Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide

V. The Central Government's Policy Towards the 14th Dalai Lama

More than 60 years ago, for the sake of the unification of the country and national unity, the central government made positive efforts to seek the cooperation of the 14th Dalai Lama and achieve the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Since the 14th Dalai Lama fled abroad in 1959, the central government has all along exercised great restraint and done its best for best solutions. However, he has repeatedly made choices that run counter to the wishes of the central government and the people of Tibet.

- The historical legitimacy of Dalai Lama came from the central government. The 14th Dalai Lama did make some contribution to the peaceful liberation of Tibet, but he subsequently deviated from his correct choice.

Dalai Lama is a leading incarnation in the hierarchy of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Its historical status and influence have been closely associated with conferment by the central government. In 1653, the 5th Dalai Lama was summoned to an audience with Qing Emperor Shunzhi, who conferred on him the title of Dalai Lama and issued a gold imperial edict and gold seal to him, officially establishing the title and its political and religious status in Tibet. In 1793, the Qing government enacted the 29-article Authorized Regulations for the Better Government of Tibet. These regulations established the system of drawing lots from a golden urn in relation to the authenticity of the reincarnation of Dalai Lama. On February 5, 1940, the central government of the Republic of China (1912-1949) issued edict No. 898 to approve the status of the five-year-old boy Lhamo Thondup, born in Qijiachuan, Huangzhong County, Qinghai, as the incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and his enthronement as the 14th Dalai Lama, and give consent to the local government's request to waive the lot-drawing convention. The central government granted 400,000 yuan to cover his enthronement costs. On February 22, following established historical traditions, the central government representative Wu Zhongxin and the Tibetan Regent Reting Hutuktu presided over the enthronement ceremony of the 14th Dalai Lama. Lhamo Thondup's enthronement as the 14th Dalai Lama owed its legality to the central government's regulations on the Dalai Lama system, and approvement by the government of the Republic of China.

After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the central government invested extensive efforts to achieve the peaceful liberation of Tibet. In November 1950, the pro-imperialist separatist Regent Taktra Ngawang Sungrab was forced to resign. The 14th Dalai Lama assumed power and won congratulations from the leadership of New China. Inspired by the central government's policy of equality of all ethnic groups and the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama and the local government of Tibet sent a delegation led by Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme to Beijing for talks with the central government. After Tibet was peacefully liberated, the 14th Dalai Lama waited at Dromo in Tibet, near the Indian frontier, to see how events would proceed. A representative of the Central People's Government arrived with a letter written by Mao Zedong, leader of New China, which tried to persuade the Dalai Lama to return to Lhasa. Chairman Mao pointed out in his letter, "The Agreement is in the interests of the Tibetan ethnic group and its people as well as that of people of all other ethnic groups of China. Henceforth, the local government and people of Tibet, as part of the greater family of the motherland under the unified leadership of the Central People's Government, will forever break free from the shackles of imperialism and foreign oppression, and stand up to strive for the cause of the people in Tibet. I hope that the local government of Tibet, with you in charge, will seriously implement the Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet and do its best to help the People's Liberation Army enter Tibet peacefully." On July 21, the 14th Dalai Lama left Dromo for Lhasa. On October 24, on behalf of the local government of Tibet, he made a public statement accepting in full the 17-Article Agreement.

- After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the central government recognized the established status of the 14th Dalai Lama, treating him with great respect and encouraging him to contribute to the building of New China. However, he betrayed these efforts; his co-operation proved to be a pretence.

The 17-Article Agreement stipulates, "The central authorities will not alter the established status, functions and powers of the Dalai Lama." After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the central government recognized the political status of the 14th Dalai Lama and treated him with great respect. In 1953, he became the honorary president of the Buddhist Association of China. In 1954, he participated in the discussion on state affairs at the First Session of the First National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and upheld the draft of the country's first Constitution. At the meeting, the 14th Dalai Lama spoke highly of the success achieved over the previous three years and more since the conclusion of the 17-Article Agreement and expressed strong support for the principles and rules of regional ethnic autonomy. He also said, "The enemy has been spreading the rumor that the Communist Party and the People's Government destroyed religions. This strategy has collapsed and the people of Tibet now enjoy religious freedom."

At the session, the 14th Dalai Lama was elected by the meeting a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress, the highest central government position ever held by a local leader of Tibet. During his stay in Beijing, central government leaders held frank and genial talks with him on many occasions. The 14th Dalai Lama wrote the Ode to Chairman Mao to extol the great accomplishments of Mao Zedong. In 1956, the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region was founded and chaired by the 14th Dalai Lama. In his speech at the inaugurating ceremony, he reaffirmed that the 17-Article Agreement "had enabled the Tibetan people to enjoy in full all rights of ethnic equality and to embark on a bright road of freedom and happiness," and hailed the founding of the Preparatory Committee as "timely and necessary." For a time, he showed a positive attitude towards the implementation of the 17-Article Agreement, the PLA's entry into Tibet, the 10th Panchen Erdeni's return to Tibet, and the founding of the Preparatory Committee.

However, through the machinations of separatists and imperialist forces, the 14th Dalai Lama turned away from the basic discipline and ethics of Buddhism and betrayed the hopes the central government had placed in him, secretly engaging in separatist activities while feigning loyalty to the central government in public. In 1959, he and his supporters tore up the 17-Article Agreement, rejected the democratic reform of abolishing serfdom, and instigated a full-scale armed rebellion. The central government had already begun to see through this double-dealing. As Chairman Mao Zedong pointed out, "The Dalai Lama's plans to launch a rebellion started just after his return from Beijing in 1955. He prepared this rebellion for two years - from early 1957, when he returned from India, to 1958." In 1965, the 14th Dalai Lama spoke publicly about his feigned compliance during the nine years from 1951 to 1959, "We paid lip service to being glad to return to the motherland and to working together to build a socialist society, while we kept an unspoken faith in our heart - 'Tibet wants freedom and independence'."

- After the armed rebellion broke out, the central government showed extreme forbearance and waited for a time with an attitude of patience, but the 14th Dalai Lama went further and further down the road of dividing China.

With the support and cooperation of people of all the ethnic groups in Tibet, the PLA quickly put down the armed rebellion and enforced democratic reform. The central government decided not to prevent the 14th Dalai Lama from fleeing abroad, even allowing him some leeway by announcing that he had been abducted. The central authorities adopted an attitude of patience, and preserved his position as a vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee until 1964. In his talks with a delegation from the Indian Communist Party in October 1959, Chairman Mao Zedong said, "We will welcome the Dalai Lama's return if he accepts our two propositions. One is that Tibet is part of China and the other is that he will carry out democratic and socialist reform in Tibet."

However, the 14th Dalai Lama publicly abandoned the 17-Article Agreement during his defection and flatly denied his previous patriotic stance and his promise of loyalty to China. He openly broke with the central government, taking a path of betraying the Chinese nation. In June 1959, he issued a statement in Mussoorie, India, claiming that Tibet had in fact been an independent country. In 1963, he convened a "people's congress of Tibet" in Dharamsala, India, which established the "Tibetan government in exile." A so-called "constitution" was promulgated, which states that "the Dalai Lama is the head of state," "the ministers shall be appointed by the Dalai Lama," and "no work of the government shall be approved without the consent of the Dalai Lama."

On December 17, 1964, the 151st Plenary Meeting of the State Council adopted the Decision on the Removal of the Dalai Lama from His Official Positions, which stated, "After the Dalai Lama staged the treasonous armed rebellion in 1959, he fled abroad and organized a 'government-in-exile,' issued a bogus constitution, provided support for Indian aggression against Chinese territory, and engaged in the organization and training of remnants of Tibet's armed forces who had fled abroad with the object of attacking our borders. All this proves that he has alienated himself from the country and the people, and been reduced to a traitor working for imperialists and reactionaries abroad."

- After the start of reform and opening up, the central government offered the 14th Dalai Lama an opportunity to repent his way by adopting the policy that "all patriots belong to one big family, whether they embrace patriotism earlier or later." But he chose to maintain his support for "Tibetan independence."

Patriotism is a basic requirement of the central government raised on the 14th Dalai Lama and other overseas Tibetans. From August 1979 to September 1980, the relevant central government departments received three visiting delegations and two groups of relatives sent by the Dalai Lama. Most of the Dalai Lama's kin residing abroad have made return visits to China. Regretfully, the Dalai Lama did not draw on the goodwill of the central government. Instead, he stubbornly stuck to his stance and further intensified his separatist activities, wasting the valuable opportunity the central government had provided for reconciliation. In fact, the visiting groups sent by the Dalai Lama took advantage of the central government's policy of free movement in and out of the country to circulate and advocate independence, inciting hatred among ethnic groups, and disturbing and disrupting the social order.

Responding to a request from the 14th Dalai Lama, in 1979 the central government began to conduct talks with his private representatives on an irregular basis. In February 1979, in his meeting with Dalai Lama's elder brother Gyalo Thondup, Deng Xiaoping spoke about a possible return to China: "As Tibet is part of China, the discussion on their return is a domestic affair rather than a negotiation between countries. This is the fundamental principle... The central government is willing to talk with the Dalai Lama as long as he openly admits that Tibet is part of China. Anyone is welcome, whether he embraces patriotism earlier or later. Essentially Tibet is part of China. This is the criterion for judging right or wrong."

Following the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama misread the situation and declared, "The time for Tibetan independence is coming," and committed "not to negotiate with a collapsing regime." In 1989, the 10th Panchen Erdeni passed away. With the approval of the central government, the Buddhist Association of China invited the Dalai Lama to attend the Panchen Erdeni's memorial ceremonies. But, he rejected the invitation. In 1993, he unilaterally decided to break off contact with the central government. In 1995, in defiance of the historical traditions and religious rites, he announced the so-called reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Erdeni.

Nevertheless, the central government continued to offer solutions. In 1997, the central authorities stated, "The central government is willing to contact and negotiate with the 14th Dalai Lama over his own future as long as he genuinely abandons separatism and any activities likely to divide the country, and openly admits that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing China." The central government has continued to follow these basic principles to this day. In 2003, the central government made it clear that the leadership of the Communist Party, the socialist road and the system of regional ethnic autonomy should be upheld in Tibet. These are stipulated in the Constitution and are the paramount political facts in Tibet as well as the fundamental principles for contact and negotiation. The central government emphasized two premises for contact and negotiation. One is that the central government will only talk with private representatives of the Dalai Lama. No matter what it is called or who is in charge, the "government in exile" is essentially a separatist political group, cannot represent the people of Tibet, and does not have the legitimacy or qualifications to engage in talks with the central government. The other is that the talks are aimed at discussing the future of the Dalai Lama and some of his followers at most. To be specific, any negotiations will be limited to seeking solutions for the Dalai Lama to completely abandon separatist claims and activities and gain the forgiveness of the central government and the Chinese people, and to working out what he will do with the rest of his life. As the political status and system of Tibet is stipulated by the Chinese Constitution and laws, the "Tibet issue" and "a high degree of autonomy" are not up for discussion.

The central government received 13 visits by private representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama between 1979 and 2002, and ten visits from 2002 to January 2010. To the disappointment of the central government, the Dalai Lama has remained committed to his "middle way," which runs counter to the Constitution and aims at splitting the country. Moreover, he has planned and instigated activities of sabotage, including violent disturbance during the Beijing Olympic Games, violence in Lhasa on March 14, 2008, and incidents of self-immolation. In 2011, the Dalai Lama announced his "political retirement," followed shortly by the announcement of "resignation" by his private representatives who had kept contact with the central government. Since then, the Dalai group has declared that it would only talk with the central government in the name of the "government-in-exile," thereby destroying any basis for contacts and negotiation, which have now been halted.

Over the past 30 years and more, the Dalai Lama and his supporters have adjusted and altered their strategies along with changes in the national and international situation. They have unilaterally broken off contacts and negotiation with the central government on several occasions. When they thought the situation was working to their disadvantage, they would call for contacts with the central government; when they thought the situation was in their favor, they would break off these contacts. None of the negotiations were conducted in good faith - it was always the intention of the Dalai Lama and his supporters to divide China and achieve independence for Tibet.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the central leadership led by President Xi Jinping has reiterated, "The central government has followed a clear and consistent policy towards the 14th Dalai Lama. Only when he makes a public statement acknowledging that Tibet has been an integral part of China since antiquity, and abandons his stance on independence and his attempts to divide China, can he improve his relationship with the central government in any real sense." The central government hopes that the Dalai Lama will put aside his illusions in his remaining years and face up to reality, adapt his position, choose the objective and rational path, and do something of benefit to overseas Tibetan compatriots in exile.

Conclusion

The wheels of history roll forward and the tides of the times are irresistible.

Tibet's path of development is one imposed by history and chosen by the people. Experience proves to us that only by upholding unity and opposing separatism, only by upholding progress and opposing retrogression, only by upholding stability and opposing turmoil, can the future of Tibet be assured. Any person or force that attempts to resist the tide will simply be cast aside by history and by the people.

The "middle way" advocated by the Dalai Lama and his supporters, with "Tibetan independence" as their ultimate goal, is just such an attempt. It places itself in opposition to the prevailing realities of the nation and in Tibet. It contravenes China's Constitution and its state systems. The only sensible alternative is for the Dalai Lama and his supporters to accept that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity, to abandon their goals of dividing China and seeking independence for Tibet, and to begin to act in the interests of Tibet and the country at large.

The future of Tibet belongs to all the peoples of Tibet and to China as a nation. Tibet has every prospect of a brighter future. In the years to come, the people of every ethnic group in Tibet, along with others in the greater family of the motherland, will progress on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, striving to build a new, united and democratic Tibet, to celebrate the brilliance of its culture, to develop a prosperous, harmonious socialist society, and to join with their fellow Chinese in accomplishing the Chinese Dream of the great renewal of the nation.