TIBET IS THE WORST EXAMPLE OF COLONIALISM AND CHINA’S THREAT TO WORLD ORDER

International webinar on 70 years of China’s colonial rule over Tibet

-Vijay Kranti

New Delhi

24 May 2021: There is a serious danger of the Tibetan people disappearing altogether as a distinct people because the Chinese Communist Party in Tibet is aiming at reprogramming Tibetan people’s minds and hearts through implementation of its colonial policies in Tibet. China has created a situation where there Tibet will be there, but without the Tibetan people. It is also a matter of concern for the entire civilized world that China is showing the arrogance of ‘celebrating’ 70 years of its colonialism in Tibet. China is issuing a so called ‘White Paper’ on present day Tibet which, besides being a bunch of white lies is also an attempt to white wash all its colonial crimes like genocide, cultural annihilation, loot of natural resources and blatant denial of human rights to the Tibetan people.

This was the common concern, expressed by a group of international ranking experts on China and Tibet last evening in a webinar, titled “70 Years of Chinese Colonial Rule in Tibet”. The webinar was jointly organized by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) to mark the 70th anniversary of colonial occupation of Tibet by China. The panel of experts included personalities like Mr. Kai Mueller, Chief Executive, International Campaign for Tibet, Germany; Mr Jayadeva Ranade, a well know China expert and President, Centre for China Analysis and Strategy (CCAA);  Dr Sana Hashmi, an Indian scholar on China and currently Fellow, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, Taiwan; Mr Tenzin Tsundue, a leading Tibetan thinker and activist; Mr Gonpo Thondup, President Tibet Youth Congress (TYC); and Mr Vijay Kranti, a senior journalist, Tibetologist and Chairman, CHASE. On 23rd May, 1951 China claims to have signed what it calls as the “17-Point Agreement” with the Tibetan government to merge Tibet into China. The panellists discussed various aspects of the history and current situation of Tibet under the China’s colonial rule.

Mr. Kai Mueller, in his keynote address, expressed concern that a serious term like ‘colonialism’ has been replaced in the international discourse by terms like authoritarianism, totalitarianism or surveillances which do not go beyond measuring or questioning state power.  “This has given China full chance to distract world’s focus from the real issues arising out of colonialism in Tibet,” he said. “China’s rule over Tibet since 1951 has all the characteristics of colonialism in the real sense of the word. This is evident not only from the manner in which the Chinese authority was established and maintained in Tibet, it is also clear from the way the Chinese authorities decide on and implement economic and other development policies and exploit natural resources. But most revealing is the attitude of Chinese authorities and of the Tibetan people whose perceptions of each other are typical of the colonial power and the colonized people” said Mueller. “The world therefore needs to understand the DNA of the Communist regime of China and wake up to the real Chinese danger before it is too late,” he warned.

Raising the issue of destroying the life and culture of nearly two million Tibetan nomads who used to form a third of original Tibet’s population, Mueller pointed out that besides systematically destroying Tibetan people’s religious and lingual identity China is forcibly changing the livelihood and social life of Tibetan nomads and herders. They are being forcibly relocated and settled since 1980s. But there is no legal remedy available to them.  “What is more striking is that while Chinese authorities do not even attempt to hide these steps, the international community has not raised voice with the required disgust or shock,” he said.

“The policies of Sinification of Tibet are aimed at reforming the thoughts and minds of Tibetans so that Tibetans no longer remain as Tibetans – not speaking their language, nor practicing their beliefs and not living their lives. World should understand that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims at nothing less than reprogramming Tibetan people’s minds and hearts. The world community needs to understand the DNA of CCP’s rule in Tibet and recognize this cultural genocide,” said Mueller.  He warned that there is a serious danger of the Tibetan people disappearing altogether as a distinct people. “That means a Tibet without the Tibetans”, he said.

In his presentation Mr. Jayadeva Ranade, a well know expert on China and a former Additional Secretary with the Cabinet Secretariat of Government of India, analyzed the Chinese ‘White Paper’ which was issued on the eve of the 70th anniversary of China’s occupation of Tibet. He pointed that Beijing authorities are still toying with historic facts and going to ridiculous limits of claiming sovereignty over Tibet during past centuries which never happened in the history. Referring to China’s claims about development of Tibet he said that there is no doubt that Tibet has been developed over past decades by China. “But the Chinese masters of Tibet hide this fact that all this development in Tibet is aimed at increasing China’s military control over Tibet and exploiting the mineral wealth of Tibet” he said.

Mr. Ranade said that China’s on-going attempts to control the Tibetan religious institutions, seducing the monks and nuns with money packets, offering them official positions and appointing communist cadres in the monasteries only expose the fact that there is serious resistance among the religious community against Chinese rule and Beijing has failed to win their hearts. He pointed at the danger of climate change and deprivation of Tibetan river waters to other riparian countries, including India, which are going to be the imminent result of widespread damming of Tibetan rivers and Chinese plans to divert these waters to other areas of China.

Giving example of how China’s imposed Panchen Lama has been outright rejected by Tibetan people, Mr. Ranade predicted that China’s attempts to forcibly install the next reincarnation of Dalai Lama and subsequent appearance of two Dalai Lama’s on the scene is going to fail miserably.

Dr. Ms. Sana Hasmhi, an Indian scholar on China, currently stationed in Taiwan said that Beijing’s claims about what it calls ‘democratic reforms’ look pale against the robust democratic system the Tibetan refugee community has developed over the years under the leadership of Dalai Lama. Rubbishing China’s claims about bringing development in Tibet she said that all this development is aimed at settling millions of Han Chinese in Tibet while the local Tibetans feel strong discrimination in matters of jobs and salaries. About China’s latest “White Paper” she said it is nothing but Chinese Propaganda.

She lampooned Chinese government for recently releasing manipulated films about celebration of Eid by Xinjiang Uyghur Muslims and said that the Beijing leaders don’t even demonstrate such artificial sympathy for religion in Tibet. They even go to the extent of banning celebration of Tibetan New-Year and make Tibetan people feel like prisoners in their own country. Expressing relief on the USA and European Union becoming more supportive of Tibetan people she warned the world community to realize that China’s activities in Tibet hold serious dangers for other countries too.

Referring to the dangers arising for India out of Tibet’s occupation by China Dr. Hashmi said that China’s on-going roads and other developmental project inside Tibet along Indian border are very dangerous for India’s interests. She underlined that it was high time that Government of India should make its own people aware of China’s activities inside Tibet and their implications for India.

Mr. Tenzin Tsundue, an internationally acclaimed Tibetan writer, poet and champion of complete independence of Tibet from China’s colonial rule, regretted that there has been no meaningful support for Tibetan people from the world community. “But despite this international indifference the Tibetan people have not given up and have successfully kept their spirit of freedom alive”, he said. Talking about China’s claims in the latest White-Paper on Tibet that it has been a ‘part of China’ since centuries, Tsundue said it was ridiculous for the rulers of China to make such claims which itself came into existence only in 1912 after having lived as slave to foreign rules of the Manchurians and Mongols.

He was critical of Chinese government celebrating its own colonialism in Tibet and presenting the “17-Point Agreement” as a proof of its ownership of Tibet. He reminded his audience that Tibetan government of that time had to accept the said ‘Agreement’ only because Mao had threatened Dalai Lama with blood bath of Tibetan masses at the hands of PLA. He said that after Dalai Lama having publicly repudiating the “17 Point Agreement” just before entering India in 1959, this agreement is has no meaning for the people of Tibet.

Referring to the recent US law on Tibet viz. “Tibet Policy and Support Act-2020” Tsundue said that this US support for the people of  Tibet was less due to the American government’s love for Tibet and more because now they feel threatened by the Chinese government. About the Government of India’s policy on Tibet he said that at the time of China’s attack on Tibet the Indian government leaders were hoping that China and India would jointly give leadership to the world. But China proved India wrong. “All these years Tibetans have been telling the Indian government not to believe the Chinese. But they did not even listen to their own Defence Minister Mr. George Fernandez who had said years ago that China was India’s enemy number-one. And today India is suffering due this attitude,” he said.

Mr. Tsundue said that China has reached a stage today when it is threatening every country around the world. “It is time for the world to learn from the Tibetan people who have withstood China’s bullying and oppression for seven decades and still have not given up. It is Chinese government who is feeling afraid of the Tibetan people,” he said.

Mr. Gonpo Dhundup, President of Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest socio-political organization of the Tibetan Diaspora and champion of total independence for whole of Tibet, advised the world governments, especially the governments of South Asian countries to join hands and fight the Chinese threat together. “By occupying Tibet and reaching borders of South Asian countries China has become a threat to the national security of these countries,” he said.

He said that there have been many mass uprisings of Tibetan people against the Chinese colonial rule and the participants of all these uprisings were those young Tibetans who are 2nd or 3rd generation after Tibet lost its freedom. Self-immolation my 157 Tibetans against China show that the resistance against China is very strong in the hearts of Tibetan people. Referring to China’s latest ‘White-Paper’ on Tibet Gonpo said that “this white paper is purely a Chinese propaganda. Chinese leaders are trying to hide their acts of wanton destruction of Tibetan culture, murders of people and denial of basic freedoms to Tibetan people through such false claims.”

Vijay Kranti, a senior journalist, Tibetologist and Chairman CHASE moderated the discussion. Commenting on the latest ‘White-Paper’ of Chinese government which boasts of ‘Peaceful Liberation of Tibet’ he said that this white-paper is full of white lies and is actually an act of white wash over the inhuman acts and excesses, committed by the communist colonial master of Tibet over their subjects. “The choice of subjects and claims made on each subject in this White-Paper only exposes the guilt conscience of China’s rulers of Tibet. This paper is Beijing’s attempt to interpret and present all its colonial sins against the people of Tibet an ‘act of favour’ to the people of Tibet over past seven decades,” he said.

Professor Aayushi Ketkar, a scholar of international relations and security matters, in her vote of thanks said that today is the most opportune moment to raise the issue of Tibet because the expansionist and colonial face of China is finally getting exposed and the world is facing a common onslaught of Covid-19 from China. “Tibet is not just an issue of a country being colonized. It is a global issue of environmental destruction, climate change, denial of human rights, human genocide, cultural genocide and threat to world peace and rule of law,” she said.

XI JINPING’S CLAIMS OVER NEXT REINCARNATION OF DALAI LAMA ARE RIDICULOUS AND OF NO CONSEQUENCE

International experts at an international webinar on future of Dalai Lama institution

-Vijay Kranti and Anjali Mishra

New Delhi- Dharamshala – Washington (DC)

6 July 2021: When President Xi Jinping talks of Tibetan Buddhism ‘with Chinese characteristics’ then he only reveals China’s intentions of destroying and subsuming Tibet’s unique cultural identity into communism. And his claims about exclusive rights of the Communist Party of China to install the next Dalai Lama of its choice by are too ridiculous to be of any consequence either to the people of Tibet or the world community. These are the two main observations which emerged in the presentations of two experts of international eminence in a webinar which was organized to commemorate the 86th birth anniversary of Nobel Peace Laureate Dalai Lama on 6th July evening.

The two experts Mr. Robert Destro, former Assistant Secretary of State and United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, former ‘Kalon Tripa’ (Prime Minister) of Tibet were speaking at an international webinar entitled “Significance of the Dalai Lama for Future of Tibet and China’s Claims over his Next Incarnation”. The webinar was organized jointly by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) at New Delhi, Dharamshala and Washington (DC) to commemorate the 86th birth anniversary of Dalai Lama.

“When Chinese President Xi Jinping insists upon Tibetan Buddhism with Chinese characteristics or when the Communist Party of China claims to control the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama by force as they did in the case of the Panchen Lama, it is in the same line as what they have done to the Catholic Church in China, to Hong Kong, to the Uighur People of Xinjiang or to the Mongolian people of South Mongolia.  Their goal is explicit — to eliminate whatever makes each of these communities unique.  Their uniqueness will be subsumed in the collective materialism and the uniformity of communism,” said Mr. Destro. It was during the tenure of Mr. Destro that the historic “Tibet Policy and Support Act-2020” of the US was passed by the US Congress and signed as a law by President Trump on the joint initiative of his Republican Party and the Democratic Party during the concluding days of his Presidency.

Mr. Destro presented his perspective on Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle Way Approach’ as an effort to preserve unique nature of Tibet and the freedom of the Tibetan People while recognizing that “when there is a great disparity of power – as it is today between the People’s Republic of China and the Tibetan People — peaceful alternatives must be sought without conceding an inch.”

Underlining the relevance of His Holiness Dalai Lama’s advice to cultivate human values of compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline, Mr. Destro said, “were we to engage in the daily cultivation of each of these human values in our lives, the world would become a far more hospitable place in which to live and to raise our children.”

Offering a philosophical and spiritual ground to the Tibetan struggle against Chinese oppression Mr. Destro said, “Given our commitment to preserving that which makes us unique as individuals and communities, we must find not only the strength to tolerate the arrogance of those who would enslave us, but also the compassion to devise a strategy of resistance and self-preservation that acknowledges their humanity of the oppressor, as well as the human weaknesses and insecurities that come with that humanity.”

Addressing the issue of President Xi Jinping’s persistent assertion that finding and installing the next incarnation of present Dalai Lama is the exclusive prerogative of China’s Communist Party and the Central government of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister of Tibet and an internationally acclaimed academician on Buddhist philosophy, dismissed this claim as ‘ridiculous’ and inconsequential. “Whenever Chinese leaders make such types of claims they are doing so because of their own fears and uncertainty in their mind. Such claims neither are so ridiculous that they neither deserves to be taken notice of nor qualify to be reacted upon. That is why I simply ignore what Chinese government is saying.”

Besides being the founding Director of Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarnath and the Chancellor of Sanchi University of Buddhist Indic Studies Prof. Rinpoche has also been the President of the Association of Indian Universities.

Throwing an open challenge to President Xi Jinping and his CPC colleagues on the basic concept of reincarnation, Prof Rinpoche said “Does the ‘Central government’ of China, which claims to be communist or Marxist, believe in the continuation of the consciousness or reincarnation? Do they really understand what happens after death? If they do so then they should understand that human consciousness does not come to an end at the time of death and that it will have another birth. Only then you can talk of the idea of reincarnation. If they really believe in this then they should stop talking about the Marxist dialectical materialism which is based on the principle that the mind is the quality of matter and that it also ceases with death and hence there is no continuity of consciousness after death. If they don’t change this principle then it means that they don’t believe in birth after death or continuity of consciousness. In that case their claim about recognition of next Dalia Lama is just hypocritical.”

Blasting Beijing government’s claims about identifying Dalai Lama’s based on lottery from a golden urn Prof Rinpoche said, “I am aware that during the 18th century Tibetans had good relations with the Manchu emperors in central China. They did advise us to use the method of lottery through the golden vessel for the selection of Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. But in spite of their suggestions neither of the 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, or 13^th or 14^th Dalai Lama were selected that way. It was only the 11th and the 12th Dalai Lamas who were selected through a lottery from a golden vessel. Even in these two cases too, it was not exclusively through the golden vessel but the process was only a part of an entire religious process. There is no such tradition or past heritage that the Dalai Lama must be recognized through this way.”

Professor Rinpoche reminded Chinese leaders of their frustrating experience in the case of 11th Panchen Lama who was forcibly appointed by Beijing after arresting the five year old boy Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in 1995 who was recognized by the Dalai Lama from exile as the real incarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. “Installing a boy of their own choice and the 11th Panchen Lama did not solve their purpose. Same thing is going to happen if they appoint a boy of their own choice and the next Dalai Lama. No people of Tibet, no people of the world would either recognize him or believe in him,” he said.

Talking about the qualities of the present Dalai Lama, 14th in the five centuries old tradition of Tibet, Prof. Rinpoche said, “Though His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a Tibetan leader but he never perceives future of Tibet as different from the rest of world, or even that of the people of China. In his Middle-Way approach to handle differences or confrontation, there is no concept of a winner or a loser. He believes sincerely that the present century should be the century of dialogue which is based on mutual understanding, universal responsibility, secular ethics and concern for environment.”

Mr. Vijay Kranti, Chairman CHASE and an acclaimed Tibetologist moderated the discussion. His co-organizer Mr. Gonpo Dhundup, International President of TYC presented vote of thanks and Prof. Aayushi Ketkar, a scholar of international relations at JNU, handled the question-answer session. Answering a question during that session Prof. Rinpoche said it is not necessary that the next incarnation of Dalai Lama must be a Tibetan child. He could be from any part of the world.

In response to another question Mr. Destro said that even a century is not a too long period in the history of a nation. Therefore the Tibetan people should work towards preserving their national identity and determination for a long period.

LEADERS BECOME STRONGER AND POPULAR BY GIVING UP AND SHARING POWER: DALAI LAMA

World celebrates the journey of Dalai Lama from a theocratic monarch to a universally adored democratic leader

-Vijay Kranti and Anjali Mishra

New Delhi

10 December 2021: In a world where most rulers and powerful people are known more for taking away the rights of their people on one or the other pretext, H.H the Dalai Lama of Tibet has emerged as a unique leader who has presented the example of how the leaders can strengthen the people and themselves by giving up and sharing their own powers with the people they lead and govern. In an international webinar on subject “A DEMOCRAT DALAI LAMA”, held to commemorate the 32^nd anniversary of Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama and the International Human Rights Day, the experts traced the evolution of the Dalai Lama from the theocratic ruler of Tibet to the most popular champion of democracy in present day world. By leading the Tibetan people through a genuine democratic system and presenting his idea of universal responsibility he has presented a good example to the dictatorial leaders and regimes of the world to communicate that sharing power and authority with their subjects is a bigger guarantee to their popularity and stability.

This webinar was jointly organized by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) from New Delhi. The three main experts who made their presentations on this subject are Mr Bhuchung K. Tsering, the Interim President of International Campaign for Tibet from Washington (DC) USA; Dr Uwe Meya, Board Member of GSTE a prominent Tibet support group in Switzerland and a Tibet explorer; and Ms Thinley Chukki a leading Tibetan legal practitioner who is a Harvard Law Graduate and former Special Appointee for Human Rights of Tibet Bureau Geneva. The webinar was moderated by Vijay Kranti, a senior journalist, Tibetologist and Chairman of CHASE.

Mr Bhuchung K. Tsering pointed out that deep understanding of the Buddhist concepts and his experience in dealing with the communist regime of China during the post-1950 period has helped H.H the Dalai Lama to understand the importance of democracy. His interaction with Indian leaders after his exile to India in 1959 and subsequent wide travels across the world and meetings with world leaders has strengthened his faith in the efficacy of democracy.  “His perception of democracy has a moral dimension to it as it is centred on universal principles. In a world where politicians are not looked upon with great enthusiasm, he advocates that if governed with transparency and universal values, people will have more trust in the leaders and their administration. Only then a healthy and better form of democracy can prevail”, he said.  “Dalai Lama has also laid down a need for a positive mental attitude for leaders in democratic governance. While no system of governance is perfect, according to Dalai Lama, democratic governance is still the closest one to human nature and human liking”, he added.

Commenting on China, especially their conduct in occupied Tibet, Bhuchung said that Chinese leaders claim their communist system as a ‘democratic’ one. But in fact what we see in China and its colonized countries like Tibet is their rule through extensive monitoring, censorship and various types of controls over the public. Instead of leading the society, they seek to manage the masses, he said.

Dr Uwe Meya has travelled extensively inside Tibet and was a first-hand witnessed to the 1988 uprising in Lhasa. He is closely associated with the Tibetan communities in Germany and Switzerland. He shared his experience of how the Dalai Lama’s democratic values have percolated deep into the exile Tibetan society and have strengthened it and its freedom struggle. He gave example of how Tibetans living in Switzerland have organized themselves into a well-knit democratic society which functions through many democratically elected local types of council. He regretted that the world today knows about Tibet either through travel agencies who present today’s Tibet as a ‘spiritual’ destination which it is no more under the Chinese communist rule. Or, the world learns about Tibet through the Chinese propaganda which is trying to paint the Tibetan freedom movement as just an attempt of Dalai Lama to reestablish the old feudal system in Tibet.

He told the audience that many organizations in Switzerland and other parts of Europe are actively engaged in educating people about the real situation in Tibet and local Tibetans are playing active role in the regional and national political systems of their host countries.

Ms Thinley Chukki is a third-generation Tibetan refugee and a leading legal figure among the Tibetan Diaspora. She joined the discussion by explaining that HH Dalai Lama not only established the foundation of democracy for Tibet and its people, but has also made a great contribution towards spreading these values to the rest of world. His message of non-violence, love, compassion and universal responsibility has won world attention and support. By giving up his own political powers to the Tibetan people he has presented the example of how a leader can strengthen the society by giving up one’s own powers and privileges.

Referring the Dalai Lama as a ‘monk statesman’ Vijay Kranti said that by handing over his own political powers to the elected representatives of Tibetan people he has given an infinite life span – beyond his personal life span – to the Tibetan people’s struggle for liberation of Tibet from Chinese colonial rule. With this remarkable democratic stroke he has out maneuverer the Chinese communist leaders, especially President Xi Jinping, who were hoping to solve their ‘Tibetan problem’ by appointing a puppet Dalai Lama in Tibet after the life span of pre-set Dalai Lama ends. Through this step the Dalai Lama has ensured that the Tibetan struggle and Tibetan spirit would survive till the day when communist system of China breaks down like it did in the erstwhile USSR and Tibet will regain its independence as did the 16 countries occupied by the communist regime of USSR.

Mr Prafulla Ketkar, a well-known expert on international affairs, editor of ‘Organiser’ news weekly, and a senior Indian journalist, said in his concluding remarks that the spirit of democracy in Tibet which binds the spiritual strength, people’s power and political stability through a decentralized approach is a great example for world community to learn from. Dalai Lama’s model of gaining strength and people’s respect through giving up power to the people is more valuable and useful for the dictatorial regimes, like one in China, to learn before it is too late for them, he added.

Mr Sonam Tsering, General Secretary of TYC and co-host of the webinar, presented a vote of thanks. TYC is the largest and most influential socio-political organization among the Tibetan Diaspora. It has functioned as the nursery of Tibet’s leadership for three generations since its inception.

PRESIDENT XI JINPING’S CLAIMS OVER TIBET EXPOSES HIS GUILT CONSCIENCE FOR COLONIAL OCCUPATION

International webinar on “Tibet Was Never a Part of China” to mark the 109^th Anniversary of ‘Proclamation of Independence of Tibet’

-Vijay Kranti

New Delhi

12 February 2022: President Xi Jinping’s over enthusiasm in insisting that “Tibet has been always a part of China” and his aggressive expectation from the world community to accept China’s similar claims over Uyghur, Southern Mongolia and other occupied countries has exposed the guilt conscience of China over its colonial rule over these countries. Unchallenged control over the vast geographic areas and huge natural resources of these colonies has only emboldened and encouraged present day China to behave like a bully with the world community. Hence, it is in the interest of the world peace and world order that the international community join hands to support these colonized nations to regain their independence from China’s illegal rule. These common points emerged from an international webinar “Tibet Was Never a Part of China”, organized to mark the 109^th anniversary of ‘Proclamation of Independence of Tibet’ by the 13^th Dalai Lama of Tibet on 13^th Feb 1913.

The webinar was jointly organized on the eve of the anniversary by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the most prominent socio-political organization of Tibetan Diaspora.

Referring to China’s aggressive claims over Tibet, Thubten Samphel, a prominent Tibetan Scholar and founder Executive Director of Tibet Policy Institute said, “Today when President Xi Jinping’s China makes claims that Tibet has been a part of China on the basis of the Mongol and Manchu influence over Tibet then he and his Communist Party of China should not forget two basic historic facts. One is that China itself was occupied and ruled by the Mongols and the Manchus as foreign occupiers of China. Therefore, as an occupied country itself China cannot make claims on other areas of influence of its own occupiers. The other fact is that at some stages in the history Tibet too was a powerful empire who had ruled over China and had pushed out the Chinese Emperors and occupied their capital which is currently called Xian, the host of on-going Winter Olympic Games today.”

Samphel pointed out that the Communist rulers of today’s China are trying to rewrite the history in order to justify their forced and colonial occupation of Tibet, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolia and Manchuria. Talking about the Mongol-China-Tibet relations in history, Samphel said that while the Mongols conquered Tibet, China and many other countries, they acted as the occupiers and rulers of China whereas their relations with Tibet and its rulers was of priest-patron type by giving examples of Kublai Khan’s devotion towards the 3^rd Dalai Lama of Tibet. Samphel said, “President Xi should not forget that during the rule of Kublai Khan over China, he ran a massive genocide of the Hans in China. Then it was the Chinese King who begged the Dalai Lama of Tibet to use his influence over his disciple Mongol Emperor to show mercy on the Hans. It was only after Dalai Lama’s intervention that Kublai Khan agreed to stop the massacre of Hans.

Commenting on the British idea of China’s ‘suzerainty’ over Tibet, Samphel referred to Lord Curzon’s own admission about this being a ‘constitutional fiction’ which was manufactured by Britain to protect its own and China’s interests in Asia by keeping the Tsarist Russia out of Tibet.

Claude Arpi, a prominent French Tibetologist who has settled in India since many decades, presented a detailed analysis of the Tibetan issue in the light of India-China relations to assert that the colonial occupation of Tibet has hurt India’s national interest more than that of Tibet. “It is therefore in the interest of India to support Tibet to regain its independence from the Chinese colonial rule,” he said.

Referring to the proclamation of independence of Tibet on 13^th February in 1913 by the 13^th Dalai Lama, Arpi said that Tibet possessed every element like its own flag, currency, postal system, foreign relations and international treaties with countries which included British India, Nepal and Mongolia which proves its status as an independent nation.  It maintained this independent status till the day Chinese army marched into Lhasa in 1951.  He branded the ‘Panchsheel-Agreement of 1954 between India and China as the last nail in the coffin of India’s national interests vis-à-vis China. He said that by consistently shying away from taking a morally and politically correct stand on Tibet, India has wilfully surrendered all the advantages it had inherited in Tibet from the British Raj.  “Indian government has been doing this with the hope of buying peace with China. But giving in too much in the hope of peace is a sure recipe of inviting war. And this is exactly what India has achieved by adopting this approach towards China on issues related to Tibet,” he said.

Arpi referred to the common phrase “Don’t rock the boat,” used frequently by the Indian foreign policy makers about their policy towards China on Tibet. “Now that China’s presence in Tibet has become a serious threat to India’s own sovereignty and national security, India will have to finally gather the courage to rock the boat on the issue of Tibet,” he said.

Calling the Chinese claims over Tibet as ‘part of China’ during history as a ‘laughable fiction’ of President Xi Jinping and his CCP, Vijay Kranti, a renowned Tibetologist and Chairman of CHASE, said that China should not forget that the Chinese emperors took 2300 years to build the 21,196 km long ‘Great Wall of China’ around their country to protect themselves from foreign attacks. These attackers were none other than the Mongols, Manchus, Tibetans and Uyghurs etc. whom they are today claiming as ‘inseparable parts of China’.

Presenting well established and internationally known historic facts about China, Kranti said that before the present day China asserted its personality as the ‘Republic of China’ in 1912 no independent China existed for 296  years (1616-1912). It was ruled by the Manchus during this period that came from Manchuria. The Asian history shows that the Mongols and Manchus had occupied and ruled over the Song and Ming Chinese Empires for 784 years along with many other countries. China was just one of many countries like Mongolia, Tibet, and Korea, Uyghur, Russia, Afghanistan and most of Central Asian countries which were conquered by the Mongol Dynasty.

In her remarks Prof. Aayushi Ketkar of Jawaharlal Nehru University, an expert in international strategic affairs said, “It sounds hilarious when present rulers of China claim the Mongol Emperor Ghengiz Khan as the ‘Great Son of China’ and stake claims over Tibet, Uyghur and Southern Mongolia on the ground that they were part of the Mongol Empire in history. Going by President Xi Jinping’s logic today India can also claim Australia an ‘inseparable part of India’ or New Zealand can lay its sovereignty over India on the basis that all three were occupied and ruled by Great Britain at some stages of history.”

In his vote of thanks as the co-host of the webinar, Mr Gonpo Dhundup, the President of Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) said that China is in illegal occupation of Tibet for over seven decades now. “China’s illegal presence in Tibet has not only taken away the freedoms and independence of the people of Tibet but it has also created many security problems and threat to peace for most of other countries bordering Tibet. To justify this illegal presence of China in Tibet, the Chinese government and its propaganda machinery are engaged in creating a false narrative through a deliberately manufactured history to claim that Tibet has been always a part of China,” he said.

Expressing the resolve of the Tibetan people to regain Tibet’s independence, Mr. Gonpo said that TYC will continue its non-violent struggle to achieve its goal of an independent and free Tibet. “It is in the interest of all Asian countries, especially India, to support Tibet’s independence struggle. An independent Tibet, free from the Chinese presence in this part of Asia is a sure guarantee of peace and prosperity not only for entire South Asia and Asia but also for the world community,” he added.

WINTER-OLYMPICS IN BEIJING WAS A “GENOCIDE OLYMPICS”

Exploiting Beijing Winter Olympics by China for its political propaganda and misuse of the Olympic platform by the IOC President Thomas Bach have brought shame to the Olympic movement and hence calls for rebooting the rules and regulations of the Olympics and the IOC – say international experts

-Vijay Kranti

New Delhi

20 February 2022: The leaders of the Communist Party of China (CCP) and the bosses of International Olympic Committee (IOC) might have many reasons to feel happy and relieved over ‘successful’ conclusion of the Beijing Winter Olympics-2022. But the way the Chinese regime demonstrated its dictatorial control over conducting the entire event and the way IOC leadership, especially its President Thomas Bach, kowtowed before the CCP and allowed the spirit of Olympic movement to be high jacked by President Xi Jinping, has left the credibility of both severely dented and damaged. This was the common conclusion of experts in an international webinar, held on the eve of closing of Winter Olympics.

The webinar, entitled “Genocide Olympics”, was jointly organized by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE), New Delhi and the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), Dharamshala. Experts from Germany, Britain, Switzerland and India participated.

John Jones, the campaign policy and research manager with the British non-profit organization ‘Free Tibet’, has been engaged in detailed research on human rights situation in China since many years. Expressing shock over what he termed as ‘irresponsible’ role of IOC he said, “When 2008 Olympics were assigned to China, the Chinese Olympic Committee promised to promote human rights and abide by international laws in China. But despite well-known and blatant denial of human rights to the people of Tibet, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolia and Hong Kong, IOC played ignorant at the time of assigning Winter Olympics to Beijing in 2022. Rather the IOC has used its authority and credibility to white wash all Chinese crimes in these occupied countries.”

“While over a million Uyghurs in Xinjiang were going through Chinese atrocities in hundreds of Chinese concentration camps across East Turkistan, more than 150 Tibetans were forced to take the extreme step of self-immolation since Beijing Olympics of 2008. The resources and international acknowledgement won through the 2008 Beijing Olympics also encouraged President Xi to road roll and destroy the freedom of Hong Kong people” he added.

“It is unfortunate that everything was artificial in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Right from using the pretext of Covid-19 to restrict the movement of visiting sports persons, guest officials and international media to the artificially created snow to hold events at places in China which were not suitable for organizing winter games of Olympics levels — everything was artificial,” said Jones.

Tenzyn Zoechbauer, the Executive Director of Tibet Initiative Germany (TID) in Berlin, was of the opinion that the Beijing Winter Olympics-2022 was not a sports event but purely a political event which was exploited by the communist regime of China to enhance its on-going international public relations campaign to justify its colonial rule over colonies like Tibet, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolia and Hong Kong. “It is unfortunate that the IOC offered its sacred platform of sports to President Xi for his political games,” she remarked.

Referring to the long campaign of TID and other human rights organizations across the world against awarding Olympic Games to China she said, “We tried our best to persuade the IOC and world governments to stop China from high jacking a historic and a holy sports movement. But we could not fight China’s big money power and its capacities to manipulate concerned authorities through its economic influence and deep pockets. Still, the human rights campaigners have not lost the game. Our campaign against China’s unfortunate practices of torture and suppression of its own people and its colonies will continue. End of Winter Olympics in Beijing is a new beginning for us,” she declared.

Loten Namling, a famous Tibetan musician and a Tibetan activist settled in Switzerland, said, “By misusing Tibetans, Uyghurs and even PLA soldiers as torch bearers in the opening ceremony, President Xi went against the spirit of the Olympics and misused the games as a launch pad of Chinese political propaganda. But the way the IOC, especially its President Thomas Bach went out of his way to allow the Chinese government to make political capital out of an international sports event, has brought shame to the Olympic movement and hence calls for rebooting the rules and regulations of the Olympics.” To express his protest against the personal conduct of Thomas Bach in allowing IOC to be high jacked by China, Loten had walked 110 km on snow skies from Bern to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne of Switzerland during week before the Winter Olympics started in Beijing.

“Unfortunately history has repeated itself this time too during the Winter Olympics in 2022. After Olympics were assigned to Hitler’s Germany in 1936, he used the accrued credibility and popularity to massacre over six million Jews and others whom he hated. Similarly, President Xi has used the money and credibility, generated through 2008 Beijing Olympics to crush the freedom and people of its colonies like Tibet, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolia and Hong Kong,” added Loten.

Vijay Kranti, Chairman CHASE and a keen observer of Tibet-China-India developments over past five decades, moderated the discussion. In his concluding remarks, he said that China’s dismal record of human rights and police violence since 2008 Olympics was visible to the world community. But despite full knowledge of all this, influential people in IOC decided to award the 2022 Winter Olympics to China.

He regretted that since 2008 Olympics, the resolve of China’s rulers and their capacity and effectiveness to destroy religion, language and traditional socio-cultural personality of Tibet, Uyghur and Southern Mongolia has been on increase. “Over these years China has used every available means to overwhelm these occupied countries through demographic colonialism, digital surveillance, land grabbing and exploitation of natural resources. The additional political credibility and financial resources generated by the just concluded Winter Olympics is bound to add to the arrogance and bullying tendencies of Chinese leaders, especially of President Xi”, said Kranti.

Kranti specifically underlined the conduct of IOC President Thomas Bach as ‘immoral’ and ‘illegal’ when he took over the responsibility of negating and white washing the charges of molestation from a famous Chinese woman sports star Peng Shui against a very senior leader of CCP. “The way Bach used his official IOC position and resources of IOC to issue pro-China statements on behalf of Peng Shui and even organized a video call with her to influence the world media in favour of Chinese government was far more than being shameful,” he said.

Prof. Aayushi Ketkar, an expert on international affairs and security at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, remarked that it was unfortunate that most of world governments could not muster courage to challenge China on its said record of human rights against its own people and people of its occupied countries. “This does not speak well for an assured future of democracy and human rights in the world. It is high time for the governments to muster courage to face China’s bullying,” she said.

In his vote of thanks, Mr. Sonam Tsering, General Secretary of TYC and co-host of the event referred to Tibetan People’s Uprising against Chinese colonial rule during preparation days of 2008 Beijing Olympics. “There were more than 125 public demonstrations of Tibetan people inside Tibet at over 50 places. This helped the world in understanding the anger of Tibetan people against the Chinese rule. But this time we did not hear of any uprising in Tibet, Uyghur or Southern Mongolia before the 2022 Winter Olympics. The reason was China’s previous experience and its use of enormous police power, control over news movement of people and massive digital surveillance network in these occupied countries. But that cannot take away the determination of the colonized people. They will win their freedom from China one day very soon,” said Sonam.

71 YEARS OF CHINA’S COLONIAL RULE IN TIBET

-Vijay Kranti

8 March 2022: A webinar, titled “71 Years of China’s Colonial Rule in Tibet” was held on 8^th March, to mark the 63^rd anniversary of Tibetan people’s uprising against China in 1959. The webinar was jointly organized by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC). The main panellists included two internationally acclaimed scholars on China and a prominent Tibetan member of exile Parliament. It was moderated by Vijay Kranti, a senior journalist, Tibetologist and Chairman of CHASE. The main focus of the webinar was to highlight the colonial occupation of Tibet by China and the sad status of human rights inside Tibet.

First panellist Mr. Pierre-Antoine Donnet was a veteran French journalist and expert on China who has authored two books on China and Tibet. His first book was on Tibet titled “Tibet: Dead or Alive” (1990) and the latest book is “China the Great Predator” (2021). He has been posted in Beijing from 1984 to 1989 as a correspondent in the news bureau of Agence France-Presse (AFP). He studied Chinese language in Paris, Taiwan and Hong Kong back in the 1980’s. He also served as AFP’s global chief news editor.

The main thrust of Donne was that the western countries, especially the Unites States are now becoming more aware of the dangers from China and in near future, their stand towards China is expected to be stronger. Tracing the evolution of democracy in Taiwan from the early days of dictatorial rule of Chiang Kaishek, Donnet said that it has gradually evolved to a strong democracy. “Taiwan’s present President Ms. Tsi Ingwen has won international appreciation and support due to her strong faith in democracy and resolute stand against China,” he said. “In current international situation I believe that if China’s PLA ever decides to invade Taiwan then many countries including America, Japan, Australia and India are going to join hands in support of Taiwan,” he added.

Sharing his experience of his first visit to Tibet as an AFP correspondent in Beijing in 1985 he said that the Chinese authorities had warned him in advance that he was being taken to Tibet only on the condition that he would not write about what he sees inside Tibet. “But I was so moved by the stories of suffering by those Tibetan monks who had served in Chinese prison that I wrote all in my news report on my return to Beijing. Following this, the Chinese government banned my future visits to Tibet,” said Donnet.

Dr Chin Jin is a well-known personality among the democracy supporting community of Chinese Diaspora. Currently he lives in Sydney in Australia and is the Chairman of the “Federation of a Democratic China” which is a joint platform of some Chinese groups striving for democracy in China. Earlier he was the Secretary General of The Joint Working Committee for the Chinese Democratic Movement, which includes three traditional democratic organizations: the Chinese Alliance for Democracy (founded in 1983), the Federation for a Democratic China (founded in 1989) and the Alliance for a Democratic China (founded in 1993). He has written widely on Human Rights inside China and the political structure of China. His book ‘MY QUEST FOR DEMOCRACY IN CHINA’ was published in Taiwan in late 2012.

In his presentation Dr. Chin Jin said that he was shocked to see the indifference of western media about its reporting on China and Tibet. He pointed out that the recent self-immolation by a Tibetan musician was the 158 known cases in recent years but the western media and governments have adopted an indifferent attitude towards China’s acts in Tibet. Claiming that the desire for democracy inside China today is quite strong but the Chinese democratic movement inside and outside China lacks a charismatic leader like Dalai Lama. He regretted that western leaders’ attitude like the US President Joe Biden’s indifference towards Ukraine is going to make China more adamant and powerful. During the question-answer session, he asserted that “Now the only chance for the Chinese people to be relieved of the Chinese Communist Party is that this Party meets its end. It is only when CCP is demolished and loses power in China that countries like Tibet and Xinjiang etc. can hope of freedom and independence,” he said.

The Tibetan side was represented by Mrs. Youdon Aukatsang who is an elected 4^th term Member of Tibetan Parliament in Exile. Over more than 15 years, she has been associated with ‘Empowering the Vision Project’ as its Director and also the Secretary of the Trust. Her earlier associations included the Tibetan Women’s Association, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy and Kredha.

Speaking about conditions inside Tibet she said that in seven decades of Chinese rule over Tibet no Tibetan was ever appointed as the Party Secretary of CCP in Tibet. “Absence of Tibetans in the decision making system of today’s Tibet only proves that Tibet is treated as a colony by the Chinese masters of Tibet,” she said. “Indiscriminate exploitation of Tibet’s mineral resources and water resources by China is not only hurting the ecology of Tibet but also of countries around Tibet,” she added.

Speaking about the Chinese government’s policy about reincarnations tradition of Tibet she said, “No one in the world, especially the Tibetan people, are going to accept China’s imposition of the next Dalai Lama. Even if they decide to appoint one, their candidate will face the same fate as met by their Panchen Lama whom Tibetan people have refused to accept despite all efforts of Chinese government.”

Vijay Kranti, Chairman of CHASE and moderator of the webinar pointed out to Beijing government’s assertion and bullying of the world to accept that Tibet has been always a part of China in history and that any comment on Tibet would be treated as interference in China’s internal affairs. Referring to historic facts he said, “Before the establishment of China as the ‘Republic of China’ in 1912, China remained a vassal of foreign Mongol and Manchu rulers for 784 years and the last time when it existed as a country was 268 years ago in 1644. China today claims that Tibet as a part of China because the Mongols had ruled over Tibet and China. This claim is as absurd as India today claiming that Australia is a part of India or New Zealand claiming that India is its parts simply because all there countries were colonies of the British.”

Commenting on world government’s tendency to accept Chinese claims over Tibet and Xinjiang, Kranti said that, “No international law permits any country to certify the occupation by any other country over a third country. So, if any government tends to accept Tibet as a ‘part of China’ or as an ‘internal’ matter of China then that government is behaving like an accomplice in China’s crime of colonialism.”

UKRAINE INVASION HAS REVIVED THE MEMORIES OF CHINESE OCCUPATION OF TIBET – SAYS INTERNATIONAL JURIST

“We should hope the world will soon stand firmly against other aggressions and behind occupied countries like Tibet, which—like East Turkestan and Southern Mongolia—have been under Chinese colonial rule over the past many decades.” says Prof. Michael Van Walt

-Vijay Kranti

New Delhi

31 March 2022: “An interesting outcome of the events in Ukraine today is that it has produced an almost unanimous condemnation of aggression by a big country against its smaller neighbour. I hope it will help the world community to revive its memory about how a big nation like China used force to occupy the weaker neighbouring nations Tibet and imposed its own interpretation of history and law. The arguments being forwarded by President Putin of Russia and the manner in which Russian Army has invaded Ukraine have too many similarities to ignore how China occupied Tibet in 1950-1951”, says Prof. Michael Van Walt Van Praag, a renowned international law jurist who specializes in international conflict resolution.

Michael is currently a Senior Fellow at the Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies in San Francisco, has played important role in quite a few conflict situations like Chechnya and Abkhazia-Georgia dispute and has been a legal adviser to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and the Dalai Lama. He was joined the session from California at an international live webinar, based on his discussion with Vijay Kranti, a renowned Indian Tibetologist. The webinar organized jointly by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) was focused on famous book “Tibet Brief 20/20”, jointly authored by Prof. Michael and Dr. Miek Botjes.

Answering to a question from Vijay Kranti, the host of the show and Chairman of CHASE, Michael said, “The aggressive conduct of China in many areas including the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, Indian Himalayas and the Central Asia has shaken the world community, especially the Western countries, out of their slumber. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has now made the world sit up and realize that it has been appeasing China and accepting, at least implicitly, false claims and narratives of present day People’s Republic of China (PRC) about the Asian history, including Tibet, East Turkestan and Southern Mongolia” he said. “We should hope that the world will soon stand firmly against other aggressions and behind occupied countries like Tibet, which—like East Turkestan and Southern Mongolia—have been under Chinese colonial rule over the past many decades. Crushing of human rights in these regions by the Chinese communist regime and exploitation of their natural resources violates international law and triggers obligations for the international community,” he added.

Pointing out a major mistake of the international community, Michael said that the diplomats, historians, academicians and the media have largely relied on the Chinese sources on the Asian history to make their opinions and decisions about many Asian countries. The worst example is buying the Chinese idea of ‘seamless inheritance’ of Tibet and Mongolia first by the ‘Republic of China’ in 1912 and then by the PRC in 1949. “The reality is that the real China was the Chinese provinces and some contiguous areas which were ruled by the Chinese ‘Song’ and ‘Ming’ dynasties. Not the empires of the Mongols and the Manchus that conquered them.”  It is absurd that today the Chinese communist rulers want the world to accept their narrative of ‘seamless inheritance’ to claim that since the Mongols occupied China and subjugated Tibet therefore Tibet is a part of China,” he said. “But it is heartening to see now that the world has started looking at Asia also from non-Chinese perspectives like that of Russian, Mongolian, Manchu and Tibetan historians to understand the real history of Asia,” he added.

Michael cautioned the world governments, diplomats, the academics and especially the international media to stop using certain terminology which the Chinese rulers have been trying to spread through a very systematic and refined propaganda. Giving examples he said that referring to the Tibetans, the Uyghur’s and the Mongols as ‘ethnic minorities’ of China is an acceptance of Chinese claims that they are an integral part of a wider Chinese population. But the reality is that all of them are distinct ‘peoples’ and belong to three different nations, namely Tibet, East Turkistan and Mongolia which were ‘occupied’ in recent history. In international law, an ‘ethnic minority’ in a country may have some rights but they cannot claim full self-determination rights.

Similarly, another great blunder being committed by the world governments and diplomatic community is referring to the Sino-Tibetan conflict as an ‘internal matter’ of China.  By doing so the world community is failing not only in its legally bound duty of opposing the illegal occupation by China but it is rather providing a semblance of legitimacy and acceptance of China’s forcible colonization of Tibet and other regions by China. “This is nothing short of playing as an accomplice of China in its act of aggression, invasion and occupation,” he added.