The Chinese Occupation during 2 Decades - Essay Example

? THE CHINESE OCCUPATION DURING 2 DECADES Introduction The twentieth century marks a memorable historical period as it is the case with many other sovereign countries whose civilization and colonization got to its peak. In the case of the Tibetans, the century is well remembered due to the head points that the people passed through under the hands of the Chinese colonizers. The mid century marks the peak of the colonization when the Tibetans living in India at such places as Lhasa sought freedom through an uprising. However, the revolution was faced with great resistance from the colonial powers of the central people’s government. The central people’s government deployed police officers who arrested, tortured and detained many of the Tibetan people who were thought to be the reason behind the revolt. Moreover, the extremities of the Chinese oppression on the Tibetans heightened with the police opening live fire and killing scores of protesting Tibetans. This paper therefore intends to carry out an analysis of the Chinese occupation amidst the Tibetans in India within the two decades in mid 20th century. Great interest will focus on the mistreatment leveled against the Tibetans and which saw many arrested, detained and tortured while many others were killed. Discussion Immediately after the independent republic of China got internal governance, it embarked on a hasty mission to claim backs other territories, which belonged to her among which Tibet was. Chinese People’s liberation army was then tasked with the task to propel the newly formed state in the missions to liberate other territories. However, the sovereignty of such a country as Tibet was not taken with the dignity it deserved and as such was one of the targets to be claimed by the Chinese army. Tibetan sovereignty had well been understood due to the reason that the country had never been taken captive by any political administration of a foreign country1. However, with initial peaceful approaches by the Chinese government to take over Tibet, the motive later turned out fatal with resistance from the Tibetan people who resisted the captivity. The reaction is what best describes the bloodshed and the mass deaths witnessed by the Tibetans. China was successful in taking over Tibet though they subjected the native Tibetans to untold sufferings and deprived them of the human rights as prescribed within the international human rights provisions by the UN. The 1950 invasion of the Tibet by an estimated thirty thousand Chinese troops marked the start of a painful ordeal to the people of Tibet. Their government of Tibet was toppled over and the Chinese took over control under the leadership of Dalai Lama since when many other troops of Chinese origin were deployed into the region. The onset of 1951 saw the Tibetan and Beijing counterparts sign into treaties, which pointed to national regional autonomy. Among other fundamentals in the agreements were that the central authority would observe the sovereignty of the governance structures governing Tibet as well as the already established status quo. Freedom of religion as well as the autonomy of the education system of the native Tibetans was to be safeguarded and developed2. However, the Tibetan revolt set in 1954 as resistance towards the failure of the Chinese government to honor the written agreement persisted. The Chinese started imposing collectivism to the Tibetans while at the same time destroying the Tibetan monasteries. As a result, the voluntary defense army of the Tibetan was born which facilitated and coordinated the rebellion against the central people’s government. 1959 and 1961 mark a milestone within the history of the Tibetans as it was the period in which the Chinese destroyed many the monasteries of the Tibetan people. Moreover, a severe famine swept across the Chinese territories killing thousands of the Chinese and many other Tibetans as well. After a mass revolt erupted in Lhasa because of bleach to the 1951 agreement by the Chinese government, effectiveness in running the territory was sought through the divide and rule systems. Through unequal distribution of property and resources, the Chinese government succeeded in creating class cleavages across the territory which would be effective in realizing collaboration in ,matters of governance between the revolting Tibetans as well as the central people’s government of the Chinese. Moreover, a military regime was devised to replace the local Tibetan government and in the process, thousands of Tibetans are arrested, tortured, detained and even killed. A second invasion by the Chinese to the Tibetan territory forced Dalai Lama and scores of his followers run into exile in India where he established a government in exile. Though the international community does not recognize the government in exile set up in 1959, Dalai repudiates the agreement of 1951. Support to the Dalai mission found some boost when the UN resolution sought to have the Tibetan fundamental rights in worship and cultural religious practice respected by the Chinese government. Another resolution by the UN in 1961 affirmed the need for the compulsory end of practices leveled against the Tibetans by the Chinese, which deprived them of basic human rights and privileges such as the right to self-determination among others. Moreover, it re-echoed the commitment to all member states to strive and fulfill all governing resolutions hence the need for the central People’s government to uphold human dignity and respect for all humankind regardless of their race, culture as well as economic background. As a result, the remaining monasteries within the territory were destroyed and communal life introduced within the region. Moreover, the Tibetan sovereign cultural and religious practices are outlawed under a policy to do away with four olds, which included old ideas, old, habits, old customs as well as old culture3. The policies as devised and deployed by the Chinese government favored such ideologies as the Mao’s new ideology, communist customs and habits as well as the proletarian culture. In 2965, in yet another appeal by the UN, resolution 2079 was grafted which called for the complete stop of all discriminatory practices which failed to accord the Tibetan people the dignity and human rights to continue enjoying their freedoms which had been a tool to define the people. Tibetans, among other delegates from India undertook to challenge the treatment that the Tibetans received from the Chinese and necessitated the intervention by the United Nations. However, the Chinese heed to the call and end the Cultural Revolution through acknowledging the past mistakes meted on the Tibetans. 1980 saw a turn of events with the Chinese government acknowledging the sovereignty of the Tibetan culture only under the conditions that the sovereignty would not inhibit the economic reforms as well as the infrastructure of socialism. The years that succeeded the 1080 saw a revolution in the Tibetan territory of the Chinese influence with higher entrepreneurial spirit as characterized modernization threatened to wipe off traditional practices by the Tibetans completely. However, a characteristic feature that continuously dominated the Tibetan territory even after the modernization was the dominance of the Chinese in political scene as well as in the bureaucracies in trade. The Chinese language took the centre stage in communication within the Chinese influence areas. The Cultural Revolution within Tibetan territory formed a major characteristic of the historical background of the Tibetan people. During the period, much of the people’s cultural heritage was destroyed with resistance leading to deaths of the revolting Tibetans. Public humiliation and torture before execution formed a common practice from the Chinese who through this committed fear to the Tibetans who would otherwise propel the revolution further. Despite the betrayal by the foreign Chinese who resided within the Tibetan localities, the loyal families of Tibetan origin who occupied high-ranking offices within the Chinese government equally betrayed their Tibetan counterparts. Through the aid of the divide and rule policy, the Chinese government was aided by these betrayals from native Tibetans against their own people to oppress the natives through depriving them of their freedoms and privileges as outlined by the united nations charter for human rights. Arrest and detention into labor camps before open execution characterized other injustices leveled against the nationals of Tibet by the Chinese government. The police would be ordered to kill through open fire to innocent Tibetan demonstrators who took part in demanding for their rightful position within the territory. Compulsory attendance of people to public executions of the Tibetans who were arrested on grounds of revolt was enforced in order to instill people fear and to have them cooperate with the oppressive practices by the Chinese government4. Besides these inhuman treatments to the Tibetans, the Chinese government took no charge over natural resources as seen through destruction of forests and environment in general. Literature has it that the Chinese cut down forests and transported the forest products into their native regions. The aftermath of the brutal killings to the Tibetans by the Chinese government saw scores of the Tibetan natives run for their lives into India. The migration into India as was led by the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama in 1959 saw an influx in refugees in India, which strained its preparedness for hosting the increasing populations being attended to at the immigration tents set up5. Despite the provision of humanitarian aid as was necessary to the refugees in India the government failed to have poor infrastructure to support through empowering the Tibetan government in Exile under the leadership of Dalai Lama. Having the refugees concentrate in common places was a threat in India, as this would eventually lead to organization of retaliatory attacks and revolution in Tibetan, which was feared to have adverse outcomes within the international community. The Tibetan natives paid and continue to pay great prices regarding the disregard of the native cultural and religious practices by the invading Chinese6. Tibetan people also suffered discrimination against in matters of political participation, which equally explains the poor relations observed between the Chinese and the Tibetans even after the great revolution moments that were witnessed in the 20th century. The Chinese government invaded the region for the reasons of extending their territory and to have command over the rich resources that were found within the territory occupied by the Tibetans. Territorial invasion in the past by countries were necessitated by the need to create wealth and to amass influence over large territories. This would equally explain the possible reason of colonizing Tibetan territory by the Chinese. Pressure by the international community over the oppressive practices over the Tibetans played a major role in defining the place of the Tibetans concerning human rights in cultural practices, religious as well as economic. The Chinese have therefore persistently occupied Tibet and their stay in the territory has not only had bad outcomes but also unfortunate occurrences. Resistance to the Chinese power caused many deaths in the past and continues to elicit reactions among the youths who are openly displaying their sense of displeasure through taking their lives7. In sum, China adopted internal self-governance in the mid 20th century, which triggered much action by the government in liberating other territories, which it believed were part of the sovereign state of China. Such a mission led to China approaching the independent country of Tibet to peacefully consent to form part of its territory. However, by the reason that Tibet was already a self-governing country, resistance from the government was sure which led to China adopting the forceful mode of taking over Tibet. The forceful encroachment by China into Tibet met resistance from the Tibetans, which resulted to the Chinese liberation army killing many of the Tibetans after taking them captive, torturing them and detaining them in labor camps. Moreover, in order to command fear into the Tibetans who staged revolts and demonstration, the government of China ordered live executions of the Tibetans, which triggered reaction by the international community. The above discussion ahs therefore concentrated in analyzing the sequential encroachment of Chinese influence into Tibet and the consequences suffered by the Tibetans. Moreover, the study has concentrated in discussing the 20 years of mid 20th century through which China got independence and through which the taking over of other countries happened. The process of invading Tibet was systematic where the initial steps were through signing into agreements which were later broken and was the main reason to the rebellion by Tibetans. The rebellion saw many deaths and general disability in Tibet economy and as a result, many Tibetans ran for their lives in India where they lived as refugees. References Anonymous, nd, The Tibetans< http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/cews/database/Tibet/tibet.pdf> accessed 19 July 2013 Hannah B. 2012, As Tibetans Burn Themselves to Protest Chinese Rule, Communists in Beijing Stress Happiness in Tibet< http://www.tibetjustice.org/reports/stateless-nationals-ii/stateless-nationals-ii.pdf> accessed 19 July 2013 Hao Y. 2000, Tibetan Population in China: Myths and Facts Re-examined. Asian Ethnicity, 1(1) pp. 11-36 Kyishong G. nd, Tibet under communist china. accessed 19 July 2013 Lobsang S. 2013, Why Tibet is Burning.TPI publications accessed 19 July 2013 Tibet Justice Center 2011, Tibet’s stateless nationals ii: Tibetan refugees in India. < http://tibetanhistory-20thcentury.wikischolars.columbia.edu/Memories+of+Life+in+Lhasa+under+Chinese+Rule> accessed 19 July 2013 Tubten K, Memories of Life in Lhasa under Chinese Rule (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008) < http://tibetanhistory-20thcentury.wikischolars.columbia.edu/Memories+of+Life+in+Lhasa+under+Chinese+Rule> accessed 19 July 2013 Read More