The human side to the Tibet issue

China has found a new definition for ‘corruption’.
In an article posted on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), responsible for the anti-corruption campaign, Chen Quanguo, Tibet’s Party Secretary, made a strange declaration.
Chen asserted: “Tibet's lack of oxygen and position at the frontline of fighting separatism did not mean it ignored the battle against corruption.”
It is true that very few heads have rolled in Tibet so far; only Le Dake, the head of the Tibetan Autonomous Region’s (TAR) dreaded Security Department, responsible of collecting ‘hostile foreign intelligence’ in Tibet and in India, has been demoted (Le Dake’s name had appeared in 2008 as the official responsible for a military/security cell to watch over Tibetans in order to ‘save’ the Olympic Games from hostile Western attacks).
Chen Quanguo now says that the Party's fight against corruption also applies to officials "who follow the Dalai clique, go abroad to pay respects to the 14th Dalai Lama and send children or relatives to the schools run by the Dalai clique will also be punished.”
He announced that the TAR has already promulgated 15 regulations to investigate and severely punish party members who have no firm ideal and conviction and “have an incorrect view on minority's issues and profess no religious belief but secretly believe.”
Already in April, the State Council (China’s Cabinet) released a White Paper about Tibet’s development path. It was not the first WP published by the Chinese Government on the subject; in fact, it was the 13th since the State Council first attempted to justify its position about ‘ownership and human rights’ in September 1992.
The main characteristic of this last avatar was a violent attack against the Dalai Lama. One could ask, why assail the Tibetan leader at a time when many in China realise that the Buddhist monk is the best bet if Beijing is seriously trying to find a solution to the Tibetan issue.
The longish paper however warned: “The wheels of history roll forward and the tides of the times are irresistible. …Any person or force that attempts to resist the tide will simply be cast aside by history and by the people.”
Beijing was mistaken about the tides’ direction: democracy, freedom of thought and speech are accepted concepts everywhere on the planet, except in the Middle Kingdom which seems to have passed into reverse gear under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
The White Paper requested the Dalai Lama to ‘put aside his illusions’ about Tibet’s future status. The timing of the publication was linked to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. In 1965, Tibet was divided into five areas, about one third becoming the TAR, while other parts of historic Tibet were officially integrated in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai; divide and rule at its best.
Today, the irony is that Beijing still insists that it will nominate the next Dalai Lama; the Communist Party seems absolutely unable to see how illogical its stand is. Poor Karl Marx must turn in his tomb!
In March, as China's 12th National People's Congress (NPC) opened with the usual fanfare at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Padma Choling, the TAR’s Chairman, had already created a flutter by declaring: “it's not up to the Dalai Lama to decide [about his own reincarnation].” The Tibetan official was objecting to the Dalai Lama’s earlier announcement saying that ‘[his] traditional religious role should cease with his death’.
Padma Choling affirmed that if the Dalai Lama decides about his reincarnation it will “upset the reincarnation system that has been honored for hundreds of years in Tibet and destabilize the Buddhist region.”
He added that the process: “should follow strict historical conventions and required religious rituals of the Tibetan Buddhism …and be approved by the central government,” in other words the Party.
Can you believe that according to Beijing, it is for the Communist Party of China to decide who will be the next Dalai Lama; it is the ‘tradition’, they affirm!
Choling affirmed that the Dalai Lama stopping his own lineage “is blasphemy against Tibetan Buddhism.”
How will the Communist Party choose the next Dalai Lama?
Probably like Gyaltsen Norbu, the current Panchen Lama anointed by the Party, by falsifying the dies thrown out a Golden Urn (incidentally, the rite had not been used for the previous 2 Dalai Lamas).
Chen’s declaration came as President Xi Jinping met with his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou to try to take a step forward in the Beijing-Taipei relationship. The South China Morning Post commented: “The talks, at a luxury hotel in the neutral venue of Singapore, lasted less than an hour but were heavy with symbolism.”
The two leaders, calling each other ‘Mr.’ shook hands during 70 seconds in front of hundreds of journalists and photographers from all over the world; Xi declared: "No force can pull us apart because we are brothers who are still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken, we are a family in which blood is thicker than water.”
This raises a serious question: while efforts are being made to have a more ‘normal’ relationship over the Strait, the relations over the Himalayas are getting tenser.
Why can’t President Xi meet the Dalai Lama on ‘neutral’ ground and shake the monk’s hand for a few seconds? After all it is also in China’s interests to sort out the Tibetan issue; further, there is a serious human tragedy behind the 65-year old ‘liberation’ of Tibet.
This human aspect should be tackled first.
I can give the personal example of a close Tibetan friend of mine. As a small child, soon after her mother passed away, she was brought to India while her father stayed behind in Tibet; she went to Dharamsala in order to receive a good Tibetan education. That was 38 years ago.
In 2004, with other members of her family living in India, she had the opportunity to meet her father again, …for 4 hours after her father was literally smuggled into a remote monastery near the border between Nepal and Tibet.
Recently my friend’s father became critically ill; she was unable to speak to him, the communications between India and Tibet being cut.
Her father passed away a few days ago, but she could not even phone her family left in Tibet; and, of course, no question of attending the funeral. She eventually got some news through a relative in Nepal, who was able to contact the family on the other side of the Himalayas.
With Party officials like Mr. Chen who considers that any Tibetan official having a contact with their relatives in India is ‘corrupt’, the inhuman situation facing the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet is bound to deteriorate further.
Why can’t the Modi government take the initiative of bringing some humanity into the fate of the Tibetans?
If North Koreans can meet South Koreans at designated places, why can’t India and China agree on a few places along the borders where relatives could meet from time to time?
It seems a small thing, but it would be a great step forward, a human step.
A meeting between Xi and the Dalai Lama could help making a breakthrough in this direction. In fact, it would be a great victory for China which dreams to become ‘normal’.

A mighty 'peaceful' China and the Indian border

Soon after the mega Parade was over, the blue sky disappeared again over the Tiananmen Square; pollution returned to the Chinese capital, so did President Xi Jinping’s headaches.
Xi will have to forget the glamour of the Grand Parade and deal again with the fluctuating stock exchanges, the poor figures of the Chinese economy and the ‘reforms’ not only in the financial sector, but also of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

A mighty 'peaceful' China
From the Rostrum of the Square, Xi declared: “War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace. Today, peace and development have become the prevailing trend, but the world is far from tranquil. War is the sword of Damocles that still hangs over mankind. We must learn the lessons of history and dedicate ourselves to peace.”
Has China learnt the lessons of History?
The problem is that Xi and his colleagues would like others to learn their lessons, as for them, China has always been on the right side of the history.
Xi used the occasion to make a Panchsheel-type declaration: “In the interest of peace, we need to foster a keen sense of a global community of shared future. Prejudice, discrimination, hatred and war can only cause disaster and suffering, while mutual respect, equality, peaceful development and common prosperity represent the right path to take.”
And reiterated that China was a peaceful nation: “China will remain committed to peaceful development. We Chinese love peace. No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation.”
All this with a mighty show of force happening just a few meters away!
Xi, to show his good intentions, announced that China will cut the number of PLA’s troops by 300,000 before 2017, while adjusting the ratio of ground, air and naval forces ‘to better cope with modern warfare’.
‘Better coping with modern warfare’ means 'peaceful' in Beijing’s dictionary.
Soon after the Parade was over, Yang Yujun, the Ministry of National Defense’s spokesman clarified during a press conference: "Chinese armed forces will be slimmer but more capable, and their composition will be more scientific."
A Chinese ‘expert’ told The Global Times: “The number of troops equipped with the latest weaponry will increase. Airborne troops, especially, would make a difference in future landing actions and attacks, their assault ability would be enhanced when deployed on air transport planes.“
Some other analysts believe that the future commander of a battle could be an officer from air or naval forces, like the US Pacific Command, which is led by a naval officer.
A recently leaked military report suggests that the reforms would involve the dismantling of China's seven remaining major military regions; the seven military districts would be consolidated into four major combat regions: the Northeast Combat Region, the Southwest Combat Region, the Southeast Combat Region and the Northwest Combat Region.
The Northeast Combat Region would comprise the areas currently under the Beijing Military Region (MR) and the Shenyang MR; it will have its headquarters in Beijing.
The Northwest Combat Region would be the area of the Lanzhou MR, and have its central headquarters in Lanzhou; while the Southwest Combat Region would cover the area previously controlled by the Chengdu MR (with its headquarters in Chengdu). Finally, the Southwest Combat Region would regroup the current Guangzhou, Nanjing and Jinan MRs and be headquartered in Guangzhou.
Further, and more difficult to envisage, the Combat Regions may not actually command troops. Though troops will technically be under the PLA Army, PLA Navy and PLA Air Force central command headquarters during peacetime, the army, navy and air force would each establish a joint command unit, in each of the combat regions and these units could command the troops in case of a war.
It seems rather complicated as the command structure changes depending on whether China is at war or at peace.
A collateral of the reform: a Taiwanese website WantChinaTimes claims that, “the troops to be cut may be transferred to form to ten armed police tactical units and 100 armed police warfare groups, with both likely to be stationed in the restive Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.”
Some troops will probably be sent to Tibet too.

The Old Tibet Spirit
The International Campaign for Tibet recently reported major troop movements on the Tibetan plateau, “including tanks or heavy artillery in convoys of more than 200 vehicles, have been observed in different parts of Tibet in the buildup to the September 1 anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which will be attended by Chinese leaders from Beijing. The People’s Liberation Army held major live fire exercises this week led by the Chengdu military district that oversees Tibet and the border areas.”
Soon after the Sixth Tibet Work Forum was held in Beijing China Tibet Online asserted that the Forum “clearly defined the Party’s strategy and systematically outlined the policies for governing Tibet.”
Interestingly, President Xi asked the Party cadres to carry forward the fine tradition and to instill a new meaning into the ‘Old Tibetan Spirit'.
What is this ‘Old Tibetan Spirit’?
The article answers “the ability to endure hardship, to fight, to tolerate, to unite, to devote”.
It further explains that it was the ‘Spirit’ of the People’s Liberation Army when they ‘swept through the whole of China as the liberation war was coming to an end’; the article adding: “Only Tibet hadn’t been liberated on the mainland”.
Mao would have written to the Southwest Bureau (looking after Tibet affairs) that India and the United States were casting an eye on Tibet: “we must march into Tibet sooner rather than later, otherwise trouble awaits.”
Mao invaded Tibet to protect the Roof of the World from Indian designs!!!
Who is to believe this?
A few months before Tibet’s invasion, the 18th Army Commanders took ‘sonorous oaths at a swearing-in ceremony’: “We will resolutely stick the five-star red flag in the Himalayan mountains so happy flowers can bloom all over Tibet!"
The ‘Spirit’ was “that ability to endure hardship and spirit to fight which led to the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951.”
Then the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet Highways: “3,000 soldiers and civilians lost their lives when building the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet Highway, which is the equivalent of one soldier falling every kilometer!”
More interesting the Old Spirit was forged, according to the Chinese official website, during the Sino-Indian War: “After the People’s Liberation Army entered Tibet, a series of territorial issues arose due to Tibet sharing a border with India. The relationship between China and India soured after talks between both sides broke down and the Sino-Indian Border Conflict broke out in 1962.”
The website further asserts: “During the Sino-Indian War, China’s frontier guards amassed [sic] a total of more than 2,400 casualties. They drove out the invading Indian army and protected the territory and sovereignty of the motherland, at the same time as dealing a blow to the arrogance of the Indian expansionists.”
Can you believe that when Xi Jinping speaks of ‘peace’ in Tiananmen Square, the official propaganda machinery speaks of “the arrogance of the Indian expansionists” which help the PLA and the Party cadres posted on the plateau to forge the ‘Old Tibet Spirit’.
This is today given as an example to follow.

What about the borders with India?
Soon after the Forum, China Daily mentioned an International Seminar on Border Control Law Enforcement Cooperation and Border Security and Stability which took place in  Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia August 26.
The Seminar's statement quotes Xi Jinping, who affirmed during the Work Forum: “Given that the stability and security in the Tibet autonomous region are closely relevant to those of the whole nation, any work related to the region should focus on maintaining national unity and consolidating ethnic solidarity.”
This remarks, says China Daily are “an elaboration of the practical and long-term strategic significance of Tibet's stability to the country as a whole.”
The article brings back the old ‘imperialist’ concept of ‘buffer zone, and adapts it with Chinese characteristics: “As a border region, Tibet has long served as an important safety shield for the whole country. Thus, solidarity among the various ethnic groups and a sense of national identity are of the utmost importance. Ensuring the region's stability and security should be the key aims for government work related to Tibet and Tibetans, and these will also help create favorable conditions for the region's economic development and raising local people's living standards.”
Why to have an International Seminar to discuss these issues, including China’s borders with India, in Inner Mongolia?
I have no answer.
Apparently, the conclusion of the Seminar was “National unity is in the interests of Chinese people from all ethnic groups and ethnic solidarity offers an important guarantee for national unity. Considering the fact that more than 90 percent of inhabitants of Tibet are Tibetans, national work related to the region should be particularly focused on how to promote solidarity between Tibetans and other ethnic groups as a way of enhancing national cohesion.”
All this means that despite that ‘reducing’ of the ground forces size, the border with India remains a priority for Beijing.
Has China learned some lessons of History?

PS: While this was written, I realized that Beijing has published another White Paper, the second in 5 months.
It does not mention the role of the PLA and China's borders, it just speaks of the so-called achievements of the People’s Republic of China:

Since the democratic reform was carried out in 1959 and regional ethnic autonomy came into practice in 1965, Tibet has established the new socialist system and achieved historic leaps and bounds in its economic and social development. Tibet has taken a road that unites it with all China's ethnic groups and struggles to develop equally, achieve prosperity, and make progress with them. As part of the Chinese nation, the Tibetan people fulfill the right to participate equally in the management of state affairs; they are thus managers of local social affairs and masters of their own destiny, creating and sharing the material and spiritual wealth of Tibet.

It raises more questions than it answers.
If Tibetans are so happy and well-off, why to publish 2 White Papers in a row? Why does China need to hammer again and again, that the Tibetans are the masters of their own destiny?
Why does Beijing keep the Panchen Lama, selected by the Dalai Lama, under house arrest? Is he master of his own destiny?
Many more questions remain unanswered.

Threats to China

Chinese commandos trying new QSZ-92 pistols in Urumqi, Xinjiang

My article Threats to China appeared today in The Statesman

Here is the link...

The recent White Paper (WP) on China's military strategy affirms that the country generally enjoys a favourable environment for development, but external challenges are increasing. Though only briefly mentioned, the Middle Kingdom faces many internal threats too. The WP speaks of many multiple and complex security risks, “leaving China an arduous task to safeguard its national unification, territorial integrity and development interests?”
Of course in Beijing’s eyes, the main villain is Washington; Beijing does not appreciate the US ‘rebalancing’ strategy’ and its enhanced military presence in the region. Then, there is Japan. Mao would have probably called Tokyo a US lackey; the WP affirms that Japan is “sparing no effort to dodge the post-war mechanism, overhauling its military and security policies.”
In view of these major threats, Beijing believes that China now “faces a long-standing task to safeguard its maritime rights and interests.” Other nations certainly do not share the same perception about peace and stability in the region; this does not bother Beijing as the WP affirms: “Some of its offshore neighbours take provocative actions and reinforce their military presence on China’s reefs and islands that they have illegally occupied.” It further adds: “Some external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few maintain constant air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China”.
Well, there is another side to the coin. Ask Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines or even India for that matter, they can tell you.
The WP lists the Korean Peninsula and North-east Asia as being ‘shrouded in instability and uncertainty’, but perhaps more importantly for Beijing, the “Taiwan independence separatist forces”, are described as the biggest threat to the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. That is not all, and here come the ‘internal’ threats “Separatist forces for ‘East Turkistan independence’ (Xinjiang) and ‘Tibet independence’ have inflicted serious damage, particularly with escalating violent terrorist activities by ‘East Turkistan independence’ forces.” Beijing should seriously consider this particular menace at a time when China is financing the Pakistan Economic Corridor. It is also an open admission that Beijing is more bothered by a ‘terrorist’ Xinjiang than a non-violent ‘Tibet’.
One of the WP’s conclusions is that “China’s national security is more vulnerable to international and regional turmoil, terrorism, piracy, serious natural disasters and epidemics, and the security of overseas interests concerning energy and resources, strategic sea lines of communication.”
In the years to come, this will practically translate to an important enhancement of the capacity of the Peoples’ Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China believes that the future belongs to those who will run the Sea. Has Delhi got the message?
Though Beijing has not given them the same pre-eminence as the ‘external threats’, the ‘internal’ ones, mainly Xinjiang and Tibet and the Internet, are serious enough to call a three-day special meeting (held from May 18 to 20 in Beijing) of the United Front Work Department (UFW) of the CPC’s Central Committee. To tackle the internal dangers, Beijing badly needs the support of those still outside the Party. Addressing the UFW delegates, President Xi Jinping asked them to befriend and recruit more non-CPC intellectuals and business people. He further stressed their crucial role in economic development as well as in ‘cleansing’ the Internet. Xi invited the expertise of people like Jack Ma of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Lei Jun of Xiaomi Corp, to join the collective effort to build the Chinese Dream: “To unite the non-CPC intellectuals is basic and strategically important work under the party’s efforts to unite the nation and pool strength for realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation”.
According to Xinhua, Xi vowed to develop the widest patriotic united front to support the great Chinese renaissance. The President added: “Students studying abroad should also be encouraged to return home and serve the country in various ways.”
He asked communist officials to make friends with non-CPC intellectuals in ‘doing ideological work’ “Excellent non-CPC representatives should be guided to grasp the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Easier said than done!
He concluded by exhorting the cadres to be “sincere, modest and clean so that they can gain respect from non-CPC members and help them work together with the party.”
Xinhua noted that the conference came “against the backdrop of mounting challenges to the party’s agenda, including pro-democracy protests last year in Hong Kong and ethnic unrest in the far western region of Xinjiang.”
While the Defence publication is meant to tackle external threats, the UFW meeting was about ‘internal’ issues.
Around that time, Voice of America (Chinese programme) quoted the Ming Pao published in Hong Kong, which reported that the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (CYL) had decided to recruit 10.5 million Internet youth ‘propagandists’, mainly from colleges and universities.
 What is a ‘propagandist’?
Beijing needs to keep a tab and ‘help’ some 650 million Chinese Internet users to think as the Party wants them to think. This was revealed after the database of the Shanghai and Chongqing Communist Youth League (CYL) was hacked. On 4 April this year, a ‘Report on Public Opinion on the Internet’ from Donghua University came to light; it contained instructions on what should be tolerated (and what shouldn’t) on the Internet on a wide number of subjects, including military, political, and economic topics. In China, the ‘propagandists’ are known as the ‘Fifty Cent Party’ because they are paid 50 cents per ‘propaganda’ post supporting the Party. Thus they are able to monitor, control and direct the thought process of students. Beijing uses also ‘religion’ to control the masses.
At the time of the UFW conference, Madam Sun Chunlan, head of the UFW Department met some Tibetan Buddhist monks, who had just graduated as geshe (doctor) in Buddhist philosophy.
Incidentally, this is first time in recent years that a member of the Politburo also heads the UFW. It shows the importance of ‘co-opting’ non-Communist forces into the Chinese Dream and controlling the restive provinces. China Tibet Online reported that the awards ceremony was held at the Tibetan Buddhism College of China in Beijing on 20 May.
Madam Sun declared that the academic degree system advanced by the present Tibetan Buddhists is “an important measure in fostering Tibetan Buddhist religious believers to love their country and religion, as well as adapting religion to socialist society.” In other words, China trains Tibetan geshes with ‘socialist and Chinese characteristics’!
Madam Sun believed that these new geshes “would cherish and honour their award, help religious people, promote social development and the fine Tibetan Buddhism tradition of loving their country and religion,” and of course “observe and uphold the law, protect the country and its people, promote economic development and social and religious harmony.”
During the UFW conference, Xi Jinping also spoke of the “the positive influence that religious people and believers have on social and economic development.”
He pleaded with the UFW officials to make ‘active efforts’ to incorporate religions in socialist society, adding that ‘religions in China must be Chinese’.
Even the Tibetan religion should be ‘Chinese’!
In the meantime, another self-immolation was reported on the Tibetan plateau: a Tibetan woman set fire to herself protesting against Chinese repression in Gansu province. It is the second self-immolation this month. The International Campaign for Tibet based in Washington said that Sangye Tso, a 36-year-old mother of two, committed the fatal act outside a Chinese government building in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. She died immediately.
There is clearly a great disconnect between the official speech and the reality in Tibet and Xinjiang; this is the most serious ‘internal’ threat facing China today; a few ‘socialist’ geshes will not solve the problem.

China: internal challenges are increasing

Sun Chunlan visits China Tibet Online office (Sitar on her right, Chen Xiqing on her left)

The recent White Paper (WP) on China's Military Strategy affirms that “China enjoys generally favorable environment for development, but external challenges are increasing.”
Not only external challenges, internal as well, as we shall see.
What are these multiple and complex security threats, “leaving China an arduous task to safeguard its national unification, territorial integrity and development interests?”
Of course, the main villain in Beijing’s eyes is Washington and its ‘rebalancing’ strategy’ as well as its ‘enhanced’ military presence in the region.
Then Japan, which is “sparing no effort to dodge the post-war mechanism, overhauling its military and security policies.”
Beijing believes that it now “faces a long-standing task to safeguard its maritime rights and interests.”
If other nations do not share the same perception about peace and stability in the region, it does not bother the Middle Kingdom. The White Paper says: “Some of its offshore neighbors take provocative actions and reinforce their military presence on China's reefs and islands that they have illegally occupied. Some external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few maintain constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China.”
Well, there is another side to the coin.
Then, the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia are 'shrouded in instability and uncertainty', says the WP.
And of course, the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces are still “the biggest threat to the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.”
But there is more: “Separatist forces for ‘East Turkistan independence’ [Xinjiang] and ‘Tibet independence’ have inflicted serious damage, particularly with escalating violent terrorist activities by ‘East Turkistan independence’ forces.”
This is an open admission that Beijing is less bothered by a non-violent ‘Tibet’ than a ‘terrorist' Xinjiang.
The conclusion is that “China's national security is more vulnerable to international and regional turmoil, terrorism, piracy, serious natural disasters and epidemics, and the security of overseas interests concerning energy and resources, strategic sea lines of communication.”
This translates a very serious enhancement of the capacity of the Peoples’ Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) amongst other things.

The United Front Work Conference
The issues of Xinjiang and Tibet (and Taiwan) were also discussed during the meeting of the United Front Work Department (UFW) of the CPC Central Committee, held from May 18 to 20 in Beijing.
This conference should eventually pave the way for the 6th Tibet Work Forum, which may be held in the coming weeks.
Addressing the UFW delegates, President Xi Jinping asked the authorities to befriend and recruit more non-CPC intellectuals and representatives. He further stressed their role in economic development and ‘cleansing’ the Internet. It appears that he needs the non-Party know-how to help doing the job.
Xi invited the expertise of people like Jack Ma of Alibaba to join the collective efforts to build the Chinese Dream: “To unite the non-CPC intellectuals is basic and strategically important work under the party's efforts to unite the nation and pool strength for realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation”.
According to Xinhua, Xi vowed to “develop the widest patriotic united front” to support ‘the great Chinese renaissance’.
The president added: “Students studying abroad should also be encouraged to return home and serve the country in various ways.”
He asked communist officials to make friends with non-CPC intellectuals in ‘doing ideological work’: “Excellent non-CPC representatives should be guided to grasp the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
Faster said than done!
He concluded by exhorting the cadres to be “sincere, modest and clean so that they can gain respect from non-CPC members and help them work together with the party.”
Xinhua noted that the conference came “against the backdrop of mounting challenges to the party’s agenda, including pro-democracy protests last year in Hong Kong, ethnic unrest in the far western region of Xinjiang and pushback against closer ties in Taiwan.”
Once again, Tibet seems to be a minor affair for Beijing.
Interestingly, at the time of the UFW conference, Madam Sun Chunlan, head of the UFW Department met with some Tibetan Buddhist monks, who graduated as geshe ‘Tho Ram Pa’ [Lharampa].
China Tibet Online reported that the awards ceremony was held at Tibetan Buddhism College of China in Beijing on May 20, 2015.
Regarding Madam Sun, it has to be noted that it is first time in the recent times that a member of the Politburo heads of the UFW. It shows the importance of ‘co-opting’ non-Communist forces into the Chinese Dream.
Will it work is a diffrent question.
Sun said that this Tibetan Buddhist advanced academic degree system is “an important measure in fostering Tibetan Buddhist religious believers to love their country and religion, as well as adapting religion to socialist society.”
In other words, training geshes with ‘socialist and Chinese characteristics’!
Madam Sun believed that the new geshes “would cherish and honor their award, help religious people, promote social development and the fine Tibetan Buddhism tradition of loving their country and religion,” and of course “observe and uphold the law, protect the country and its people, promote economic development and social and religious harmony.”
Xi Jinping during the UFW conference also spoke of the “the positive influence that religious people and believers have on social and economic development.”
He pleaded with the UFW officials to make ‘active efforts’ to incorporate religions in socialist society, adding that ‘religions in China must be Chinese’.
The problem is that even Tibetan religion should be ‘Chinese’!
In the meantime, another self-immolation was reported on the Tibetan plateau: a Tibetan woman set fire to herself protesting against Chinese repression in Gansu province. It is the second self-immolation this month.
The International Campaign for Tibet said Sangye Tso, a 36-year-old mother of two, staged the protest outside a Chinese government building in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. She is believed to have died.
There is still a disconnect between the official speech and the reality in Tibet and Xinjiang.

For Beijing, Tibetan issue does not exist

Everything is fine?

My article For Beijing, Tibetan issue does not exist appeared today in the Edit Page of The Pioneer.


Here is the link...

One wonders why the White Paper on Tibet attacks the Dalai Lama when he is China’s best bet. But a perusal of the lengthy document makes it clear that, for the communist regime, there is no ‘Tibetan issue’; all is fine

The State Council Information Office (China’s Cabinet) recently released a White Paper, ‘on the development path of Tibet’. It is not the first WP published by the Chinese Government on Tibet; in fact, it is the 13th since 1992, when the State Council, tried to justify its position about ‘ownership and human rights’. The characteristic of the latest avatar is best described by the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala: “[it] tries to belittle His Holiness the Dalai Lama by questioning his sincerity in dealing with China. His Holiness admired around the world and revered by the Tibetan people, does not need any certificate on his motivation from the Chinese Government.”
One wonders: Why such a violent attack on the Tibetan leader, when many in China realise that he is undoubtedly the best bet if Beijing wants to find a solution to the Tibetan issue. But reading through the longish paper, it is clear that for the communist regime, there is no ‘Tibetan issue’; everything is fine and wonderful on the roof of the world. Beijing, however, warns: “The wheels of history roll forward and the tides of the times are irresistible. …Any person or force that attempts to resist the tide will simply be cast aside by history and by the people.”
One can only agree with Beijing, except for the fact that they mistakenly judge the tides’ direction. Democracy, freedom of thought and speech are accepted concepts everywhere on the planet, except in a Middle Kingdom which seems to have passed into a reverse gear. The WP asks the Dalai Lama to ‘put aside his illusions’ about talks on Tibet’s future status. For Beijing, the Dalai Lama has little understanding of modern Tibet, but keeps ‘a sentimental attachment to the old theocratic feudal serfdom’.
The WP 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 …face up to reality in his remaining years.”
Tibet has been part of China since antiquity however raises a serious question: What is China? A few years ago, Ge Jianxiong, Director of the Institute of Chinese Historical Geography, Fudan university in Shanghai stated in an article in China Review: “If we ask: How big was eighth century China and if we speak about the borders of the Tang dynasty, we cannot include the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. [Tibet] was sovereign and independent of the Tang dynasty.”
Mr Ge went further and questioned the notion of ‘China’: “First of all, ‘China’ (Zhongguo) only officially became the name of our country with the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. Before this, the idea of ‘Zhongguo’ was not clearly conceptualised. The concept of ‘China’ has continued to expand. From referring specifically to the central plains of China, the concept has since grown to now refer generally to a whole nation…”
The timing of the WP’s publication is linked to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. In 1965, Tibet was divided in five areas, with Southern and Western Tibet becoming the Tibetan Autonomous Region, while other parts of historic Tibet were officially integrated in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.
The WP categorically rejects the concept of a historic ‘greater Tibet’, as well as the Dalai Lama’s demand that all the Tibetan-inhabited areas should be incorporated into a unified administrative area. Beijing also condemns the Dalai Lama’s middle way approach which seeks a genuine autonomy for roof of the world, simply because China believes that the Dalai Lama’s ultimate goal is independence, which he has denied time and again. Beijing also can’t accept that the religious leader decides on his own to terminate the Dalai Lama Institution: It is for the party to decide!
In several cases, Beijing put in the Dalai Lama’s mouth statements that he never made: “The Red Han people were snakes in your chest and abominable, …the Han people are like psychopaths, ...they tortured us Tibetans ruthlessly and treat us like beasts”.
More serious is the constant distortion of history. Take the Tibetan uprising of March 1959, in which the entire population of Lhasa participated to protect the Dalai Lama. Beijing says: “In 1959, the Dalai party launched a large-scale armed revolt against officials the Central Government stationed in Tibet, and massacred local Tibetans who supported democratic reform.”
The Tibetans remember the facts differently: “In a crackdown operation launched in the wake of the National Uprising, 10,000 to 15,000 Tibetans [by the People’s Liberation Army] were killed within three days.” Dharamsala quotes a Chinese source (a secret 1960 Tibet Military District Political Department report) which admits that “between March 1959 and October 1960, 87,000 Tibetans were killed in Central Tibet alone.”
Dharamsala affirms that according to the information that they compiled, over 1.2 million Tibetans died between 1949 and 1979. In its report on Tibet in 1960, the International Commission of Jurists confirmed these facts. A couple of decades ago, I remember seeing in Dharamsala the files documenting the casualties of these tragic years; it is perhaps time for the Central Tibetan Administration to come out of its shyness, show the world what really happened in Tibet and publish these records. But there is still some irony in Tibet.
As the WP was released, a Chinese official website, vtibet.com, reported the renovation of a palace in Tronkhang village of Nyingchi prefecture; the building is said to be the house where Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama was born. The Tibetan leader, who is reverently called “The Great Thirteenth” by Beijing, fought all his life to make Tibet an independent nation; this ‘detail’ has now been forgotten by Beijing. Another irony, Lhasa has been awarded by the ‘CCTV Economic Life Survey’, China’s highest happiness index for five years in a row; it is however not mentioned, if the ‘happiness’ is for the migrant Hans or local Tibetans! More sadly, as long as the tide does not change, the doors seem closed for the Dalai Lama.
For India (which is never criticised in the WP), the publication is also significant as it shows that, despite its claim of becoming a ‘normal’ nation, a power which wants to lead Asia (for example in the two New Silk Roads project or with the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank), the Middle Kingdom remains rather feudal as far was freedom, plurality (and history) is concerned.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China next month, he should go with pride: India has succeeded in growing and developing, with her citizens remaining free human beings. This is not the case in China.

'Legal education' on India's border with Tibet

Lebu village, north of the McMahon Line

The Communist website chinanews.com announced: 'Tibet Sets up Night Schools for Monba [Monpa] Ethnic Group’.
It quotes the local authorities in Cona [Tsona] county of Lhoka prefecture, who said that “night schools [will] offer courses on cultural knowledge every Friday, which greatly enhanced the literacy level of the locals.”
The report refers to an area, north of Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh (close to the McMahon line). The last Indian post is located at Khenzimane and the first Tibetan village (mentioned in the article) is Lebu, both villages on the western bank of the Nyamjang chu (river).
The article explains that the Monpa “ethnic group is one of the 56 ethnic groups in China with a population of 50,000. Most of the Monpas live in Tibet’s Lhoka and Nyingchi Prefecture [of Tibet].”
The website does not mention the Monpas living in Tawang district in India.
It however admits that while “the living condition of Monpas has risen considerably due to the development policy for minorities, [however] trapped by the bad traffic and communication [sic], the literacy rate is a little low.”
What is amazing is that this admission comes at time when China speaks of a ‘huge dispute’ with India over Arunachal Pradesh and that it is an ‘undeniable fact’.
The sharp tongue of Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson recently asserted: “There is a huge dispute in the eastern China-India border. This is an undeniable fact. …China always holds a consistent and clear position on the boundary question. The two sides should make joint efforts to maintain peace tranquility of the border area and create favourable conditions for the negotiation of the boundary question."
Though China continues to claim Arunachal Pradesh as an 'undeniable' part of Tibet (and China), it is surprising that local Communist cadres in the border of Arunachal admit ‘low rate of the literacy’ amongst the Monpas.
Wang Weixi, the director of a police station in Lebu Township [village?] of Tsona county told chinanews.com that “the night school established by the police station has made great use of the human resources and facilities. The officers will open courses to promote legal knowledge in the residents’ leisure time.”
What ‘legal knowledge’ is Wang speaking about?
Is the course on the 1962 War (Lebu village is located a few kilometers away from the Thagla ridge, which saw the first Chinese attack on October 20, 1962)?
Does Wang mean ‘political’ literacy?
In what do the Monpas need to be ‘legally educated’?
At the same time, the White Paper 'on the development path of Tibet', praises China for Tibet's progresses in every fields, especially in education:

There has been comprehensive development in Tibet's education, health and social security. The region took the lead in China to provide its residents with a 15-year free education (three-year preschool, six-year primary school, three-year junior middle school and three-year senior middle school); 99.59 percent of school-age children are enrolled at primary level; the gross enrollment rates for junior middle school and senior middle school have reached 98.75 percent and 72.23 percent, respectively. The quality of the population is also improving. Illiteracy has been wiped out among the young and the middle-aged, and the average length of time spent in education for people above the age of 15 has reached 8.1 years.

Illiteracy has been eradicated elsewhere in Tibet, but not for the Monpas?
Why do they need ‘legal knowledge’?
According to chinanews.com, Richen, a 27-year-old Monpa youth, knows little about legal knowledge. He is quoted as saying that after the training at the night school, he learns about basic legal knowledge.
The website adds: “A small library was built in Lebu Township in 2013. It opens to public every Saturday. More and more local people borrow books from the library and most of them form reading habits.”
Could the Monpas tempted to cross over to India, therefore the need to be 'legally educated?
It could be one of the reasons behind the Friday night's classes at Lebu Police Station.

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