It seems that the Dalai Lama is in the news again. Tibet has long been a politically sensitive area ever since Mao’s People’s Republic of China asserted its authority over the region half a century ago. Most Westerners take for granted Tibet’s status as an oppressed pariah state unfairly subjugated by a stronger neighbour; however this is an overly simplistic view. Before anyone supports any cause, it is important to take into consideration both sides of the argument.
Tibet was never an independent sovereign nation in the sense that the concept is understood today. It was part of the Mongol Empire, and later became part of China in the 1700s. During China’s difficult warlord period and weakness to colonial empires, Tibet and several other parts of China experienced self-control as a result of the lack of central government’s ability – there was a civil war on, after all. Coupled with the Japanese invasion in the second World War and a civil war between Mao’s communist and Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalists, China was unable to exercise authority over its own internal areas during this period. No other nations recognized its sovreignty, however. Today China argues that it is the sovereign authority of these areas and they do have some justification for this.
It is also important to keep in mind as well that Tibet is not treated by China the same was as its eastern Han ethnic provinces. It is a special area under the Chinese government and many of its laws such as the infamous One Child Policy do not apply to minorities, such as the Tibetans.
Do these preconditions dispossess Tibet of a right to seek independence? Of course not. China is still an authoritarian/totalitarian government that has denied Tibet the right to express its free will, as well as forced its religious leader out of the country while trying to set up its own. However as the Dalai Llama recognizes, independence is not necessarily a right of the Tibet people nor is it neccessarily even the best course to take. Instead, he is trying to take a middle of the ground approach that can allow Tibet to have some independence while taking advantage of the Chinese state apparatus.
Tibet is definitely a difficult issue which unfortunately has not been fairly anaylzed by most on both sides of the issue. China and Tibet both have strong arguments behind their cases which need to be taken into consideration by supporters on either side. Too often ‘Free Tibet’ is a cause that Westerners blindly jump into as part of an youth angst movement with few thoughts into the implications or reasons of that cause.
Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
