Happy Birthday Tibet
Trip Start
Mar 21, 2005
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39
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Trip End
Ongoing
Zhongdian,
China
Monday, September 5, 2005
This month, Tibet turns forty, at least according to the Chinese government. On September 1, 1965, Tibet became a Chinese province as the Dalai Lama fled to India with thousands of adherents and China liberated the Tibetan people from feudalism. Headlines in China stated that "Tibetans Bask in Joy of Bright Tomorrow."
Despite the seeming paradox of these statements, there appears to be some truth behind these words. Because the history of Tibet has been written many times over , "liberation," "occupation," "progress," "torture," and "massacre" all have different meanings, depending on who you ask.
On one hand, some historians focus on the spiritual development of Tibet and Tibet's contribution to the spread of Buddhism in Asia and elsewhere. Tibetan culture was peaceful and the current Dalai Lama is known throughout the world as a compassionate religious leader.
On the other hand, some historians have noted that Tibet was a theocracy where the majority of the population were serfs, monasteries hoarded power and money, and torture was used regularly. Tibet was also not as peaceful as depicted: five of 13 past Dalai Lamas were presumed assassinated and the Gelugpa sect of the Dalai Lama came to power with the military assistance of the Mongol Empire.
Now we are celebrating 40 years of Tibetan liberation.
Many Chinese view the liberation of Tibet as a great achievement. Tibet is no longer enslaved and is developing economically as never before. Poverty is slowly disappearing, schools and infrastructure are being built, and former serfs now own land. This achievement is perhaps considered on the same scale as the fall of the Berlin Wall or the end of Apartheid or the liberation of Iraq.
On the other hand, many outside China and human rights groups focus on the Chinese occupation, murder, and torture of thousands of Tibetans. More recently, Han Chinese have been colonizing many parts of Tibet, the government is extracting valuable resources, and the political structure in the "Tibetan Autonomous Region" is Han Chinese controlled almost exclusively.
What happened 40 years ago did not just happen in Tibet, but throughout China, in the form of the Cultural Revolution. The main goal of the Cultural Revolution was to rid China of elitism and to create equality. To achieve this goal, however, mass death and destruction ensued. Religions were not tolerated. Many people starved. Industries collapsed. In Tibet, the goals of the Cultural Revolution were carried out just as they were elsewhere in China. Given the feudal and religious nature of Tibet, however, the revolution was carried out with even more brutality.
Years later, the Dalai Lama reflected on the very system that toppled his rule: "Of all the modern economic theories, the economic system of Marxism is founded on moral principles, while capitalism is concerned only with gain and profitability. Marxism is concerned with the distribution of wealth on an equal basis and the equitable utilization of the means of production. It is also concerned with the fate of the working classes-that is the majority--as well as with the fate of those who are underprivileged and in need, and Marxism cares about the victims of minority-imposed exploitation. For those reasons the system appeals to me, and it seems fair."
Even today, Tibetans consider the exiled Dalai Lama their spiritual leader and love to see his photograph, which is illegal in China. The Dalai Lama, in exile, has established a democratic government in Dharamsala that bears little resemblance to the past theocracy and serfdom of Tibet. Human rights, a healthy environment, peace, non-violence, mutual respect, individual responsibility, and freedom are all espoused in Dharamsala. When the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, he said: "The prize reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons, Tibet will be liberated. Our struggle must remain nonviolent and free of hatred."
Meanwhile, in Tibetan China, the heavy army presence, the inequality between Tibetans and Han Chinese, the unfree press, and the heavy toll of past injustices still weigh heavily towards the fact that China is occupying Tibet. Case in point: Tibet was closed to foreign individuals travelling to Tibet during a ten-day period surrounding Tibet's birthday celebration, as the Tibetan Tourism Board verified for me the other day.
As tourism grows here, a facade is built that hides the truth. The government requires that businesses also use Tibetan writing on their signs, which gives the appearance that everyone can read Tibetan. The truth is that Tibetan language is suppressed, most people including the monks cannot read Tibetan, most of these businesses are Han Chinese-owned, and many of the writings are misspelled. Many of the monasteries have been rebuilt, yet are they truly functioning monasteries or simply hangouts for not-monks and tourists? And, still, the Panchen Lama remains a political prisoner along with many other Tibetans.
Yet, at the same time, Tibetans seem to be happy despite their material poverty and political situation. I wouldn't say that they "bask in joy of bright tomorrow," but there is hope that China will continue to liberalize its policies and that one day, the Dalai Lama and China's Premiere will shake hands and Tibet will be self-governing (yet part of China).
I think it's safe to say that, as human beings, there's blood on all of our hands, if you look back far enough in history. It seems easy to point fingers at China while easily forgetting our own history wherever you are from. China recognizes the failures of the Cultural Revolution and seems to be trying. Their constitution, for example, protects the rights of minority cultures under Article 4 and says this in its preamble:
"Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the guidance of Marxism- Leninism, Mao ZedongThought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, and the important thoughts of the "Three Represents", the Chinese people of all nationalities will continue to adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship and follow the socialist road, steadily improve socialist institutions, develop socialist democracy, improve the socialist legal system and work hard and self-reliantly to modernize industry, agriculture, national defense and science and technology step by step to turn China into a socialist country with a high level of culture and democracy."
Tell me: what is a "democratic dictatorship?"
"Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life."~Dalai Lama.
Comments
Democratic Dictatorship
The answer to what China means by a 'democratic dictatorship' is China's one country two systems policy. In Hong Kong and Taiwan there is democracy. On the mainland, there is dictatorship.