Tibet

Background

Tibet is a mountainous region to the west of China and north of Nepal and India. With an average elevation of 4,900m it is the highest region on earth. Rich in minerals, the source of most of Asia’s major rivers, comprising vast tracts of productive rangelands and strategically wedged between the two giants of Asia – India and China – Tibet is an area of immense environmental, economic and political significance. It is the home of approximately six million indigenous Tibetan people and is well known for its distinctive Buddhist culture.

The long and complex history of Tibet has seen periods of both independence and foreign rule. Unified in the seventh century, Tibet was later largely subsumed into the powerful Mongol Empire (thirteenth century), brought under Manchu-ruled China (eighteenth century) and subject to a brief invasion by British India (1903) before re-asserting independence in 1913.

The contemporary situation has its origins in 1950 and the beginning of ongoing efforts to integrate Tibet into the People’s Republic of China. Soon after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949), in October 1950 the People’s Liberation Army entered Tibet. In May 1951, under considerable duress, delegates of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Tibet’s spiritual and political leader) signed the “Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet”, affirming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. By 1956 growing frustration at oppressive Communist Party rule had spawned rebellions in parts of eastern Tibet. The insurrection eventually spread to Lhasa and in 1959 was crushed by Chinese forces, leaving thousands of Tibetans dead and triggering the flight of the Dalai Lama into exile in India.

Today’s “Tibet Autonomous Region” was formally established in 1965 and represents approximately half of the historically Tibetan area, with the remainder incorporated into the neighboring Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai.
1959 marked the beginning of the most tumultuous period in Tibet’s history. Chairman Mao’s “Great Leap Forward” (1959-62) led to famine in much of Tibet. China’s Cultural Revolution (late 1960s – 1970s) saw the majority of Tibet’s monasteries destroyed. Further unrest in the late 1980s led to the imposition of martial law in Lhasa. More recently, 2008 saw widespread protests across Tibetan areas, swiftly followed by renewed efforts by the Chinese Government to silence dissent and consolidate control over Tibetan areas.

Monks protest during the March 2008 uprising. Pic: Central Tibetan Administration.

Tibet is a keystone in the Chinese Government’s “Great Western Development Strategy”. While the Communist Party claims its interventions in Tibet and other Western regions are a benevolent undertaking aimed at raising prosperity and living standards, Tibetans claim to have been systematically marginalized by the central government’s economic and development policies and fear the complete loss of their culture and livelihoods. The mass migration of Han Chinese people into Tibet remains a particular concern for Tibetans.

Between 2002 and 2008 representatives of the Dalai Lama have attempted to advance a conciliatory ‘Middle Way” policy on Tibet’s future, based on “genuine” autonomy for Tibet within the People’s Republic of China, through direct talks with Chinese officials. During the most recent round (October/November 2008) the Tibetan representatives tabled a “Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People” – a detailed proposal for establishing a more robust cultural autonomy for Tibet within existing provisions in China’s own constitution. The proposal was rejected. In November 2008 the Central Tibetan Administration held a landmark emergency meeting involving over 500 delegates to determine a future course of action. The meeting reaffirmed popular support for the Middle Way policy while legitimizing independence and self-determination as viable future options if the Middle Way continued to prove unsuccessful.

Human rights situation

In March 2008, an uprising and subsequent crackdown brought unprecedented international attention on Tibet during the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Hundreds of monks staged peaceful protests in a village near Lhasa, calling for an end to religious restrictions and the release of imprisoned monks, resulting in the detention of approximately 50 monks. Within days, protests erupted around several monasteries and in Lhasa itself, including attacks by Tibetans against ethnic Han people and their property. Chinese security forces responded by beating protesters, firing live ammunition and cutting off phone lines to the monasteries. According to the Central Tibetan Administration 203 people were killed. Despite the heavy deployment of troops, an estimated 30,000 Tibetans are believed to have participated in protests across the region.

The unrest drew vehement calls from the international community, including the Australian Government, for a peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue through dialogue.

Since March 2008 access to Tibet by foreign media, diplomats and tourists has been tightly controlled. Leading international human rights watchdogs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claim a further deterioration in the situation since March, pointing to a dramatic rise in arbitrary arrests and detention, restrictions on movement, reinvigorated programs of “patriotic education” and a heavy military presence. Some 3,000 persons were arrested in the first month of the uprising. According to Human Rights Watch there are many well documented cases of torture by the Chinese authorities. The recent detention of protesters has therefore raised fears for the safety of detained protesters.

Tibetans and Tibet supporters claim the Chinese Communist Party remains in consistent violation of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, including article 3 on the right to life, liberty and security of person, article 5 on torture, article 9 on arbitrary arrest and detention, article 14 on the right to asylum and article 18 on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Australia’s relationship with China

On 15 March 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith expressed publicly their concern over the escalating situation in Tibet. Mr. Smith called upon the Chinese Government to “act with restraint and to deal with protestors peacefully”. Both later called on both sides to resolve the situation through dialogue. During early April on an official visit to China the Prime Minister raised Australian’s concerns over Tibet publicly in Beijing and privately with the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. Kevin Rudd was the first world leader to meet with the Chinese Premier and President following the Lhasa uprising and is considered to have played a significant role in the international diplomatic efforts that to an informal meeting between Tibetan and Chinese officials in Shenzen in May.

Since April 2008 the Australian Government has remained relatively quiet over the situation in Tibet. Critics have attributed this trend to Australia’s lucrative $57.5bn trade relationship with China, particularly in the areas of natural resources, education and travel services.

Contacts

Diplomatic representation

Australian Embassy, China
Dr Geoff Raby, Australian Ambassador to China
Embassy of Australia, Beijing
21 Dongzhimenwai Dajie
Beijing 100600
People’s Republic of China
Tel: (010) 5140 4111
Fax: (010) 5140 4230
Email: pubaff.beijing@dfat.gov.au
www.china.embassy.gov.au

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Australia
15 Coronation Drive
Yarralumla,
ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 627 34780
Fax: (02) 6273 5848
Email: chinaemb_au@mfa.gov.cn
au.china-embassy.org/eng

International organizations working in Tibet and China

UN organizations

- OHCHR
www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/CNIndex.aspx

- UNESCO
UNESCO Beijing
Room 1503, Building 5
Waijiaogongyu, Jianguomenwai
Beijing,100600
China
- UNDP
United Nations Development Programme, China Country Office
2 Liangmahe Nanlu
Beijing 100600
China
Tel: + 86 10 85320800
Fax: +86 10 85320900
www.undp.org.cn

- WHO
The WHO Representative in the People’s Republic of China
401, Dongwai Diplomatic Office Building
23, Dongzhimenwai Dajie
Chaoyang District
Beijing 100600
China
www.who.int/countries/chn/en/