The Word's Double Standards

The tragedy which took place in Paris two days ago, when Notre Dame de Paris, the emblematic Cathedral in the heart of the French Capital, was engulfed in a fire, has created a lot of emotions all over the world, including in China.
All those who visited the Cathedral understand why?
Notre Dame was/is the symbol of the genius of the country.
The Chinese bloggers have been very active to express their deep sorrow.
One published picture said: "Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral  yesterday and today. The fire is still raging. A tragedy for the history of humanity, The French President has jst announced that it will be rebuilt."
Thousands of such messages could be read on the Chinese Internet.
It is good. It is touching.
But I wonder why  the Chinese press ...and the World Press, practically kept rather quiet when the same tragedy befell on Jokhang Cathedral in Central Lhasa, (which was built several centuries before Notre Dame). The information was announced and dropped immediately.
I wonder why there is always double standards when it comes to Tibet.
It is sad...
I  repost an article that I had written last year on the fire in Jokhang...


February 2018 article
Last night, Xinhua reported that "a fire broke out at 6:40 pm in part of Jokhang Temple in Lhasa."
According to the official Tibet Daily, the fire was eventually put off in the evening,
The News Agency said: "Located at the center of old Lhasa, Jokhang Temple is a renowned temple for Tibetan Buddhism. It has a history of more than 1,300 years and houses many cultural treasures, including a life-sized statue of Sakyamuni when he was 12 years old."
This inauspiciously occurred on the second day of the Losar, the Tibetan New Year (Earth Dog Year).

The Statue of Jowo Rinpoche
The Jokhang temple, the Central Cathedral in the Tibetan capital, houses Jowo Shakyamuni or Jowo Rinpoche, the most sacred statue in Tibet.
The Jowo Rinpoche statue is said to have been personally blessed by the Buddha.
It came to be owned by the king of Magadha, who gave it to a Tang emperor of China.
One of the emperor's clansman's daughter, Princess Wenchen Kongjo took it to Lhasa in a wooden cart when she married the Great King of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo.
During King Mangsong Mangtsen's reign (649-676), due to a threat that the Tang Chinese might invade, Princess Wencheng is said to have hidden the statue of Jowo Rinpoche in a secret chamber in the Jokhang.
Another Chinese Princess Jincheng, sometime after 710 CE, placed in the central chapel.
The statue was badly damaged by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

Signs sent by the Gods
The Tibetans believe that the Gods are from time to time sending signs to the humans.
It can be forewarning messages for the bad (and good) times to come.
I post here extracts of my book The Fate of Tibet.
It was August 15, 1950 (coincidentally (?) India's Independence Day).
The signs were strong.
On that day, the Gods spoke.
Three months later, Tibet was invaded by the 'Liberation Army' of China.
The epicentre of the earthquake was also symbolic; it occurred in Rima, north of the McMahon Line (Kibithu/Walong sector), which saw heavy fighting in October/November 1962.
It was one of the most powerful earthquakes of the 20th century (8.6 on the Richter scale).
In India, it became known as the 'Assam Earthquake' due to the extensive damages in the State.
The course of the rivers changed in several places.

Here are the extracts of The Fate of Tibet:

The Dalai Lama who was 15-year old, was in Lhasa, a few hundred kilometers away.
He later wrote about the ominous earthquake which shook Tibet on August 15, 1950

It was like an artillery barrage – which is what we assumed to be the cause of both the tremors and the noise: a test of some sorts being carried out by the Tibetan army…Some people reported seeing a strange red glow in the skies in the direction from which the noise came….

For centuries, Tibet had remained isolated. The nation’s energies and time was consecrated to achieve spiritual goals, her defence was neglected and until the beginning of the twentieth century, nobody (except the Thirteenth Dalai Lama) had too much been bothered by the international happenings.
Formal recognition or boundary delimitation [with India] had been in a way forced on the Tibetans by Younghusband’s invasion and later by Sir Henry McMahon at the Simla Convention.
At the end of the forties, Tibet had begun to wake up at the sight of the black clouds gathering around the Land of Snow: the atheist 'east wind' was threatening to blow over the sacred Shangri-La. 
The first signs that mythical Tibet was soon to forever disappear were appearing.
The 'Rima' earthquake was the most striking one.

...In the evening of August 15, a terrible earthquake shook Tibet. "This was no ordinary earthquake; it felt like the end of the world,

writes Robert Ford, the British Radio operator working in Chamdo (Kham);

 For hours afterwards, the sky over the south-eastern Tibet glowed with an infernal red light, diffused with the pungent scent of sulphur.

For the Tibetans, it was one more bad omen, following some recent prophecies of the State Oracle and the appearance of a bright horse-tailed comet similar to the one viewed before the Chinese invasion of 1910.

The time has come
Suddenly in Tibet, everyone understood that the time had come.
The Last Testament of the Thirteen  Dalai Lama [‘And Long and Dark Shall be the Night’] came back at the mind of all, but it was too late, the dies had been thrown long ago.
Now, Tibet would have to go through the ordeal and the only hope for the Tibetans was it would not be too painful and long.
In the meantime, the Indian Government was torn between two sentiments: on one side Tibet was a small (though large by size) independent nation with very rich and old cultural and religious bonds with India and on the other side Nehru and some of his colleagues had an immense admiration for the new People's Republic who like India, had to struggle against colonial powers to gain her freedom. For many in Delhi, China and India were the symbol of a ‘New Asia’ and the newly-found ‘eternal friendship’ with China was of supreme importance.
This one-way friendship was to be the fountainhead of Nehru’s Tibet policy till the fateful day of October 1962 when the troops of Marshal Lin Biao crossed the McMahon Line over the Tagla Ridge. That day Nehru knew that the so-called friendship was a one way traffic, but he was too late and he never physically and psychologically recovered.
As we will see in the debate in the Lok Sabha in December 1950, a few Indian political leaders understood about the security of the Indian borders and the defence implications of the ‘resurgence’ of the Chinese empire.
Among them, one man stands as a giant: Sardar Patel.
But fate took him away from the political scene at this most crucial time of Indian history.

China loves some Dalai Lamas

Picture of the 13th Dalai Lama in his renovated birth place

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, the White Paper published by the Chinese State Council 'on the development path of Tibet', is violently anti-Dalai Lama.
I wonder why?
The Tibetan leader is certainly the best bet that China can find, if it seriously wants to find a solution to the Tibetan issue.
But the leadership in Beijing probably feels that there is ‘no Tibetan issue’, and everything is fine and smooth on the Roof of the World.
The White Paper asked the Dalai Lama to ‘put aside his illusions’ about talks on Tibet's future.
The Tibetan leader is accused of insincerity and of trying to get independence, through the back door, i.e. the Middle Way approach.
For Beijing, the Dalai Lama has little understanding of modern Tibet, but keeps ‘a sentimental attachment to the old theocratic feudal serfdom’.
The White Paper further argues: “The only sensible alternative is for the Dalai Lama and his supporters to accept that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity, to abandon their goals of dividing China and seeking independence for Tibet. …The central government [Beijing] hopes that the Dalai Lama will put aside his illusions in his remaining years and face up to reality.”
The Middle Way, which seeks genuine autonomy for Roof of the World, is something China cannot accept; simply because it believes (or wants to believe) that the Dalai Lama’s ultimate goal is independence: “None of the negotiations were conducted in good faith — it was always the intention of the Dalai Lama and his supporters to divide China and achieve independence for Tibet.”
It is a fact that Beijing has recently been able to bully many Western (and Asian) democracies (with its economic power) and the Dalai Lama has rarely been received by foreign leaders in the recent years.
Beijing also can’t accept the Dalai Lama decides on his own to terminate the Dalai Lama’s Institution: it is to the Party which should decide!
You may deduct from the above that Beijing has a problem with the Dalai Lamas.
It is not the case.
A Chinese official website, VTIBET.com recently reported the renovation of the birth place of the 13th Dalai Lama: “Tronkhang village, [in] Nang County of Nyingchi Prefecture is the birthplace of the great Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso,” says the site.
The Tibetan leader is even called, with reverence by Beijing, the ‘Great 13th Dalai Lama’.
The Communist website explains: “The place was formerly known as Nangdui village. However it was renamed Tronkhang (the birthplace in Tibetan language) village because the Thirteenth Dalai Lama was born in this village. His family became powerful Tibetan noble from ordinary people, and constructed Tronkhang manor during 1880 to 1883.”
It appears that the Tibetan ‘local’ government invested some than 7.15 million yuan (1.2 million dollars) “in overall renovation to the manor for returning to its original appearance.”
Started in September, 2012, the renovation work was completed in September, 2013 and of course, it is opened to Chinese and foreign tourists.
Business is business even with the Dalai Lamas.

Birth house of the 13th Dalai Lama in Southern Tibet

 

 

The fact that the 13th Dalai Lama fought all his life to make Tibet an independent country is ignored by Beijing.
In his Testament, the Great Thirteenth had warned his people against many ills then affecting Tibetan society; he also wrote about China: "Between 1912 and 1950, China did not have any authority in Tibet although the Chinese Government continued to claim that Tibet was a part of China. Tibet remained neutral during both the Sino-Japanese war and the Second World War. Unfortunately, throughout this period Tibet did not take active steps to make contacts with the outside world and international bodies and thus prove her independence because it did not seems necessary to the Tibetans. Instead, Tibet made the mistake of following a policy of isolation whereby she thought that she could detach herself from the turmoil of international politics. But the fact of Tibetan independence was often recognized.”
The Dalai Lama particularly advised: "Maintain friendly relations with the two great powers, China and India, conscript able soldiers to guard the borders and make them sufficiently strong to ward off those countries with whom we have had border disputes..."
Thubten Gyatso was in many ways a remarkable liberal and progressive leader; would his advice and initiatives had been followed, Tibet would have remained independent.
He tried to put Tibet on the road to the modern world; he recruited and trained an army (British and Japanese officers were called to take the responsibility of the training); he took the initiative of sending a group of young Tibetans to England to study technologies which could be useful to his country; he reformed the monastic discipline and saw the great importance of Tibet having balance relations with the Great Powers (British India, China, Russia and Mongolia) and during the First World War, he supported the Allies. He was also interested to join the League of Nations and took some steps in this direction through his friend Sir Charles Bell, the British Political Officer.
Is it this Dalai Lama that Beijing is promoting today?
Amazing!
That is not all!
Last year, China Tibet Online announced that the former residence of Tsangyang Gyatso, the 6th Dalai Lama, “has been approved to be part of Tibet's historical and cultural site under government protection.”
According to chinanews.com, it is important to study the life story of Tsangyang Gyatso.
Why?
It is easy to understand: Tsangyang Gyatso was born in India in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, today claimed by Beijing.
The Chinese website tells its Chinese readers: “Tsangyang Gyatso is a famous poet in Tibetan history besides his religious and political identity, having composed dozens of vintage poems. In early 20th century, Zeng Jian, a scholar then working at Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of Republic of China, collected poems of Tsangyang Gyatso and translated them into ancient style Chinese poetry.”
The Chinese publication adds that “another venerable academic and tibetologist, Yu Daoquan, also translated Tsangyang Gyatso's poems, not only into modern Chinese but English.”
Historically it is not correct to say that “Tsangyang's former residence is located in Tsona county, Lhoka prefecture.”
The 6th Dalai Lama’s residence is located in Urgyeling, south of Tawang; he temporaily stayed in Tsona on his way to Lhasa.
The same website, chinanews.com mentions: “The residence was built by Sangye Gyatso, another historical figure in Tibet [the 5th Dalai Lama's regent], after he found the 6th Dalai Lama. The old home of Tsangyang was a two-story house originally. It was owned by the local government of the county before liberation [i.e. invasion], but [it] became privately owned and started rotting for lack of upkeep after liberation. Having been severely corroded by rain, only the ground story survived with tumbledown timbers.”
The 6th Dalai Lama had an independent mind, as you can see from this 3-year old article.
Beijing seems to have developed a liking for the past Dalai Lamas, but not the present one. It isn't strange!

Tsangyang Gyatso Festival in Tsona, Southern Tibet

 

 

Tibet Indpendence was not a farce, it was real

Baltis

In an Opinion article published by Xinhua, The Chinese Communist Party refute the declaration of Independence by the 13th Dalai Lama. 
Beijing conveniently forgets another crucial document, the Treaty between Tibet and Mongolia signed at Urga in Mongolia in January 1913.
I post here the first articles: 

Whereas Mongolia and Tibet, having freed themselves from the Manchu dynasty and separated themselves from China, have become independent States, and whereas the two States have always professed one and the same religion, and to the end that their ancient mutual friendships may be strengthened: on the part of the Government of the Sovereign of the Mongolian people Nikta Biliktu Da Lama Rabdan, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Assistant Minister-General and Manlai Caatyr Bei Tzu Damdinsurun; on the part of the Dalai Lama, Ruler of Tibet - Gujir Tsanshib Kanchen Lubsan Agwan, Donir, Agwan Choinzin Tschichamtso, manager of the bank, and Gendun-Galsan, secretary, have agreed on the following:

ARTICLE I The Dalai Lama, Sovereign of Tibet, approves of and acknowledges the formation of an independent Mongolian State, and die proclamation on rise 9th day of the 11th month of the year of the Pig, of the master of the Yellow Faith Jetsun Dampa Lama as the Sovereign of the land.

ARTICLE 2 The Sovereign of the Mongolian people Jetsun Dampa Lama approves and acknowledges the formation of an independent State and the proclamation of the Dalai Lama as Sovereign of Tibet.

ARTICLE 3 Both States shall take measures, after mutual consideration, for the prosperity of the Buddhist faith.

ARTICLE 4 Both States, the Mongolian and the Tibetan, shall henceforth, for all time, afford each other aid against dangers from without and from within.

Click to read the entire Treaty... 

The Chinese propaganda also forgets to mention that the Tibetan Empire once upon a time extended to Baltistan and Gilgit and Central Asia. This article by Salman Rashid in the The Express Tribune (on September 26, 2011) is telling:

Tibetans in Baltistan
Until the beginning of the 8th century CE, Baltistan was a country inhabited by the Indo-European Shin tribe. This was a time when the superpowers of the region were China and Tibet, both vying for supremacy in High Asia. Only shortly before, the Chinese had ousted the Tibetans from what is now the Chinese province of Xinjiang. But then the T’ang Dynasty was briefly interrupted by the New Zhou Dynasty (690-705) and Chinese imperial aspirations were laid low for the time being.
Emboldened by the situation, the Tibetans began to expand westward. They annexed Ladakh and following the Sindhu River reached Baltistan. For the next five decades this country remained under their firm control. Intermarriages between the new comers and the original tribes were common to such an extent in the next fifty years that there arose a race of a fine mix of Aryan and Tibetan blood — the current people of Baltistan. It was for this reason that an anthropologist of the mid-twentieth century called Baltistan ‘a living anthropological museum’.
The original Shina, the language of the Shins that sounds so very like Kashmiri and Punjabi, was almost completely swamped out of existence by Tibetan. Modern Balti, spoken over most of Baltistan, is therefore an archaic form of Tibetan. Shina continues to hold out in pockets across the country, however.
Aside: until some years ago Balti was under threat. Then one proud Balti — and he has my deepest gratitude — Hussain Singghe, worked very hard to revive the old Tibetan script. It is now coming back into vogue and signs in the streets of Skardu and Khaplu are frequently written in the old script.
Not content with holding Baltistan alone, the Tibetans expanded westward. They took Gilgit and advancing along the Ghizer River, went up the Yasin valley. The head of this valley, north of the little village of Darkot, is blocked by a huge mass of snowy mountains. In their midst there hangs a glacier among several others which can be traversed due north to reach what we now know as Upper Chitral.
The icy grip of the Darkot Glacier gives way in the north to an area that suddenly reminds one of the title Bam-e-Dunya — Roof of the World — that the high Pamirs are known by. Here on the fringe of the Pamirs, the landscape consists of rolling downs, lakes and peaks which, after the jagged towering crags of the Yasin valley, seem deceptively low giving one the impression of being on the roof. The rock wall to the north is cleaved by a saddle that has for a very long time been known as the Broghal Pass.
It was to this country that the Tibetans came by way of Yasin and Darkot. Then across the 3,800-metres-high saddle of Broghal, they reached Wakhan, the home of Tajik and Kirghiz herdsmen. Here in the bleak and wind-scoured landscape where the Oxus River is but a piddling stream, the Tibetans established a large garrison to stake out their claim to the land.

To continue reading the article...

The present exercise by Xinhua is probably mainly to deny the existence of a delineated border between India and Tibet (i.e. the McMahon Line).
Whether Beijing likes it or not, the McMahon line is a historical which Zhou Enlai himself was ready to accept in the 1950's.

Opinion: Tibet's "independence day" just a farce
English.news.cn
February 11, 2013
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- As Tibetans in China bask in festivity to celebrate the "Water Snake Losar", or the Tibetan New Year's Day, some separatists are inciting commemorations of Tibet's so-called "100th Independence Day".
Propaganda for the planned Feb. 13 commemorations have appeared on websites of Students for a Free Tibet, a New York-based organization of exiled Tibetans advocating "Tibet's independence", "Tibetan Youth Congress" as well as popular social networking sites such as Facebook.
Such fanfare is just a farce in the present tense, and a slap in the face in retrospect of foreign aggression to China's modern history -- including that of Tibet.
"Solid" evidence the "Tibet independence" advocates cited was the so-called "Tibetan Proclamation of Independence", which they claimed to have been issued by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913.
As a matter of fact, the document unveiled by Students for a Free Tibet last May was sheer fabrication, way apart from the original document, which was an internal speech on Buddhism and published in the form of a letter in 1932.
Re-creation of the "independence proclamation" was just a copycat of Dutchman Michael Walt van Praag's misconception in his 1987 publication, "The Status of Tibet".
In this book, van Praag said Tibet gained independence in 1913, marked by the 13th Dalai Lama's signing of the document.
The Dutchman attributed this piece of information to Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa, a former aristocrat and official of Old Tibet who published "Tibet, A Political History" in English in 1967.
In this book, Shakabpa, who was for Tibet's independence, said the 13th Dalai Lama described Tibet as a "small, religious and independent nation" in a 1913 declaration of Buddhism.
But researchers on modern history and Tibetan studies claim the exact word the Dalai Lama used in this all-Tibetan declaration was "region" (bodljongs in Tibetan) instead of "nation" or "country" which translated into "rgylkhab" in Tibetan.
Historical facts over the past centuries provide evidence against the "Tibet independence" myth.
Tibet came under the direct rule of the Chinese central government during the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century. In 1288, the Yuan regime formalized a ministry-level agency to administer the entire Tibetan region.
During the Qing Dynasty, all the Dalai Lama reincarnations required approval from Beijing.
After the Republic of China was founded in 1911, it reaffirmed the central government's authority over Tibet in the republic's first constitution.
Tibet elected 20 delegates to the national congress in 1913.
The 13th Dalai Lama and the 9th Panchen Lama both sent representatives to the national leadership conference of the Republic of China in 1931.
In 1940, the national government set up its Lhasa branch of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.
The "Tibet independence" myth was just a fantasy that evolved during the late 19th century as a product of imperialist invasion -- particularly by the British invaders.
In 1888 and 1904 British troops invaded Tibet twice and were resisted by local Tibetan people.
At least four times during the Kuomintang's rule, the British offered military supplies to Tibet's local government to instigate uprisings.
Representatives of Great Britain and China met in 1913-1914 to negotiate a treaty marking out the boundary lines between India and its northern neighbors.
But the Chinese government never recognized the Simla Convention, which attempted to grant China secular control over "Inner Tibet," while recognizing the autonomy of "Outer Tibet" under the Dalai Lama's rule.
Behind the back of the Chinese delegates, the British created the notorious "McMahon Line" in an under-the-table deal with Tibetan representative Xazha, which the Chinese government never accepted.
According to the deal, Tibet was to cede 90,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory to Britain in exchange for further British pressure on China to seek Tibet's independence.
The "McMahon Line" was never accepted by the Chinese government. But foreign intervention continued until after Tibet's liberation in 1951.
Looking back on history, it's easy to see what the "Tibet independence" myth is all about and who is behind the fantasy.
It is therefore ridiculous for the overseas separatist forces to play up the farce and expect applause from the audience.

Reting and the Dalai Lamas' reincarnations

Agence France-Presse (and Xinhua before) reported that the 7th Reting Rinpoche, Sonam Phuntsok has become the youngest member of the Tibet Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The Reting incarnations have not been foreign to controversy in the past.
It is true that Beijing has recently been trying its best to increase its control over reincarnations of Tibetan lamas (and ultimately the Dalai Lama's), thus legitimizing the Communist rule over the Himalayan region.
One needs to point out that, contrary to what the AFP says, the Reting reincarnation was only one of lineages which could become Regents of Tibet and thereby conduct the identification and recognition process of a deceased Dalai Lama, (the Chinese agencies have put correctly).
By promoting the present puppet, Beijing probably believes that the new Reting will be able to 'conduct' the search for the 15th Dalai Lama.
But he himself lacks legitimacy, being a pure product of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China; how could any Tibetan accepts his choice as the correct one?
More interesting, the 5th Reting who help finding the present Dalai Lama closely collaborated with the Nationalist regime of Chiang Kai-shek in the 1940s, putting the Tibetan nation in grave danger.
In an excellent book, Tibet and Nationalist China’s Frontier: Intrigues and Ethnopolitics, 1928-49, (University of British Columbia, 2006), based on the Nationalist archives in Taiwan, Hsiao-ting Lin brings new lights on this dark period of the Tibetan history.
The 5th Reting incarnation, who had the merit to direct the search party for the 14th Dalai Lama in the right direction, nevertheless played a doubtful role later. I am posting here a few extracts Hsiao-ting Lin's books: 

THE KMT REGIME'S UNDERGROUND WORK IN TIBET
It is best to begin the story by tracing Nationalist China's intelligence activities in Tibet. The war of resistance against Japan forced Chiang Kai-shek's regime to retreat from coastal China to the interior. The geographical proximity of southwest China and Tibet, along with the Nationalist regime's relatively consolidated status in the southwest, provided Chiang Kai-shek with opportunities to initiate his intelligence networks within the Tibetan boundary for the first time since 1928. An MTAC [Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission] wartime schedule in 1959 revealed that the Nationalists were ready not only to enlarge existing prewar intelligence units in the border areas of Kokonor, Alashan, Ordos, and Xikang, but were also prepared to install new stations in western Yunnan, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The expansion of the Chinese Office in Lhasa, as a result of the Wu Zhongxin mission of 1940, further offered Chongqing a legitimate excuse to dispatch more staff to work in Tibet. By 1945 the two major intelligence units of the Nationalist government, the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Military Affairs Commission, and the Second Chamber of the Ministry of Military Ordinance, respectively established their positions in Tibet. According to one autobiographical source, nearly all of the Chinese staff holding important official positions in Lhasa, such as master of the Chinese School in Lhasa, director of the wireless station, and head of the meteorological station, were serving concurrently as Chinese secret agents. The KMT [Kuomintang] Nationalists had two main objectives for their underground operations in Tibet: first, to construct a sound intelligence network throughout the whole of Tibet and recruit as many local inhabitants as possible to serve their regime, and second, to enhance the Nationalist government's links with pro-Han Chinese elements, with a view to counteracting a Tibetan government that was out of China's effective control.

...Cultivating Tibetan pro-Han factions became a more imperative goal after 1941, when the Radreng [Reting] Hutuktu [Mongol title] resigned from his regentship. During his reign, from 1954 to 1941, Radreng allowed the entry into Tibet of two important Chinese missions led by Huang Musong in 1934 and Wu Zhongxin in 1940. Wu's high-profile visit to Lhasa even constituted a huge propagandist victory for the Chinese, who claimed to have "presided over" the enthronement of the new 14th Dalai Lama. Radreng had also permitted the presence of a Chinese Office in Lhasa, and he had been more than pleased to receive honorific titles and handsome gifts from the Nationalist authorities. He was therefore generally described both in Chinese public opinion of the 1940S and over the past several decades of Chinese historiography as a ''pro-Han Chinese" Tibetan figure.

...Despite efforts made by the capable Shen Zonglian [Chinese Representative in Lhasa] to woo important Tibetan figures over to the Chinese side, most high Nationalist officials set their hopes on the ex-regent Radreng Hutuktu, whose political weight in Tibet could not be overlooked during the closing years of the Second World War. This fact was demonstrated in May 1945, when the sixth KMT National Conference was in session. Using the name of the party leader, not the head of the state of the Chinese Republic, Chiang Kai-shek personally invited Radreng to visit Chongqing and to participate in the forthcoming event. When it became clear that the former Tibetan regent was unable to arrange his trip due to the delicate political relationship between Chongqing and Lhasa, Chiang Kai-shek still hoped that he might be able to send a personal envoy to China's wartime capital. When even this option proved to be impractical, owing to the tremendous political pressure from the Taktra administration, Chiang Kai-shek decided to appoint Radreng as a member of the KMT Central Executive Committee, an appointment that no doubt bore considerable political symbolism. Obviously, the Nationalist planners were generally convinced that Radreng would return to power, but this proved to be wrong.

In the mid-forties, when Reting started fighting with Taktra Rinpoche, the new Regent to return to power, he shamefully approached Chiang's government for support.

...NATIONALIST REACTION TO THE RADRENG-TAKTRA FRICTION
His abortive attempt to reclaim power in Lhasa caused the ex-regent to return to his own monastery hugely depressed and indignant. Thereafter, Radreng strengthened secret contacts with the Nationalist government. In a conversation with a KMT intelligence agent in Tibet, Radreng openly requested Chiang Kai-shek to help him overthrow the existing Lhasa authorities. He urged China to send troops directly into Lhasa to assist his plot against Taktra. If Chinese troops could not overthrow Lhasa authorities, Radreng suggested that Nanking should at least move Chinese troops to the border as a gesture of support. If neither of these options were possible, the ex-regent hoped that the Chinese could at least provide him with the necessary ammunition, such as rifles, machine guns, and bullets, so that he could develop his own military force. In appreciation of Nationalist aid, Radreng promised that once he had successfully resumed his position, his new regime would immediately declare its wish to join the Chinese Republic and recognize Chinese overlordship.
The ex-regent's proposal immediately caught Chiang Kai-shek's attention. 

After playing the Panchen Lama's card, Beijing will try the Reting one. 
But the Communist Party has no legitimacy to decide on a subject which till recently was considered in the Middle Kingdom as poison. 
The Chinese new agencies give thus the pedigree of the new Reting:

When the 6th Reting Rinpoche, Reting Tenzin Jigme Thutop Wangchuk, passed away in 1997, the Tibet autonomous regional government and the Lhasa city government organized and formed one leader team and one council team according to the Tibetan Buddhist canon to look for the Yangsid [yangtsi], or the infant reincarnation candidate.
After a year's inspection activities, Lodro Gyatso, a herdsman's son from Arza township in Lhari County of Tibet's Nagqu Prefecture, was confirmed to be the 7th Reting Rinpoche.
On Jan 16, 2000, a lineage and ordination ritual was held in front of the Shakyamuni stupa in Lhasa's Jokhang Temple.
On July 14, 2000, with the mandate and entrust of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, the Tibet autonomous regional government gave an official approval that Lodro Gyatso, born in Tibet's Lhari County on October 13, 1997, was the 7th Reting Hutuktu.
Reting Hutuktu, or Reting Rinpoche, is one of the eight Hutuktus in Tibetan Buddhism and is one of the four Hutuktus eligible to be the regent of Tibet before the Dalai Lama takes over the reins of government upon coming of age.
Reting Rinpoche lives in the Reting Monastery in Lhunzhub County in Lhasa, which is the ancestral temple of the Kadam Sect Tibetan Buddhism. Built in 1051 AD, the Reting Monastery is 350 years older than the three major monasteries in Lhasa (Gandan, Drepung and Sera Monastery).

However, the Chinese have missed an important event: the next Dalai Lama will not "take over the reins of government upon coming of age", as he has now relinquished for good his political role in favour of an elected leader. 
This is probably terribly embarrassing for Beijing, as in the future, the Communist Party (or its successor) will be unable to play the Dalai Lama's card.
 

Beijing appoints teenager to Tibetan CPPCC
January, 9, 2013
Agence France-Presse
Beijing
China's choice as one of the most important figures in the Tibetan religious hierarchy, aged just 16, has been given his first political appointment, state media said yesterday.
China enthroned Sonam Phuntsok in 2000 as the seventh Reting Rinpoche, a line of figures who have traditionally taken charge between the death of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and the identification of his successor.
His selection was seen as an attempt by Beijing to increase its control over reincarnations of Tibetan lamas and to legitimise its rule over the region, with monks at the Reting monastery protesting at the time.
Now, as Tibet is roiled by ethnic tensions, the teenager has become the youngest member of the Tibet Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, according to China Daily.
The CPPCC is a nominated advisory body which plays a key role in policy debate in China and officially performs "democratic supervision" of the ruling party.
Following his appointment, the teenager told the state-run newspaper that he would "keep the Reting lineage of patriotism and the love for the religion".
There was no mention of the Dalai Lama in the article and his latest blog post was quoted as saying: "Don't care about who is the leader, but care about who treats the people well."
Beijing blames the self-immolations on separatist forces and the Dalai Lama, accusing the Nobel laureate of inciting the acts.
Many Tibetans accuse the government of religious repression and eroding their culture, as the country's majority Han ethnic group increasingly moves into historically Tibetan areas.
The fifth Reting Rinpoche played an important role in identifying the present Dalai Lama, who was enthroned in 1940, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.
Sonam Phuntsok was enthroned as the seventh Reting Rinpoche in 1999.

Finally equal?

Declaration of Independence (1913)

As Tibetans in exile celebrate the 100 years of the proclamation of their Independence (issued by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913), a great news was announced.
As Phayul.com put it: "After years of debate and careful deliberation, Tibetan Buddhist nuns are finally set to receive Geshema degrees (equivalent of a PHD in Buddhist Philosophy)."
Can you imagine that a 'revolutionary' religion like Buddhism would not accept the equivalent of a doctorate degree for a woman/nun?
Can you imagine a Western or Indian University refusing a PhD to a woman because she is a woman?
It sounds like Middle-Age.
Though we are living in the 21st century, many Lamas (or so-called Lamas) still believe that women are 'inferior' (or 'different').
The 'historical' decision was arrived at a high-level meeting arranged by the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala.
The Secretary of Department affirmed that the push came from the Dalai Lama: "His Holiness the Dalai Lama has over the years strongly advocated for Geshema degrees and guided the concerned people in arriving at this decision.”
The Karmapa (who, by the way, has been cleared of all charges in the pending cases for unaccounted money) has also been pushing hard.
Phayul conitunes: "Nuns have been graduating from the rigorous 19-year program of philosophical studies as required for the normal Geshe curriculum study of the Five Great Canonical Texts. Now with the decision, nuns, at par with monks, have the opportunity to appear for the very stringent doctorate examinations."

The two issues (the Independence of Tibet and the place of nuns in the old Tibetan society),seem unconnected, but they perhaps are not. 
The Fate of Tibet would perhaps been different if women had been given their due place and if the large monasteries had not been so conservative.
Old Tibet was in many ways a very backward society, but it was certainly no reason to enslave it in a more backward system (Marxism with Chinese characteristics).



Proclamation of Independence issued by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913 (Eighth Day of the First Month of the Water-Ox Year)
Translation 
I, the Dalai Lama, most omniscient possessor of the Buddhist faith, whose title was conferred by the Lord Buddha's command from the glorious land of India, speak to you as follows:
I am speaking to all classes of Tibetan people. Lord Buddha, from the glorious country of India, prophesied that the reincarnations of Avalokitesvara, through successive rulers from the early religious kings to the present day, would look after the welfare of Tibet.
During the time of Genghis Khan and Altan Khan of the Mongols, the Ming dynasty of the Chinese, and the Ch'ing Dynasty of the Manchus, Tibet and China cooperated on the basis of benefactor and priest relationship. A few years ago, the Chinese authorities in Szechuan and Yunnan endeavored to colonize our territory. They brought large numbers of troops into central Tibet on the pretext of policing the trade marts. I, therefore, left Lhasa with my ministers for the Indo-Tibetan border, hoping to clarify to the Manchu emperor by wire that the existing relationship between Tibet and China had been that of patron and priest and had not been based on the subordination of one to the other. There was no other choice for me but to cross the border, because Chinese troops were following with the intention of taking me alive or dead.
On my arrival in India, I dispatched several telegrams to the Emperor; but his reply to my demands was delayed by corrupt officials at Peking. Meanwhile, the Manchu empire collapsed. The Tibetans were encouraged to expel the Chinese from central Tibet. I, too, returned safely to my rightful and sacred country, and I am now in the course of driving out the remnants of Chinese troops from DoKham in Eastern Tibet. Now, the Chinese intention of colonizing Tibet under the patron-priest relationship has faded like a rainbow in the sky. Having once again achieved for ourselves a period of happiness and peace, I have now allotted to all of you the following duties to be carried out without negligence:

1. Peace and happiness in this world can only be maintained by preserving the faith of Buddhism. It is, therefore, essential to preserve all Buddhist institutions in Tibet, such as the Jokhang temple and Ramoche in Lhasa, Samye, and Traduk in southern Tibet, and the three great monasteries, etc.

2. The various Buddhist sects in Tibet should be kept in a distinct and pure form. Buddhism should be taught, learned, and meditated upon properly. Except for special persons, the administrators of monasteries are forbidden to trade, loan money, deal in any kind of livestock, and/or subjugate another's subjects.

3. The Tibetan government's civil and military officials, when collecting taxes or dealing with their subject citizens, should carry out their duties with fair and honest judgment so as to benefit the government without hurting the interests of the subject citizens. Some of the central government officials posted at Ngari Korsum in western Tibet, and Do Kham in eastern Tibet, are coercing their subject citizens to purchase commercial goods at high prices and have imposed transportation rights exceeding the limit permitted by the government. Houses, properties and lands belonging to subject citizens have been confiscated on the pretext of minor breaches of the law. Furthermore, the amputation of citizens' limbs has been carried out as a form of punishment. Henceforth, such severe punishments are forbidden.

4. Tibet is a country with rich natural resources; but it is not scientifically advanced like other lands. We are a small, religious, and independent nation. To keep up with the rest of the world, we must defend our country. In view of past invasions by foreigners, our people may have to face certain difficulties, which they must disregard. To safeguard and maintain the independence of our country, one and all should voluntarily work hard. Our subject citizens residing near the borders should be alert and keep the government informed by special messenger of any suspicious developments. Our subjects must not create major clashes between two nations because of minor incidents.

5. Tibet, although thinly populated, is an extensive country. Some local officials and landholders are jealously obstructing other people from developing vacant lands, even though they are not doing so themselves. People with such intentions are enemies of the State and our progress. From now on, no one is allowed to obstruct anyone else from cultivating whatever vacant lands are available. Land taxes will not be collected until three years have passed; after that the land cultivator will have to pay taxes to the government and to the landlord every year, proportionate to the rent. The land will belong to the cultivator.

Your duties to the government and to the people will have been achieved when you have executed all that I have said here. This letter must be posted and proclaimed in every district of Tibet, and a copy kept in the records of the offices in every district.
From the Potala Palace.
(Seal of the Dalai Lama)
Source: W.D. Shakabpa, 'Tibet: A Political History'

And Long and Dark shall be the Night

Very sad news heard on Radio Free Asia! 
The house of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama has been demolished by the People's Liberation Army.
Can you imagine the house where Abraham Lincoln or Churchill or Napoleon Bonaparte lived, being brought down to build army barracks?
Is it the hallmark of a civilized society?
Once again, it shows that in Tibet, China acts purely as a colonizer . 
Are we living in the 21st or the 19th century?
The Testament of the Great Thirteenth Dalai Lama comes to my mind:

However, the Gods whom I followed like a shadow, the venerable teachers, those who reveres me, those who offered me their wealth and property, the rich and the poor, they, my subjects, all have not only in words but in heart imposed upon me their hopes and aspirations. Because of this, I can not think of giving up my responsibilities. Therefore, with what little I know, I am trying my best to serve you all earnestly and honestly. But remember I am now reaching my fifty eighth year and as you all are aware that between me and the new reincarnation there will be a period when there will be no ruler.
Therefore take measures now. Maintain friendly relations with the two great powers, China and India, conscript able soldiers to guard the borders and make them sufficiently strong to ward off those countries with whom we have had border disputes. The armed forces should be drilled and disciplined so as to be effective and strong to overcome those who threaten us. These precautions should be taken at a time when the forces of degeneration are most prevalent and when Communism is on the spread.

Remember the fate that befell the Mongolian nation when Communists overran the country and where the Head Lama's reincarnation was for-bidden, where property was totally confiscated and where monasteries and religion were completely wiped out. These things have happened, are happening and will happen in the land which is the Centre of Buddhism [Tibet].

If you are not able to defend yourselves now, the institutions of the Dalai Lama, venerable incarnates and those who protect the Teachings shall be wiped out completely. Monasteries shall be looted, property confiscated and all living beings shall be destroyed. The memorable rule of the Three Guardian kings of Tibet, the very institutions of the state and religion shall be banned and forgotten. The property of the officials shall be confiscated; they shall be slaves of the conquerors and shall roam the land in bondage. All souls shall be immersed in suffering and the night shall be long and dark.

Now, when there is peace and happiness, when you have the power, work, work earnestly and wholeheartedly for the general welfare. Use peaceful methods where peace is due, use force where force is necessary: work and persevere now, that there are no regrets later. In your hands, officials of the Government, the holders of the Teachings and my people, lies the future of the country. Without employing wrong and base methods, rise up together and work for the general good of the land. If you do, we too will have the assurance and protection given by the State Oracle to Guru Rinpoche and the lineage of the previous Dalai Lamas.

For my part, to those who work and persevere for the general good, I offer them my prayers and blessings. For those who only work for their own welfare, the fate and Karma will take care of them. Though they might prosper for some time, leaving aside their Government duties and watching the time pass, all I see is disaster in the future. It would be too late then to regret.
In my lifetime conditions will be as they are now, peaceful and quiet. But the future holds darkness and misery. I have warned you of these things because of my experience and other important reasons.

More I cannot say or advise.

13th Dalai Lama's Home Demolished
2011-06-15
Chinese authorities reject family appeals to protect historic site.
A backhoe demolishes the former family home of the 13th Dalai Lama in Thakpo, Tibet, June 10, 2011.
Chinese authorities have demolished the century-old Langdun family residence of Tibet’s 13th Dalai Lama despite appeals to protect the heritage site, a Tibetan source close to the Langdun family said.
The house of Thupten Gyatso, predecessor to the current Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, was situated close to the Kyichu river, south of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
It was located in an area controlled by the Lhasa Military Center and was declared a "historic structure to be protected," said the source, who lives in Tibet.
He said that demolition of the house began on June 10.
“This historic house about 100 years old with ties to the 13th Dalai Lama was demolished within a short time,” he added.
The 13th Dalai Lama, often referred to by Tibetans as the “Great 13th,” was born to a peasant couple in Dakpo in southern Tibet.
“Family members of the Langdun household appealed to the Lhasa city government to protect [the residence] from demolition, but they were disappointed," the source said.
"City authorities explained that they were helpless when the house is located in the area controlled by Lhasa Military Center.”
Authorities tightlipped
Contacted for details of the demolition, a female official of the Lhasa Military Center said, "I am sorry, I don’t know about it.”
Thupten Gyatso was recognized by Tibetan religious authorities as the reincarnation of the 12th Dalai in 1877.
The 13th Dalai Lama ruled Tibet during a British invasion of the country in 1904 and a Chinese invasion in 1909/10, but survived both experiences with his authority enormously enhanced, according to the website of the current Dalai Lama.
He later predicted China’s 1950 invasion of Tibet and died at the age of 57 in December 1933 after urging modernization of the Tibetan Army.
The current Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed 1959 national uprising against Chinese occupation, has been the face and symbol of the Tibetan freedom struggle for more than five decades.
Reported by Yeshi Tashi for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai and Richard Finney.
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