China Marks Historic Event

Yuba Nath Lamsal

Over 1.3 billion Chinese people commemorated March 28 as the day of Tibet’s emancipation from feudal serfdom. The essence of marking the day was to remind how the Tibetan people lived 50 years ago under the Dalai Lama’s serfdom and also to showcase how their life has changed in the 50 years after the Dalai Lama was forced to flee.
On March 28, 1959, Beijing announced the dissolution of the local government of Tibet and replaced it with a preparatory committee for establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region. This marked the beginning of a new era in Tibet. Since then, phenomenal changes have taken place in this province of China in the Himalaya.
Serfdom
Chinese authorities describe the Dalai Lama’s rule in Tibet as a period of serfdom where people were treated not as citizens but as personal property. This was worse than the slavery that existed in the United States of America before Abraham Lincoln declared an end to slavery and the slave trade. Under serfdom, all properties, including the people and natural resources, belonged to the rulers, and the people had to submit to the government. While the rulers enjoyed a luxurious life, the general mass suffered hunger and lived a primitive life.
Some may take Beijing’s claims and its comparison of life then and now in Tibet as mere propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party. But anyone who has seen Tibet in recent years agrees with China’s version. Once one of the most backward regions of China, Tibet has now leapt forward in terms of economic development after the central government intervened and decided to ensure governance by the people of Tibet, which was impossible during the Dalai Lama’s rule.
According to some western propaganda that we have seen in the biased press, Tibet was an independent country which was taken over forcibly by China. They are fanning separatist activities in the name of a small group of followers of the Dalai Lama. According to them, the situation of human rights in Tibet has worsened and the Tibetan people have been denied the right to self-rule by Beijing. This is propaganda designed to create a split in China and an attempt to once again push the people of Tibet into the trap of serfdom.
So far as the question of Tibet’s status is concerned, it was never an independent country but an integral part of China. All historical facts have proved this. Right from the Tang Dynasty in early 7th century, Tibet came under Beijing’s rule, and it continued to be under the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. When China became a republic in 1912, the central government declared it as a republic of five nationalities - Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetans. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, serfdom was abolished, and Tibet was declared an autonomous province of China.
However, Tibet was granted total autonomy by the central government, which has now been dubbed by some as having independent status. This is a distortion of history and the truth. But one thing is true that whenever rulers in Beijing were weak, Tibetan authorities tried to be more assertive. But all the decisions taken by the Tibetan authorities had to be finally endorsed by the central government in Beijing even before 1951.
After the 1949 revolution that established a communist government led by Mao Zedong, things changed. The Dalai Lama was so unpopular in Tibet that the Tibetan people themselves wanted Beijing’s intervention to free the Tibetan people from the vice of serfdom. At the request of the Tibetan people and policy of the Communist Party to free its people from all forms of slavery, serfdom and exploitation, a contingent of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army marched into Lhasa along with Tibet’s common citizenry and declared an end to serfdom and the beginning of people’s rule.
The Dalai Lama along with a small group of his henchmen then fled to India from where attempts were made to destabilise Tibet and China. Some western powers that are opposed to the socialist system anywhere in the world have found a good excuse to bash China and carry out activities aimed at splitting China. But these ill motives have always been foiled due to the solidarity of the Chinese people, including Tibetans.
The other issue is related to human rights in Tibet. One thing is true that no country in the world can ensure full human rights to its people, and there are bound to be drawbacks in China as well. But there is a question - which human rights one wants first. A debate is taking place at various international fora regarding the concept and fundamentals of human rights and priority.
The western countries attach more priority to the political and civil rights, whereas economic and social rights have been areas of more concern for other countries including China. The first and the foremost right of an individual is the right to life and the conditions that help an individual to enjoy other rights, including civil and political rights. Civil and political rights are also very important rights without which an individual’s liberty and free choices cannot be guaranteed. However, in the absence of economic and social rights, civil and political rights become a mere mirage.
China has been focussing more on ensuring a decent life for its people so that they can enjoy and exercise other rights. This is exactly the case in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Moreover, the support to the Dalai Lama is support to slavery and serfdom, which is the worst violation of human rights. In fact, slavery and serfdom are a blot on civilisation. But it is only the Dalai Lama’s supporters who are backing serfdom in the name of the ‘Free Tibet movement’. They want serfdom to stage a comeback in Tibet in the name of "Free Tibet", which is being backed by some western governments.
The question here is whether emancipation from serfdom or pushing the people back again into serfdom is a human right. It is time for the world to decide which side is right and which one is trying to snatch the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people. We must speak loudly and clearly where we stand - with the people of Tibet who have enjoyed a far more decent and dignified life or with those who want a return of feudal serfdom in Tibet.
The entire humanity applauds Abraham Lincoln for his bold and historic decision to end slavery in the United States of America, which has been hailed as a step towards upholding human dignity. The end of serfdom in Tibet is a similar step. While the people in the western countries hail the end of slavery in America, they make a hue and cry when the same happens in China. This clearly shows the double standard and hypocrisy of the western world regarding human rights.
Clear message
The celebration of Tibet’s Emancipation Day demonstrates a strong sense of unity and solidarity of the Chinese people, which should serve as a clear message to those who have been fanning a separatist movement. So far as Nepal’s position is concerned, it has adopted a one-China policy and supported Tibet’s modernisation process. Perhaps, no other country knows Tibet better than Nepal due to its geographical closeness and interaction between the two peoples.

Comments