Xinhua
NEW DELHI, India, 7 November 2019
Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and it enjoys development and religious freedom, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong wrote in an article published in the Hindustan Times on Wednesday.
The article, entitled China’s Tibet: A story of progress, said this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 60th anniversary of democratic reform in Tibet, and over the past 60 years great changes have taken place in Tibet under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.
Politically, the backward feudal serfdom was abolished and a socialist system with people as masters and regional ethnic autonomy was established, Sun wrote.
Economically, Tibet has enjoyed double-digit growth for 26 consecutive years, he said. Its GDP in 2018 was 147.763 billion yuan (21 billion US dollars), up by 9.1 percent year-on-year, a growth rate leading the country.
Culturally, Tibetan language has become the first ethnic minority language in China to meet international standards, Sun noted.
In education, Tibet boasted a 9.55-year per capita schooling in 2018 from less than 2 percent of children school enrolment rate and 95 percent of youth illiteracy rate 70 years ago.
In the religious field, Sun pointed out that Tibet has over 1,700 religious sites and over 46,000 resident monks and nuns. Each year, millions of people come to Lhasa to worship the Buddha.
“Historical records prove that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times,” he wrote. “In today’s world, it is universally recognised that Tibet is an integral part of China, and no country has ever recognised ‘Tibetan independence’.”
“And there is no such thing as the so-called ‘political status'” of Tibet,” he added.
The Chinese ambassador expressed his hope and belief that India, as a responsible major country, will stick to its position on Tibet, honor its commitments, resist interference in Tibet-related issues and promote the healthy and stable development of China-India relations.
On June 23, 2003, China and India signed the Declaration on Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation, in which India recognises that Tibet Autonomous Region is part of the territory of China and India does not allow Tibetans to engage in political activities against China in India.
This commitment was reaffirmed in subsequent bilateral documents between the two countries.
Tibet was an independent nation throughout its history and China never ruled Tibet even for a single day. Tibetan and Chinese empires were warring and competing with each other. The first military conflict between Tibet and China occurred in 638. Tang Chinese emperor was forced to give his daughter Princess Wencheng in marriage to Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo. In those days, there were no written treaties. Therefore, giving one’s daughter to the powerful neighbour was the norm to buy peace between warring nations. Nepal also had to give Princess Birkuti Devi as bride to the Tibetan emperor. During this time, the mighty Tibetan empire spread from Xian in China to the east to the river Oxus in the west. It spread as far as the Ganges in the south. Tibet remained free even when the Chinese were under Mongol and Manchu occupation for more than two centuries. The Manchu emperors were Buddhists and since the fifth Dalai Lama became the emperor’s tutor, Tibet and China developed what is known as “Choe-yon (priest-patron) relationship. It had no military dimension but it was perceived as an alliance.The Dalai Lama who had huge influence among the powerful mongols like Gushri Khan, who was responsible in installing the Dalai Lama to become the ruler of unified Tibet in 1642. The Manchu emperors were also Buddhists and continued the traditional relationship but they began to have evil design over Tibet and misinterpreted as if they had “over lordship” over Tibet and this created friction between Tibet and China. This is the basis of the CCP’s claim over Tibet and subsequent illegal occupation since 1950s. The abdication of the last emperor of China in 1912 opened the way for the 13th Dalai Lama to declare Tibet’s independence from the Choe-yon relationship in February 1913.