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KEY ISSUES AT STAKE TODAY
1. Yamdrok Tso HydroPower Station
2. Gormo - Lhasa Railway
3. Beijing Olimpics
4. Extraction of vaulable minerals from Tibet
9 Essential Facts about Tibet
The Country of Tibet was invaded by China in 1949/1950. Since that time, over 1.2million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the occupation, over 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned and tortured for their religious and political beliefs
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's political and spiritual leader, was forced to flee Tibet in 1959. He escaped to India with over 120,000 other Tibetans, and established the Tibetan government in exile in Dharamsala. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his steadfast dedication to non-violence.
Tibet was Independent
Tibet had a sovereign government, currency, postal system, language, law and customs. Prior to 1950 the Tibetan government signed treaties with foreign nations including Britain, Mongolia and Nepal. While the Chinese government claims that Tibet has "always" been part of China, its invasion of Tibet resembles the same imperialist aggression that China accuses other powers of exhibiting.
The "Tibetan Autonomous Region" is not Tibet and it is not autonomous.
The Chinese government has divided historical Tibet into one "region" and several "prefectures" and "countries". The TAR encompasses only the central area and some of the eastern regions of Tibet. Well over half of Tibet's original territory has been absorbed into Chinese provinces. "Autonomous" is an euphemism for direct control by Beijing.
In Tibet Today the basic freedoms of speech, religion and assembly are strictly limited and arbitrary arrests continue. Acording to human rights groups, there are currently thousands of political prisoners in Tibet, including the young Panchen Lama, imprisoned since the age of six. Torture of prisoners is common place.
The Chinese governments policies of cultural assimilation and population transfer of ethnic Chinese into Tibet threaten the very survival of Tibetan identity. Chinese colonialist outnumber Tibetans in most urban and some rural areas, making Tibetans a minority in their own nation. Meanwhile thousands of Tibetans continue to flee from Tibet every year.
Historical Tibet was a vast country, whose area was roughly equal to Western Europe. Tibet is the source of Asia's 5 largest rivers, that provide the lifeblood for 2 billion people. However China continues to endanger Tibet's fragile ecosystem tacitly endangering the lives of billions.
Although the Chinese government claim to have developed Tibet, most good jobs have benefited Chinese colonialists, not Tibetans. Tibetans have little to say on their countries development. China have spent $3.2bn on a new railway in Tibet, this is three times the amount spent on education since China invaded in 1950.
The World Community has done very little to address the core issue of China's illegal occupation of Tibet. China represents a gigantic market and cheap labour force, and its associated business have such a strong lobby that politicians are reluctant to take any substantive measures against the Chinese government. Ever since the USA's "constructive engagement" initiative was launched to help promote US business in China, its appalling human rights record has been ignored, so the west can make more money from their opening markets.
