THE PEACEFUL LIBERATION OF TIBET AND THE FATE OF THE DALAI LAMA CLIQUE

 　　At the time when the people of the whole country were commemorating the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama and his clique were making an uproar far off in India clamoring for Tibetan independence. The sham Tibetan constitution that the Dalai Lama had personally sketched out and approved continues to claim that Tibet had once stood on equal terms with China and India, and that the Chinese government had carried out a military invasion of Tibet and repressed the Tibetan people by force. This shows once again that this clique is obstinately persisting in its effort to split China. In 1979, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointedly observed, “The basic question is ‘Is Tibet a part of China?’ This is the criterion we must use to judge truth and falsehood.” However, beginning with its denial that Tibet is a part of China and that Tibet was peacefully liberated, the Dalai Lama and his clique have slipped ever farther down the path of destruction from which there is no salvation.

　　The peaceful liberation of Tibet accords with the trend of China’s unification

　　The peaceful liberation of Tibet is an important part of Chinese people’s war of liberation, and an important part of the great struggle the Chinese people waged for more than 100 years to achieve national unification in modern times.

　　It is well known that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times. In modern times, Tibet suffered imperialist invasion just as the interior of the motherland did. Great Britain carried out an armed invasion of Tibet in 1888 and again in 1903. At that time, the people of Tibet began to resist foreign invasion and heroically fought to defend the unity of the motherland along with their compatriots from the interior. After the Revolution of 1911, China was beset by foreign aggression and civil war, and the central government was very weak. Even though foreign imperialists and the Tibetan upper class pro-imperialist faction tried to take advantage of the situation to declare “Tibetan independence,” the Nationalist government strove to maintain central government control over Tibet by promulgating a law that established a Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, stationing troops in Tibet, continuing to elevate the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, and opposing the illegal Simla Accord of 1914 that was imposed by force by the foreign imperialists and the Tibetan upper class pro-imperialist faction. The Nationalist government enacted the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China in 1912 and the Provisional Constitution in the Political Tutelage Period of the Republic of China in 1931, both of which stated that Tibet is Chinese territory. “Tibetan independence” in any form has always been met with the firm opposition of the Chinese government and people, and no other country in the world has ever formally recognized “Tibetan independence.” In a speech at India’s Lok Sabha in 1954, Indian Prime Minister Nehru stated, “I don’t know of any time in the past several hundred years when any other country denied China’s sovereignty over Tibet.”

　　When New China was founded in 1949, it was inevitable that the newly established central government of China would liberate Tibet, which is an integral part of China, and exercise sovereignty over it. As to the question whether liberation would be accomplished in a peaceful or non-peaceful way, this was only a question of means. In October 1950, Chairman Mao stated, “Tibet is a part of China. The Tibetan question is a matter of China’s internal affairs. The PLA must enter Tibet.” In order to lessen the losses the Tibetan people would suffer as a result of warfare, the central authorities drew upon the lessons of the peaceful liberation of other areas and formulated a plan for the peaceful liberation of Tibet. The Tibetan upper-class pro-imperialist faction took advantage of the defeat of the Kuomintang to publicly raise the flag of “Tibetan independence,” take over the offices of the Nationalist government in Tibet, dispatch “good-will missions” abroad seeking foreign recognition, buy weapons from some other countries, and recklessly use force to block the PLA’s entry into Tibet. After many fruitless efforts to dissuade the faction’s leaders, the central authorities decided to spur negotiations with a show of force, and launched the Changdu Campaign in October 1950, which crushed the dream of Tibetan upper-class reactionaries of resisting the PLA by force, strengthened patriotic progressive forces in Tibet, and led to peace talks.

　　After the Changdu Campaign, the sixteen-year-old Fourteenth Dalai Lama assumed the reins of government prematurely. At the time, the Dalai Lama was surrounded by imperialists and their Tibetan upper-class supporters, and his mind was in turmoil. He left Yadong and took up residence near the border where he observed developments taking place in the interior and sought the assistance of imperialists to flee abroad. In the face of a political offensive and military pressure from the Chinese government, under the urging of Tibetan upper-class patriots such as Ngapoi Nagwang Jigme and the Tenth Panchen Lama, and in light of the fact that no foreign countries dared to support “Tibetan independence,” the Tibetan local government led by the Dalai Lama eventually sent representatives to Beijing to negotiate with the central government. After the signing of the Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet (also known as the 17 Article Agreement), the Dalai Lama sent a telegram to Chairman Mao that stated, “The Tibetan local government and the Tibetan monks and laity, under the leadership of Chairman Mao and the Central People’s Government, will unanimously support and actively assist the PLA army that enters Tibet for the purpose of strengthening national defense, driving imperialists from Tibet and safeguarding the unity of the motherland’s sovereign territory.” At that time, the Dalai Lama made one of the few correct decisions he has made in his lifetime. The central authorities treated the Dalai Lama as an important political figure. He attended the National People's Congress (NPC) in 1954 and was appointed one of the vice presidents of the NPC Standing Committee, and in 1956 was appointed chairman of the preparatory committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. Even though he defected overseas in 1959, the central authorities allowed him to keep his title as vice president of the NPC Standing Committee until 1964. Unfortunately, it was the Dalai Lama himself who brought discredit on this glittering stage in his life.

　　The Dalai Lama’s more than half century of confrontation

　　The peaceful liberation of Tibet solved the question of whether Tibet would be severed from China or continue to be a part of it, and also created the conditions for eliminating the feudal system of theocracy and serfdom. The 17 Article Agreement stipulated, “The central authorities will not impose reforms on Tibet by force,” and “The Tibet local authorities should carry out reforms of its own accord.” Even though the central authorities waited with the utmost patience for the Tibetan upper class to carry out reforms of its own accord, it repeatedly postponed doing so, and it became clear that the Tibetan upper-class reactionaries did not want simply to postpone them, but never carry them out. They thought there was only one way to achieve this purpose, instigate an armed insurrection and sever Tibet from China. In the period after the peaceful liberation of Tibet, this was the beginning of a conflict with the Dalai Lama clique that has lasted more than 50 years.

　　As early as 1952, Tibetan upper-class reactionaries established an illegal people’s assembly, and openly opposed the 17 Article Agreement, the PLA’s presence in Tibet and democratic reform. Thereafter, they established a reactionary military force, the Four Rivers and Six Ranges Religious Guard, which initiated local insurrections, attacked Chinese government offices and troops in Tibet, and brutally killed Tibetan citizens and ransacked their homes. At this crucial moment, the Dalai Lama made the biggest mistake of his life. He didn’t stand with the people, but sided with the rebels. In July 1957 he openly accepted the “gold throne” offered to him by the rebels and gave them gifts and a traditional Hada ceremonial scarf in return, which greatly amplified the arrogance of the rebels. With the Dalai Lama’s support, the Tibetan upper-class reactionaries launched a full-scale armed revolt in Lhasa in 1959. After the revolt was crushed, the Dalai Lama fled abroad with the assistance of the American CIA, but he somehow managed to find the time during his flight to tear up the 17 Article Agreement. On March 28, the State Council issued an order declaring that because the majority of the Kalon in the Tibet local government and the upper-class reactionary clique had torn up the 17 Article Agreement, betrayed the motherland and destroyed unity, all of which are not tolerated by state law, it was dissolving the Tibet local government, and that the preparatory committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region would carry out the functions of the Tibet local government. In order to give the Dalai Lama the opportunity to repent from his mistake and turn back, the central authorities declared to the world that he had been coerced by the rebels to leave. However, Dalai Lama had sunk into the separatist quagmire and could not extradite himself, and completely deviated from the central authorities’ education and redemptive influence. The armed rebellion of the Dalai Lama clique not only was unable to block the arrival of democratic reforms, but hastened their arrival and the collapse of the feudal serf system.

　　After his defection, the Dalai Lama declared the establishment of a “Tibetan state” with the support of foreign forces, set up a government and legislature, promulgated a constitution, established an armed rebel base, and carried out armed incursions on Chinese territory over a long period of time. In 1962, he set up a “special border force” under the joint command of foreign forces and the Dalai Lama clique, and at its height it had 16,000 members. The CIA secretly trained more than 170 (some say 300) Tibetan rebels in small groups over the course of time at its training centers in Saipan and various Latin American countries, and then flew them into Tibet to engage in armed insurrectionary activities. The Dalai Lama clique carried out such activities during the whole of the 1960s, and the Dalai Lama admitted in his autobiography that he was fully aware of these activities, and stated that he was “deeply moved by the heroic acts” of the rebel guerilla liberation army. The 151st meeting of the State Council in 1964 passed the Decision to Revoke the Dalai Lama’s Posts. The decision stated, “The Dalai Lama lunched a traitorous counterrevolutionary armed rebellion in 1959, and after he fled abroad organized a government-in-exile-in-exile, promulgated a constitution, and actively organized and trained the remnants of the rebel force that fled abroad to harass the borders of the motherland. All this proves that he long ago cut himself off from the motherland and the people, and that he is a traitor who is dead-set on being the tool of foreign imperialists and reactionary cliques.” In this decision, the central authorities formally made a political judgment of the Dalai Lama. On the basis of the central government’s policy of actively mobilizing the masses, energetically launching a political struggle and combining military units to carry out a powerful military strike, the Tibet Autonomous Region and Chinese army forces stationed in Tibet carried out effective strikes against the Dalai Lama clique’s activities of rebellion and harassment. In 1974, the Nepal government exterminated the Four Rivers and Six Ranges Religious Guard that was entrenched in its Mustang Region, whereupon the Dalai Lama clique’s dream of using armed force to split the country and triumphantly return home was completely broken. 

　　In the 1970s and early 80s, as China’s international standing rose and the international environment changed, the Dalai Lama clique received a cold reception typically accorded to leaders who were driven from power and degenerated to being an “orphan of the Cold War.” The Dalai Lama complained in his autobiography, “From the time the United States recognized the Communist government of China, it discontinued its support for Tibet. This shows that the support it gave us in the past was just an element of its anti-Communist policy, and it never sincerely wanted to restore Tibet’s independence.” At the same time he was forced to adjust his strategy and methods and began to profess a deceptive “middle road” stance of “nonviolence.” In order to continue to try to educate and rescue the Dalai Lama, the central government agreed to let him send relatives and representatives back to China to visit and learn about the central authorities’ policies and the actual situation in Tibet. However, the Dalai Lama clique took advantage of the opportunity afforded by returning home to advocate “Tibet independence,” delude the people, and stir up trouble. While he was in the West in 1987, the Dalai Lama set forth his “middle way,” which denies that Tibet is a part of China, calls for the creation of a “Greater Tibet” which never existed at any point in history, calls for a “high degree of autonomy” which is tantamount to independence, demands that the PLA withdraw from “Greater Tibet,” and demands that “Greater Tibet” expel all Han Chinese from its territory. All five of these conditions separately are indicative of “Tibet independence,” and taken together they are tantamount to complete and total “Tibet Independence.” Over the course of three years the Dalai Lama clique instigated a number of riots in Lhasa whose purpose was to achieve “Tibet independence,” culminating in a major riot on March 5, 1989. On March 8, the central authorities resolutely decided to institute martial law, thereby dealing a severe blow to the separatist forces. In 1989, the June 4 Incident occurred in Beijing, and later that year major upheavals occurred in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. As a result of miscalculating the situation and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the Dalai Lama everywhere declared that in five to ten years, or perhaps even within one year, the Communist Party of China would collapse, and proclaimed “The day when Tibet becomes independent was drawing near,” and “I will not negotiate with a government on the verge of collapse.” Also in 1989, the central authorities made a major policy decision to make significant changes in its Tibet work in response to the Dalai Lama’s initiating this conflict. The situation in Tibet constantly improved, thereby again shattering the Dalai Lama clique’s illusions. They had no choice but to brazenly raise the banner of the “middle road” again.

　　In 2008, the Dalai Lama clique thought it was presented a golden opportunity to further the cause of “Tibet independence,” and declared, “We should take the opportunity presented by China’s hosting of the Olympics to launch all kinds of activities and force the Chinese government to resolve the Tibet question in 2008 or at least in the next year or two.” The Dalai Lama clique plotted the Lhasa March 14 incident in which extensive vandalism and arson occurred. Clearly, the clique was unwilling to admit defeat and was acting out of desperation. Under the direction of the central authorities, the Tibet Autonomous Region quickly adopted countermeasures. Not only was the situation very quickly controlled and the separatist forces suffered a severe defeat, but also the people of China including those of the Tibetan ethnic group unanimously condemned the violence instigated by the Dalai Lama, and Chinese nationals living aboard and overseas Chinese rose up to defend the Olympic torch relay. After this moment in the spotlight in 2008, the Dalai Lama was again given the cold shoulder as he scuttled around the world, and “Tibet independence” and the “middle way” became a standing joke.

　　The course of the Dalai Lama clique’s activities over more than 50 years clearly reveal that they will not abandon their belief that they have the support of Western forces, and they will forever pursue their goal of achieving “Tibet independence” and restoring the feudal serf system. It is precisely this goal that has dragged the Dalai Lama clique into an endless cycle of “transmigration” in which it instigates disturbances, suffers defeat, instigates more disturbances, and suffers defeat again. The Dalai Lama clique cannot win the hearts and minds of the people and is powerless. At best, some Westerners give it small sums of money and confer meaningless honors on it. The Dalai Lama himself has degenerated to the point that he calls himself a “son of India,” but no one in India is willing to call him one of theirs. Perhaps this cycle of “transmigration” is reaching its end.

　　The Dalai Lama’s “Retirement” Won’t Save His Clique

　　A half century has passed and the Dalai Lama has reached the point in time when he must make arrangements for his clique after his passing. For the past year, he has been loudly declaring that he plans to “retire,” and has directed his subordinates in revising his sham constitution and putting together a new government-in-exile. The purpose of this is none other than to maintain the existence of the government-in-exile after his passing, free him from responsibility for any new violent “Tibet independence” activities, and enable him to maintain the pretext that he is solely a religious figure as he scuttles around from one Western country to another. It’s obvious to all that the Dalai Lama’s retirement is just a performance. An editorial in the Times of India stated, “As long as the Dalai Lama lives, he will be the one issuing orders, and his pronouncements set the stage for the next Dalai Lama.” The Dalai Lama’s “envoy” in the United States also said, “After his retirement, the Dalai Lama’s leadership role relative to the Tibetan people will not change, and it’s not necessary to put this down in black and white.” Sure enough, when the Dalai Lama clique’s revised constitution appeared, it stated, “The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader and symbol of Tibet and the Tibetan people,” and specified that the Dalai Lama still had the power to “guide” the pseudo-parliament and governing council, and that he could “give guidance on major political and religious issues.” The Dalai Lama himself never really took his retirement seriously and said so numerous occasions: “I will never abandon political and religious public affairs,” and “When the Tibetan people encounter great difficulties, I will not sit idly by and do nothing.” All this shows that the Dalai Lama has no intention whatsoever to stop his political activities to split China or loosen his control over his clique.

　　Since declaring his “retirement,” the Dalai Lama hasn’t slowed down at all; on the contrary he is scuttling around even faster than before and has already visited ten countries, and has plans for visiting ten more. Everywhere he goes, he requests to meet with major government leaders, asks for financial contributions, intensifies his attacks on the Chinese government, admits to wanting to cause trouble for the Chinese government, demands that the Communist Party of China “retire” as he has, and stirs up a number of Western public figures and overseas troublemakers. But none of this can cover up the frustration and fear that the members of his clique feel about the future. His pseudo-parliament has stated, “The Dalai Lama’s retirement has caused all the people of Tibet to lose their appetite, stay awake at night and suffer anxiety.” The Dalai Lama’s “envoy” to Europe has said, “the Dalai Lama’s relinquishing of power has again thrown the small world of Tibetan exiles into an emotional crisis and splintered it into bickering factions.” The so-called chief executive of the government-in-exile candidly admitted that the Dalai Lama’s retirement has caused the government-in-exile to face a crisis of legitimacy. This is because for several decades the Dalai Lama has been the spiritual leader and controlling force of his clique, its front man who could attract considerable political and financial support for its cause in the West, as well as a compliant tool for anti-Chinese forces plotting to sow discord in China. It is not easy to cultivate someone who can do all this, and not just anyone can take his place. Whether or not the Dalai Lama “retires,” it will not change the fact that he is the paramount leader of the clique and exercises absolute control within it, nor will it change the clique’s or separatist nature.

　　As for the so-called government-in-exile, it is a rebel organization set up abroad by rebels in complete violation of the Chinese constitution and Chinese law. It has never had any legal standing, which even its foreign supporters admit. No matter who leads it, its illegal nature will not change. Its new head claims it wants to “represent the Tibetan people” in “negotiations” with the Chinese government to “reestablish the Tibetan state.” This clearly reveals his presumption and ignorance.

　　In the 60 years since the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the feudal serf system has been replaced by the socialist system; Tibet has development quickly in the large family of the motherland; Tibetan people’s lives have improved greatly; Tibet’s ties with the motherland’s interior have constantly become closer, and the understanding the people of all ethnic groups have of the reactionary nature of the Dalai Lama clique has deepened. The Dalai Lama clique or any other reactionary force is incapable of reversing this historical trend. No matter what the Dalai Lama does, be it shifting from demanding “Tibet independence” or proclaiming a “middle way,” or shifting from appearing on stage to operating behind the scenes, nothing can change the fact that the Dalai Lama clique is doomed to defeat. As for the Dalai Lama himself, the only road open before him is to renounce all his former separatist words and deeds, satisfy the principled demands the central authorities make on him, and go forward on that basis.