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Wrong stance on Tibet hinders ties with China

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-05 07:49

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the quashing of the Dalai Lama-led revolt in the Tibet Autonomous Region and subsequent beginning of democratic reform. Over the past five decades, Tibetans have bid farewell to feudal serfdom and entered a modern democratic era.

However, some Westerners long harboring ill intentions toward China have taken advantage of the Tibet issue in an attempt to force their misconceptions upon China. It is known that the Tibet issue is in essence not an issue of ethnicity, religion or human rights, but one of several Western infringements on China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and core national interests. Western nations should recognize that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and stop intervening if they want to remain on good terms with China.

Tibet has always been part of China and only became an issue when Western nations jumped on the bandwagon of the Dalai Lam and his supporters.

As early as the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Western powers began to covet China's Tibet region. The Empire of Britain invaded Tibet by force during the late 19th century and fostered a pro-British force in the region to support separatist activities.

To seek an excuse for its long-term invasion of Tibet, the then British government signed with Russia an agreement and put forward the concept of Tibet's suzerainty. This has since provided the Western world with an excuse for denying China's sovereignty over Tibet.

For the past 100 years, the Tibet issue has constituted an infringement on China's sovereignty, with Western attempts to split it from China.

In the early 1950s, the United States did its utmost to stop Tibet's peaceful revolution. In November 1950, the then US Secretary of State Dean Acheson openly labeled China's liberation of Tibet, its own territory, as an aggressive action. In the mid-1950s, the US began to offer the Dalai Lama clique arms and military training for armed revolts and separatist activities against the motherland.

For many years, the Western world pedaled its distortions on Tibet. In October 1959, the US-dominated UN passed a resolution on the issue, grossly intervening in China's internal affairs. In May 1991, the US Senate passed a bill, classifying Tibet as an occupied country. In October 1997, the US administration appointed a so-called special coordinator on Tibet to strengthen its connections with the Dalai Lama clique.

The wrong stance on the Tibet issue by some Westerners is mainly attributed to their misconceptions. It is an indisputable fact Tibet has been part of China since ancient times. All Chinese people, including Tibetan compatriots, have never denied this. However, some Westerners typically have chosen to turn a blind eye to historical fact in their history books, documentaries and films.

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