Rebellion in Tibet and the Escape of the Dalai Lama - Jeffrey Hu

8/12/2019 Rebellion in Tibet and the Escape of the Dalai Lama - Jeffrey Hu

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Chinese Domestic Policies Leading Up to the Escape of theDalai Lama in 1959

Word Count: 4,187

Hao (Jeffrey) Hu

Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School


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Table of Contents

Chinese Domestic Policies Leading Up to the Escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959...1

Table of Contents.............................................................................................................2

Abstract.............................................................................................................................

!n"estigation and Anal#sis$............................................................................................%

Concl&sion$....................................................................................................................21

'or(s Cited....................................................................................................................22

Appendi) A$ ...................................................................................................................2*

Appendi) +$ ...................................................................................................................25

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Abstract

Due to the sensitivity of the olitics involved, the Chinese !overn"ents chose to leave the 1#$#

%i&etan urisin! in o&scurity' %hus, the uestion lin!ers %o What *+tent did Chinese Do"estic

olicies influence the *scae of the Dalai -a"a in 1#$#. %his investi!ation focuses on the

eriod &et/een the initial Co""unist occuation of %i&et in 1#4# to the -hasa urisin! and the

Dalai -a"a0s fli!ht in 1#$#' %he research e+a"ines &oth Chinese olicies in %i&et and in de jure

China that led to the olitical insta&ility &y 1#$#'

%he investi!ation selects fro" a ran!e of sources, includin! %i&etan historians, %i&etan accounts,

Western research and Chinese docu"entations' %his diversity in selection sees to corro&orate

the evidence /ith one another, esecially since the Chinese accounts tend to have a "ore

ideolo!ical tone' 2evertheless, the Chinese u&lications revealed the Co""unist arty0s internal

uheaval, /hich fe/ %i&etan and Western sources covered' %he investi!ation /ill e+lore the

influence of the Chinese olicies fro" the diverse ersectives of these sources and synthesi3e

the evidence into a &alanced analysis on the i"act of the Chinese olicies'

%his investi!ation found that thou!h the Chinese olicies did not directly cause the Dalai -a"a0s

escae, these olicies served as a &asis for tension and conflict' oreover, the evidence

su!!ested that the Chinese do"estic refor"s in de jureChina had over/hel"in! influence uon

the at"oshere in olitical %i&et' 5urther"ore, in conte+t of the Chinese co""unist re!i"e,

%i&etan urisin! "ared only an inevita&le initial resonse to the &e!innin! of aoist

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Introduction:

9n ril ;, 1#$#, the Time"a!a3ine cover read: n %i&et, ho/ever, the -hasa

!overn"ent and the 17?oint !ree"ent restricted Co""unist control' %hus, the Chinese

do"estic scene constituted a dichoto"y &et/een de jureChina and %i&etan olicy' While the

for"er /as disastrous, the latter included ra!"atic and "oderate ualities, &ut still did not

revent the 1#$# urisin! in -hasa' %hou!h not directly tar!eted at %i&et, "ainland events also

influenced the oinions of the %i&etans' China0s do"estic olicies in ainland China and %i&et

layed the deter"inin! role in the Dalai -a"a0s escae'*ven thou!h the Central 6overn"ent of

China ursued !radual refor"s in %i&et, the overall &uild u of tension created a sensitive

at"oshere' %he di"inishin! o/ers of the %i&etan Ca&inet, the @asha!, and the sur!in! nu"&er

of @ha"a and "do refu!ees escain! fro" Chinese "assacres further contri&uted to the

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volatility of this eriod'Chinese do"estic olicies set the foundation for inevita&le tension and

conflict that cul"inated in the Dalai -a"a0s decision to escae -hasa'

Investigation and Analysis:

>n 1#4#, /ith no forei!n suort and a Chinese *i!hteenth Cors ressin! uon its &order, %i&et

had to caitulate to Chinese de"ands' %he Co""unists le!iti"i3ed their occuation throu!h the

17?oint !ree"ent, /hich !ave the %i&etans a reasona&le enou!h inclination to accede to the

Chinese 6overn"ent'45or the first half of the 1#$;s, the Chinese olicies !enerally adhered to

the treaty ter"s and aeared "ore ra!"atic and "odest than ideolo!ically char!ed'

2evertheless, in conte+t of the Cold War olitical e+tre"is", 6eor!e 6ins&ur! in 1#4 had !ood

reasons to ar!ue that ao


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Co""unist /orld, the Central Co""ittee sou!ht to avoid conflict /ith the %i&etans, as revealed

&y the Central Co""ittee0s tele!ra" to its %i&et Wor Co""ittee on ril 8, 1#$1: n contrast, le+ c@ay su!!ests that the CC (Chinese Co""unist arty) ursued the

"oderate refor"s only in co"liance /ith the situation at hand'11%he olitical realis" of the

Co""unist olicies, or Aealoliti, do"inated the "aority of this eriod' ost of the successful

8>&id', '

96oldstein,A History o Tibet: the Calm !eore the "torm #$%#$%%, 48'

10>&id', 18$'

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refor"s focused on the esta&lish"ent of the education and the u&lic health syste"s'1>n

addition to the oular refor"s, the 17?oint !ree"ent itself, /hich ro"ised the continuity of

the Dalai -a"a0s osition and the %i&etan culture, led to &id', 17'18>n their etition on ; arch 1#$, they de"anded the a&olish"ent of the ilitary d"inistrative Co""ittee

in oint five of their etition:


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Chinese /eren0t ready to assert their ne/ authority' %he food crisis set the tone for the Chinese

attitude to/ards %i&et for "aority of the early 1#$;s' %he concessions "ade to the i"an! and

the esta&lish"ent of u&lic health syste" confir"ed the Chinese Aealoliti strate!y' %hou!h

the olitical realis" yielded ositive results, 6in!s&ur! ar!ues that


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reuests, &ut rather found the first etition0s ter"s insi!nificant co"ared /ith the ne/ de"ands

to dis&and the CA%' 2evertheless, the CA%0s o/ers and ad"inistrative rocedures, as

outlined in the 47th eetin! of eole0s 2ational Con!ress in Sete"&er , 1#$, indicated a

"eta"orhosis in Chinese involve"ent %i&etan olitics'4%he CA% could "ae neither

decisions nor ersonnel chan!es /ithout direct aroval of the State Council in Eeiin!, and

even its financial &ud!et rest on the State Council0s discretion'$%he %i&et Wor Co""ittee0s

a!enda that year confir"ed the influence of the socialist fervor that enetrated the olitical

structure of the ne/ China' %he Co""ittee &e!an rearations for refor"s &y intensifyin! its

&id'

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%he /idenin! !ulf &et/een ainland China and %i&etan lateau olicies e+erted considera&le

ressure on the Chinese ad"inistration of %i&et to ursue ri!orous refor"s and fo"ented intense

hostility a"on!st the %i&etans' lthou!h Western historians did not e"hasi3e the influence of

de jureChina olicies on the Chinese ad"inistration in %i&et, ne/ Chinese u&lications on this

eriod revealed "ore accurate evidence of the destruction and chaos' >n all arts of de jure

China, not e+cludin! *astern %i&et, ao0s easantcentered co""unist ideolo!y actuali3ed

durin! the first and second five?year lans' %he failure of these refor"s, esecially in Sichuan,

created lon!?lastin! i"ressions of Chinese oression, or as the Co""unists called it, n the Central

6overn"ent0s reort on 1#$ Dece"&er 1, the first five year lan announced the

nationali3ation of all far"lands, /here&y


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failure of these refor"s /ould have direct i"act on %i&etan affairs' %he social transfor"ation

sou!ht to overturn the traditional hierarchy of society, as the 1#$?7 lan outlined: n 1#$7, the a!ricultural refor"s "et /ith tra!ic results across the nation, as

re"ier Khou *n -ai reorted on June : n

ethno!rahic %i&etan areas, this la&el alied to "any tri&al leaders and @ha"a traders' %he

conseuence of this hardline attitude resulted in sever unish"ents a!ainst the Fanti?revolutions,0

to /ho" 5the !overn"ent has done the follo/in!: 1' Death enalty sentence /as !iven to 1'8N

' Ae?education /as enforced to 4'N ' N /ere i"risoned or arrested G4' 8'#N /ere

death /ith li!htly=$n investi!ation on the unnatural causes of deaths in 1#; rovides so"e

insi!ht to the level of /ide sread revolutionary uheaval fro" 1#$?1#$#' %his study notes that

fro" January to ay of 1#;, rich landlords co"rised of 44N of all unnatural deaths, "ostly

caused &y routine starvation and &eatin! at the s"allest offense'%his study also ointed to the

sever econo"ic i"act of these co""uni3ation olicies, as the 6D er caita of Chinese

easants fell fro" 4AE in 1#$ to 7' AE in 1#$#'75urther hi!hli!htin! the relationshi

33>&id', 4;'34


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&et/een China0s olicies in the "ainland and %i&etan events, the hei!ht of tension in %i&et

coincided /ith severe do"estic strife as a result of the failed 5ive?ear lan' 1#$#, the year of

the Dalai -a"a0s escae, also "ared the hi!hest a"ount of food nationali3ation record in

China, /hile 1#; "ared the "ost deaths due to fa"ine' 85urther deterioratin! the Sino?

%i&etan relationshi, the fa"ine struc /orst in Sichuan rovince, /here "ost *astern %i&etans

lived' When the @ha"as and other "inorities re&elled in resonse to the a!ricultural crisis, the

arty secretary, -i Jin!uan, used the "ilitary to suress these revolts in na"e of &id', 1181'

39>&id'40

ie Dunha",!uddha4s .arriors: the "tory o the CIA&ba)8ed Tibetan Freedom Fighters, the Chinese Invasion

and the 9ltimate Fall o Tibet(2e/ or: J' ' %archer, ;;4), 17;'41

>&id', 4'42


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da"a!in! the Chinese olitical control' huntso Wan!ye ar!ued that:


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-a"a0s only insi!ht in the arty leadershi &eca"e the victi" of the Corrections Ca"ai!n' 9n

2ove"&er 1#, 1#$7, the Wor Co""ittee announced that: ne/ that Chair"an ao thou!ht hi!hly of

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Dalai -a"a0s vie/s revealed the fatal ra"ifications of chaos /ithin the Co""unist arty, /hich

rovided the foundations for 1#$# incident'

artly due to the Chinese do"estic olicy, the %i&etan Ca&inet or the @asha!0s di"inishin!

o/ers restricted the %i&etans0 a&ility to reach a co"ro"ise &et/een the locals and the Centre

Co""ittee' %he @asha! lost effective control over the Fsearatist activities0 and failed to enforce

the Dalai -a"a0s osition' >t is i"ortant to note that the -hasa !overn"ent /as, historically, a

/ea ad"inistrative unit, as -hasa never held de facto o/er in @ha" or "do' 6ins&ur!

ar!ues that &y assi!nin! the "e"&ers of %i&etan Ca&inet secific duties and tass, the

Co""unists "ore easily "aintained n 1#47, the Sera "onastery in

-hasa re&elled a!ainst the Ca&inet' %hou!h the @asha! eventually &esie!ed the "onastery and

deosed its leader, this incident no/n as the Aetin! Cou revealed the underlyin! tension

&et/een the secular and reli!ious factions in %i&et'$6ins&ur! confir"s that the theocratic

hi" ''''>t "ade "e reali3e that the Chinese leadershi /as not truly ar+ist, dedicated to a &etter /orld for all,

&ut really hi!hly nationalistic'= 6oldstein, Shera, and Sie&enschuh, The Politi)al +ie and Times o !a-a

Phuntso .angye, 1'51

6ins&ur! and athos, Communist China and Tibet: the First Dozen Years, $1'52

6odstein,A History o /odern Tibet: a Calm beore the "torm #$%#$%%, 4'53

Aetin!, an e+?re!ent /ho too char!e of %i&et durin! the Dalai -a"a0s re!ency re&elled a!ainst the ne/ re!ent

/ho disosed hi"' Sera onastery, one of the three lar!est "onasteries in %i&et suorted Aetin!' %he @asha! had

to order the %i&etan ar"y to &esie!e the "onastery to cal" the revolt' Aetin!0s suorters fled to China looin! for

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structure also assured the reli!ious sector0s olitical do"ination, &ecause the


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co"letely "istaen'=;%he son of %saron!, a hi!h ranin! official in the CA% and for"er

%i&etan !eneral, ar!ued that the @asha! /as una&le to deliver the Chinese de"ands &ecause

&ecause the Chushi?6an!dru re&el forces led &y 6o"o %ashi reached /ithin ; "iles fro"

-hasa &y /inter of 1#$8'4While the Chinese "ilitary reared for the /orse, the lac of

olitical leadershi as a result of the ur!es deteriorated' While 5an in! and hun/an! /ere

60Khao, Chinese e-resentative to Tibet 1 2hang 3ing*u, ##$sland'7%he actual escae of the

Dalai -a"a across the &order on the 1st, ho/ever, /as not as dra"atic as his decision to flee

-hasa' s the Chinese already co""itted to "ilitary suression, they no lon!er needed

cooeration /ith the %i&etan 6overn"ent' ao ordered that: f the Dalai -a"a and his cliue

/ants to escae, our troos "ust not revent the", no "atter /here they !o ? Southeast sia,

>ndia or /herever' -et the" !o'thaca, 2: Sno/

-ion u&lications, ;;;' rint'

%serin!, Shaya' The Dragon in the +and o "no*s: a History o /odern Tibet sin)e #$'' 2e/

or: Colu"&ia , 1###' rint'

Khan!, un'Investigation into the Tibetan Problem' %ranslated &y Jeffrey Hu' Eeiin!: Chinas

School of %i&et, ;;' rint'

Khao, in! Shen' Chinese e-resentative to Tibet & 2hang 3ing*u' %ranslated &y Jeffrey Hu'

Eeiin!, ;;1' rint'

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Appendix A:

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Political Structural Diagram of the Preparatory Committeefor the Autoomou! "egio of #i$et

Cetral %o&ermet

Cetral %o&ermet'!"epre!etati&e! Preparatory Committee for the

Autoomou! "egio of #i$et

m(o People'! Committeehe )ama'! Committeet )ocal %o&ermet!a %o&ermet+

ge(, -.............../ "epre!et! u(er (irect lea(er!hip -- "epre!et! co!ultati&e poer! oly

- - "epre!et! !uper&i!io authority


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n 9utline of the Structure of the olitical Hierachy of %i&et7

Appendix B:

a of %i&et and near?&y provincesof China'77

76Khao, Chinese e-resentative to Tibet, 1'

776oldstein,A History o /odern Tibet, ++i+'

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Rebellion in Tibet and the Escape of the Dalai Lama - Jeffrey Hu