This is a cause and consequence paper that I did for my English class. I just thought that I would share.

“Tibet is Not Free! Tibet is Not Free!”

When China allowed the first foreign journalists back in Lhasa in a government-lead tour, on March 27, a sobering realization was reported to the rest of the free world. During the middle of an interview in the Jokhang Temple with the temple’s administrative head, a group of about thirty, young Tibetan monks surrounded the journalists and Chinese government officials. With tears streaming from their eyes, they shouted, “Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!” Before the journalists could even question the monks, the Chinese officials who were sponsoring the tour ushered the journalists away and quarantined the Temple for “investigation”. The thirty young monks have since been missing (Shai, Lhasa). By strategically starting prior to the upcoming summer Olympics, the recent outbreak of Tibetan civil unrest has brought the decades of Chinese oppression to an emotional climax. China has quickly responded with a strict crackdown on the protests and cut internet and media sources that carry the Tibetan cries for independence. These unfolding events highlight the reasons that Tibet has remained such a politically, socially, and religiously charged issue and also sheds light on the consequences that it has incurred for the fight of Tibetan sovereignty.

The root of the Tibetan independence issue began in 1950 when the newly formed People’s Republic of China claimed Tibet to be an integral part of China. The Dali Lama, the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism, had recently assumed political leadership of the Tibetan government. Through measures of force, China annexed Tibet shortly after a Tibetan delegation signed the Seventeen Article Agreement which essentially ensured the “peaceful transfer of power.” The credibility of the People’s Republic of China’s claim to the Tibetan region is still controversial and widely disputed today (Moh). In respect to the 2008 riots, 1950 serves as a starting point of Tibetan people and PRC‘s relationship. Even after fifty years, Tibet’s brief period of independence is still a very vivid memory to the several generations of Tibetans that have grown up under the PRC’s rule.

During the 1950s, the PRC and Tibetan government maintained a peaceful but apprehensive relationship. Finally, after a failed rebellion in 1959, the Dali Lama was forced to flee to India where he created a government-in-exile and appealed to the international community for Tibet’s independence. The PRC quickly denounced the Dali Lama and installed the Panchen Lama, another Buddhist religious leader, as a figurehead (Moh). In a society where the Tibetan Buddhist religion reaches beyond social and moral code and into the political realm, the removal of the Dali Lama and China’s interference with the religious authorities incensed the Tibetan people. For several decades, the Chinese government actively oppressed the Tibetan Buddhist religion and slowly cut out integral parts of Tibetan culture. The Chinese government called it “cultural revolution,” but the Tibetan Buddhists called it “cultural genocide.”(Moh) Fifty years of religious oppression and interference has bottled up a lot of anger and frustration. This bottle was just waiting to be uncorked. In March 2008, the conditions were just right.

March 14, 2008 marked the largest and most controversial wave of protests that occurred in China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Four days after Buddhist monks demonstrated the anniversary of the 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule, violent riots ravaged the streets of Lhasa, the traditional capital of Tibet. The demonstration about the unsuccessful revolution transcended into a fierce and renewed call for Tibetan independence and sovereignty after decades of being under China’s oppressive rule. Within several days, the riots and civil unrest spread to Lhasa’s surrounding providences. The Tibetan protesters mostly targeted the ethic Han Chinese, the majority of all Chinese, with violence and vandalism. Many businesses owned by ethic Han Chinese or government friendly Tibetans where destroyed. In swift show of force, the People’s Republic of China deployed thousands of security personnel and paramilitary forces to disperse the rioters and deter potential outbreaks. The security forces quickly enacted a military state of emergency and tightened physical security in Lhasa and the surrounding providences (Oster, “In China”).

China immediately ordered the expulsion of all foreigners from Lhasa and enforced a week-long media “blackout” of Tibet. News about the protests and the military crackdown slowly trickled out of China’s state-sponsored media (In China). While it has always been know for a heavily-censored media, China did not hesitate when it completely blocked video sharing sites such as YouTube to anyone in China. Video footage of the Tibetan riots and calls to action had surfaced on these video sharing sites. By blocking these Internet sites from China, the Chinese government effectively eliminated a vital link between Tibet and the rest of the world. The Western media reported this action as an infringement of free speech. The attempted control over what news goes in and out of Tibet has resulted in many conflicting reports of what exactly happened. The total extent of the riots and civil unrest is still not completely known. China’s official figures put the death toll at 22 in Lhasa, but the exiled Tibetan government puts the total death toll at 140 after taking into account of the riots in entire region of Tibet (Chinese). The battle between Chinese and international press over censorship and bias, has united various Western media conglomerates in an outcry. The ongoing Tibetan incident has consequently been widely publicized in the Western media.

Another one of the more interesting circumstances of this outbreak of civil unrest is the fact that China will host upcoming 2008 summer Olympic Games. The Olympics has always been synonymous with human rights, and the Tibetan protests couldn’t happen at a better time. China’s quick crackdown and clean-up of the situation is an attempt to alleviate and minimize the damage the Tibetan riots have caused China’s “unified” Olympic image. However, it might be possible that some countries will boycott the Olympics because of the protests and China’s mishandling of the situation.

A long-term effect of China’s strict crackdown could also be further oppression of Tibetan society and culture. Because Tibetan Buddhist monks were the originators of the protest, Tibetan Buddhism may face future repercussions from the Chinese government. China may end up fully suppressing the Buddhist religious culture and ultimately place stricter laws in response to Tibet’s civil unrest. Sadly, the only course of action that China will most likely take in response to the Tibetan protests will be to take away more individual freedoms. China’s decision to cut off various communication mediums between Tibet and the rest of the world is a precursor to this path of tyranny.

Tibet is a vivid illustration of a battle over religious, social, and political freedom. The sequence of events that paved the way to the 2008 Tibetan protests was set in motion nearly fifty years ago. The upcoming Olympics and the anniversary of a failed uprising provided the perfect opportunity to unleash the rage of over fifty years of oppression. The Chinese government has only responded to the recent Tibetan outcry with further oppression and cultural genocide. The March riots in Tibet, however, are proof, yet again, of what happens when a government oppresses a people, its religion, and its culture. Oppressors can’t expect the oppressed to endure in silence. While it is a crime against humanity to take away the right to practice a religion, take away the right of free speech, and forcefully take a “home” from an entire people, the real cost of Tibet’s campaign for independence and sovereignty is paid by the innocence people that have been swept away by the tide of the ongoing Tibetan revolution. This recent squall may not bring Tibet’s independence or even be the last storm of its kind, but when the waves finally settle and there is a free Tibet, the damage inflicted by the generations of oppression and resulting conflict will be able to heal.