Tibet

Tibet is perched in the Himalayan Mountains, on Earth’s highest plateau. Because it is so geographically isolated, over the years its Buddhist traditions strengthened to the point that monks and clergymen became the Tibetan government and property owners (for those playing at home, it's called a 'theocracy'). Since the 13th century, Tibet has had a political and religious relationship with its neighbour, China. One part of this relationship involved the leaders of Tibet, the Lamas, counselling Chinese emperors on spiritual matters, who'd in turn provide the lamas with political favours. In the 20th century, this relationship took a turn for the worst...

The take-over

In 1950, the People's Republic of China (PRC) took military control of Lhasa, Tibet's capital city, and dismantled Tibet's feudal class system. After this, Tibet’s economic and social integration with China began.

In 1959, a Tibetan rebellion against China's armed forces was crushed, and the Dalai Lama fled to India and established the Government in Exile. One of the main points of political conflict between the PRC and the Government in Exile is whether China's actions were legal.

The destruction and suppression of Tibetan Buddhist culture was a major consequence of China's takeover. During the takeover period, and especially during 1965–78 (China's Cultural Revolution), 6,500 Tibetan monasteries were destroyed, and it is believed that hundreds of thousands of Tibetan monks and nuns were killed. At present, possessing photos of the Dalai Lama or the 10th Panchen Lama (the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama) is illegal.

A changed Tibet

The takeover of Tibet saw an enormous amount of Tibetan casualties—somewhere between 400,000 and 1.2 million, depending on the source. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans died of famine during an economic development plan called the “Great Leap Forward” and thousands more died in mining accidents, labour camps and communes. Many others were killed because of political conflict between the PRC and Tibetan monks, activists and rebels.

While regretful of the destructiveness of the process, the People's Republic of China justifies the takeover by the arguing that Tibet's feudal system was oppressive and backwards. It claims that up to 95 percent of the Tibetan population was serfs and slaves, forced by law to work on land belonging to the monastery. Under the new system, Tibetans can now choose their work and earn much more money than before. Also, Tibetans now have the opportunity to hold a position in local government, which was once only possible for monks and nuns.

In the last 50 years Tibet has rapidly modernised. The PRC has introduced social development projects such as improved and expanded health services and education institutions. According to the PRC, the Tibetan life expectancy has increased from 35.5 years in 1950, to 67 years in 2000. Infant mortality has increased from 43% in 1950 to 0.661% in 2000. China's Western Development Plan should see continuing improvements in the standard of living.

The human rights problem

Despite the abolition of the feudal system, the rights of Tibetans are more restricted in comparison to other Western nations. Throughout China, members of ethnic groups are repressed when they try to peacefully express their national, religious or cultural aspirations.

According to Amnesty International, in Tibet, thousands have been detained and many tortured for demonstrating in favour of Tibetan independence. Also, dozens of demonstrators have been shot dead by the security forces, while others have been imprisoned for chanting slogans, displaying the Tibetan national flag or distributing pro-independence leaflets.

Freedom of religion, expression and association continue to be severely restricted in Tibet, and as result many people are imprisoned for peacefully exercising their basic human rights.

The refugee problem

According to the International Council of Tibet, between 2,000 and 3,000 Tibetans flee China every year via Nepal to India. About a third of them are children who are sent to Tibetan schools in India, while many others are monks and nuns seeking religious education. Tibetans fleeing China have been shot at by both the Chinese and Nepalese military personnel in the past.

What is Australia doing to help?

Like all other governments of the world, the Australian Government accepts China's complete sovereignty over Tibet. On the issue of Tibet's social and economic development, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) is involved in projects such as improving Tibetan villagers' access to medical services and water supplies. Since 1997 the China-Australia Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program (HRTC) has worked on protecting the rights of ethnic minority rights such as Tibetans. During 2005–2006 the HRTC program cooperated with the Department of Education of the Tibet Autonomous Region, aiming at improving access to education for minorities.

How do I know this?

Amhad K 2000, “Human rights show no improvement in Tibet” The Lancet, Jan 15

Amnesty International 2004, China, http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/chn-summary-eng  

AusAid 2002, Water and primary health care for Tibetan villagers, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/qas29.pdf  

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, http://www.hreoc.gov.au/  

Information Office of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China 2001, Tibet’s march towards modernisation, http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/20011108/index.htm  

International Tibet Support Network, http://www.tibetnetwork.org/tibet/  

UNHCR 2006, ‘Rupture in South-East Asia’, The state of the world’s refugees, http://www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/3ebf9bab0.pdf
Naím, M 2007, ‘YouTube effect’, Foreign Policy Magazine, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3676  

Sperling E 2004, ‘The Tibet-China conflict: history and polemics’ Policy Studies 7, East-West Center Washington, http://www.eastwestcenter.org/stored/pdfs/PS007.pdf