May 11, 2008
Zhang Boshu: The Way to Resolve the Tibet Issue
(Brief introduction of the author) Zhang Boshu 张博树 was born in Beijing in 1955. He received an
MA in economics from Zhongguo Renmin Daxue in 1982 and in 1985 passed the entrance examination
for the Institute of Philosophy of the graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His
research has been on critical theory in continental Europe in modern western philosophy. He obtained
MA and PhD degrees in philosophy in 1988 and 1991. He has held a post in the Philosophy Institute of
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 1991 to the present. In recent years he has striven to
understand the lessons of success and failure in the history of the past century of China's democratic
transition and institutional modernization. He has gradually settled upon criticism of 20th Century
Chinese despotism as his main research topic.
Ever since March, the issue of Tibet and the Olympics have been stirred up together, drawing the
attention of the entire world. Short sighted politicians in our own country have been pleased that their
petty schemes to stir up nationalist sentiment have been so successful. This not only manipulates
domestic opinion but also uses so-called "mainstream public opinion" to stand oppose the criticisms
coming from international society. On the other hand, this serves to push for the consolidation of the
situation in Tibet in the hope of getting through the Olympics peacefully. They did not realize that the
Tibet issue has already become a major factor affecting China's future. Solving the Tibet issue will take
courage and great wisdom. Petty scheming could run Tibet and ruin China.
How did the Tibet issue arise?
The Tibet issue is first of all a human rights issue.
Although the authorities are not willing to admit it, I want to say it plainly. This problem that plagues
the leadership of the Communist Party, if we look at its origin, was created by the Chinese Communist
Party itself as the ruler of China.
We don't have to look too far back in history. Whether in fact from the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing
Dynasty the relationship between the Tibet government and Beijing was one of relatives or of equals is
a matter of dispute among academics. For now, we don't need to pay any attention to controversy.
What is most important as that from 1912 onwards, Tibet was for a long period in a de facto "state of
independence". That situation continued until 1951 when the Tibet local government signed an
agreement with the Beijing central government -- the "Seventeen Point Agreement on the Peaceful
Liberation of Tibet". The document was moderate and constructive. The agreement stressed that Tibet
is part of China but also recognized that Tibet's current system would not change and that the Dalai
Lama's position would not change. We can call that the earliest version of "One Country, Two Systems"
in contemporary China.
In 1954, the 19 year-old Dalai and 16-year old Panchen both went to Beijing to take part in the First
National People's Congress, attending as honored guests of Mao Zedong. They were appointed
respectively as the Vice Chair of the NPC and the Vice Chair of the National People's Consultative
Congress. Tibet's future seemed bright. Problems began to appear in 1955. Mao Zedong's utopian
socialist social transformation began to accelerate that year. Ripples spread from the Chinese interior to
Changdu and the Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Gansu Provinces. In these areas,
which were not bound by the 17 Point Agreement, "democratic reform" broke out on a spectacular
scale. Radical local Communist Party leaders sought to carry out "democratic reform" and "socialist
transformation" simultaneously so as "to make spectacular progress in just one step". They struck hard
against the masters of the serfs and their "representatives", confiscating the lands and property of
monasteries and forcing collectivization, slandering the religious beliefs of Tibetan people, and forcing
upper class people, lamas and monks to "reform their thinking".
The result was that they stirred up dissatisfaction and resistance among the Tibetan people. During
1956 - 1958, armed conflicts in the Tibetan areas grew larger and larger in scale. When one died out
another arose but were soon were put down by campaigns by the PLA to put down rebellion and wipe
out rebels. Ten of thousands of Kam and Amdo region Tibetans fled across the Jinsha River into Tibet.
This sowed the seeds for the 1959 Lhasa "rebellion". These historical circumstances led to the
"rebellion" and indeed were a necessary condition for that event to occur.
There is no need to go into detail about what happened after that. The victorious "suppression of the
rebellion" at Lhasa showed that the central government had achieved absolute control of all the Tibetan
areas including Tibet itself. It also marked the rapid move of Tibet towards "socialism". Chinese of
my age grew up hearing songs like "The Red Sun is rising about the snowy mountains" and seeing
movies like "Serfs". In those days we really believed that under the leadership of the Communist Party
"the serfs have been liberated" and were living happy lives. Later, after reading a lot of historical
materials, I learned that there were many untruths in the propaganda.
The dictatorship system of the Communist Party, the arrogance and ignorance of leaders, and the
extreme leftist policies pursued by them in the Tibetan areas brought terrible disasters to both the
religious and lay people of Tibet. In 1962, the Panchen Lama, who was ranked as a "national leader"
wrote a letter to Premier Zhou Enlai expressing his deep sorrow at what he had seen and heard of the
suffering of the Tibetan people. Since the Panchen Lama was certainly not opposed to the leadership
of the Communist Party, and was loyally and faithfully reporting to the Party the actual situation in the
Tibetan areas, this letter called the "70,000 Character Document" can be seen as a document that
accurately reflects the difficult situation of the Tibetan people during those years. I might as well quote
from it here:
--- On "class struggle" in the Tibetan areas: "In most or in many areas, the cadres didn't care if the
campaign was planned or carried out well. They were intent on making a spectacular display that would
strike terror in people. They didn't care if they attacked the right people. The objective was to do the
campaign on a big scale and achieve numerical targets." They attacked many people whom they
shouldn't have attacked. Often “those who were the objects of struggle meetings had not done anything
particularly bad or committed serious errors. So they had to make up many false and serious
accusations. They exaggerated at will, turning truth and falsehood upside down." Many innocent
people were forced to flee abroad against their will. Those who stayed behind lived in terror."
-- On the lives of the people in the Tibetan areas: "Because of the rise in the agricultural areas of the
five unhealthy tendencies [Tr. Note: post Great Leap Forward Party critique of GLF excesses -- wu
feng 五风 – 共产风、浮夸风、瞎指挥风、强迫命令风、特殊化 over-egalitarianism, the
common practice of exaggeration, confused orders, too many compulsory orders, and special
privileges. End note] and excessively tight controls on grain, and the standards for the amount of grain
the people could retain was set too low, a severe grain shortage resulted, ...and many households had no
grain. In some areas some people even starved to death. "Formerly Tibet was a dark and barbarous
feudal society but there had never been a shortage of grain like that, especially since Buddhism
permeated the society, everyone rich and poor, had the custom of helping the poor and giving alms.
People could easily support themselves as a beggar, so we never of anyone ever having starved to
death."
-- Implementation of "dictatorship" resulted in the improper deaths of many prisoners: After the
"suppression of the rebellion", the proportion of prisoners in the Tibetan population reached several
percent, something completely unprecedented. " In 1959, Chairman Mao set forth a policy that since
the population of Tibet was small, people shouldn't be killed or at most only a few people should be
killed. But in fact, just the opposite happened. Except for the somewhat better treatment of
imprisoned members of the upper classes, most people who were locked up in prison endured very bad
conditions. The prison wardens didn't care about the lives or health of the prisoners. They often
verbally abused and savagely beat prisoners. Moreover, wardens deliberately moved prisoners back
and forth between very warm and cold places so that the prisoners could not adapt and their clothes
were always unsuitable. Their clothes could not keep them warm, their mattresses were not waterproof,
and the wind and rain entered their cells. They never got enough to eat, living in miserable conditions
yet they still had to get up early to do work. The hardest work was always given to these people. Their
became worn out physically, often came down with diseases. As a result of no rest and inadequate
medical care, many prisoners died who they should not have. (Tr. Note. Chinese text: 非正常之死）
On religion and nationalities issues: "Under the so-called "elimination of superstition", the first
priority was opposing religion. The second priority was destroying images of the Buddha, Buddhist
scriptures, and stupas." When they demanded that monks and nuns return to secular lives, they "first
in all the temples and monasteries, under the pretext of "study" and "mobilization", they brought all the
monks and nuns together into a large hall or room, and made them study nervously day and night,
forcing them to criticize each other in order to create a big wave of sharp struggles and attacks. People
who openly express their belief in religion were given labels such as a superstitious element or
someone who doesn't like the revolution. They were constantly attacked without rhyme or reason.
Even worse, in some places they made the lamas stand on one side and nuns and lay religious women
stand on the other. They were then forced to chose each other in marriage. In Tibet, there were
originally over 2500 temples. After "democratic reform" there were only 70 left. Originally there were
110,000 monks and nuns. Ten thousand fled abroad, leaving 100,000 behind. After "democratic
reform" there were only 7000 monks and nuns left. What especially cannot be condoned is that in
some areas there was deliberate desecration and insults to religion such as the Buddhist Canon used for
compost. Many paintings of the Buddha and scriptures were used to make shoes or other objects.
There is absolutely no reason for this. Because there were many insane things done that even a lunatic
wouldn't do, people in all classes of Tibetan society were deeply shaken. Their emotions were in chaos
and they became exceedingly sad and shed tears. They said "Our land has been made into a dark
place." quoting a Tibetan proverb that means "a place without religion".
Alas, when I read these characters, my own heart bleeds and my face burns.
Most of these problems also existed in the Chinese interior as well. But they were more serious in
Tibet. They were more extreme and more widespread there. No matter how well-meaning or noble the
initial motivation of those in power was to use their social ideals to transform Tibetan society was, what
its shocking results are all crimes. These are crimes that resulted from ignorance, arrogance, rage and
violence.
Under these circumstances, the over 100,000 Tibetans who fled to India and other foreign countries
called upon the entire world to support the human rights of Tibetans. Therefore the Tibet issue became
a symbolic issue for the entire world. What can be surprising about that? Moreover, this was going on
during the Cold War and so in the minds of western people, Tibet became a focal point in the game of
competing national interests in which china, the Soviet Union, India, the United States and other
countries were engaged.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency did in fact provide funding, technical and other support to
Tibetans in exile. That was part of the effort of the United States to contain the "spread of
communism". Chinese can of course curse the damn Americans for plotting to "split China" without
revealing their real intentions. But on the other hand, if the Communist Party had not done so many
stupid things in Tibet and forced Tibetans to flee into exile, what would other people have been able to
say? What pretext could they have to butt in? I haven't even mentioned the Cultural Revolution. That
"historically unprecedented” "revolution" because it was even redder and even further left, it was even
more extreme and more cruel. Of course it created even greater disasters for the Tibetan people. I
won't discuss them here.
Enlightened Communist Party Leaders Once Reflected on the "Leftist" Misfortunes that
Brought Disaster to Tibet
Objectively speaking, there has been no shortage of enlightened people within the Chinese Communist
Party leadership. At different times and in different positions they have opposed leftist work methods in
Tibet. However, under these historical circumstances, they could achieve only limited results.
Xi Zhongxun, from northwestern China, was a Vice Premier and Secretary General of the State Council
in the 1960s. He was responsible for contact with the Panchen. He made a very complete report to the
State Council about the how the "Seventy Thousand Character Document" came to be written by the
Panchen and so was charged with "accommodating and not interfering with the Panchen. The Tenth
session of the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party dismissed Xi Zhongxun and, in addition to the
major crime of "using a novel to attack the Communist Party" was also charged with "accommodating
and not interfering with the Panchen."
Another dismissed, high level Communist Party official was Li Weihan, who was an old communist
who had been head of the United Front Department since 1947. During April and May 1962, at a
Nationalities Work Conference held in Beijing, some of the nationalities religious figures offered some
sharp criticisms. Li Weihan remained calmly and honestly said that he welcomed criticism from
everyone. He praised the talk of the Tibetan Buddhist Lama Xijiashenzhi [romanization of Chinese
name], saying that he was "open and above board, with a heart as clear as a mirror" and stands as a
symbol of "patriotism in the area of national minorities religious affairs". Li Weiquan's action was later
severely criticized by Mao Zedong who said that "The United Front Department is neglecting the class
struggle and is being capitulationist." 2
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, many issues in Tibetan affairs were neglected. Nationalities
policy and the relationship between the Han nationality and the Tibetan nationality needed to be
adjusted and the lives of Tibetans needed to be improved. In May 1980, just after Hu Yaobang had
become General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu and Wan Li flew to Tibet for an
inspection visit. On the plane, Hu said to the accompanying Xinhua News Agency journalists "In our
policies in the national minority areas, we must always seek truth from facts, and adjust measures to
suit local conditions so as to fully respect the autonomy the Tibetans have to govern their minority area
themselves. That is the crux of all the Tibet issues." On May 29, in the work report that Hu Yaobang
presented at the meeting with the cadres of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, he stressed that the
development of Tibetan must resolve "six big issues".
The first is, under the unified leadership of the center, fully implement the autonomy rights in the
nationalities areas. "Any document, order or regulation which is not suitable for the conditions of Tibet
should not be implemented." "You should according to your own characteristics, draft specific decrees,
laws and regulations, and rules to protect the special interests of your own nationality." The second is
"Under the present difficult conditions of Tibet, you should carry out a policy of recuperation and
rebuilding and considerably reduce the burden on the people." "We have decided that within several
years required purchases by Tibetans will be abolished." Third, Tibet should implement special flexible
policies to promote the development of production." Fourthly "Devote the resources that the state is
providing to Tibet to the development of agriculture and herding and the daily necessities most needed
by Tibetan people." Fifth, "With the condition that the socialist road be followed, develop science,
technology and education in Tibet."
Hu Yaobang especially stressed, "Looking down on Tibetan history, language and art is totally wrong...
Loving the minority people is not a matter of empty words. Their social customs and habits must be
respected. Respect their language, respect their history, respect their culture. If you don't do that you
are only speaking empty words." Finally, Tibetan cadres should manage Tibet. Within two years,
Tibetans should make up two-thirds or more of the cadres in Tibet. "We have been here for thirty years.
We have completed our historical mission." "Today there are 300,000 ethnic Han, including military, in
Tibet. How can that ever do?" The above can be summarized in six characters "cut taxes, open up, and
withdraw personnel". These were the "emergency measures" energetically promoted by Hu Yaobang to
resolve the Tibet issue. 3
These views, strong criticisms of social evils, were enthusiastically welcomed in the Tibetan areas. Of
course because of historical conditions, the enlightened leaders of the Chinese Communist Party were
unable to discuss and consider institutional perspectives on the problems that occurred in Tibet. Hu
Yaobang in his May 29th speech said that we should not look back on the past but rather "unify
ourselves and look to the future".4 This reflects Hu Yaobang's experience and resourcefulness and the
frustrations of a generation of reformers in the Chinese Communist Party. After all, the many of the
tragedies in contemporary Tibetan history are directly linked to the Communist Party system and the
social policies that that Party carried out. This is all a result of these policies. If we do not reflect upon
the origins of the Tibet issue, then we will not be able to resolve it.
New Symptoms Arose in the Tibet Issue During the Years of Reform
With opening and reform, especially since the early 1990s and the turn of the new century, the Chinese
economy has grown very quickly. The central government has also certainly invested a lot of capital in
Tibet and devised a series of special preferential policies and measures to accelerate the development of
Tibet. There have been direct state investment construction projects, Chinese central government
financial subsidies, and support for projects from partners around the country for the modernization and
construction of Tibet. The overall economic level of Tibet improved considerably as a result. However
the political structure remained the same as before with the Party exercising control over political,
economic, cultural, and religious affairs just as before. An autonomous region in name, but in actual
fact, autonomy was in the same lamentable state as before. The core of the Tibet issue has not been
truly solved, and under the new social conditions a variety of new problems have arisen.
The market economy has become the economy controlled by influential people. It is that way in the
Chinese interior, and it is that way in Tibet. The blending of the system of Party dictatorship and the
policy of opening up created a new privileged stratum that includes Han and as well as Tibetans who
have positions in Party and government institutions and cultural institutions. Faced with swarms of
merchants coming from the Chinese interior, many ordinary Tibetans in Lhasa and other areas fell
discriminated against and marginalized.
Even worse is the all encompassing control of religious affairs. On the surface, religious life in Tibet
has already been restored. The state spent great sums repairing damage and protecting symbolic
Buddhist structures, the temples are filled with burning incense. The Buddhist Canon will never again
be used for compost. But this is just the surface of things. There is a deeper reality that is hidden behind
these things as if beneath a mask.
The independent scholar Wang Lixiong, who has done much research, including many research trips to
Tibet. His conclusion: in Tibet there is no true religious freedom. On one hand, the government
strictly controls the registration of religious activities in the temples, limits religious personnel to a
certain "authorized personnel complement", and forbids ties between temples. Religious activities
outside the temples are forbidden. On the other hand, spontaneous religious activities outside
government control are rigorously suppressed so that they will not have any influence.
In the Kang region of [Tr. note: ethnographic] Tibet, not far from the county seat of Sela County, is the
mountain valley of Larong with its Wuming Buddhist Institute. [Translator's note: also known as the
Sertar Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Sertar, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China 四川
甘孜州 色达县 喇荣五明佛学院 End note.] When founded in 1980, there were only 30 or so people
at the Institute. At the end of the 1990s, there were nearly 10,000 Tibetan and Han monks there. This
worried the Chinese government. The authorities ordered that the reduce the number of its personnel
from the authorized number of 4000 nuns to just 400 and 4000 monks to just 1000. All the 1000 Han
who had come to study Buddhism were forced to leave. This requirement was rejected by the Living
Buddha who ran the Institute because to make a monk return to secular life involves a serious violation
of vows. The government took action, sending people to destroy the housing of the monks. On July
10, 2001 during the height of the destruction of monastic housing, 1700 monastic cells were destroyed
in a single day. "I have heard people describe that scene, the sounds of houses being destroyed, the
dust rising up everywhere, on one side one thousand nuns crying, as if the world itself were shaking. In
the area around the Wuming Buddhist Academy were many nuns in groups in the countryside hiding
out to avoid pursuit by the government. "5
An even more deadly consequence of the strict control of religion have been breaks in the transmission
of Tibetan Buddhism. Traditional Tibetan religion has an internal control mechanism. For example,
although their is a reincarnation system for the Dalai and the Panchen, but in the Geluga School,
eminent monks and heads of monasteries have a set term of office. They are chosen from among the
most learned lamas. The winners in the competition can become the head of the Ganden Monastery --
that is a natural teacher for the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. This system has continued for
several hundred years without a break, thereby ensuring the authenticity in the transmission of the
teachings of Tibetan Buddhism from generation to generation and ensuring as well the excellent
character of eminent monks. But since 1959 this continuous process has been interrupted. From the
1980s to the present, although on the surface religious activities have been renewed, it has become hard
to find a trace of the very core of the religion -- the pious beliefs of eminent monks, deep research into
Buddhism and teaching aimed at enlightening all sentient beings.
The governing authorities operate a "reverse elimination" selection system among the leaders of the
monks. "Any monk leader who insists on religious principles, refuses to be a tool of the authorities,
will be subject to pressure and purging or even sentenced to prison as a warning to other clergy. Any
monk with a relatively high traditional rank who keeps silent, doesn't cause trouble is a candidate for
recruitment by the United Front Department. He will be given rewards but a club will be always be
ready to intimidate them. Any monk willing to be personal advancement first, who is opportunistic,
gives up religious principles, and willing to be a tool of the government will be given all sorts of
advantages, membership in the National People's Congress, the National People's Consultative
Congress or even higher government positions. The green light will be given for their activities,
resources will be provided so that they will be a model who can draw in other leaders among the
monks." In sum, therefore, although the Chinese Communists boast of religious freedom but their
religious policy is aimed at the destruction of Buddhism, no less than it was in the days of Mao
Zedong. Mao Zedong wanted to completely extirpate Buddhism. In Tibetan history there were eras
when Buddhism was extirpated yet Buddhism still continued because the religion lived in the hearts of
believers and so could not be destroyed by an external force. Today the Communist Party religious
policy is aims at the degeneration of the monk stratum of Tibetan society. This is a mortal danger to
Buddhism." 6
As a consequence of all this, although Tibet has made considerable economic progress over the past
thirty years and the lives of ordinary Tibetans have improved, but Tibetans are still dissatisfied and
"events" occur over and over in the Tibetan regions. The Tibetan issue is still "an issue" that is the
focus of constant international attention. Ever since that have occurred since March are just new
developments in the course of this ongoing transformation.
Demonizing the Dalai Lama is Extremely Stupid
After the "hitting, smashing, stealing and burning" event of March 14, the Chinese government
immediately announced that this was instigated by the "Dalai Clique". When in April there was
interference with the transmission of the torch, the authorities again asserted that the "Dalai Clique"
had instigated "Tibet independence elements", with the aim of destroying the Olympic Games, in order
to further the cause of "Tibet independence".
The "human rights issue" was substituted for the "independence issue" to serve the needs of people in
authority. This is easy to see. But in their effort to dump this pile of shit on the head of the Dalai Lama,
we can see how preposterous the traditional political logic of the Chinese communists is. This also
reveals that the rulers lack a long term strategic vision and political wisdom.
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also one of the most famous
political figures in the world. The year the Dalai Lama fled Tibet he was 24 years old. In half a
century of exile, this ethnic Tibetan sage has blended the essence of Buddhism, magnanimity, liberal
democracy and other universal values of contemporary civilization. Already in 1987, the Dalai Lama
proposed the "Five Point Peace Proposal" which includes the suggestion that Tibet become a "peace
zone", that "China end its policy of moving settlers into Tibet", "respect for the human rights and
democratic rights of the Tibetan people", "Restore and protect Tibet's natural environment", and "hold
sincere talks about the future status of Tibet and the relationship between the Tibetan people and the
Chinese people".
In 1988, the Dalai Lama also made the "Strasbourg Proposal" in 1988, which proposed that "Tibet
should become a self-ruled democratic political entity in union with the People's Republic of China, in
which "the Chinese government would be responsible for Tibet's external affairs, but Tibet could
establish offices overseas for the religious and cultural aspects of foreign relations" etc.7
During the last seven years, the Dalai Lama has at many times and in many places stated clearly that he
does not seek Tibet independence, only real autonomy for Tibet. On the methods and ways of
achieving this he strongly calls for a peaceful "middle way", which would involve honest dialog with
the central government and negotiations to resolve issues. Ever since 2002, the Dalai Lama's special
envoy has met with representatives of the United Front Department in Beijing six times in order to
explain to the ruling Communist Party rulers the "middle way position" but have not gotten any
response to the proposal.
The rigid stance of the Chinese Communist Party is very easy to understand from their political
tradition: the institutional arrangements for Tibet have already been decided. So what is there to talk
about? Accepting the so-called "autonomy" of the Dalai would shake the foundations of the partystate,
so there can be no yielding on this point. Therefore, "talks" are for the Communist side just a
perfunctory exercise and only done for show, and so of course there can be no concrete results from
them. Yet these delays cause more and more difficulties for the Dalai since he has to explain things to
both the Tibetan exiles and to believers within Tibet.
There are many different organizations and groups among the Tibetans in exile with different political
positions. There are radical ones like the "Tibet Youth Congress" which has attracted a lot of attention
lately. It's political position is very different from the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way". The Tibet Youth
Congress was founded in 1970 mostly by second and third generation Tibet exiles. Membership is now
several tens of thousands with organizations in 40 countries. At the outset the Tibet Youth Congress
stood for non-violence, but is has changed its position over the past several years. At its 2007 annual
meeting, the leader of the Congress said that the non-violence propounded by the Dalai Lama is good,
but he has been saying this for many years without result. "Very many people don't believe in it. They
say it doesn't work." If it doesn't work , then what? The Tibet Youth Congress is inclined to use
violence to solve the problem, including preparing a "popular uprising movement" in the Tibetan areas.
It is said that over 700 Tibetans have volunteered that they are willing to give up their lives to protect
what they "stand for".
The Dalai has stated clearly that he opposes any scheme or action involving the use of violence. He
said that if such an act should occur, he may have to "resign" to show his true position. Several days
ago, the Dalai during an interview with Asia Week [Yazhou Zhoukan] said that he believes that giving
up the Middle Way of giving up efforts to achieve Tibet independence and seeking a high degree of
autonomy is still the mainstream view of Tibetans in exile as well as the mainstream view of people in
the Tibetan areas. As for the Tibet Youth Congress, the Dalai Lama said that he can only admonish the
Tibet Youth Congress not to take the radical road. However, he has no way to order the Tibet Youth
Congress to shut up. 9
Beijing may not completely trust the statements of the Dalai Lama because overcoming political
enmity built up over a long time will take time and face-to-face communication. However,
indiscriminately demonizing the other side, charging that the Dalai is the commander in the "Tibet
independence camp" and should certainly be punished by the entire nation, and reviled by everyone,
can only put the Dalai Lama in a difficult situation (while he is trying to put pressure on radical forces
among Tibetans) and put the Chinese communists into a political dead end (frozen into the rigid face of
the dictator ), giving up the freedom of maneuver needed in political negotiations. Isn't this an
extremely stupid way to behave?!
Yet, in the final analysis, this is the obstinate and stubborn traditional political logic that haunts the
Communist Party. According to this logic, there can be no equal negotiating partners. There can only
be enemies locked in a life and death struggle. Even worse is how the rulers are haunted by their own
logic of interests --- for according to this logic, Tibet "autonomy" is intolerable. It would be a
fundamental threat to the party-state, and a threat to a large group that benefits from this system.
Considered in terms of these two logics, the demonization of the Dalai Lama becomes easy to
understand. But where is justice? What are the prospects for the great family of the peoples of China?
Considering the puerile and shallow "patriotism" and "nationalism" shown in the recent turbulent tide
of meticulously planned and instigated demonstrations in both China and abroad by the new "Boxers",
as well as the very deep problems facing the country, one is left with a bitter and confused taste in
one's mouth and troubled deep into sleepless nights.
The Solution to the Tibet issue Should be Sought Within a Constitutional Framework
The Tibet issue is first of all a human rights issue. But it is not only a human rights issue. Abuses of
human rights are an "effect", not a "cause". An irrational system of political dictatorship is what
caused the "Tibet issue."
Didn't the Communist Party initially seek to help the Tibetan people and the million "liberated serfs"? I
believe that this is true. Yet the history of the world is full of examples of evil deeds done with good
intentions. During the late Qing, the court made great reforms in Tibetan affairs and promoted reforms
in order to prevent the great powers from continuing to encroach upon Tibet. In 1907, Zhang Yintang
gave to the Qing Court "Twenty-four proposals for the governance of Tibet". During 1905 - 1911, in
the the provinces of Sichuan and Kang, a reform to "change from indirect control through local chiefs
to direct control by the central government". The purpose in addition to consolidating Qing rule was to
transform social traditions for the "good of" ordinary Tibetans. However, these "reforms" were
strongly resisted by Tibetan people. Half a century later the Communist Party did the same thing in the
Tibetan areas, albeit more systematically and with more determination. The result was larger scale
harm to the people, religion and culture of the Tibetan areas.
In fact, history has already shown that China's 20th century communist revolution was a mistake. It
was a big wrong turn during a century of social transformation. It not only brought misfortune to the
Han nationality, it also brought misfortune to the minority peoples. Today, people are thinking deeply
about that history. Things that are past cannot be called back. But we should remember the lessons of
history, and look at the issues of today and tomorrow with a scientific attitude. This is the
responsibility of the present generation.
Respect for the fundamental rights of citizens, and respect for the distinctive cultures and traditions
must be implemented in a constitutional political system. This is the basic path for solving the Tibet
issue.
Recently Taiwan successfully changed the ruling party for the second time. This shows the superiority
of the democratic system of government. It also demonstrates the necessity and urgency of changing
the political system on the Chinese mainland. Clearly, the party dictatorship system of the Chinese
Communist Party cannot accommodate unification between Taiwan and the mainland, just as it cannot
accommodate true autonomy for Tibet. Only by dissolving the present system and creating a
constitutional democratic system in accordance with the universal values and principles of modern
civilization can the day come when Taiwan finally returns to the motherland, Tibet achieves true
autonomy, and Han and Tibetans get along with each other in harmony.
From the beginning of the 1960s, the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamasala, India started to
experiment at building a system of democratic government. In his Strasbourg Proposal, the Dalai
Lama said that "The Tibetan government should be composed of an independent administration and
legislature chosen by the vote of all citizens and a court system." The Dalai Lama even proposed
changing the Tibetan form of government that combines politics and religion. He didn't worry if he
might become the "last Dalai" in Tibetan history.10 Tibetans have already made preparations for a
democratic political system. Shouldn't the central government in Beijing make similar preparations?
Certainly for the Chinese Communist decision-makers who know hold power, changing the present
system and creating a new institutional framework would take a great deal of courage and wisdom.
This would not be just for Tibet or for Taiwan; it would be for all the 1.3 billion citizens of the People's
Republic of China. To be honest, even after China has established a constitutional form of government,
finding the reasonable sharing of jurisdiction between the central government and the nationalities
areas will not be easy.
I once wrote an article entitled "Two Track Republican System: A Proposal for the Reform of the
Chinese System of Constitutional Government". In this article I pointed out that it is an uncontested
fact that the "division of powers" and "autonomy" strengthen the rights consciousness of citizens and
increases their participation in public affairs (in the nationalities areas, autonomy also helps preserve
the cultural traditions of nationalities and protects their special interests). Yet these is another aspect to
this problem, that is the tendency of interests to expand and the "logic of collective interests". The
latter will certainly create some "problems of the commons" which will have to be solved by the
intervention of a public power at a higher level that is above local interests, especially intervention by
the central government.
Returning to the present, there is still a chance for the central government to solve the Tibet issue. That
can be done by conducting genuine negotiations with the Dalai Lama. Recently Beijing has already
said that it is willing to resume contact. That is good. Even if it is just a pose, it is positive. Everyone
hopes that the takes can produce genuine results so as to create a harmonious bridge between the Han
and Tibetan peoples while the Dalai Lama is still alive. If this issue is not handled well, then "splitting"
might become a real and present danger.
As a Chinese citizen, I naturally don't want to see Tibet split off from the household of our motherland.
We should believe that the trend of human civilization is towards unifying rather than towards splitting.
Unity is helpful for solving many of the problems that humanity is faced with. As a Chinese proverb
goes, the melon that is grabbed roughly cannot be sweet -- unity needs to be a voluntary unity based
upon a community of interests. Forced compliance cannot produce good results. This simple truth can
also be applied to politics.
(This article was written April 22 - 28, 2008 in Beijing)
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April 02, 2008
THE CRY OF TIBET
By WANG LIXIONG
The Wall Street Journal
March 28, 2008; Page A12
The recent troubles in Tibet are a replay of events that happened two decades ago. On Oct. 1, 1987, Buddhist monks were demonstrating peacefully at the Barkor -- the famous market street around the central cathedral in Lhasa -- when police began beating and arresting them. To ordinary Tibetans, who view monks as "treasures," the sight was intolerable -- not only in itself, but because it stimulated unpleasant memories that Tibetan Buddhists had been harboring for years.
A few angry young men then began throwing stones at the Barkor police station. More and more joined, and then they set fires, overturned cars and began shouting "Independence for Tibet!" This is almost exactly what we saw in Lhasa two weeks ago.
The fundamental cause of these recurrent events is a painful dilemma that lives inside the minds of Tibetan monks. When the Chinese government demands that they denounce their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, monks are forced to choose between obeying, which violates their deepest spiritual convictions, and resisting, which can lead to loss of government registry and physical expulsion from monasteries.
From time to time monks have used peaceful demonstrations to express their anguish. When they have done this, an insecure Chinese government, bent on "annihilating unstable elements" in the "emergent stage," has reacted with violent repression. This, in turn, triggers violence from Tibetans.
In recent decades, the Chinese government's policy for pacifying Tibet has been to combine the allure of economic development on the one hand with the threat of force on the other. Experience has shown that this approach does not work.
The most efficient route to peace in Tibet is through the Dalai Lama, whose return to Tibet would immediately alleviate a number of problems. Much of the current ill will, after all, is a direct result of the Chinese government's verbal attacks on the Dalai Lama, who, for Tibetan monks, has an incomparably lofty status. To demand that monks denounce him is about as practical as asking that they vilify their own parents.
It should be no surprise that beatings of monks and closings of monasteries naturally stimulate civil unrest, or that civil unrest, spawned in this way, can turn violent.
Why aren't these simple truths more obvious? Phuntsog Wanggyal, a Tibetan now retired in Beijing who for years was a leading Communist official in Tibet, has observed that a doctrine of "anti-splittism" has taken root among Chinese government officials who deal with religion and minority affairs, both in central offices in Beijing and in Tibet. Having invested their careers in anti-splittism, these people cannot admit that the idea is mistaken without losing face and, they fear, losing their own power and position as well.
Their ready-made tag for everything that goes wrong is "hostile foreign forces" -- an enemy that justifies any kind of harsh or unreasoning repression. When repeated endlessly, anti-splittism, although originally vacuous, does take on a kind of solidity. Careers are made in it, and challenging it becomes impossible.
I am a supporter of the Dalai Lama's "middle way," meaning autonomy for Tibet in all matters except foreign affairs and national defense. This arrangement eventually would have to mean that Tibetan people select their own leaders -- and that would be a major change from the way things are now. Tibet is called an "autonomous region," but in fact its officials are all named by Beijing, and are all tightly focused on their own personal interests and the interests of the Communist Party. Tibetans can clearly see the difference between this kind of government and self-rule, and there is no way that they will support bogus autonomy.
It follows -- even if this is a tall order -- that the ultimate solution to the Tibet problem must be democratization of the Chinese political system itself. True autonomy cannot come any other way.
It is time for the Chinese government to take stock of why its long-term strategy in Tibet has not worked, and to try something else. The old problems remain, and they are sure to continue, perhaps in places like the "Uighur Autonomous Region" of Xinjiang, if a more sensible approach is not attempted.
Mr. Wang, a Beijing-based writer, was the organizer of the recent 12-point statement on Tibet by 30 Chinese intellectuals. This article was translated from the Chinese by Princeton University Prof. Perry Link.
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March 28, 2008
Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation by Some Chinese Intellectuals
1. At present the one-sided propaganda of the official Chinese media is having the effect of stirring up inter-ethnic animosity and aggravating an already tense situation. This is extremely detrimental to the long-term goal of safeguarding national unity. We call for such propaganda to be stopped.
2. We support the Dalai Lama’s appeal for peace, and hope that the ethnic conflict can be dealt with according to the principles of goodwill, peace, and non-violence. We condemn any violent act against innocent people, strongly urge the Chinese government to stop the violent suppression, and appeal to the Tibetan people likewise not to engage in violent activities.
3. The Chinese government claims that “there is sufficient evidence to prove this incident was organized, premeditated, and meticulously orchestrated by the Dalai clique.” We hope that the government will show proof of this. In order to change the international community’s negative view and distrustful attitude, we also suggest that the government invite the United Nation’s Commission on Human Rights to carry out an independent investigation of the evidence, the course of the incident, the number of casualties, etc.
4. In our opinion, such Cultural-Revolution-like language as “the Dalai Lama is a jackal in Buddhist monk’s robes and an evil spirit with a human face and the heart of a beast ” used by the Chinese Communist Party leadership in the Tibet Autonomous Region is of no help in easing the situation, nor is it beneficial to the Chinese government’s image. As the Chinese government is committed to integrating into the international community, we maintain that it should display a style of governing that conforms to the standards of modern civilization.
5. We note that on the very day when the violence erupted in Lhasa (March 14), the leaders of the Tibet Autonomous Region declared that “there is sufficient evidence to prove this incident was organized, premeditated, and meticulously orchestrated by the Dalai clique.” This shows that the authorities in Tibet knew in advance that the riot would occur, yet did nothing effective to prevent the incident from happening or escalating. If there was a dereliction of duty, a serious investigation must be carried out to determine this and deal with it accordingly.
6. If in the end it cannot be proved that this was an organized, premeditated, and meticulously orchestrated event but was instead a “popular revolt” triggered by events, then the authorities should pursue those responsible for inciting the popular revolt and concocting false information to deceive the Central Government and the people; they should also seriously reflect on what can be learned from this event so as to avoid taking the same course in the future.
7. We strongly demand that the authorities not subject every Tibetan to political investigation or revenge. The trials of those who have been arrested must be carried out according to judicial procedures that are open, just, and transparent so as to ensure that all parties are satisfied.
8. We urge the Chinese government to allow credible national and international media to go into Tibetan areas to conduct independent interviews and news reports. In our view, the current news blockade cannot gain credit with the Chinese people or the international community, and is harmful to the credibility of the Chinese government. If the government grasps the true situation, it need not fear challenges. Only by adopting an open attitude can we turn around the international community’s distrust of our government.
9. We appeal to the Chinese people and overseas Chinese to be calm and tolerant, and to reflect deeply on what is happening. Adopting a posture of aggressive nationalism will only invite antipathy from the international community and harm China’s international image.
10. The disturbances in Tibet in the 1980s were limited to Lhasa, whereas this time they have spread to many Tibetan areas. This deterioration indicates that there are serious mistakes in the work that has been done with regard to Tibet. The relevant government departments must conscientiously reflect upon this matter, examine their failures, and fundamentally change the failed nationality policies.
11. In order to prevent similar incidents from happening in future, the government must abide by the freedom of religious belief and the freedom of speech explicitly enshrined in the Chinese Constitution, thereby allowing the Tibetan people fully to express their grievances and hopes, and permitting citizens of all nationalities freely to criticize and make suggestions regarding the government’s nationality policies.
12. We hold that we must eliminate animosity and bring about national reconciliation, not continue to increase divisions between nationalities. A country that wishes to avoid the partition of its territory must first avoid divisions among its nationalities. Therefore, we appeal to the leaders of our country to hold direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama. We hope that the Chinese and Tibetan people will do away with the misunderstandings between them, develop their interactions with each other, and achieve unity. Government departments as much as popular organizations and religious figures should make great efforts toward this goal.
Signatures:
Wang Lixiong (Beijing, Writer)
Liu Xiaobo (Beijing, Freelance Writer)
Zhang Zuhua (Beijing, scholar of constitutionalism)
Sha Yexin (Shanghai, writer, Chinese Muslim)
Yu Haocheng (Beijing, jurist)
Ding Zilin (Beijing, professor)
Jiang peikun (Beijing, professor)
Yu Jie (Beijing, writer)
Sun Wenguang (Shangdong, professor)
Ran Yunfei (Sichuan, editor, Tujia nationality)
Pu Zhiqiang (Beijing, lawyer)
Teng Biao (Beijing, Layer and scholar)
Liao Yiwu ()Sichuan, writer)
Wang Qisheng (Beijing, scholar)
Zhang Xianling (Beijing, engineer)
Xu Jue (Beijing, research fellow)
Li Jun (Gansu, photographer)
Gao Yu (Beijing, journalist)
Wang Debang (Beijing, freelance writer)
Zhao Dagong (Shenzhen, freelance writer)
Jiang Danwen (Shanghai, writer)
Liu Yi (Gansu, painter)
Xu Hui (Beijing, writer)
Wang Tiancheng (Beijing, scholar)
Wen kejian (Hangzhou, freelance)
Li Hai (Beijing, freelance writer)
Tian Yongde (Inner Mongolia, folk human rights activists)
Zan Aizong (Hangzhou, journalist)
Liu Yiming (Hubei, freelance writer)
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