China and Tibet
incomes have tripled in Tibetan urban areas in the last decade, it cannot be assumed that this has significantly benefited all Tibetans. This is because 88% of Tibetans live in rural areas and a statistic that is an average does not indicate the distribution of income. 23 Although there is no official data comparing the incomes of different ethnicities in the TAR, it is almost certain that there is a divergence in income between Tibetan and Han. As J.F. Dreyer has argued, development’s ‘chief beneficiaries have been urban dwellers, most of whom are Han’. 24 Therefore, the extent of which Tibetan’s quality of life being increased by economic growth and income rises is not as significant as some argue. This is because many of the economic benefits have been diverted to the Han migrants and firms; certain activities have led to environmental issues and many Tibetans feel aggrieved at the inter-ethnic inequality. Thr ough religious control, the erosion of the Tibetan language, ‘patriotic education’ policies, intense surveillance and a restriction of civil liberties, the government is inexorably changing Tibetan culture and has stripped away the ability to protest. In schools, effective bans were enacted on the study of the Tibetan language in favour of Mandarin Chinese as the primary language of instruction, reshaping the linguistic and educational environment. 25 All the exams, except for Tibetan language, have to be written in Chinese. Even the signs around the school and the names of the classrooms are all in Chinese. However, perhaps what is most damaging to Tibetan culture is that the Chinese curriculum skews politics and history in their favour, for example teaching that the Dalai Lama is a threat to China. 26 The CCP have also attempted to suppress religious beliefs through the destruction of monasteries and ‘patriotic education’ of nuns and monks. 27 Following a new policy in 1994, all nuns and monks were targeted for these indoctrination sessions to foster loyalty to the Chinese communist party and denounce the Dalia Lama (their spiritual leader). Monks were to undergo these ‘educational lectures’ intermittently for most of the following decade. 28 According to Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan who attempted to file a lawsuit against the CCP in the Supreme People’s Court of Beijing, ‘ there is a systematic slaughter of our culture ’ . 29 He was sentenced to seven years in prison for ‘ inciting separatism ’ . This is just one example of the restriction on civil liberties: the impossibility for Tibetans to voice political opinions against the CCP. Others include the confiscation of passports to prevent foreign travel and the criminalization of possessing pictures of the Dalai Lama. Instead, Tibetans are encouraged and sometimes ordered to display portraits of Xi Jinping and Chinese flags in their homes. 30 Restrictive Chinese control has led to a history of resistance and protest across the plateau. However, perhaps the most poignant in recent years is the uprising of 2008. Widespread discontent at the demographic marginalization, inter-ethnic inequality and cultural suppression led to rioting in Lhasa on March 10 th that ignited protests across the region. A Chinese crackdown led to 30 confirmed deaths and over 100 unconfirmed deaths in Lhasa on that day. 31 However, protesting has become more difficult recently due to intense surveillance; China is becoming what political scientist Stein Ringen
23 Dreyer 2010: 8. 24 Dreyer 2010: 14. 25 Carrico 2015. 26 Sharma 2015.
27 Demick 2020: 146. 28 Demick 2020: 146. 29 Wong 2015. 30 Human Rights Watch. One Passport, Two Systems 2015 ; Demick 2020: 271. 31 CBC News 2008.
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