Red Tibet An Investigation Into The Chinese

Red Tibet: An Investigation Into The Chinese Occup Essay, Research Paper

Red Tibet: an investigation into theChinese occupation of Tibet. For thousands of years, the people of Tibet lived in anarea of the world that was secluded enough to provide anenvironment in which traditions, religion and customs couldendure the test of time. Having a long and colorful history,the Tibetans were everything from fierce warriors to a peoplewhose deep spirituality has inspired many. The Tibetans weretruly an industrious people when it came to something inwhich they took a deep interest. If it was war, the Tibetansmastered its art. If it was religion, the Tibetans masteredthat as well. After many years of studying, they mastered theMahayana Buddhism of the Indians and took it to a higherlevel. The result was a new vehicle of Buddhism calledVajrayana. As one can see, the Tibetans seem to be a veryable people that do not let anything stand in their way. Thisis why it is particularly frustrating to see the ugly veil ofCommunism masking such a vibrant and peace loving people. It is the goal of this paper to look at how the Chinesetook Tibet as well as look at the political history of thetakeover. An account will be given of the military history as Brown 2well as how China consolidated its power. Finally, there willbe an investigation into the validity of China s claim aswell as the question of why China continues to hold on to a region of the world that obviously does not welcome its rule. To begin with, Tibet thought of itself as a sovereigncountry ever since the Manchu dynasty fell in 1911 (Karan17). Since that time, the government of Tibet was ruled by aregent and a Kashag, or High Council –all of whom weresubject to the Dalai Lama. The members of the Kashag includedthe army commander-in-chief, the senior nobles and the seniorlamas. For all intents and purposes, the Dalai Lama wieldedabsolute temporal and spiritual power throughout Tibet (15). The Chinese began to mobilize against Tibet in thewinter of 1949 (15). They trained in the mountains ofSzechwan and anticipated heavy fighting in treacherousconditions. Some of the party were even taught the Tibetanlanguage and customs in hopes that they could be used tonegotiate a peace settlement early, and give orders later. OnOctober 7, 1950, the Chinese started towards the Tibetanplateau, and, in four days, reached Ning-Ching. AtNing-Ching, a Tibetan border regiment defected to the Chinesewithout a shot being fired. Having made quick work of thefringe Tibetan troops, the Chinese continued to press westtowards Chamdo –around 400 miles from Lhasa (15). The Eastern Tibetan borderlands were not a match to Brown 3General Chang Kuo-hua of the Peoples Liberation Army. Infact, by exploiting the traditional rift between the PanchenLama and the Dalai Lama, the general was able to inductthousands of Tibetan Panchen Lama supporters into thePeoples Army. Responding to the oncoming threat, the DalaiLama mobilized a small army of possibly 10-12,000 men andsent them out to meet the Chinese before they reached thecapital. This small Tibetan army was so badly equipped thatit still had guns that were given to Tibet by England fromthe days of British India! Be that as it may, the Tibetansmarched off, mostly out of sheer fanatical courage (15). As the Tibetan army reached Chamdo, they entrenchedthemselves in what would seem to be very defendable terrain.The mountains and sharp cliffs of this area of the world madeChamdo almost as strategic and easy to defend as theDardanelles. It is quite possible that this small army wouldhave made invasion very tough on the Chinese had they notfallen for an optical illusion. As night fell on October 19,1950, the Tibetan soldiers settled in to sleep –fullyexpecting a more orthodox daylight attack by the Chinese.Instead, around midnight, the sky started to light up withthe glare of exploding rockets and star-shells. In a panic,the people of Chamdo began to flee into the streets and begthe Chinese for mercy. With that, the Tibetan general turnedaround and headed back towards Lhasa to warn of the eminent Brown 4danger. The result of all of this was that Tibet s only realchance to defend themselves against the Chinese fell shortbecause they were duped by a fireworks display. The People sArmy took Chamdo without a single shot being fired (17). When the Tibetan general arrived back at Lhasa and toldthem what had happened in Chamdo, the government, uncertainof what to do, did what it always had in these situations andcalled the State Oracle. The Oracle advised that the DalaiLama should flee the country at once. Before going, however,the Dalai Lama dissolved the regency and made Himself fullleader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama then retreated to Yatung –asmall town near the Indian border, but not quite out ofTibet s borders (17). By this time, it seemed that the Chinese were going tomake quick work of the whole country. One group of thePeoples Army marched toward Lhasa while a second groupmarched across the Kunlun Range and occupied most of westernTibet. From Chamdo on to Lhasa, the Chinese encountered noreal resistance of any type. The only real problem was the terrain itself. Because of the swift movement of theChinese troops, and the fact that the United Nations andother leading nations such as India the United Kingdom neveranswered Tibet s cry for help, the Dalai Lama was forced tomake a quick decision. He had three options open to Him. Thefirst one was