Full Text: Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide
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E-mail Xinhua, April 15, 2015
- After the armed rebellion broke out, the central government showed extreme forbearance and waited for a time with an attitude of patience, but the 14th Dalai Lama went further and further down the road of dividing China.
With the support and cooperation of people of all the ethnic groups in Tibet, the PLA quickly put down the armed rebellion and enforced democratic reform. The central government decided not to prevent the 14th Dalai Lama from fleeing abroad, even allowing him some leeway by announcing that he had been abducted. The central authorities adopted an attitude of patience, and preserved his position as a vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee until 1964. In his talks with a delegation from the Indian Communist Party in October 1959, Chairman Mao Zedong said, "We will welcome the Dalai Lama's return if he accepts our two propositions. One is that Tibet is part of China and the other is that he will carry out democratic and socialist reform in Tibet."
However, the 14th Dalai Lama publicly abandoned the 17-Article Agreement during his defection and flatly denied his previous patriotic stance and his promise of loyalty to China. He openly broke with the central government, taking a path of betraying the Chinese nation. In June 1959, he issued a statement in Mussoorie, India, claiming that Tibet had in fact been an independent country. In 1963, he convened a "people's congress of Tibet" in Dharamsala, India, which established the "Tibetan government in exile." A so-called "constitution" was promulgated, which states that "the Dalai Lama is the head of state," "the ministers shall be appointed by the Dalai Lama," and "no work of the government shall be approved without the consent of the Dalai Lama."
On December 17, 1964, the 151st Plenary Meeting of the State Council adopted the Decision on the Removal of the Dalai Lama from His Official Positions, which stated, "After the Dalai Lama staged the treasonous armed rebellion in 1959, he fled abroad and organized a 'government-in-exile,' issued a bogus constitution, provided support for Indian aggression against Chinese territory, and engaged in the organization and training of remnants of Tibet's armed forces who had fled abroad with the object of attacking our borders. All this proves that he has alienated himself from the country and the people, and been reduced to a traitor working for imperialists and reactionaries abroad."
- After the start of reform and opening up, the central government offered the 14th Dalai Lama an opportunity to repent his way by adopting the policy that "all patriots belong to one big family, whether they embrace patriotism earlier or later." But he chose to maintain his support for "Tibetan independence."
Patriotism is a basic requirement of the central government raised on the 14th Dalai Lama and other overseas Tibetans. From August 1979 to September 1980, the relevant central government departments received three visiting delegations and two groups of relatives sent by the Dalai Lama. Most of the Dalai Lama's kin residing abroad have made return visits to China. Regretfully, the Dalai Lama did not draw on the goodwill of the central government. Instead, he stubbornly stuck to his stance and further intensified his separatist activities, wasting the valuable opportunity the central government had provided for reconciliation. In fact, the visiting groups sent by the Dalai Lama took advantage of the central government's policy of free movement in and out of the country to circulate and advocate independence, inciting hatred among ethnic groups, and disturbing and disrupting the social order.
Responding to a request from the 14th Dalai Lama, in 1979 the central government began to conduct talks with his private representatives on an irregular basis. In February 1979, in his meeting with Dalai Lama's elder brother Gyalo Thondup, Deng Xiaoping spoke about a possible return to China: "As Tibet is part of China, the discussion on their return is a domestic affair rather than a negotiation between countries. This is the fundamental principle... The central government is willing to talk with the Dalai Lama as long as he openly admits that Tibet is part of China. Anyone is welcome, whether he embraces patriotism earlier or later. Essentially Tibet is part of China. This is the criterion for judging right or wrong."
Following the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama misread the situation and declared, "The time for Tibetan independence is coming," and committed "not to negotiate with a collapsing regime." In 1989, the 10th Panchen Erdeni passed away. With the approval of the central government, the Buddhist Association of China invited the Dalai Lama to attend the Panchen Erdeni's memorial ceremonies. But, he rejected the invitation. In 1993, he unilaterally decided to break off contact with the central government. In 1995, in defiance of the historical traditions and religious rites, he announced the so-called reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Erdeni.
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