that he is no longer only a
religious leader as he claims. On the contrary, he has become the
political leader engaged in long-term divisive activities abroad.
'Tibetan Indepedence' Brooks No Discussion
The central government
has adopted a consistent policy towards the Dalai Lama. It urges him to
renounce separatism and return to the stand of patriotism and unity.
On December 28, 1978, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said to AP
correspondents that "the Dalai Lama may return, but only as a Chinese
citizen"; "we have but one demand -- patriotism. And we say that anyone is
welcome, whether he embraces patriotism early or late." This indicates the
central government's attitude of welcoming the Dalai Lama back to the
motherland.
The Dalai Lama sent representatives to Beijing to contact the central
government on February 28, 1979. On March 12, Deng Xiaoping met the Dalai
Lama's representatives and said to them, "The Dalai Lama is welcome to
come back. He can go out again after his return." With regard to the
central government's negotiation with the side of the Dalai Lama, Deng
pointed out, "Now, whether the dialogue to discuss and settle problems
will be between the central government and Tibet as a state or Tibet as a
part of China? This is a practical question." "Essentially Tibet is a part
of China. This is the criterion for judging right or wrong."
The central government did everything possible to
persuade the Dalai Lama and his followers, through negotiations, to give
up their separatism and return to the motherland. The central government
leaders have since 1980 met a number of delegations sent back by the Dalai
Lama and reiterated on many occasions the central government's policy
towards the Dalai Lama.
To satisfy the desire of both local and overseas
Tibetans for visits and contacts, the central government has formulated
and practiced the policy of free movement in and out of the country. It
has also made clear that all patriots belong to one big family, whether
they rally to the common cause now or later, and bygones can be bygones.
From August 1979 to September 1980, central government departments
concerned received three visiting delegations and two groups of relatives
sent by the Dalai Lama. Most of the Dalai Lama's kin residing abroad have
made return visits to China. Since 1979, Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited
areas have received some 8,000 overseas Tibetans who came to visit
relatives or for sightseeing, and helped settle nearly 2,000 Tibetan
compatriots.
Regretfully, the Dalai Lama did not draw on the
good will of the central government. Instead, he further intensified his
separatist activities. At a meeting of the Human Rights Subcommittee of
the US Congress held in September 1987, the Dalai Lama put forward a
"five-point proposal" regarding the so-called status of Tibet. He
continued to advocate "Tibetan Independence," and instigate and plot a
number of riots in Lhasa. In June 1988, the Dalai Lama raised a so-called
"Strasbourg proposal" for the solution of the Tibet issue. On the premise
that Tibet "had always been" an independent state, the proposal
interpreted the issue of a regional national autonomy within a country as
a relationship between a suzerain and a vassal state, and between a
protector and a protected state, thus denying China's sovereignty over
Tibet and advocating the independence of Tibet in a disguised way. The
central government naturally rejected the proposal, because it was a
conspiracy the imperialists once hatched in order to carve up China. The
Chinese government solemnly declared, "China's sovereignty over Tibet
brooks no denial. Of Tibet there could be no independence, nor
semi-independence, nor independence in disguise."
Nevertheless, the central government still hopes
that the Dalai Lama would rein in at the brink of the precipice and change
his mind. In early 1989, the 10th Bainqen Lama passed away. Taking into
account the historical religious ties between various generations of the
Dalai Lama and the Bainqen Lama as teacher and student, the Buddhist
Association of China, with the approval of the central government, invited
the Dalai Lama to come back to attend the Bainqen Lama's memorial
ceremonies. President Zhao Puchu of the association handed a letter of
invitation to a personal representative of the Dalai Lama, providing the
Dalai Lama with a good opportunity to meet with people in the Buddhist
circles in China after 30 years of exile. But the Dalai Lama rejected the
invitation.
As 1989 witnessed a new international anti-China
wave, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Norway, with clearly political
motives, awarded the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama, giving its
strong support to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan separatists. Since then,
the Dalai Lama has travelled the world, advocating Tibet's separation from
China.
The Dalai Lama simultaneously intensified his
efforts to incite and plot riots in Tibet. On January 19, 1990, he said
over the BBC: If the Beijing government fails to hold talks with him on
his plan of Tibet's autonomy within a year, he will have to change his
stand of compromise with China; many young Tibetans stand for the use of
force. On April 4, 1991, the Dalai Lama said in the Tibetan language
program of the Voice of America, "All matters shall be further
strengthened for Tibet's independence." Again on October 10 the same year,
he tried instigation in a similar program, "At present, so large a number
of Hans are pouring into Tibet that many young Tibetans cannot find jobs.
This adds a further element of instability in the Tibetan society.
Therefore, new riots are quite possible."
It is because the Dalai Lama sticks to his
position of "Tibetan independence" and continues his efforts to split the
motherland in and outside China that contacts between the central
government and the representatives of the Dalai Lama have yielded no
results.
In an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters
on May 19, 1991, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Tibet's peaceful
liberation, Premier Li Peng of the State Council of the People's Republic
of China pointed out, "The central government's policy towards the Dalai
Lama has been consistent and remains unchanged. We have only one
fundamental principle, namely, Tibet is an inalienable part of China. On
this fundamental issue there is no room for haggling. The central
government has always expressed its willingness to have contact with the
Dalai Lama, but he must stop activities to split the motherland and change
his position for 'Tibetan independence.' All matters except 'Tibetan
independence' can be discussed."
The central government is willing to contact and
negotiate with the Dalai Lama; the door remains open. The central
government's policy towards the Dalai Lama is also clear. To be
responsible for the history, the Chinese nation and its 1.1 billion
people, including the Tibetan people, the central government will make not
the slightest concession on the fundamental issue of maintaining the
motherland's unification. Any activity attempting to realize "Tibetan
independence" and split the motherland by relying on foreign forces is an
ignominious move betraying the motherland and the whole Chinese nation
including the Tibetan nationality. The central government resolutely
denounces this kind of action and will never allow it to succeed. The
central government will continue to implement a series of special policies
and preferential measures to promote the construction and development of
Tibet so as to enhance national unity, construct a prosperous economy,
enrich culture and improve the people's livelihood. Any activity
sabotaging stability and unity in Tibet and any unlawful deed creating
disturbance and inciting riots runs against the basic interests of the
Tibetan people and will be cracked down on relentlessly.
So long as the Dalai Lama can give up his divisive
stand and admit that Tibet is an inalienable part of China, the central
government is willing to hold talks at any time with him. The Dalai Lama
is warmly welcome to return to the embrace of the motherland at an early
date and do some work that is conducive to maintaining the motherland's
unification, the national unity, as well as the affluent and happy lives
of the Tibetan people.
Part Two
IV. Feudal Serfdom in Old
Tibet
Before the
Democratic Reform of 1959 Tibet had long been a society of feudal serfdom
under the despotic religion-political rule of lamas and nobles, a society
which was darker and more cruel than the European serfdom of the Middle
Ages. Tibet's serf-owners were principally the three major estate-holders:
local administrative officials, nobles and upper-ranking lamas in
monasteries. Although they accounted for less than 5 percent of Tibet's
population, they owned all of Tibet's farmland, pastures, forests,
mountains and rivers as well as most livestock. Statistics released in the
early years of the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century indicate that Tibet
then had more than 3 million ke of farmland (15 ke equal to 1 hectare), of
which 30.9 percent was owned by officials, 29.6 percent by nobles, and
39.5 percent by monasteries and upper-ranking lamas. Before the 1959
Democratic Reform, Tibet had 197 hereditary noble families and 25 big
noble families, with the biggest numbering seven to eight, each holding
dozens of manors and tens of thousand of ke of land.
Serfs made up 90 percent of old Tibet's
population. They were called tralpa in Tibetan (namely people who tilled
plots of land assigned to them and had to provide corvee labor for the
serf-owners) and duiqoin (small households with chimneys emitting smoke).
They had no land or personal freedom, and the survival of each of them
depended on an estate-holder's manor. In addition, nangzan who comprised 5
percent of the population were hereditary household slaves, deprived of
any means of production and personal freedom.
Serf-owners literally possessed the living bodies
of their serfs. Since serfs were at their disposal as their private
property, they could trade and transfer them, present them as gifts, make
them mortgages for a debt and exchange them. According to historical
records, in 1943 the aristocrat Chengmoim Norbu Wanggyai sold 100 serfs to
a monk official at Garzhol Kamsa, in Zhigoin area, at the cost of 60 liang
of Tibetan silver (about four silver dollars) per serf. He also sent 400
serfs to the Gundelin Monastery as mortgage for a debt of 3,000 pin
Tibetan silver (about 10,000 silver dollars). Serf-owners had a firm grip
on the birth, death and marriage of serfs. Male and female serfs not
belonging to the same owner had to pay "redemption fees" before they could
marry. In some cases, an exchange was made with a man swapped for man and
a woman for woman. In other cases, after a couple wedded, the ownership of
both husband and wife remained unchanged, but their sons would belong to
the husband's owner and their daughters to the wife's owner. Children of
serfs were registered the moment they were born, setting their life-long
fate as serfs.
Serf-owners ruthlessly exploited serfs through
corvee and usury. The corvee tax system of old Tibet was very cruel.
Permanent corvee tax was registered and there were also temporary
additional corvee taxes. Incomplete statistics indicate the existence of
more than 200 categories of corvee taxes levied by the Gaxag (Tibetan
local government). The corvee assigned by Gaxag and manorial lords
accounted for over 50 percent of the labor of serf households, and could
go as high as 70-80 percent. According to a survey conducted before the
Democratic Reform, the Darongqang Manor owned by Regent Dagzhag of the
14th Dalai Lama had a total of 1,445 ke of land, and 81 able-bodied and
semi-able-bodied serfs. They were assigned a total of 21,260 corvee days
for the whole year, the equivalent of an entire year's labor by 67.3
people. In effect, 83 percent of the serfs had to do corvee for one full
year.
The serfs engaged in hard labor year in and year
out and yet had no guaranteed food or clothing. Often they had to rely on
money borrowed at usury to keep body and soul together. The annual
interest rate for usurious loans was very high, while that for money
borrowed from monasteries was 30 percent, and for grain 20 or 25 percent.
Monetary loans from nobles exacted a 20 percent interest, while that for
grain amounted to 20 or 25 percent.
Gaxag had several money-lending institutions, and
the Dalai Lama of various generations had two organizations specialized in
lending money. Incomplete records in the account books of the two
cash-lending bodies of the Dalai Lama in 1950 show that they had lent out
about 3.0385 million liang of Tibetan silver in usurious loans.
Snowballing interest of usurious loans created
debts which could never be repaid by even succeeding generations and debts
involving a guarantor resulted in the bankruptcy of both the debtor and
the guarantor. The grandfather of a serf named Cering Goinbo of
Maizhokunggar County once borrowed 50 ke of grain (1 ke equal to 14 kg)
from the Sera Monastery. In 77 years the three generations had paid more
than 3,000 ke of grain for the interest but the serf-owner still claimed
that Cering Goinbo owed him 100,000 ke of grain. There was another serf
named Dainzin in Donggar County who in 1941 borrowed one ke of qingke
barley from his master. In 1951 when he was asked to repay 600 ke, he was
forced to flee, his wife was driven to death and his seven-year-old son
was taken away to repay the debt by labor.
In order to safeguard the interests of
serf-owners, Tibetan local rulers formulated a series of laws. The
13-Article Code and 16-Article Code, which were enforced for several
hundred years in old Tibet, divided people into three classes and nine
ranks. They clearly stipulated that people were unequal in legal status.
The codes stipulated, "It is forbidden to quarrel with a worthy, sage,
noble and descendant of the ruler"; "persons of the lower rank who attack
those of the upper rank, and a junior official who quarrels with a senior
official commit a serious crime and so should be detained"; "anyone who
resists a master's control should be arrested"; "a commoner who offends an
official should be arrested"; "anyone who voices grievances at the palace,
behaving disgracefully, should be arrested and whipped." The standards for
measuring punishment and the methods for dealing with people of different
classes and ranks who violated the same criminal law were quite different.
In the law concerning the penalty for murder, it was written, "As people
are divided into different classes and ranks, the value of a life
correspondingly differs." The lives of people of the highest rank of the
upper class, such as a prince or leading Living Buddha, are calculated in
gold to the same weight as the dead body. The lives of people of the
lowest rank of the lower class, such as women, butchers, hunters and
craftsmen, are worth a straw rope. In the law concerning compensation for
injury, it was stipulated that a servant who injures his master should
have his hands or feet chopped off; a master who injures a servant is only
responsible for the medical treatment for the wound, with no other
compensation required.
Making use of written or common law, the
serf-owners set up penitentiaries or private jails. Local governments had
law courts and prisons, as had large monasteries. Estate-holders could
build private prisons on their own manor ground. Punishments were
extremely savage and cruel, and included gouging out the eyes; cutting off
ears, hands and feet; pulling out tendons; and throwing people into water.
In the Gandan Monastery, one of the largest in Tibet, there were many
handcuffs, fetters, clubs and other cruel instruments of torture used for
gouging out eyes and ripping out tendons. Many materials and photos
showing limbs of serfs mutilated by serf-owners in those years are kept in
the hall housing the Tibetan Social and Historical Relics Exhibition in
the Beijing Cultural Palace of Nationalities.
Under the centuries-long feudal serfdom, the
Tibetan serfs were politically oppressed, economically exploited and
frequently persecuted. A saying circulated among serfs, "All a serf can
carry away is his own shadow, and all he can leave behind is his
footprints." Old Tibet can be said to have been one of the world's regions
witnessing the most serious violations of human rights.
Despite the cruel rule of the feudal serfdom,
Tibetan laboring people never ceased their resistance struggles. They
strove for their personal rights by making petitions, fleeing, resisting
rent and corvee and even waging armed struggle. However, they were
subjected to ruthless suppression by the three big estate-holders. The law
of old Tibet stated, "All civilians who rebel all commit felonies." In
such incidences not only the rebel himself would be killed, but his family
property would be confiscated and his wife be made a slave. The 5th Dalai
Lama once issued the order, "Commoners of Lhari Ziba listen to my order:
.... I have authorized Lhari Ziba to chop off your hands and feet, gouge
out your eyes, and beat and kill you if you again attempt to look for
freedom and comfort." This order was reiterated on many occasions by his
successors in power.
V. The
People Gain Personal Freedom
The central people's government
and the local government of Tibet signed in 1951 the 17-Article Agreement
on measures for the peaceful liberation of Tibet, and Tibet was peacefully
liberated. This brought hope to the Tibetan people in their struggle for
equal personal rights. After the quelling of the armed rebellion in 1959,
the central people's government, in compliance with the wishes of the
Tibetan people, conducted the Democratic Reform in Tibet and abolished the
extremely decadent and dark feudal serfdom. The million serfs and slaves
were emancipated. They were no longer regarded as the personal property of
serf-owners who could use them for transactions, transfer, mortgage for a
debt or exchange or exact their toil. From that time on they gained the
right to personal freedom. This was a great, epoch-making change in
Tibetan history.
Now old Tibet's codes have been abrogated.
Citizens are no longer divided into three classes and nine ranks. All
sorts of barbarous punishments are prohibited and privately established
prisons have all been dismantled. New China's Constitution and laws
guarantee that every Tibetan enjoys the right to subsistence and personal
safety.
The Democratic Reform abolished the ownership of
the means of production by serf-owners. The farmland originally occupied
by those serf-owners involved in the armed rebellion was distributed free
to landless serfs and slaves. In Kesong Manor, Nedong County in Shannan
Prefecture, 443 peasants were given 1,696 ke of land. When the title deeds
for land and debt contracts were thrown into the fire, the former serfs
danced around the blaze. The 75-year-old Soinam said, "I used to till the
land of my master, and I belonged to him day and night. When asked to do
corvee at midnight, I dared not wait till dawn the next day. Now I have
received land. I feel I can sleep well and have a good appetite. I really
want to live several years longer so that I can see the happy future." A
policy of redemption was introduced with regard to the land and other
means of production of serf-owners who did not participate in the
rebellion. The 900,000 ke of land and over 820,000 head of livestock of
the 1,300 serf-owners and their agents, who did not participate in the
rebellion, were redeemed by the state at a cost topping 45 million yuan.
The Tibetan laboring people no longer suffer from
the heavy corvee taxes and usurious exploitation by the serf-owners. The
fruits of their labor all belong to themselves, and the enthusiasm of the
Tibetan people for production became unprecedentedly high. The region's
grain output in 1960 increased by 12.6 percent over 1959 and the number of
livestock by 10 percent. The Tibetan people began to enjoy the right to
subsistence, along with adequate food and clothing.
VI. The People Enjoy Political Rights
Under the political
system combining religion with politics and despotic rule by feudal
estate-holders in old Tibet, the Dalai Lama was one of the leaders of the
Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and also head of the Tibetan local
government. He held both political and religious power. The official
system of the former Tibetan local government was a dual one of monk and
lay officials. In the administrative organs, there were both monk and lay
officials, with the former higher than the latter in rank. But there were
monk officials in some organizations. Monasteries enjoyed special
jurisdiction in handling political affairs. Abbots of the three major
monasteries (Gandan, Sera and Zhaibung) and the four large ones
(Gundeling, Dangyailing, Cemoinling and Cejoiling) participated in all
"enlarged meetings of officials" to discuss important events. Resolutions
adopted at the meetings became effective only when they bore the stamps of
the local government and the three major monasteries.
The Democratic Reform in 1959 put an end to the
political system of combining religious with political rule and introduced
the new political system of people's democracy. Under the Constitution of
the People's Republic of China, the Tibetan people, like the people of
various nationalities throughout the country, have become masters of the
country and enjoy full political rights provided for by the law.
Citizens of the Tibet Autonomous Region who have
reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and to stand for election,
regardless of their ethnic status, race, sex, occupation, family
background, religious belief, education, property status, or length of
residence. They can directly vote for deputies to the people's congresses
of counties, districts, townships and towns. These deputies can in turn
elect deputies to the national, autonomous regional and municipal people's
congresses. The people exercise the power of managing the state and local
affairs through the people's congresses at all levels. The political
enthusiasm of the Tibetan people is high because they have obtained the
right to be masters of their own affairs. They have actively exercised
their rights. Statistics of Lhasa, Nagqu, Xigaze, Nyingchi and Shannan on
the elections for deputies to the Fifth People's Congress of the Tibet
Autonomous Region in 1988 show that 93.88 percent of the people there
voted. To enable illiterates to participate, beans were used in place of
ballots in many places. Voters placed beans in the bowls behind the back
of the candidates of their choice. Those with the most beans went into
office. Currently, deputies of the local ethnic minorities, with Tibetans
as the main force, account for over 95 percent of the total local deputies
to the people's congresses at the district and county levels and the
figure is over 82 percent for those to the People's Congress of the Tibet
Autonomous Region. Most of the current chairmen of the Standing Committees
of the people's congresses of the 75 counties (cities and districts) in
the autonomous region used to be serfs or slaves in old Tibet.
The Tibetan Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was set up in Tibet in 1959 to
ensure that people of all social strata and of all walks of life can fully
voice their opinions and play their roles in social and political life.
The CPPCC, an organization of the broadest patriotic united front under
the leadership of the Communist Party of China, is an important political
organization conducting political consultation, implementing mutual
supervision and developing socialist democracy. Its role has been brought
into full play in Tibet. The CPPCC Tibetan Committee has drawn on the
participation of the people of all social strata from Tibetan and other
ethnic groups. Many of them were patriotic monk and secular officials of
the former local government of Tibet and upper-class religious figures.
They include Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai, the Great Living Buddha of Qamdo
Prefecture, who is now vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and
vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the
Tibet Autonomous Region; and Lhalu Cewang Doje, a former Tibetan noble man
and a Galoin of the Tibetan local government, who is currently
vice-chairman of the CPPCC Tibetan Committee. Through the political
consultative conferences, these people have participated in the discussion
and management of state affairs and helped the government in making
decisions. Their motions raised at past conferences have involved ethnic
groups, religion, culture and education, science and technology, public
health, agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, urban and rural
construction and environmental protection. They have played an important
role in safeguarding the unification of the motherland, strengthening
national unity, opposing national separation, inheriting and developing
traditional national culture, speeding up development of Tibetan economy,
and promoting reform and opening up.
Tibet practices regional national autonomy in
accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In
March 1955, the central government decided to set up the Preparatory
Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. In September 1965, the First
Session of the First People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region was
held in Lhasa and the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region was
officially announced. Most deputies of the tibetan nationality to the
congress were emancipated serfs and slaves, as well as patriots from the
upper strata and religious figures. At the congress, Ngapoi Nagwang Jigme
was elected chairman of the People's Committee of the Tibet Autonomous
Region. Having smashed the yoke of the feudal serfdom, the broad masses of
serfs and slaves obtained political and national equal rights.
The Law of the People's Republic of China
Governing Regional National Autonomy stipulates, "People's congresses in
the areas of national autonomy have the right to formulate regulations on
the exercise of autonomy or specific regulations in accordance with the
political, economic and cultural characteristics of the local
nationalities." In accordance with the rights bestowed by the Law
Governing Regional National Autonomy, the People's Congress of the Tibet
Autonomous Region has since 1965 formulated more than 60 local rules and
regulations, decrees, decisions and resolutions, involving political,
economic, cultural and educational aspects, which conform to the reality
of Tibet and maintain the interests of Tibetan people. They include the
Rules of Procedures of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous
Region, the Procedures on Formulating Local Laws and Regulations for the
Tibet Autonomous Region, the Measures for the Management of Mining by
Collective Mining Enterprises and Individuals in the Tibet Autonomous
Region, the Resolutions on Study, Use and Development of the Tibetan
Language in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Regulations of the Tibet
Autonomous Region on the Protection and Management of Cultural Relics, and
the Accommodation Rules for the Implementation of the Marriage Law of the
People's Republic of China. The formulation and implementation of these
local rules and regulations have furnished an important legal guarantee to
the realization of democratic rights for the Tibetan people and to the
development of local social, economic and cultural undertakings.
To enable the Tibetan people to better perform the
right to manage state and local affairs, the central government has
attached great weight to the training of cadres of Tibetan nationality.
Currently, there are 37,000 cadres of Tibetan nationality in the Tibet
Autonomous Region. All the main leading posts in the people's congresses,
governments and people's political consultative conferences at various
levels are filled by Tibetans. Cadres of Tibetan nationality account for
66.6 percent of the total in Tibet, 71.7 percent at the regional level and
74.8 percent at the county level. Tibetan women were in the lowest echelon
of society in old Tibet. Today, many of them hold leading posts,
accounting for upwards of 30 percent of the cadres in the autonomous
region in 1986. At present, five have become cadres at the regional level,
38 at the prefectural level and 232 at the county level. Most Tibetan
cadres are emancipated serfs and slaves. There are also some patriots from
the upper class. Appropriate arrangements have also been made even for
those serf-owners and their agents who participated in the rebellion,
giving them the chance to contribute to the state and people if they
renounce their reactionary stand and possess real skills.
In judicial activities, in addition to enjoying
equal legal rights with the people in other parts of the country, the
Tibetan people have also been granted special rights stipulated in the Law
of the People's Republic of China Governing Regional National Autonomy.
The People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region stipulates, "People's
courts and procuratorates at various levels must guarantee the right of
Tibetan citizens to use their own national language to enter a lawsuit. In
cases involving the Tibetans, Tibetan language should be used in doing
procuratorial work and hearing cases, and legal documents should be
written in the Tibetan language." At present, the main officials of the
procuratorates and courts at all levels in Tibet are Tibetan citizens.
VII. Economic Development and Improvement of Living
Standards
The feudal
serfdom in old Tibet seriously handicapped the development of the social
productive forces. The economy in Tibet was in a state of extreme
backwardness for a long time. Wooden ploughs were the basic tools for
agricultural production and yaks were employed for threshing. Slash and
burn cultivation and the burning of grass to fertilize land were still
customs retained in a few localities. In 1952, each mu of land (15 mu
equal to 1 hectare) could only produce 80 kg of grain on the average and
the per-capita share of grain came to 125 kg. Livestock breeding hinged on
climatic conditions and frequent natural calamities often caused the
deaths of large numbers of animals. In 1952, the region had only 9.74
million head of livestock. The handicrafts industry was also extremely
backward and modern industry was nonexistent in old Tibet. Dangerous and
difficult roads made it hard to travel in the region. The transport of
goods and the delivery of mail had to depend on human and animal power.
There were no bridges on the Yarlung Zangbo River that dissects Tibet,
except for a few chain constructions left over from the Ming Dynasty.
Since there were no highways in Tibet, the car given to the Dalai Lama by
the British had to be dismantled and carried to Lhasa by draught animals.
Tibet was also backward in regard to sources of energy. In 1950, on the
eve of Tibet's peaceful liberation, there was only one 125-kw hydropower
station in the region, which supplied electricity only intermittently. The
backward economy and the cruel exploitation by the serf-owners kept the
people in dire poverty and misery. As far as Lhasa, the capital of Tibet,
was concerned, there were only 20,000 residents in the city proper before
the Democratic Reform in 1959, and close to 1,000 tattered tents thrown
together for the poor and beggars could be seen on the outskirts of the
city. Prison authorities offered no food to the convicts, and "prisoners"
in handcuffs and wooden cangues begged in the streets. And the pathetic
remains of those homeless people who died of frost and hunger could be
spotted anywhere in the city.
The Democratic Reform has greatly fired the
enthusiasm of farmers and herdsmen for production. In the past four
decades, particularly since the reform and opening up of the last ten
years and more, earth-shaking changes have taken place in Tibet. With the
support of the central government and people throughout the country, the
Tibetan people have developed production, alleviated poverty and built up
family fortunes.
The development of agriculture and animal
husbandry has been given top priority in the Tibetan economy. During the
early stage of the Democratic Reform, the central government and the
Tibetan local government formulated a series of policies and principles
for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry which were
compatible with the local conditions. Financial and material support was
also provided. As a result, Tibet's production levels of agriculture and
animal husbandry increased greatly. Total grain output rose from 180
million kg in 1959 to 315 million kg in 1966, registering an average
growth rate of 8.3 percent a year. Cattle soared from 9.556 million head
in 1959 to 18.175 million head, a rise of 90.2 percent. The living
standards of the people took the first step towards improvement.
Since 1980, the government has imposed no levies
on farmers and herdsmen, with both agricultural and livestock taxes
exempted. In 1984, in addition to continuing the practice of interest
exemption for agricultural and livestock loans, the government annulled
repayment of pre-1980 collective loans used for the building of water
conservancy projects and purchasing machinery for agriculture and animal
husbandry. Agricultural and pastoral areas have introduced various forms
of contracted production responsibility systems on a household basis,
developed household sideline occupations, restored open markets and
conducted large-scale capital construction of farmland and grassland.
Before the liberation of Tibet, there was no farm machinery or chemical
fertilizer in Tibet. Nowadays, farming households own tractors. Scientific
farming and breeding of cattle has become highly valued and welcomed.
Introduction of modern tools for production and the application of science
and technology have boosted overall production. In 1991, the total output
value of agriculture reached 2.046 billion yuan in Tibet, 4.4 times higher
than in 1952. Grain output came to 580 million kg and the average per-mu
yield was 224 kg, showing rises of 3.7 times and 2.8 times respectively
over 1952. Although the 1991 population of Tibet was almost double that in
1952, the per-capita share of grain in 1991 came to 290.5 kg, or an
increase of 2.2 times that of 1952. The output of animal by-products rose
by a substantial margin. In 1991, the total meat output stood at 91,000
tons and the total output of milk reached 177,000 tons.
Modern industry started after the Democratic
Reform of Tibet. In 1965, 80 industrial enterprises were established in
Tibet. Employing close to 10,000 workers, they covered the building,
power, motor vehicle repair, lumber, tanning, borax and coal industries.
The total industrial output value reached 28.83 million yuan that year.
The government has paid close attention to the development of the national
handicrafts. In 1965, it had widened to encompass 33 trades and its total
annual output value rose from 1.24 million yuan before the Democratic
Reform to 8.9 million yuan, showing a 7.2-fold rise. Tibet was short of
petroleum and coal, and energy supply was inadequate in the past. To
change the situation, a power station was built in Lhasa in 1956. It was
the first public power enterprise in Tibet. Tibet is rich in geothermal
resources and the state invested in building a geothermal power station in
Yangbajain with the biggest generating capacity in China. In 1991, the
installed power generating capacity of Tibet reached 140,000 kw and the
annual output of generated electricity came to 400 million kwh. After 40
years of construction, Tibet boasts a dozen or so modern industries such
as power, mining, building materials, lumber, wool textile, printing and
food. Employees of state-owned enterprises total 51,000. In 1991, the
total industrial output value came to 403 million yuan, a rise of 5.3
times that of 1959. The output value of the handicrafts stood at 46
million yuan.
Tibet had no regular highways in the past. After
the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the first large-scale construction
project was to build highways from Sichuan and Qinghai to Lhasa on the
high mountain ridges with an average elevation of 3,000 meters. The
Sichuan-Tibet Highway is 2,413 km long and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway 2,122
km long. Since then, the Xinjiang-Tibet, Yunnan-Tibet and China-Nepal
highways have been built one after another. Currently, there are 15
arterial highways and 315 feeder roads, with a total length of 21,842 km,
throughout Tibet. Except for Medog County which is located deep in the
mountains, highways provide access to all the counties and 77 percent of
the townships in Tibet. A highway network, with Lhasa at the center,
consisting mainly of the Qinghai-Tibet, Sichuan-Tibet, Yunnan-Tibet and
China-Nepal highways, has taken shape. In order to solve Tibet's fuel
supply problem, the state allocated funds to build a refined oil
transmission pipeline from Golmud in Qinghai Province to Lhasa. This
1,080-km-long pipeline has played an important role in guaranteeing energy
supplies for Tibet in its economic construction. To meet Tibet's need to
open to the outside world, since the start of an air route from Lhasa to
Beijing in 1956, domestic airlines have offered services from Lhasa to
Chengdu, Xian, Lanzhou, Shanghai and Guangzhou. International air links
have been inaugurated between Lhasa and Kathmandu, Nepal.
Modern science and technology did not exist in old
Tibet. The period since the Democratic Reform has seen the establishment
of agricultural, animal husbandry, communications, power, construction,
geological, water conservancy, meteorological, public health,
pharmaceutical and educational research institutions in Tibet. They have
trained Tibetan scientific and technical personnel. The Academy of Social
Sciences of the Tibet Autonomous Region was set up in 1985. Currently,
Tibet has 17 special scientific research institutions with 26,900
technical personnel. Over the past 40 years, 347 scientific and
technological achievements have been awarded prizes at the autonomous
regional level. Of these, 21 scientific research achievements such as "the
comprehensive development and utilization of solar energy resources in
Tibet" have been honored by state prizes.
The snowy peaks, famous monasteries and relics of
historical interest on the Tibetan Plateau have attracted many adventurers
and tourists from other countries. In opening up, Tibet's tourism industry
has gradually flourished. At present, Tibet has 11 travel agencies and 19
tourist hotels and guesthouses with 3,600 beds for foreign guests. The
autonomous region has opened over 60 scenic spots to the public. Between
1980 and 1991, Tibet received 150,900 overseas tourists.
Due to efforts made in the past 40-odd years the
living standards of the Tibetan people have improved markedly. Most
farmers and herdsmen have adequate food and clothing and some have
attained relative affluence. In 1991, the average net income of farmers
and herdsmen in the region was 455 yuan. Allowing for price increases, the
figure was 2.6 times higher than the 159 yuan of 1979. In the Zholgyur
Village, Yadong County at the foot of the Himalayas, the annual income of
the 75 households was 361,600 yuan in 1986 and 74 households have built
new dwellings. The per-capita income of residents in cities and towns is
2,120 yuan a year, 3.3 times higher than in 1981. By the end of 1991,
savings deposits of city and township residents totalled 492.4 million
yuan, over 500 times more than in 1959. Farmers and herdsmen have obtained
considerable amount of means of production. Each household owns 6,021 yuan
worth of fixed assets for production purposes and 75 head of cattle. For
every 100 households, there are nine motor vehicles, six tractors, three
power-driven threshers, and 12 horse-drawn carts. The average per-capita
material consumption of farmers and herdsmen has increased enormously
compared with the period before the liberation of Tibet. In 1991, the
per-capita consumption of grain was 183.6 kg. Other figures were 3.6 kg
for edible oil, 14.7 kg for meat and 50 kg for milk. While retaining their
traditional diet, Tibetans have expanded it to also include more
vegetables, eggs, wine, sweets and pastries. The living conditions of the
people have improved markedly. According to statistics produced by the
local government of old Tibet, of a population of 1 million in Tibet in
1950, some 900,000 lacked real housing. Currently, except for the pastoral
areas, all households have fixed housing. In 1991, the per-capita floor
space of city and township residents reached 13.7 square meters. In
Gyangze County of Xigaze Prefecture, which has a population of 56,700,
over 80 percent have moved into new dwellings, with a per-capita floor
space of 40 square meters. The traditional way of life of the Tibetan
people has been somewhat modernized. A sample survey shows that for every
100 urban households, there are 212 bicycles, 88 color televisions, 84
radio cassette recorders, 42 washing machines, 24 refrigerators and 26
cameras. The construction of various cultural facilities has increasingly
enriched the ethical outlook and cultural life of Tibetan people.
Due to Tibet's extremely harsh natural conditions
and its extremely backward social development in history, the level of
economic development and the living standards of the people are still
lower than the nation's average. In 1989, the government of Tibet
Autonomous Region formulated the Strategic Ideas for the Economic and
Social Development of Tibet. It has implemented the policy of opening up
to the rest part of China and the outside world as well; exploring the
regional, domestic and foreign markets; developing advantageous resources
and stepping up development of key areas and key industries. The goal is
to narrow as soon as possible the gap in economic development between
Tibet and other areas of the nation in order to lay a solid foundation for
the common prosperity of Tibetan and other ethnic groups.
VIII. Freedom of Religious Belief
The majority of Tibetans
believe in Tibetan Buddhism. There are also about 2,000 Muslims and 600
Catholics in the autonomous region.
Respect for and protection of freedom of religious
belief is a basic policy of the Chinese government. After the peaceful
liberation of Tibet, organizations at all levels in Tibet earnestly
carried out the policy, gaining the appreciation of both monks and lay
people. Protected by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China
and state laws, the Tibetan people now enjoy full freedom to participate
in normal religious activities. Almost every religious family has a small
sutra recitation hall or a niche for a Buddhist statue. More than 1
million worshipers make the pilgrimage to Lhasa each year. Sutra streamers
and Mani stone mounds put up by devout believers can be seen everywhere in
Tibet. Inside and outside famous monasteries such as the Jokhang are
crowds of worshipers either prostrating in prayer, turning their prayer
wheels or bowing to Buddhist statues.
During the period of the "cultural revolution"
(1966-76), however, in Tibet as in other parts of China, the policy on
freedom of religious belief was disrupted, and sites and facilities for
religious activities were seriously damaged. After the "cultural
revolution" ended, the policy on freedom of religious belief began to be
implemented again in Tibet in an all-round way. Since 1980, unjust, false
and wrong cases have been redressed in Tibet and religious institutions
have been reinstated or established, and a great deal of work has been
done to ensure freedom of religious belief for all citizens. Over the past
decade and more, the Chinese government has appropriated more than 200
million yuan in special funds to implement the religious policy in Tibet.
The funds were used to renovate the Jokhang Monastery built in the 7th
century, the Samye Monastery built by the king of the Tubo Kingdom in the
8th century, and the four famous monasteries of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan
Buddhism -- Zhaibung, Sera, Gandan and Tashilhunpo. For the renovation of
the Potala Palace alone, the central government allotted a lump sum of
more than 40 million yuan. In 1984, the central government provided 6.7
million yuan in special funds, 111 kg of gold, 2,000 kg of silver and
large quantities of jewelry for the renovation, under the direction of the
late 10th Bainqen Lama, of the holy stupas and the memorial halls for the
5th to the 9th Bainqen Lamas. To date, more than 1,400 religious centers
have been renovated and opened to the public, meeting the needs of the
religious people for their normal religious life. The government has also
exerted every effort to locate those Buddhist statues, instruments used in
Buddhist services and other religious articles that got lost during the
"cultural revolution" and distributed them to the various monasteries and
temples, to the welcome of monks and lay people.
In recent years, various religious organizations
have organized religious activities on their own. The Tibet branch of the
Buddhist Association of China established the Tibet College of Buddhism in
1983 and opened sutra studying classes in some monasteries and temples of
various religious sects. There are a total of 3,000 monk students. Every
year, a number of Living Buddhas and lamas are sent to the China Tibetan
Language High Institute of Buddhism in Beijing for advanced studies. In
1984, the autonomous region's people's government presented the Lhasa
edition of the Gangyur of Tripitaka in Tibetan, which used to be kept in
local archives, to the Tibet Buddhist Association. It offered 500,000 yuan
to the latter for the establishment of the Lhasa Sutra Printing House
which, in recent years, has printed more than 1,000 volumes of the Gangyur
of Tripitaka in Tibetan for Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples
located both inside and outside the autonomous region. In 1990, with
another 500,000 yuan proffered by the government, the Tibet Buddhist
Association started the carving of printing blocks for the Lhasa edition
of the Dangyur of Tripitaka in Tibetan in Lhasa's Muru Monastery. The 13th
Dalai Lama had intended to commission the work, but the plan never
materialized. The journal Tibetan Buddhism was launched by the Tibet
Buddhist Association in 1985. Today, the region has more than 34,000 lamas
and nuns. A total of 615 people from religious circles have become
deputies to the people's congresses and members of the people's political
consultative conferences at various levels, as well as directors of the
Buddhist associations and government officials. They participate in the
management and discussion of government affairs and devote themselves to
Tibet's construction undertakings together with other local citizens.
The government respects and protects traditional
religious activities and the rites of the various sects. According to the
rituals of Tibetan Buddhism and historical traditions, after a Living
Buddha passes away his position should be inherited by his incarnation
through traditional methods. On June 25, 1992, the central government
confirmed the incarnate soul boy of the 16th Living Buddha Garmaba.
Government department officials attend such religious activities as the
annual Grand Summons Ceremony in Lhasa, the pilgrimage to Snow Mountain in
the Year of the Horse, the pilgrimage to the Holy Lake of Nam Co in the
Year of the Sheep and the Walking-Around-Religious-Rock Festival at the
Razheng Monastery, and offer alms each time. Wedding and funeral customs
with religious links also receive full regard.
Thanks to the earnest implementation of the policy
on freedom of religious belief, different religions, sects, monasteries,
and both religious and secular people in Tibet respect one another and
live in harmony. China's Constitution also clearly stipulates that no one
may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public
order, impair the health of citizens and hamper the country's educational
system. Those who carry out law-breaking and conduct criminal activities
under the guise of religion will be prosecuted according to law. In recent
years, some monks and nuns in Tibet received legal retribution because
they infringed on the law. They were involved in riots that endangered
social security and disrupted public order, engaged in beating, smashing,
looting, burning and killing and carried out other criminal activities.
None was arrested and declared guilty because of religious belief.
Buddhist organizations and religious circles in
Tibet have actively carried out friendly exchanges with their counterparts
abroad. Since China introduced reform and opening up, the Tibet branch of
the Buddhist Association of China and some monasteries and temples have
organized religious groups to go on friendly tours, visits, inspections
and academic exchanges abroad. They have also hosted more than 10,000
people from several dozen countries who came, either in groups or
individually, on pilgrimage, or for sightseeing or inspection tours.
Since the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951,
many noted religious figures have worked in co-operation with the Chinese
Communist Party and the government, and participated in the management and
discussion of government affairs. They have played an active part in the
construction of the country and Tibet, earning the admiration of the
people and winning the respect of the government. For several decades, the
late 10th Bainqen Erdeni Qoigyi Gyaincan, co-leader of Tibetan Buddhism
with the Dalai Lama, constantly adhered to a patriotic stand and made
great contributions to the peaceful liberation of Tibet, to the struggle
against separatism, to the safeguarding of the unification of the
motherland and to the strengthening of the unity of various ethnic groups.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as a
vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and the honorary president of
the Buddhist Association of China. He passed away in January 1989. The
government decided to build a holy stupa and memorial hall for the remains
of the 10th Bainqen Erdeni Qoigyi Gyaincan in the Tashilhunpo Monastery in
Xigaze, and hold memorial ceremonies, preserve his body and look for and
choose the reincarnated soul boy to succeed him according to Tibetan
Buddhist tradition. Currently, structures of the holy stupa and the
memorial hall are basically completed, and the search for the child is
proceeding smoothly under the charge of Living Buddha Qazha Qamba Chilai
of the Tashilhunpo Monastery.
IX.
Development of Education and Culture
Education in old Tibet was very backward. There were
no schools in the modern sense. Before Tibet's peaceful liberation, only
some 2,000 monks and children of the nobility studied in government and
private schools. The masses of serfs and slaves had no right to receive
education.
Under the stipulation of the 17-Article Agreement
concerning the gradual development of the spoken and written Tibetan
language and school education, the Lhasa Primary School was founded in
1952 and the Lhasa Middle School established in 1956. this enabled Tibet
to embark on the road to modern education.
To develop education in Tibet, the government has
invested more than 1.1 billion yuan and introduced a series of special
policies over the past 40 years. Education is free. All the study costs of
Tibetan students, from primary school to university, are covered by the
government. Since 1985, free food, clothing and accommodation have been
provided for some Tibetan primary and middle school students, and boarding
schools have been introduced in the vast rural and pastoral areas. The
principle of "giving priority to local nationalities" has been carried out
in recruiting students for various kinds of schools at different levels.
Priority is given to candidates of Tibetan and other local nationalities
in the recruitment of university, college and secondary vocational school
students. Efforts are being made to establish more departments and schools
of Tibetan culture covering Tibetan language, medicine, art and history.
Over the past four decades and more, Tibet has
basically established an educational system with both special local flavor
and national characteristics which includes pre-school, primary and middle
school, secondary vocational and technical school education, plus higher
education, and adult and television education. Urban residents, farmers
and herdsmen now enjoy the right to receive education. According to
statistics, by 1991, Tibet had established four modern universities (Tibet
University, the Institute for Nationalities, the Agriculture and Animal
Husbandry College and the Tibetan Medical College); 15 secondary
vocational and technical schools involved in teacher training, agriculture
and animal husbandry, public health, Tibetan medicine, finances, sports,
art, and post and telecommunications; 63 middle schools and 2,474 primary
schools. The total enrollment hit 196,000, with most being Tibetan
students. Of the 16,000 faculty members, two-thirds were Tibetan teachers.
The buildings of primary and secondary schools and institutes of higher
learning covered nearly 1.5 million square meters, and audio-visual
teaching had become an important means of instruction. In the last four
decades and more in Tibet, 18,000 students graduated from universities and
colleges; 510,000 from primary and secondary schools, including more than
40,000 from secondary vocational schools, senior middle schools and
secondary technical schools; more than 15,000 cadres were trained in
rotation; and nearly 7,000 people received certificates from secondary
vocational and college-level self-study programs. A large number of
professionals for all undertakings have thus been trained.
The development of education in Tibet has enhanced
the cultural level of citizens, creating conditions for the Tibetan people
to better exercise their right of regional autonomy as an ethnic minority
and attain overall development. However, since the foundations of
education in old Tibet were very weak and the population sparsely
scattered, illiterates and semi-illiterates still make up a considerable
proportion in Tibet's population, although they are now in the minority
rather than in the majority, as they were in the past. Further development
of education remains a strenuous and pressing task in Tibet.
Tibet has a rich traditional culture which covers
language, literature, art, philosophy, religion, medicine and the
celestial almanac. The Chinese government has always attached importance
to protecting and developing the excellent traditional culture of the
Tibetan ethnic group. It has adopted a series of policies and measures to
honor, protect and ensure the flourishing of Tibet's traditional culture,
enabling the legacy of Tibetan culture to be inherited and developed.
The Tibetan language is the common language for
the whole autonomous region. In July 1987, the autonomous regional
People's Congress adopted the Regulations on Study, Use and Development of
the Tibetan Language in the Tibet Autonomous Region (for trial
implementation), which clearly stipulates that both Tibetan and Chinese
languages should be used in the Tibet Autonomous Region while first place
is given to the Tibetan language. Today, all the resolutions, regulations
and rules, the decrees adopted by the People's Congress of the Tibet
Autonomous Region and all the formal documents and notices issued by the
autonomous regional people's government are in both Tibetan and Chinese.
Newspapers, radio and television stations also use both languages. Of the
books edited and published in the autonomous region, those in the Tibetan
language make up 70 percent. Speakers of different languages are treated
equally in the recruitment of workers, cadres and students, with priority
always given to Tibetan speakers. Tibetan is used in large meetings
attended by the masses. All work units, streets, roads and public
facilities are marked in both Tibetan and Chinese script. The Tibetan
language is the main subject of all schools at different levels.
The Tibetan people's traditional customs and
practices have received wide respect. In the cities, towns and
agricultural and pastoral areas in Tibet, most Tibetans still retain their
traditional clothing, diet and housing. Each year, the Tibetan people
celebrate the Tibetan New Year, the Sour Milk Drinking Festival, the
Butter Lamp Festival, the Bathing Festival, the Ongkor (Bumper Harvest)
Festival and the Damar Festival in their time-honored ways. The government
has introduced preferential policies to encourage the production of
necessities for minority nationalities.
Cultural relics in Tibet are put under full
protection. The Potala Palace, the Jokhang Monastery and some other
monasteries and temples have become national or regional key cultural
preservation centers. Since the mid-1970s, systematic plateau
archeological studies have been carried out and several dozen cultural
sites of the Stone Age excavated. All the unearthed cultural relics are
carefully kept by the regional cultural relics management department, and
these discoveries provide valuable materials for the study of primitive
and traditional Tibetan culture.
The traditional cultural heritage of Tibetans has
been systematically investigated, collected, collated, published and
studied. The tibetan Ancient Books Publishing House has collected more
than 200 rare ancient books in Tibetan and collated and published a number
of them. The Tibet People's Publishing House has pooled efforts to collate
and publish a number of classics and booklets of historical archives. By
the end of 1990, more than 1 million copies of 200 ancient Tibetan books
had been distributed. Tibetan classics, which only existed in hand-written
and engraved forms and were neglected for several hundred years, now, for
the first time, have been printed in copies with exquisite binding.
Marked achievements have also been made in the
collection and collation of Tibetan folk literature, drama, music and
choreography. More than 20 writings and books on Tibetan folk culture have
been published. King Gesar, the world's longest epic created by the
Tibetan people, existed only in oral memory among the Tibetan people and
was performed using dialogue and singing. Today, the retrieval, collation
and study of this epic has been included in the state's key social science
research projects, and a special institution has been founded to take
charge of the project. Up to now, more than 3,000 cassette tapes recording
the epic have been made, and 62 volumes in the Tibetan language published
with a total circulation exceeding 3 million copies. The 600,000-word
History of Chinese Dramas: Tibetan Volume has been compiled, filling in a
blank in theoretical writings and monographic studies on drama in Tibetan
history. Materials are being garnered on the basis of surveys for the
compilation of books about Tibetan dance, folk rhymes, music in Tibetan
opera and folk art, instrumental music, folk art history, folk songs,
folklore and proverbs.
Tibetology is a comprehensive branch of learning
which embraces a
