Tibet: In search of a resolution

Central Asian Survey

Volumn 19, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 79-93

  Misra, Amalendu ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HULL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

GEOPOLITICS; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; POPULAR PROTEST; SELF DETERMINATION;

CHINA; TIBET;

EID: 0033916805     PISSN: 02634937     EISSN: None     Source Type: Trade Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/713656173     Document Type: Article

References (69)

1. For an exhaustive discussion, see David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, Boston: Shambhala, 1995, pp 23-49.
2. Leo D. Lefebure, '200 years in Tibet: glimpses in fact and film', The Christian Century, 11 March 1998, p 259.
3. For a complete text of the thirteenth Dalai Lama's formal declaration of independence see, Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa. Tibet: A Political History, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967, pp 246-248.
4. Charles Bell, Tibet: Past and Present, London: Oxford University Press, 1927, p 146.
5. Melvyn Goldstein, 'The Dalai Lama's dilemma', Foreign Affairs, Vol 77, No 1, p 84.
6. Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967, p 299.
7. Chanakya Sen, Tibet Disappears, Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960, p 65.
8. Åshlid Kolas, 'Tibetan nationalism: the politics of religion', Journal of Peace Research, Vol 33, No 1, 1996, p 55.
9. Though somewhat controversial for a larger study on Tibetan armed uprising against China during the 1950s and early 1960s, see Roger E. McCarthy, Tears of the Lotus: Accounts of Tibetan Resistance to the Chinese Invasion, 1950-1962, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1997.
10. Thubten Jigme Norbu, Tibet is My Country, London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1961, p 233.
11. For a complete text of the appeal, see The Dalai Lama, My Land and My People, London: Panther, 1962, pp 233-237.
12. The question of Tibet was raised in 1959 as an issue of respect for human rights. The General Assembly adopted Resolution 1353 (XIV) along these lines, New York: The United Nations Year Book, 1959, pp 67-9. 'The item was not considered in 1960 because of the extreme pressure of work'. Antonio Cassese, Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Appraisal, Cambridge: CUP, 1995, p 95.
13. The question of Tibet was raised in 1959 as an issue of respect for human rights. The General Assembly adopted Resolution 1353 (XIV) along these lines, New York: The United Nations Year Book, 1959, pp 67-9. 'The item was not considered in 1960 because of the extreme pressure of work'. Antonio Cassese, Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Appraisal, Cambridge: CUP, 1995, p 95.
14. Shakabpa, Tibet: A Political History, p 303.
15. Milton J. Esman and Shibley Telhami (eds), International Organizations and Ethnic Conflict, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995, p 43.
16. A. Tom Grunfeld, 'In search of equality: relations between China's ethnic minorities and the majority Han', The Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Vol 17, NO 1, 1985, p 55.
17. Dawa Norbu argues that Beijing's assimilation drive has steam-rolled most of China's minorities except the Muslim Uighur's in Xinjiang and Buddhist Tibetans. These two remain prominent in terms of their conflict potential. Dawa Norbu, 'Han Hegemony and Tibetan Ethnicity', International Studies, Vol 32, No 3, p 301.
18. Tibet: Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1997.
19. Jeff Haynes, 'Religion, secularisation and politics: a postmodern conspectus', Third World Quarterly, Vol 18, No 4, p 724.
20. Barry Sautman, 'The Tibet issue in post-summit Sino-American relations', Pacific Affairs, Vol 72, No 1, Spring 1999, p 11.
21. The Buddhist kingship practice recognizes this principle. For a fuller discussion, see Stanley J. Tambiah, The Buddhist Conception of Universal King and its Manifestations in South and Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur: University of Malay Press, 1988.
22. Emperor Akihito of Japan, Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, and King Bhumibhol Adulyadej of Thailand are all regarded as god kings by their respective citizenry. Though they exercise no real sovereign authority they nonetheless are venerated and their political opinions taken very seriously.
23. In the Buddhist tradition a Bodhisttava defers entrance to nirvana and returns to the world to assist suffering beings attain enlightenment.
24. A recent publication by the Tibet Information Network entitled A Poisoned Arrow: The Secret Report of the 10th Panchen Lama (London: TIN, 1997), has opened up a new chapter in modern Tibetan history. Contrary to the earlier supposition that the 10th Panchen Lama was a Chinese lackey the report in the form of a 70,000 character Petition reveals that the 10th Panchen Lama was indeed most vocal in his opposition to the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
25. For a detailed discussion on the controversy over Panchen Lama's selection/reincarnation, see Dawa Norbu, Tibet: The Road Ahead, New Delhi: Harper Collins, 1997, pp 297-321.
26. Costas M. Constantinou, 'Before the Summit: representations of sovereignty on the Himalayas', Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol 27, No 1, p 44.
27. Robert Barnett, 'Symbols and protests: the iconography of demonstrations in Tibet, 1987-1990; in Robert Barnett and Shirin Akiner (eds) Resistance and Reform in Tibet, London: 1994, pp 238-253.
28. 'Who murdered the monk?', The Economist, 16 August, 1997.
29. Economy is one such area. The Tibet Autonomous Region recorded a GDP of 7.698 billion yuan in 1997. This was 13.2 per cent over the previous year. The economy has been growing at a two-digit rate for four consecutive years. About 270,000 out of 480,000 impoverished people were able to rise above the poverty line owing to this growth. Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/3240 G/4, 30 May 1998. Also, in the first half of 1998 Tibet Autonomous Region registered an economic growth of 8.5 per cent amounting to 2.67 bn yuan (US$322 m). Summary of World Broadcasts, FE/3312/G/6, 22 August 1998.
30. For a good discussion on the religio-political and societal order prior to the Chinese occupation of Tibet, see Melvyn Goldstein, William Sibenschuh and Tashi Tsering, The Struggle for Modern Tibet: The Autobiography of Tashi Tsering (especially Chapters 3 and 4). New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. 1997.
31. President Clinton during his recent visit to China suggested to his counterpart Jiang Zemin, that he should talk to the Dalai Lama, because the latter is an interesting, nice, and holy man. 'The Clinton and Jiang Show', The Economist, 4 July 1998, p 71.
32. Ben Jackson, 'Captivated by a distorted mirror', The Times Higher Education Supplement, 28 August 1998, p 18.
33. Tibetan Review, July 1997, p 8.
34. Matt Forney, 'Dalai Lama's Dilemma', Far Eastern Economic Review, 30 July 1998, p 28.
35. See, the Dalai Lama's interview with Time, 13 July 1998, p 26.
36. 'China's new drive to dominate Tibet', The Asian Age, 16 September 1996.
37. Anthony D. Smith, Nationalism in the Twentieth Century, Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1979, p 43.
38. H. Seton-Watson, Nations and States: An Enquiry into the Origins of Nations and the Politics of Nationalism, London: Methuen, 1977, p 5.
39. For a wider discussion on these ideas, see Donald S. Lopez Jr, Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997, Giuseppe Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows, New Delhi, 1967, R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization. London: Faber & Faber, 1972, David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, Boston: Shambhala, 1995.
40. For a wider discussion on these ideas, see Donald S. Lopez Jr, Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997, Giuseppe Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows, New Delhi, 1967, R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization. London: Faber & Faber, 1972, David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, Boston: Shambhala, 1995.
41. For a wider discussion on these ideas, see Donald S. Lopez Jr, Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997, Giuseppe Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows, New Delhi, 1967, R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization. London: Faber & Faber, 1972, David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, Boston: Shambhala, 1995.
42. For a wider discussion on these ideas, see Donald S. Lopez Jr, Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997, Giuseppe Tucci, Tibet: Land of Snows, New Delhi, 1967, R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization. London: Faber & Faber, 1972, David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, Boston: Shambhala, 1995.
43. Connor Walker, 'Nation-building or nation-destroying?' World Politics, Vol 24, No 3, p 2.
44. E. U. Essien-Udom, Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1962, p 95.
45. Dawa Norbu, 'Han hegemony and Tibetan ethnicity'. International Studies, Vol 32, No 3, p 298.
46. Warren, Kuo, 'Oppression and persecution in Communist China', Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom: A World Survey, Vol III, Willem A. Veenhoven (Editor-in-Chief), The Hague: Martinus Nijoff, 1976, p 321.
47. Isabel Hilton, Tibet, Granta, 58, 1997, p 173.
48. Such Chinese practice is not common to Tibet alone. Beijing-sponsored Han mass-migration to Xinjiang has reduced the original ethnic Muslim Uighurs to 54% of the population. The Economist, 15 November 1997.
49. In the official Chinese interpretation the non-Tibetans in Tibet are not colonists or settlers; their official place of residence is not Tibet; and they are expected eventually to leave Tibet. This has never worked. The Han migrants who arrived in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia after the Communist takeover of China in 1950 are now permanent residents in those respective autonomous regions (chous).
50. For details on the '17 Point Agreement', see Hugh E. Richardson, A Short History of Tibet, New York, 1962, pp 275-278.
51. Legal Enquiry Committee on Tibet, Tibet and the Chinese People's Republic: A Report to the International Commission of Jurists', Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1960, p 167.
52. Sechin Jagchid, 'Discrimination against minorities in China', Case Studies on Human Rights and Collective Freedom: A World Survey, Vol II, Willem A. Veenhoven (Editor-in Chief), The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1974, p 400.
53. Sechin Jagchid, p 399.
54. I am using the model of the etiology of separatism/secession as denned by Alexis Heraclides. For details, see The Self-Determination of Minorities in International Politics, London: Frank Cass, 1991, pp 242-243.
55. Morton H. Halperin and David J. Scheffer with Patricia L. Small, Self-Determination in the New World Order, Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1992, p 49.
56. Morton H. Halperin et al., Self-Determination in the New World Order, p 77.
57. Though the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus operates as an independent state it is not recognized by anyone other than Turkey. To conservatives and the West the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is nothing but an outlying province of Turkey.
58. Melvyn Goldstein. The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama, Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997.
59. Amalendú Misra, 'Tibet in the West and the West in Tibet' IIAS Newsletter, No 16, Summer 1998. p 12.
60. Donald S. Lopez, Prisoner of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
61. Guangqiu Xu. 'The United States and the Tibet Issue', Asian Survey, Vol 37, No 11, p 1073.
62. Melvyn Goldstein, 'The Dalai Lama's Dilemma', Foreign Affairs, Vol 77, No 1, p 93.
63. In December 1997 the European Union announced that it was freezing a 7.6 million ECU (US$1.00 = 0.90 European Currency Units) on a development project in Tibet. This was triggered due to the non-renewal of visa of an European educational adviser working for Save the Children Fund (SCF). Kessing's Record of World Events, December 1997, pp 41960-41961.
64. Both Italy and Denmark have sent Parliamentary delegations to Tibet in recent years. Their concern, however, was primarily in the area of human rights. Mary Robinson, the UN Human Rights Secretary, also voiced her anguish only on the human rights situation in Tibet in her recent visit to China.
65. For an interesting appraisal, see Dawa Norbu, 'Tibet in Sino-Indian relations: the centrality of marginality', Asian Survey, Vol 37, No 11, pp 1078-1095.
66. Melvyn Goldstein, 'The Dalai Lama's dilemma', Foreign Affairs, Vol 77, No 1, p 88.
67. Matt Forney, Far Eastern Economic Review, 30 July 1998, p 28.
68. Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1978.
69. Currently Hong Kong fully enjoys the status of a SAR. Beijing has plans for the implementation of this provision on Macau when it returns to Chinese rule in 1999 and Taiwan (if it manages to persuade it to join the mainland). However, Beijing has not indicated anything that would suggest that Tibet also is entitled to such a status.