China and Tibet Land Rights

Written by Natalie C. & Victor A.

‘Map showing Tibet as an autonomous region of China’

I. KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Tibet is considered an autonomy of Chinese sovereignty.
China uses natural resources in Tibet for financial purposes and has secured its border with India using Tibetan land.

The Tibetans wish to reach a peaceful genuine autonomy under China.
To compromise, China will keep its secure border in Tibet, but the Tibet population will be relocated back into their land.
A new democratic Tibetan government will be formed and China will receive 60% of their economic income yearly.

II. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Being the country with the highest elevation in the world, Tibet is known as the "roof of the world" It is a mainly Buddhist and peaceful country which is considered an autonomous region of China, meaning they are free to have their own government, but is ruled by China. The relationship between China and Tibet started in 822 AD, when a peace treaty was signed that recognized the border between the two countries. This treaty continued, but was broken by China in 1910, when the Qing Dynasty of China invaded Tibet and stationed its troops in the country. The 13th Dalai Lama fled to India. This was a short lived occupation of the country by China, which ended when the Republic of China came into being in 1912. The Qing soldiers in Tibet surrendered to the Tibetans and in 1913 Tibet gained complete control of their territory from the British and the Chinese. There was a period of de facto (unchallenged) independence until 1950. For the first time in 37 years, China enforced its claim on Tibet, forming an autonomous region and incorporating some Tibetan territories into China itself. In the same year, the 14th Dalai Lama came into power at the age of 15. In 1951, Tibetans are forced to sign a treaty, known as the "Seventeen Point Agreement", professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion, but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa. This caused massive unrest amongst the Tibetans. By 1954, 220,000 Chinese military personals were stationed in Tibet, which resulted in a famine because the huge presence stretched the country's delicate subsistence agricultural system beyond its capacity. This furthermore displeased the Tibetans, whose lives were being more and more affected by China. In 1956, Tibetan guerrilla forces attacked and inflicted heavy casualties were inflicted on the Chinese Military in Tibet. In 1959, the Tibetans revolted against the Chinese presence in Lhasa, the People’s Liberation Army crushed the revolt killing thousands of civilians. The 14th Dalai Lama along with the rest of the Tibetan government fled to India, where they were provided refuge in mountains of Dharmsala. From that time on, Tibet has constantly been under Chinese sovereignty and occupied by the Chinese military. In 2008, Britain recognized China’s rule over Tibet, for the first time.

III. China’s Viewpoint

The Chinese rule has lifted Tibet from a period of feudal oppression, created economic opportunities, development of Tibet's infrastructure and instilled a level of 'civilization' into the Tibetans themselves. "Tibet was placed under the sovereignty of China" when the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) expelled Nepal from Tibet in c. 1793. Though, it is true Tibet was independent from c. 1912 to 1950, it had extremely limited international recognition. Chinese governments have recognized Tibet as having its own unique culture and language; however, they believe that this situation does not necessarily argue in favor of its independence, because China has over 56 unique ethnic groups and is one of many multi-national states in the world. Asking why the Chinese would want to control Tibet is like asking an American why they want to control Alaska. Why does the Republic of India insist on hanging onto Kashmir, refusing a plebiscite. What happened in 1949-50 was a reunification of China, not a occupation or colonisation of Tibet. No official body recognised TIbet as an independent state, then or since. China represents the tibetan people, while the 14th Dalai Lama only wants to reinstall the old ways of feudal regime in Tibet. To the accusations of non-sustainable mining and logging, China would say that how it uses its land is its decision. To challenge this would be challenging China’s sovereignty itself which will be considered a foreign aggression.

China’s non-negotiables-

No Tibetan freedom
No return of the Dalai Lama
Chinese military presence in Tibet for security against India

IV. Tibet’s Viewpoint

We, as the people of Tibet, are not asking to regain our independence, but to simply reach a genuine autonomy. We would like to once again rule our own people. As Tibetans have become a minority in Tibet because of the mass invasion of citizens from the People’s Republic of China, we would like to welcome all people back and rehabilitate Tibetan refugees in neighboring regions. We are demanding the restoration of our freedom and for peace and happiness. We will not stand for the repression and torture held in and out of prisons. We want to reintroduce the Tibetan population. As Dalai Lama said, “For those of us in exile, I said that our priority must be resettlement and the continuity of our cultural traditions. As to the future, I stated my belief that, with truth, justice and courage as our weapons, we Tibetans would eventually prevail in regaining freedom for Tibet.” As mentioned before, we are not asking for sovereignty. The preservation of our culture is important as our Buddhist religion, traditions, and language are rare and unique to this world. This unfortunately cannot happen if the Chinese continue to destroy the rich culture. The Chinese also have plans for dam projects, which will affect not only Tibet, but 47% of the entire world’s water supply. Our fragile ecosystem cannot handle the logging, mining, and large population increase for too much longer. Wind and monsoon patterns will continue to damage the environment more and more with the deforestation and increase of people. His Holiness, along with the people, advocates for a non-violent compromise to the issue. We have accepted Tibet as an autonomy under Chinese sovereignty. We can be trusted not to fight back as we are peaceful peoples.

Tibet’s non-negotiables

Reach a genuine autonomy (not sovereignty)
reintroduction of Tibetan population
regain peace and happiness/ end violence

V. Possible Solutions/Compromises:

To compromise the issue between Tibet and China, the following are possible solutions keeping in mind both party’s non-negotiables. It is believed that the following settlement is impartial to each of the countries. To begin with, the Chinese military will stay in Tibet. However, after three years of surveillance, they must relocate to the Indian/Chinese border to secure the southern flank. After this period, all violence from Chinese officials in Tibet will not be tolerated. This has been decided to reassure Tibet’s loyalty towards the Chinese government and to keep China’s control of the area significant. The Tibetan Government in Exile will be discontinued and a democratic government for Tibet under as an autonomy of China will be established so that the tibetan people have can achieve their long sought genuine autonomy. Only 100,000 administrative Tibetan personnels will be allowed to be employed by the new government, yet again for assuring China Tibet’s loyalty. Nonetheless, The 14th Dalai Lama will not hold a position in this new government. A Chinese observer will represent and be present in all meetings of the government. The Tibetan government will not have contact with other countries without the monitoring and authorization from China. All these implication are in place to make it clear that china retains significant control of Tibet. An immigration and tourism office in this new government will be initiated so that the Tibetan can have control of the migrants . The Tibetan people from neighboring countries will be relocated back into Tibet, with the exception of the Dalai Lama, including the rehabilitation of Tibetan refugees in neighboring regions. The Tibetan government will take back control of all natural resources, such as mining and logging, to fulfill their goal of having a sustainable living. On the other hand, the Chinese economy will receive 60% of all Tibetan economic revenue with a minimum of $3 billion yearly, to safeguard china’s monetary interests in Tibet.

VI. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Strengths: China is only losing total control of Tibetan government. China is retaining its economic revenue and defensive military on southern border of Tibet. There will be no need for Chinese to work in Tibet. Tibet is gaining an autonomy and peace.

Weaknesses: Dalai Lama is not welcome back. China will still have considerable control over Tibet. Tibet will have a restricted economy.

Opportunities: The relationship between China and Tibet will benefit because Tibet will have gained power through peace and China will still retain sovereignty.

Threats: There is a possibility that China will invade and colonize Tibet.

Works Cited:

"Birth to Exile." His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The Office of His Holiness the

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Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Tibetan_Administration>.

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<http://www.srcf.ucam.org/freetibet/situation>.

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<http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/tibet-china-conflict-history-and-polemics>.

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<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16689779>.

"Tibet Profile." BBC News. BBC, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-17046222>.

"Tibetan Government in Exile | Central Tibetan Administration | Dalai Lama|Dharamsala |

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