Difference between revisions of "Tibet"

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According to the website of the non-governmental organization Save Tibet, the Tibetan people are denied most rights guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the rights to self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression, and travel.<ref>[http://www.savetibet.org/tibet/humanrights/index.php International Campaign for Tibet: Tibet: Human Rights in Tibet]</ref> Beijing's line is that human rights are China's internal affair.<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/12/content_7570631.htm Tibet our internal affair, US told]</ref><ref>[http://en.rian.ru/world/20091010/156422879.html Beijing warns U.S. lawmakers to stay out of China's internal affairs]</ref><ref>[http://www.uhrp.org/articles/2885/1/Just-how-far-can-internal-affairs-be-stretched-/index.html Just how far can 'internal affairs' be stretched?]: "Ever since the 1950s, China has subscribed to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, which was first written into a treaty that it signed with India in 1954. Since then, China has continued to loudly uphold this principle and to criticise those who, in Beijing's view, interfere in its internal affairs, ''including commenting on its human rights record.''"</ref>
 
According to the website of the non-governmental organization Save Tibet, the Tibetan people are denied most rights guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the rights to self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression, and travel.<ref>[http://www.savetibet.org/tibet/humanrights/index.php International Campaign for Tibet: Tibet: Human Rights in Tibet]</ref> Beijing's line is that human rights are China's internal affair.<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/12/content_7570631.htm Tibet our internal affair, US told]</ref><ref>[http://en.rian.ru/world/20091010/156422879.html Beijing warns U.S. lawmakers to stay out of China's internal affairs]</ref><ref>[http://www.uhrp.org/articles/2885/1/Just-how-far-can-internal-affairs-be-stretched-/index.html Just how far can 'internal affairs' be stretched?]: "Ever since the 1950s, China has subscribed to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, which was first written into a treaty that it signed with India in 1954. Since then, China has continued to loudly uphold this principle and to criticise those who, in Beijing's view, interfere in its internal affairs, ''including commenting on its human rights record.''"</ref>
  
Some people defend the Chinese occupiers by pointing out that under occupation, the quality of life for the average Tibetan has greatly improved in comparison to the time of the feudal, theocratic government of the Lamas, when the abovementioned human rights (with the possible exception of self-determination) were also denied, often to a much greater degree. But while this is certainly a valid criticism of the old feudal government, using it to excuse the Chinese abuses is an example of the ''[[tu quoque]]'' fallacy. Lhadon Tethong, of Students for a Free Tibet, compares this defense of the occupation with the arguments used in favor of 19th-century European colonial endeavors:
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Other people point out that under Chinese occupation, the quality of life for the average Tibetan has greatly improved in comparison to the time of the feudal, theocratic government of the Lamas, when the abovementioned human rights were also denied. While this is certainly a valid criticism of the old feudal government, using it to excuse the Chinese abuses is an example of the ''[[tu quoque]]'' fallacy, which, of course, the international celebrity "His Holiness" Tenzin Gyatso, would never be accused of.
 
 
{{cquote|The crucial subtext of Beijing's condemnation of Tibet's "feudal" past is a classic colonialist argument that the target's alleged backwardness serves as a justification for invasion and occupation. These are the politics of the colonist, in which the "native" is dehumanized, robbed of agency, and debased in order to make occupation more palatable or even necessary and "civilizing." China has no more right to occupy a "backward" Tibet than Britain had to carry the "white man's burden" in India or Hong Kong.<ref>http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=422</ref>}}
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==

Revision as of 19:17, 11 September 2010

Tibet is an occupied country in a mountainous region between India and China. At the time of its invasion by troops of the People's Liberation Army of China in 1949, Tibet was an independent state in fact and law. Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of cultural Tibet.

Occupation

Immediately after the communist party took power in China in 1949 it began asserting its claim that Tibet was part of Chinese territory and its people were crying out for "liberation" from "imperialist forces" and from the "reactionary feudal regime in Lhasa". One of the first things that Chairman Mao did when he came to power was send his troops to annex Tibet. Tibet did not have a large or well-equipped army. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) defeated the Tibetan army in a battle at Chamdo on October 7, 1950. This attack marked the beginning of Beijing’s campaign to integrate Tibet into People's Republic of China. This operation is called a peaceful liberation of Tibet by the PRC government[1][2] as the Seventeen Point Agreement was signed by delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama and PRC government affirming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. It is called an invasion by the Central Tibetan Administration (the Government of Tibet in Exile) [3], the US Congress[4], military analysts including Jane's,[5][6] media sources and NGOs such as the International Commission of Jurists[7] and the Center for World Indigenous Studies[8][9][10][11] as the defeated Tibet had little choice but to sign the agreement.

Recently, unrest in Tibet has become more vocal and obvious. There were riots in Lhasa during the 2008 Olympics, instigated (according to the Chinese) by the Dalai Lama. In reality, it was the 49th anniversary of the invasion, and the Tibetans knew the eye of the world was on China anyway.

Human rights

According to the website of the non-governmental organization Save Tibet, the Tibetan people are denied most rights guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the rights to self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression, and travel.[12] Beijing's line is that human rights are China's internal affair.[13][14][15]

Other people point out that under Chinese occupation, the quality of life for the average Tibetan has greatly improved in comparison to the time of the feudal, theocratic government of the Lamas, when the abovementioned human rights were also denied. While this is certainly a valid criticism of the old feudal government, using it to excuse the Chinese abuses is an example of the tu quoque fallacy, which, of course, the international celebrity "His Holiness" Tenzin Gyatso, would never be accused of.

References

  1. Peaceful Liberation of Tibet
  2. 50 Years In Tibet
  3. The Status of Tibet
  4. US Congressional Concurrent Resolution dated May 21, 1991, "To express the sense of the Congress that Tibet, including those areas incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai that have historically been a part of Tibet is an occupied country under established principles of international law" ... "Whereas in 1949-50, China launched an armed invasion of Tibet in contravention of international law..."
  5. Jane's 'Intelligence Review', 001122: 'China invaded the country in 1959 and has since been accused of bloody tactics to reduce the indigenous population and ensure it is outnumbered by the Chinese.'
  6. Reborn supremacy: China's control of Tibetan reincarnation, 21 January 2008: 'Since invading the then-independent Tibet in 1950, Beijing has ensured tight military and political control over the strategically important area.'
  7. International Commission of Jurists, June 5, 1959, "In 1950 China assured India that China had no intention of incorporating Tibet into China by force or otherwise and was willing to negotiate with Tibet regarding the future relationship of Tibet with China. But a few weeks later the invasion of Tibet took place..."
  8. Missions to Tibet, University of Texas, Dallas, May 29, 2006: "When Communist China invaded Tibet in August 1950...."
  9. Global Security: "On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was formally proclaimed in Beijing and the following year launched an armed invasion of Tibet..."
  10. Tibet's Sovereignty and the Tibetan People's Right to Self-Determination, June 1, 1998
  11. Richter, Conrad. "Tibetan Response to China's White on Tibet." Center for World Indigenous Studies, Olympia, WA, 1999
  12. International Campaign for Tibet: Tibet: Human Rights in Tibet
  13. Tibet our internal affair, US told
  14. Beijing warns U.S. lawmakers to stay out of China's internal affairs
  15. Just how far can 'internal affairs' be stretched?: "Ever since the 1950s, China has subscribed to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, which was first written into a treaty that it signed with India in 1954. Since then, China has continued to loudly uphold this principle and to criticise those who, in Beijing's view, interfere in its internal affairs, including commenting on its human rights record."