FACTBOX-Historical ties between China and Tibet
Reuters - 1 hour 14 minutes ago
- Most historians agree Tibet's assimilation into China was established during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) - (Reuters) - At the heart of the conflict over Tibet's status within China is their historical relationship.
The Chinese government and Tibet's government-in-exile offer competing versions of whether the remote, mountainous territory was historically ruled as part of China, or whether it has legitimate claims to independence or autonomy.
Following are some details about the history of relations.
THE IMPERIAL ERA
- Most historians agree Tibet's assimilation into China was established during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). In China's view, the relationship continued throughout the next two dynasties, the Ming and the Qing.
But the nature of relations is complicated by several factors:
- During the Yuan dynasty, China and Tibet were ruled by the Mongols under Kublai Khan. The Qing dynasty (1644-1911) was similarly a period of foreign rule by the Manchus.
- The relationship between China and Tibet varied over the centuries depending on the relative strength or weakness of the imperial government. The Qing emperors were especially weak towards the end of their reign, when British and other foreign forces began making inroads.
- Some say that over these centuries the relationship of Tibet to China is best described as that of a vassal state, but there are disputes over the nature of the priest-patron ties and whether Tibet was viewed as subordinate.
THE REPUBLICAN ERA
- The 13th Dalai Lama Tibet expelled Chinese troops stationed in Lhasa in the chaos following the 1911 revolution. He declared independence in 1912, and Tibet largely ruled itself until 1950, when China struggled with foreign invasion and civil wars. But China's Republican government maintained its claim to Tibet.
- In support of Tibet's claim to independence during this period, scholars note it had its own foreign affairs bureau, remained neutral during World War Two and issued passports.
- But neither China nor any major Western power recognised it as independent and China's government refused to accept the border between British India and Tibet drawn up at the 1913-14 Simla Conference. Britain agreed in the convention to recognise China's suzerainty over Tibet but also autonomy for the area roughly conforming to the present-day Tibet Autonomous Region.
THE COMMUNIST ERA
- China says it had no choice but to dispatch People's Liberation Army troops to Tibet in 1950 after local leaders there refused to negotiate its "peaceful liberation".
- Under the 17-point Agreement of 1951, China pledged to keep Tibet's traditional government and religion in place. But Communist land reform and collectivisation left the region in turmoil, and in 1959 the Dalai Lama led an uprising against Chinese rule, despite his initial support of the 1951 accord.
- In the 1980s, the Dalai Lama, who had by then established a government-in-exile in India, abandoned claims of independence in favour of a "middle way" approach that advocates political autonomy for Tibet under Beijing's rule.
- Beijing dismisses the "middle way" as a sham and says the Dalai Lama has not truly abandoned independence.
Sources: "The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics" by Elliot Sperling; "Tibet -- Its Ownership and Human Rights Situation, by China's State Council; "Modern China: A Companion to a Rising Power" by Graham Hutchings.
(Compiled by Lindsay Beck; Editing by Guo Shipeng)
-----------------------------------------------
A Chinese expert in Tibetan studies has published a signed article to refute misunderstandings of some foreigners who have wrongly taken the "Lhasa Convention" as proof that Tibet is a sovereign country.
The author, Lian Xiangmin, points out the "Lhasa Convention", signed under compulsion of British invaders in 1904, could in fact only show the history of British aggressions in China's Tibet, instead of serving as proof that Tibet was a sovereign country.
The fact that Tibet is part of China's sovereign territory is not only the consensus of the international community nowadays, but also the shared view of countries before the 20th century, the article read.
Even in the late 19th century and the beginning of 20th century when China was suffering from incessant aggression by Western imperialists, all the countries in the world still dealt with affairs relating to Tibet via the central government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
However, the imperialist forces took advantage of a weak Qing Dynasty and began plotting to carve up China.
In order to bring Tibet into its sphere of influence, British aggressors invaded Tibet in 1903. The Tibetan army and civilians rose to resist but were defeated, the author said.
During the invasion, the British army occupied Lhasa and the 13th Dalai Lama was forced to flee the city. The invaders compelled the Tibetan local government officials to sign the "Lhasa Convention" on Sept. 7, 1904.
But because the Ministry of External Affairs of the Qing government believed the "Lhasa Convention" would do damage to national sovereignty, the high commissioner stationed in Tibet by the Qing government refused to sign it, leaving it ineffectual, according to the author.
At that time, the high commissioners supervised the handling of Tibetan affairs on behalf of the central government of the Qing Dynasty, enjoying equal standing with the Dalai and the Panchen.
We could see from history that China, even in the final years of the weak Qing Dynasty, did not let Tibet be split from the country, Lian said. Today, "Tibet independence" is even more impossible to succeed.
http://english.cri.cn/2946/2008/05/26/176@362185.htm 
