10 Reasons Against “free Tibet”
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People tend to fall victim to “Bandwagon” propaganda. An example of this is the issue of “Free Tibet”. Many people do not know anything about Tibet and yet they blindly advocate independence for Tibet because so many other people are doing it. Everybody is doing this, so it must be the right thing to do, right? Well here are ten reasons and facts that refute the argument for Tibetan independence.
People tend to fall victim to “Bandwagon” propaganda. An example of this is the issue of “Free Tibet”. Many people do not know anything about Tibet and yet they blindly advocate independence for Tibet because so many other people are doing it. Everybody is doing this; it must be the right thing to do, right? Well here are ten reasons and facts that refute the argument for Tibetan independence.
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Tibet has been part of China’s territory since the 1200’s A.D. (Yuan Dynasty)
Many people believe that China stole Tibet’s independence 50 years ago; however, the truth is, since the 13th century, Tibet has mostly been a protectorate of the Chinese Empire; only during the turmoil at the end of the Qing Dynasty (around 1900) did the Tibetans gain a brief independence. (NPR.org).
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Tibet cannot possibly prosper as an independent nation.
Tibet is a landlocked mountainous nation that lacks natural resources. Most of the resources used there are brought over from eastern China.
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Contrary to beliefs, the Dalai Lama wants only a greater degree of autonomy for Tibet, not independence.
Please refer to the website of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
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Contrary to beliefs, Tibetans do have the freedom to worship their religion.
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Contrary to beliefs, the Chinese government is actually trying to preserve Tibetan culture and landmarks because they attract tourism.
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Tibetan wages are the 2nd highest of all provinces in China.
Please refer to the website of the BBC.
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Tibetans do not have to obey the 1-child policy.
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Tibetans have gained much higher living standards.
After China regained Tibet in the 1950s, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure were built. Life expectancy for Tibetans has increased from 35.5 in 1950 to 67 in 2000. (BBC News).
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Old Tibet’s Feudal Theocracy
Before the 1950s, Tibet was a theocratic despotism ruled by aristocratic monks who lived like kings. Not only did the peasants (the majority of the population) of Tibet not have any rights, they were extorted by the monks as serfs and forced to pay extremely high taxes. Since most of them could not pay off their taxes in their lifetime, the taxes passed down to their children and entire generations had to work as slaves. (Parenti, Michael. Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth).
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Old Tibet’s Evil Society
The religious teachings of old Tibet emphasized that the poor and suffering are that way because of their wicked ways of previous lives. This is why the Tibetan serfs never revolted against society. In feudal Tibet, because it was against Buddhist teachings to take someone’s life, torture and mutilation – including eye gouging, the pulling out of tongues, hamstringing, and amputation – were favored punishments inflicted upon thieves, and runaway or resistant serfs. In 1951, China came in and immediately put an end to these practices; the Tibetan people at that time actually welcomed the Chinese soldiers as liberators. (Parenti, Michael. Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth).
On March 14, 2008, Tibetans started a large scale riot in Lhasa, attacking and murdering people of Chinese ethnicity on the streets, and burning and looting shops and buildings belonging to people of Chinese ethnicity. In light of these actions, two rhetorical questions present themselves: What difference is there between the actions of these people and that of terrorists? And, how is a group of terrorists worthy of such pity from the international community?
Please do not blindly advocate an idea or movement just because so many other people are doing it. One should always take the time to first research both sides of the idea or movement and decide for oneself which side is more logical.
3 Comments
I am a Tibetan and I am proud to say that I am very much against Tibetan independence. It is true that Tibet can not possibly be better off without China’s help. People today in Tibet need to count their blessings instead of only looking at China’s faults. Although China has done wrong things in Tibet, the good that they have done far outweigh the bad. I express regret and remorse for the barbaric actions of my people during the march riots. I just wish that Tibetans will be thankful for what the Chinese people have given them.
It would be much more insightful and legitimate if your article actually referenced the supposed citation you give in Point #1 to npr.org .
Additionally, how can you claim that Tibet lacks natural resources? Can you suggest where else to the 5 major headwaters for eastern Asia form? Are the gold mines in Tibet now suddenly shutdown without my knowledge? What about all the barley grown there, or, better yet the wheat Mao Ze Dong attempted to raise so unsuccessfully?
Prospering in the world economy is not necessarily the best type of modernization or development. Why, if everyone tries to do that as we are currently trying now, which nations will start to explode first? Many peoples in many parts of the world would prefer to continue their subsistence, environmentally-managed lifestyle without the pollutions of modernization and foreign culture. Also, do not say something is “not possible”, cause it ain’t the right thing to say in this or many cases.
“…prefer to continue their subsistence, environmentally-managed lifestyle without the pollutions of modernization”
True, but I think the Tibetans actually wants the technological and economical developments that China has brought to their region.
“In Tibet, we paid much too little attention to technological and economic development, and today we realize that this was a mistake.”
–Dalai Lama
Source: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1989/lama-lecture.html