Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy

Last updated
Tibetan musicians in traditional attire Ladakh Horn Players 0032 tiny.jpg
Tibetan musicians in traditional attire

The Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People provides a framework for the governance of Tibet within the People's Republic of China (PRC). In 2008 a group led by the Dalai Lama presented the memorandum to China. [1] [2] Beijing invited Dalai Lama's delegation to talk about his middle path, which promoted autonomy rather than full independence. [3] Beijing rejected the proposal vehemently, claiming that it was as good as giving independence to Tibet. [3] Following the presentation of the Memorandum, talks between China and Dalai Lama's envoys that had started in 2002 broke down. [4] The last communication was in January 2010. [4]

Contents

Background

One of the first descriptions of the proposal by the Dalai Lama was in Strasbourg in 1988 [5] at the European Parliament. [5] [6] In 1996, in London, he again talked about the concept. [7] The following year saw the Tibetan Government-in-Exile adopting the proposal. [7] In 2006 the TGIE came out with an updated version. However, the 2008 memorandum went further than all these version in terms of the autonomy it was seeking. [7]

Talks between China and Tibetans around the world, led by Dalai Lama, began in 2002. [8] In 2008, China accepted talks as a form of damage control in response to protests in Tibet that took place shortly before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. [9] During the seventh round on 1 and 2 July 2008, China asked the Tibetan delegation for an explanation with respect to "genuine autonomy". [8] The Tibetan delegation presented the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy on 4 and 5 November 2008 during the eighth round of talks. [10]

Memorandum

The memorandum stated that the autonomy sought as per the Middle Way Approach was within the framework of the People's Republic of China (PRC), even if it meant some adjustments to legislation were required. [11] It noted that Tibetans were already one of China's 55 ethnic minorities and without directly mentioning "Greater Tibet", the memorandum implied it when talking about "integrity of the Tibetan nationality". [12] Cultural autonomy, a preservation of Tibetan heritage and identity, should go hand in hand with China's larger economic and scientific development. [12]

The memorandum went on to discuss the "basic needs to Tibetans" that would be the eleven "subject matters of self-government" or policy areas — "language, culture, religion, education, environment protection, utilisation of natural resources, economic development and trade, public health, public security", regulation of immigration and emigration, and cultural, educational and religious exchanges with other countries. [9] [13] These points were backed up with provisions from the Constitution of the PRC and Law on Regional National Autonomy. For example, Article 4 of the constitution, which guarantees "the freedom of all nationalities to use and develop their own spoken and written languages", was referred to for linguistic autonomy. [14] For environmental management, the memorandum sought more than what was present within the existing powers given to regional administrations in China. [15] In essence what was sought was true decision making powers. [16]

Aftermath

A Chinese official stated that the memorandum was problematic in many ways, including the creation of contradictions with the Constitution. [16] The Chinese official Zhu Weiqun stated at a press conference that the Dalai Lama was not a representative of the entire Tibetan community and that the only reason for the talks were to allow the Dalai Lama a platform to give up his separatist tendencies. [17]

The Tibetan delegation released the Memorandum to the public on 16 November 2008. [10] A meeting called by the Dalai Lama took place in Dharamshala from 17 and 22 November 2008. [18] The meeting among Tibetan exiles showed support for the Dalai Lama rather than the Middle Way Approach. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalai Lama</span> Tibetan Buddhist spiritual head

Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and incumbent Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives in exile as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panchen Lama</span> Prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism

The Panchen Lama is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to the Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he is in charge of seeking out the next Dalai Lama. Panchen is a portmanteau of Pandita and Chenpo, meaning "great scholar".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Tibet</span> Aspect of history

While the Tibetan plateau has been inhabited since pre-historic times, most of Tibet's history went unrecorded until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism around the 6th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung as the precursor of later Tibetan kingdoms and the originators of the Bon religion. While mythical accounts of early rulers of the Yarlung Dynasty exist, historical accounts begin with the introduction of Buddhism from India in the 6th century and the appearance of envoys from the unified Tibetan Empire in the 7th century. Following the dissolution of the empire and a period of fragmentation in the 9th-10th centuries, a Buddhist revival in the 10th–12th centuries saw the development of three of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibetan independence movement</span> Political movement advocating for Tibet to be independent from China

The Tibetan independence movement is the political movement advocating for the reversal of the 1950 annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, and the separation and independence of Tibet from China.

Tibet is a region in East Asia covering much of the Tibetan Plateau that is administered by People's Republic of China as the Tibet Autonomous Region and claimed by the Republic of China as the Tibet Area and the Central Tibetan Administration. The CTA uses the snow lion flag of the independent Tibetan state from 1912 to 1951. The snow lion flag has become a pro-independence symbol and is outlawed in the People's Republic of China after the 1959 Tibetan uprising. The PRC uses its national flag instead to represent Tibet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama</span> 10th Panchen Lama of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism (1938–1989)

Lobsang Trinley Lhündrub Chökyi Gyaltsen was the tenth Panchen Lama, officially the 10th Panchen Erdeni, of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Tibetan Buddhism, Panchen Lamas are living emanations of the buddha Amitabha. He was often referred to simply as Choekyi Gyaltsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seventeen Point Agreement</span> 1951 agreement between the Chinese and Tibetan governments

The Seventeen Point Agreement, officially the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, was a document pertaining to the status of Tibet within the People's Republic of China. It was signed by plenipotentiaries of the Central People's Government and the Tibetan government on 23 May 1951, in Zhongnanhai, Beijing. The 14th Dalai Lama ratified the agreement in the form of a telegraph on 24 October 1951.

The Tibetan sovereignty debate refers to two political debates. The first political debate is about whether or not the various territories which are within the People's Republic of China (PRC) that are claimed as political Tibet should separate themselves from China and become a new sovereign state. Many of the points in this political debate rest on the points which are within the second historical debate, about whether Tibet was independent or subordinate to China during certain periods of its recent history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Tibet (1950–present)</span> Aspect of history

The history of Tibet from 1950 to the present includes the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, and the Battle of Chamdo. Before then, Tibet had been a de facto independent nation. In 1951, Tibetan representatives in Beijing signed the Seventeen-point Agreement under duress, which affirmed China's sovereignty over Tibet while it simultaneously provided for an autonomous administration led by Tibet's spiritual leader, and then-political leader, the 14th Dalai Lama. During the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when Tibetans arose to prevent his possible assassination, the Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet to northern India where he established the Central Tibetan Administration, which rescinded the Seventeen-point Agreement. The majority of Tibet's land mass, including all of U-Tsang and areas of Kham and Amdo, was officially established in 1965 as Tibet Autonomous Region, within China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme</span> Tibetan politician (1910–2009)

Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme was a Tibetan senior official who assumed various military and political responsibilities both before and after 1951 in Tibet. He is often known simply as Ngapo in English sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1959 Tibetan uprising</span> Uprising in Lhasa, Tibet, against the Peoples Republic of China

The 1959 Tibetan uprising began on 10 March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since the Seventeen Point Agreement was reached in 1951. The initial uprising occurred amid general Chinese-Tibetan tensions and a context of confusion, because Tibetan protesters feared that the Chinese government might arrest the 14th Dalai Lama. The protests were also fueled by anti-Chinese sentiment and separatism. At first, the uprising mostly consisted of peaceful protests, but clashes quickly erupted and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) eventually used force to quell the protests, some of the protesters had captured arms. The last stages of the uprising included heavy fighting, with high civilian and military losses. The 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Lhasa, while the city was fully retaken by Chinese security forces on 23 March 1959. Thousands of Tibetans were killed during the 1959 uprising, but the exact number of deaths is disputed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China</span> 1950–51 annexation of territory in Asia

Tibet came under the control of People's Republic of China (PRC) after the Government of Tibet signed the Seventeen Point Agreement which the 14th Dalai Lama ratified on 24 October 1951, but later repudiated on the grounds that he had rendered his approval for the agreement while under duress. This occurred after attempts by the Tibetan Government to gain international recognition, efforts to modernize its military, negotiations between the Government of Tibet and the PRC, and a military conflict in the Chamdo area of western Kham in October 1950. The series of events came to be called the "Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" by the Chinese government, and the "Chinese invasion of Tibet" by the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Tibetan unrest</span> Political violence in Tibet

The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also referred to as the 2008 Tibetan uprising in Tibetan media, was a series of protests and demonstrations over the Chinese government's treatment and persecution of Tibetans. Protests in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, by monks and nuns on 10 March have been viewed as the start of the demonstrations. Numerous peaceful protests and demonstrations were held to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising Day, when the 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet. The protests and demonstrations spread spontaneously to a number of monasteries and throughout the Tibetan plateau, including into counties located outside the designated Tibet Autonomous Region. The arrest of monks at Labrang Monastery increased the tension of the situation. Violence began when Chinese police and People's Liberation Army units used force on non-violent protests by monks and nuns, and spread when protesting Tibetans later clashed with security forces. Clashes also occurred between Tibetans and Chinese Han and Hui residents, resulting in Han and Hui stores and buildings being destroyed and numerous Chinese civilians being injured or killed.

The serfdom in Tibet controversy is a prolonged public disagreement over the extent and nature of serfdom in Tibet prior to the annexation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1951. The debate is political in nature, with some arguing that the ultimate goal on the Chinese side is to legitimize Chinese control of the territory now known as the Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, and others arguing that the ultimate goal on the Western side is to weaken or undermine the Chinese state. The argument is that Tibetan culture, government, and society were barbaric prior to the PRC takeover of Tibet and that this only changed due to PRC policy in the region. The pro-Tibetan independence movement argument is that this is a misrepresentation of history created as a political tool in order to justify the Sinicization of Tibet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th Dalai Lama</span> Spiritual leader of Tibet since 1940

The 14th Dalai Lama, known to the Tibetan people as Gyalwa Rinpoche, is, as the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibet. He is considered a living Bodhisattva; specifically, an emanation of Avalokiteśvara in Sanskrit, and Chenrezig in Tibetan. He is also the leader and a monk of the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism, formally headed by the Ganden Tripa. The central government of Tibet, the Ganden Phodrang, invested the Dalai Lama with temporal duties until his exile in 1959.

Serfs' Emancipation Day, observed annually on 28 March, is a holiday in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China that celebrates the emancipation of serfs in Tibet. The holiday was adopted by the Tibetan legislature on 19 January 2009 and it was promulgated that same year. In modern Tibetan history, the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai declared the dissolution of the Tibetan government on 28 March 1959 and he replaced it with the temporary Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region (PCTAR), with the Panchen Lama also replacing the Dalai Lama as its acting chairman.

Human rights in Tibet is a contentious issue. Reported abuses of human rights in Tibet include restricted freedom of religion, belief, and association; arbitrary arrest; maltreatment in custody, including torture; and forced abortion and sterilization. The status of religion, mainly as it relates to figures who are both religious and political, such as the exile of the 14th Dalai Lama, is a regular object of criticism. Additionally, freedom of the press in China is absent, with Tibet's media tightly controlled by the Chinese leadership, making it difficult to accurately determine the scope of human rights abuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests and uprisings in Tibet since 1950</span>

Protests and uprisings in Tibet against the government of the People's Republic of China have occurred since 1950, and include the 1959 uprising, the 2008 uprising, and the subsequent self-immolation protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Chamdo</span> Military campaign by China to retake region in Tibet

The Battle of Chamdo occurred from 6 to 24 October 1950. It was a military campaign by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to take the Chamdo Region from a de facto independent Tibetan state. The campaign resulted in the capture of Chamdo and the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsewang Rigzin</span> Tibetan freedom activist

Tsewang Rigzin is a Tibetan freedom activist who is the current president of the Tibetan Youth Congress. He has held the position since September 2007, and on August 8, 2008 he was re-elected to serve through August 2013. Prior to attaining his current position he served as the president of the Portland/Vancouver regional chapter of the Tibetan Youth Congress.

References

Citations
  1. ↑ Madhukar, Abhishek (2009-03-15). "Tibet govt-in-exile welcomes China talks, memo stays". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  2. ↑ Sharma, Madhur (4 June 2020). "Hong Kong's resistance has raised great hope for Tibet, Says top official". The Kootneeti. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Davis, Michael C. (30 July 2013). "Tibetan autonomy poses questions for Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  4. 1 2 IANS (2019-03-18). "Resume talks with Dalai Lama, aides, US tells China". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  5. 1 2 Ghai, Loper & Woodman 2010, p. 2.
  6. ↑ "Strasbourg Proposal 1988". The 14th Dalai Lama. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  7. 1 2 3 Cheng, Joseph Y. S., ed. (2011-01-01). Whither China's Democracy? Democratization in China Since the Tiananmen Incident. City University of HK Press. pp. 261–263. ISBN   978-962-937-181-4.
  8. 1 2 Smith 2010, p. 218.
  9. 1 2 Davis, Michael C. (27 May 2014). "China & the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: The Tibetan Case". E-International Relations . eISSN   2053-8626.
  10. 1 2 Smith, Warren S.; Smith, Warren W. (2010). Tibet's Last Stand?: The Tibetan Uprising of 2008 and China's Response. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 218. ISBN   978-0-7425-6685-9.
  11. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 218-219.
  12. 1 2 Smith 2010, p. 219.
  13. ↑ "Tibetan Government in Exile, "Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy"". china.usc.edu. USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism US-China Institute. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  14. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 220.
  15. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 221.
  16. 1 2 Smith 2010, p. 225.
  17. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 227-228.
  18. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 228.
  19. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 231-232.
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.