Today is March 10, the much-discussed anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising. ChinaGeeks has reported repeatedly on the security buildup leading up the anniversary, as have many other sources, but so far, there’s no sign of any major protest activity. If there were, it would be quite a surprise given the security presence there,...
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Everyone’s talking about the upcoming 50-year anniversary of the Lhasa uprising and whether something will happen. (OK, by everyone, I mean us). One guy who thinks something will happen? The Dalai Lama (h/t Fool’s Mountain). In an interview with a German newspaper, the exiled Tibetan leader said of the upcoming anniversary, “I am very...
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A debate over China’s historical sovereignty over Tibet traditionally asks the question, “Was Tibet historically part of China?” It’s hard to deny that the answer to that question is in many ways a yes. Officially, Chinese influence over Tibet started from the 13th century onward. In reality, Tibet was under Chinese sway during the...
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It appears the Chinese government is taking no chances with the upcoming anniversary of last year’s unrest in Tibet and other Tibetan ethnic regions. The New York Times is reporting that the authorities have imposed an unofficial state of martial law on the vast highlands where ethnic Tibetans live, with thousands of troops occupying...
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Last Thursday, the US State Department published its annual report on global human rights which, as one might expect, included a hefty 44-page section on China’s various (alleged) misdeeds. Also unsurprisingly, human rights violations in Tibet featured heavily, earning their own section and the following condemnation in summary: The government’s human rights record in...
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This is an interesting month for US-China relations. January 1st was the thirtieth anniversary of formal relations between the two nations, celebrated with a variety of activities and various optimistic projections. Yet in a few days, Barack Obama will become the President of the United States, and some speculate he may provide more of...
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58 years ago, Communist troops entered Tibet. What happened thereafter is the subject of much controversy; suffice it to say that some people feel things went badly. Chinese government mouthpiece the People’s Daily? Unsurprisingly, not among them. On January 11th, the People’s Daily reported that Tibet’s regional government was planning to set a date...
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“Free Tibet” is a phrase with a bit of a history. More or less since the Chinese army entered Tibet in 1951, some people have asserted that Tibet should be its own country. Over time, the cause became popular among Westerners, especially students and celebrities. The intensity of the protesting comes and goes as...
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