kelelas+research

While China claims that Tibet has always been a part of China, Tibet has a history of at least 1300 years of independence from China. In 821 China and Tibet ended almost 200 years of fighting with a treaty engraved on three stone pillars, one of which still stands in front of the Jokhang cathedral in Lhasa. The treaty reads in part: Both Tibet and China shall keep the country and frontiers of which they are now possessed. The whole region to the East of that being the country of Great China and the whole region to the West being assuredly the country of Great Tibet, from either side there shall be no hostile invasion, and no seizure of territory... and in order that this agreement establishing a great era when Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China shall never be changed, the Three Jewels, the body of Saints, the sun and the moon, planets and stars have been invoked as witness. The three stone pillars were erected, one outside the Chinese Emperor's palace, one on the border between the two countries, and one in Lhasa. __Question1__ Tibet has long been an independent country, dating back for centuries. It has its own unique culture, with its own spoken and written language, system of government, currency, postal system, its own style of Buddhism, costume, and architecture. Tibet wished to live peacefully by itself, so much so that it became known to the outside world as 'Shangrila' - a mystical and magnetizing country to those people fascinated by its remoteness, inaccessibility, and tales of a people living in complete harmony with themselves and nature. Sadly, this peace was not to last. With the rise of the Communist Party in China and the formation of the Peoples Republic of China, the Chinese cast their eyes to the west and declared their intention to take Tibet for their own. The invasion and subjugation of Tibet and its people and the subsequent flight of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to India in 1959 is well documented. The International Commission of Jurists charged the Chinese Government with genocide of Tibetans. However, even after nearly 40 years of Chinese dominance, suppression and terrorism in Tibet, the Tibetan national spirit has not been broken. Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet have never given up hope of receiving the independence again, under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The recent uprising in Lhasa, the Tibetan Capital, on 10 March to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first uprising which led to the Dalai Lama's escape to India, is proof that Tibetans wish to rid themselves of the Chinese yoke. On 10 December 1989, His Holiness The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This award was given to him in recognition of his work towards a peaceful solution for Tibet's independence from China, who occupied Tibet by force. We Tibetans outside Tibet and those who live under the Chinese in Tibet are very proud of this achievement by His Holiness, and hope and pray that the Free World will not let this Nobel Peace Prize be just a gesture, but will help towards finding a peaceful solution to the question of Tibet and will ultimately result in Tibetans returning to their homeland, as free and independent, and once again live in peace and harmony with nature. We are at a critical stage of Tibetan history. Unless we can return to our homeland, as a free and independent nation, within the next 10 years Tibet will cease to exist as we know it. The Chinese have transferred many Han Chinese into Tibet, with the result that the Tibetans are becoming a minority in their own homeland, in fact in parts of Tibet it has already happened. The world will lose a unique race of people. This must not be allowed to happen I., We therefore urge you to help the Tibetan race by asking your own government to help to find a peaceful solution to the Tibet question. __Question 2__ Why does Tibet want independence from China? How about a similar question. Why did America want its independence from England in 1776? The people of Tibet consider themselves politically, ethnically and culturally different from the Chinese. Although basically a peaceful and religious people, they have always protested the occupation of their land by Chinese military forces for the past half-century. After the Communists took over in 1949, the official policy of the country's new, hard-line government was that Tibet had historically been a traditional part of China, and should thus be absorbed and forced to live under the the dictates of the conqueror. This harsh and brutal control has been in effect ever since __Question3__ Tibet does have a lot of valuable natural resources that have never been seriously exploited.
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Further, there are huge areas of China outside of Tibet proper that have large Tibetan populations. Controlling Tibet itself is seen as important in maintain control over these people.

Moreover, the Yellow Hat school of Buddhism which the Dalai Lama heads is the tradtional religion of many people within China who are not Tibetan including the Mongolians and Manchus. Controling Tibet is seen as a means of controlling this and other forms of Lamistic Buddhism which have adherents in China.

Finally, Tibet is one of many countries that have historically been part of the Chinese polity and the Chinese government has consistently attempted to re-assert its domination of all such countries with varying degrees of success. ||