As part of the 70th anniversary of its founding on October 1, the \nPeople\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) is touting \u201c70 years of progress\u201d in \nTibet. However, the truth is that it has been 70 years of subjugation \nand oppression for the Tibetan people, and after all that, China still \nlacks legitimacy in its rule over Tibet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the provisional constitution called the Common Program of the \nChinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference adopted in September \n1949 and the subsequent Constitution of PRC boast of providing \ncommunities like the Tibetans the freedom to preserve or reform their \nown ways and customs, use and develop their own spoken and written \nlanguages. The Common Program even committed \u201cto preserve or reform \ntheir traditions, customs and religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the establishment of PRC, Beijing announced its intention \nto takeover Tibet. Subsequently, in 1951, it forced the Tibetan side to \nsign the 17-Point Agreement that established a new framework of \nTibetan-Chinese relationship. Despite its controversial signing, the \nagreement did specify that the then Tibetan government\u2019s decision-making\n over religion, language and political institutions would remain intact \nin exchange for its acceptance of Chinese sovereignty. Nevertheless, \nChina itself violated this agreement in subsequent years culminating in \nthe Tibetan National Uprising in March 1959, and the Dalai Lama was \nforced to seek refuge in India in 1959.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as March 10, 1961, the Dalai Lama said in a statement on the second anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day, \u201cThe Communists are today forcing what they call reforms down the throats of our people. I have given careful consideration to these so-called reforms and I have come to the conclusion that at the end of the reforms the Tibetan people will be reduced to the state of mental and economic serfdom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the conditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people have become as predicted in 1961 by the Dalai Lama. Destruction has been unleashed on Tibet\u2019s monastic and cultural institutes and environment. The Tibetan people\u2019s traditions, culture and religion have been destroyed, and their human rights are consistently violated. Since China\u2019s invasion and occupation of Tibet began, successive Chinese leaders have failed to understand and address the underlying grievances of the Tibetan people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If China really wants to show maturity and become a responsible member of the international community, it should have the courage to address the political problems in Tibet and respond positively to the Dalai Lama\u2019s offer for a mutually beneficial negotiated settlement through the Middle Way Approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the mid-1970s, the Dalai Lama has been promoting this approach,\n which takes into consideration the interests of both Tibetans and \nChinese, and calling for a resolution of the Tibetan issue within the \nframework of the PRC. Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping had said in 1979 that\n other than the independence of Tibet, any other issue could be \ndiscussed and resolved. In addition, during the short periods of \ndialogue between Tibetan and Chinese officials over the past four \ndecades, the Tibetan side even presented a Memorandum on Genuine \nAutonomy for the Tibetan People. However, Chinese leaders are not \nsticking to the commitment made by Deng and have rejected the Tibetan \nproposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The International Campaign for Tibet\u2019s message to the PRC on its 70th\n anniversary is this: The Dalai Lama is the solution and not the problem\n for Tibet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As part of the 70th anniversary of its founding on October 1, the People\u2019s Republic of China is touting \u201c70 years of progress\u201d in Tibet. However, the truth is that it has been 70 years of subjugation and oppression for the Tibetan people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12336,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categorie":[691],"news_tag":[],"class_list":["post-12335","nieuws","type-nieuws","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n