unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/20/89)
* Ported to UNITEX by TibetNet
The following article was written by Steven Marshall and appears in the
September/October issue of TOWARD FREEDOM (volume 38 number 4) in an
edited form. The article appears here complete.
For prompt replies to your comments, queries (which are all welcomed)
please contact the source of the TIBET CONFERENCE at TIBETNET as
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TIBET:LITTLE TIME FOR PATIENCE
Two months before student protests triggered the imposition of
martial law in the capital of the People's Republic of China,
martial law had already been slammed into place in Lhasa,capital of
the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.The decree came after three
days of demonstrations which had turned violent when rooftop police
gunned down unarmed protesters calling for freedom.They had chosen
to march on the anniversary of last year's mass-bludgeoning of
monks by police within the supremely venerated Jokhang Temple. The
violence was restricted to the dwindling zone of central Lhasa
which remains Tibetan.Non-Tibetan platoons of People's Armed Police
staged short assaults which left hundreds dead or injured by
gunshot or beating.Tibetans,desisting taking up arms,fought back
with stones.
Authorities in Beijing and Lhasa are eager that little be known of
actual conditions or popular opinion in Tibet,intoning incessant
warnings against"meddling in China's internal affairs".Outsiders
are provided with a host of official publications in all major
languages offering instruction in the correct view of Tibet.Locals
suggesting another truth, whether in a whisper or in a march, are
deemed "counterrevolutionaries", charged with "splitting the
Motherland","rumormongering",etc. Officials insist that Tibet's
packed prisons contain no political prisoners because China's
criminal code doesn't use the term"ideological crime".
During the latest surge of unrest in Lhasa, which began in 1987,
Tibetans have pressed small notes into the hands of foreign
wittnesses.Printed individually on hand-carved wooden blocks in
the same millenium-old fashion as religious literature, the
notes proclaim, "Tibet is a free and independent country.
Chinese invaders quit Tibet. Long live His Holiness the Dalai
Lama." The note is a death warrant for any Tibetan possessor.
China dismisses claims that Tibet was an independent country or
was forcibly annexed in 1950. Beijing explains that China has
always been a multi-national country.Infact, even the Mongolians
led by the great Khans, who conquered most of Asia including
China, were simply trying to "unite the Motherland".
Tibetans,Mongolians,Uighurs,Kazaks,Manchurians,along with the 51
other officially registerd minorities, are deemed "China's
nationalities".The territory upon which they dwell is, or should
be, China. Perhaps this is worrisome to neighboring nations where
large territories are home to peoples China calls her
nationalities. Huge military presences guard against further
Chinese colonialism under the guise of "reunification."
The 1987 demonstration came at the height of Deng's economic
reforms. With business booming in Lhasa, authorities insisted
"past excesses" were over and Tibetans were happy, prosperous, and
free.Yet Tibet came unglued.Why do they persist in provoking
the iron fist of their unwanted step-motherland?
In Beijing students protested for weeks,erected the Goddess of
Liberty and Democracy,and plunged the government into
turmoil before a threatened crackdown became nightmarish
reality.In Lhasa the pause between action and reaction is
swift,often only minutes.Last December 10th,a monk carrying the
banned Tibetan flag around the Jokhang Temple was shot through
his head at point blank range by a policeman.No warning shot
preceeded.The march commemorated International Human Rights
Day.
The first thirty years of communist rule took an undeniable
toll on Tibet.Tens of thousands of Tibetans died fighting the
Chinese during the 1950 "Peaceful Liberation".The Great
Leap Forward wrought widespread starvation by forced
communalization.In 1959 the ruthless oppression of the Lhasa
Uprising resulted in the Dalai Lama's escape to India and
imprisonment or death for anyone failing to soundly denounce
him.Tibet,already shattered,was physically destroyed during the
Ten Years' Cultural Revolution,the seed of regeneration concealed
in the hearts of the survivors.
Though the effect of Chinese rule has been genocidal,their current
preference is the transformation of Tibet into a cultural photocopy
of the provinces to the east.Obstacles "must be removed as one
would a rock in the road".A sixth of Tibetans have been removed
from the living.Half of Tibet was absorbed into China when the
victorious Marxists redrew their map and rewrote their history.
Deng's attempt at crafting a New China confronts Tibet with
more subtle,yet dangerous,forms of diminution.The new policies have
fuelled frustration and desperation,sparking recent demands for
freedom.
Although several monasteries have reopened in recent years,most
operate under close supervision of "democratic committees" of monks
chosen by local party officials.No monk or nun may legally live at
a religious institution without the approval of the
committee.Unofficial residence occurs but,as with as with anything
unofficial in China,carries a latent and long-lived potential for
punishment.
Buddhism in Tibet degenerates rapidly due to the extreme paucity of
surviving well-trained Lamas and restrictions on teachings.Nearly
all Tibetans see the essence and institution of Buddhism as the
mind,heart and backbone of their country.They are heartbroken and
increasingly desperate at seeing it wither under the Chinese
hand.That authorities orchestrate a dog-and-pony show,conjuring up
the spectacle of a Buddhism befitting a circus arena,adds mocking
insult to crippling injury.
Belying Chinese statistics,education for Tibetans is woeful.Few
proceed beyond middle school.Classes from high school level onward
are taught in Chinese language.The government recently announced
plans to implement Tibetan language classes at Tibet University by
the turn of the century.By then,only farmers,nomads,and historians
may know the language.In joining the mainstream dominated by
Chinese language,a Tibetan sacrifices language and culture,usually
assuming a lower echelon job.Better positions are for those with
better educations- and connections.
Tibet's two-tier economy is a daily torment for most locals.Few
enter mainstream economy,which offers incomes double that of
typical Lhasans and often quadruple that of rural
dwellers.Unemployment,inflation,and shortages plague Tibet
disproportionately.Connections rule the economy.This "guanxi" is a
hallmark of New China.Being Tibetan is too often a
disconnection.Despite policy,racism is rampant.Locals complain that
the Chinese often "arrive with only a toothbrush and a mug and
depart with heavy trunks".
Tibetans quietly seethe at hearing how improved is their lot now
that Beijing has poured billions of yuan into Tibet's
developement.The magnitude of the spending is indisputable given
the advanced sinification of Tibet.What has been built is an
infrastructure which primarily supports Han colonization.
Tibetans have benefitted last and little from development but have
paid most dearly.The Panchen Lama,Tibet's second spiritual
leader,resided in Beijing where he held a prominent government
post.On a rare visit to Tibet last January he shocked China and
delighted Tibetans by voicing such sentiments publicly.His death,a
few days later is shrouded in mystery.
The torrent of mostly Han newcomers to Tibet did not begin until
the early 1980's.Tibetan asphyxiation under this avalanche is the
root cause of the latest outburst.Population transfer could soon
complete what starvation,imprisonment,and execution
began.Repopulation means the evisceration of the remnants of
Tibet.The few spectacles remaining attempt to entertain
officials,pacify locals,and lure tourists.
The true tally of non-Tibetans in Tibet is officially denied.Not
counted are the military, several hundred thousand strong,or the
ubiquitous police.Not counted are beaurocrats,professionals, and
business people under multi-year contracts.Not counted are
shopkeepers or workers.Not counted are their families who
accompanied them.They all bear residence cards for some other
province. To statisticians they are shadows but their impact on
Tibet is real.
"Autonomy" is a political mirage.Had Beijing delivered on its
endless promises or made real the explicit guarantees of freedom in
their current constitution,independence might never have become an
issue.After forty years of deceit and disappointment Tibetans have
no confidence Beijing will right wrongs.Most believe they must heal
their own wounds.Independence is an obvious path to self-
determination.
The essential issue is freedom.Freedom from exploitation,hypocrisy,
and oppression.Freedom to think,act,and worship as they believe
correct.Separated from these freedoms,plied with empty
assurances,and compelled to parrot the party line,Tibetans are ever
more resolved not to see their race or culture perish silently.
They know expressions of their distress are unlikely to send the
Chinese packing.Yet,resistance and demonstration are unavoidable.If
significant relief is not achieved in a decade or two they will
take their place in history books.Their Buddhist faith mitigates
dread of death-or of life.Facing new threats in the 1980's many
will continue to risk the consequences of protest,"to die as
Tibetans rather than live as Chinese".
---
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