Tibet was Not Part of China But Middle Way Remains a Viable Solution/ENG

2015. szeptember 1./CTA/TibetPress

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Press Release

The Central Tibetan Administration’s Response to the Chinese White Paper on Tibet
Dharamsala, 1 September – Starting today on 1 September, Beijing commemorates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ in Lhasa. This was preceded by a two-day meeting of the 6th Tibet Work Forum held in Beijing from 24 to 25 August. This meeting was attended by the top Chinese leadership in the party, military and government. The meeting was presided over by President Xi Jinping.

At the meeting, President Xi Jinping said, “Key efforts in the work for Tibet should be spent on ensuring national unity and consolidating ethnic unity, with realising long-term and comprehensive social stability as an obligatory task.” Xi Jinping said the country should “firmly take the initiative” in the fight against separatism.

The ground work for all this was prepared by the white paper on Tibet China issued on 15 April. The white paper reiterated China’s focus in Tibet on the twin efforts of economic development and political repression. The key message of the white paper said that there would be no change in this policy.

The Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration today issues its response to the Chinese white paper. The Central Tibetan Administration’s(CTA) response to the Chinese white paper challenges Beijing’s claims that the legitimacy of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet rests on the Chinese Communist Party’s recognition and approval.

The CTA’s response provides comprehensive explanation with regard to communist China’s scheme to pick the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and its claims of not only territorial sovereignty but also its claims of sovereignty over the soul of the Tibetan people.

If communist China goes ahead with its plan to pick the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, there will be an international pushback. The pushback will not only come from the Tibetan people but from millions of Buddhists who traditionally share Tibet’s spiritual heritage and millions more in the rest of the world who have benefitted from the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

However, CTA’s response argues that there is a way to resolve the issue. Till now, China has repeatedly rejected the Middle Way Approach. However, if wiser Chinese heads look into the Tibetan proposal of not seeking independence but autonomy for all the Tibetan people under a single administration, they will find in the proposal a solution that respects Tibet’s distinct cultural and ethnic identity and that which preserves the territorial integrity, unity and stability of the People’s Republic of China.

Note: Full text of the CTA’s response to the Chinese white paper on Tibet is available here