By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, August 9: A comprehensive report by Tibet lobby group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has shed light on Xi Jinping’s 10 years of rule in Tibet, dispelling optimism that his leadership would bring about a more lenient approach and a potential resolution to the Tibetan issue. The report highlights a period of intensified control over Tibet, with a focus on securitization and assimilation of the Tibetan people into the Chinese nation-state.
Key findings of the report reveal that Xi Jinping’s primary objectives in Tibet were twofold; to bolster security measures and to promote the sinification of Tibetan identity within the larger framework of the Chinese identity. This approach saw the implementation of policies aimed at reconstituting Tibet and Tibetans as integral components of the Chinese nation.
Central to Xi’s Tibet policy was the concept of “Zhonghua Minzu,” the Chinese nation, which he emphasized in his speeches. This approach aimed to assimilate Tibetan Buddhism and culture into the Chinese mainstream while strategically dismantling the nationalities policies that had been crucial in the formation of the People’s Republic of China.
The report underscores the CCP’s antagonistic stance towards Tibetan Buddhism, viewing it as needing guidance from the party and differing significantly from the treatment of Chinese Buddhism. Xi’s administration even launched an online database of CCP-approved Tibetan Buddhist reincarnations, further asserting control over religious leadership and undermining the authority of figures like the Dalai Lama.
One significant focus of Xi’s policies was the sinification of Tibetan youth, with an emphasis on promoting the Chinese language and loyalty to the Chinese nation. This effort extended to the education system, where the Tibetan language was overshadowed by Mandarin, further reinforcing the narrative of a unified Chinese identity.
Xi Jinping framed Tibet and Tibetans as a national security concern, intertwining political security with national security. This shift led to an expansion of surveillance technologies, including facial recognition, artificial intelligence, and genome surveillance, to pre-emptively control any potential challenges to CCP rule.
The securitization of Tibet under Xi’s leadership resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of Tibetan refugees fleeing to India. The report notes a stark decline in refugee numbers over the past decade, with only a handful managing to escape Tibet in 2022.
Despite these measures, the report suggests that a mutually beneficial solution to the Tibetan issue with the Dalai Lama could contribute to China’s social stability. The concept of equality among ethnic groups is highlighted as crucial for achieving coexistence and social harmony. Moreover, the report reflects on Xi Jinping’s emphasis on filial piety and notes that despite his record of intensified control over Tibet, he may still uphold his father’s legacy of advocating for a softer approach to the Tibetan issue.
The International Campaign for Tibet’s report offers a comprehensive analysis of Xi Jinping’s 10 years in Tibet, highlighting a period marked by enhanced control, assimilation efforts, and the securitization of Tibetan identity. The report calls for a nuanced understanding of China’s policies in Tibet and underscores the potential for a mutually beneficial resolution to the Tibetan issue.
Hardcore nationalist,
Thanks for your opinions on this key issue of Tibetan independence. I also don’t agree with the middle way approach put forward by our exile government. A country’s independence means the survival of its culture, its people’s identity, and potential for growth. Therefore, no one in their right mind or those who claim they value their culture would be compromising their country’s independence for anything less than that. And now we can see that our culture and identity is in great threat of being diminished and wiped out by sticking with the middle way. To be honest, our exile government sounds like a whole scam.
Tibetans are misled by false hope. Chinese are misled by unfounded suspicion as the saying goes have stood the test of time in its acumen and veracity. Every Tibetan leader has hoped against hope for a Chinese leader to be more understanding of Tibet and Tibetans. Hu Jintao was hoped to be good for Tibet because he is said to have spent time in Tibet as a Regional Committee Secretary of the so called Tibet Autonomous Region and Political Commissar of the PLA in occupied Tibet in the 1980s. However, there was nothing except emphasis on “stability” which was a euphemism for suppression and imposition of draconian laws with “strike hard” calls to suppress Tibetan resistance to Chinese occupation. Then came Xi Jieping. Many stories were floated about the alleged present of a watch given to the Dalai Lama by Xi’s father Xi Zhongxun!!! It was also alleged that he had a fondness for Buddhism etc. Xi did give a talk in Paris in March 2014 and mentioned the advent of Buddhism to China in Paris. He talked ONLY about Chinese Buddhism but not a hint of Tibetan Buddhism. His words were: Buddhism originated in ancient India. After it was introduced into China, the religion went through extended period of integrated development with the INDIGENOUS CONFUCIANISM AND TAOISM and finally became the Buddhism with CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS!!! This shows that he plans to Sinicize TIBETAN Buddhism to such an extent that it is indistinguishable from Chinese Buddhism which is a cocktail of Confucianism and Taoism!!! (TIBETAN BUDDHISM IS TOTALLY FREE FROM CONFUCIANISM AND TAOISM).This is totally and utterly unacceptable. Tibetan Buddhism is the purist form of Mahayana Buddhism that has been brought from Indian masters and retains the sanctity of the words of the Buddha himself which assures genuine relief from suffering and propel the practitioners to the ultimate goal of liberation while it cannot be said of the same with Chinese Buddhism. He goes onto say: “All human civilisations are equal in terms of value. There is no perfect civilisation in the world. Nor is there a civilisation devoid of any merit. No one civilisation can be judged superior to another” etc. How deceptive is Chinese communist rhetoric? He says, all human civilisations are equal only to promote Chinese civilisation as equal to the western civilisation. However, he treats Tibetan civilisation as dark, backward and inferior!!! Being a Han chauvinist he clearly perceives the “superiority” of Chinese civilisation over Tibetan civilisation and that is why the Chinese communists have vilified the Tibetan people with racist taunts and physically murdered 1.4 million Tibetans during 70 years of brutal occupation. He and his ilk wants to OBLITERATE TIBET including the name (TIBET) by imposing his chauvinist “ONE COUNTRY, ONE CULTURE, ONE LANGUAGE” with emphasis on so called “unified national identity between each ethnic group and replace ethnic identities with the Zhonghua minzu”. This is a CLARION CALL FOR ETHNIC CLEANSING!!! IT SIMPLY MEANS TO STRIP THE UNIQUE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF TIBETANS AND OTHER UNFORTUNATE OCCUPIED GROUPS AND INFUSE THEM WITH CHINESE HAN CULTURE!!! This is nothing other than ETHNIC CLEANSING PURE AND SIMPLE! Therefore, the surmise that Xi will be more lenient towards Buddhism that was speculated by Tibetan leaders was indeed a pie in the sky. This is a tyrant that has all the hallmarks of the likes of Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Idi Amin! His ruthlessness was on display in Hong Kong where all the freedom of the Hong Kong people have been snuffed out and every dissenter is put into jail. The Dalai Lama’s elder brother Thupten Jigme Norbu openly declared that, it’s impossible for Tibetan culture to survive under communist China. He found his own Tibet support group called TIM (Tibet Independence Movement). He and his sons conducted many peace Marches to galvanise support for Tibetan independence while he was alive. Even after his death his sons continued but the older brother was killed in an alleged accident during a Peace March. Unfortunately, the Exile Government ran a singular narrative of autonomy and suppressed all those who didn’t subscribe to this policy. They claimed that if we demand independence, the Chinese will destroy our identity fearing separation but if we resolve to remain in association with China, they will not feel threatened and will therefore be more lenient in retaining our culture and religion!!! Now, it is clear with each year that presumption was wrong and the noose on Tibetan religion, culture and language and identity is getting tighter by the day! This proves the late Thupten Norbu’s prediction was correct and IT’S IMPOSSIBLE FOR TIBETAN CULTURE, BUDDHISM, LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY TO SURVIVE UNDER FASCIST CHINESE COMMUNIST DOMINATION!!!