Way of Tibet, after 50 years
(From The Japan Times March 17 issue)

動乱から50年、チベットの歩み

Fifty years have passed since the Tibetan national uprising against Chinese rule. The Chinese military's crushing of the March 1959 rebellion led the then 24-year-old Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetans, to flee across the Himalayas to India. One year also has passed since large-scale protests in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous region, and other areas inhabited by Tibetans.

The situation that Tibetans now find themselves in is far cry from what they want and their resentment at Chinese rule is strong. Fearing a recurrence of last year's protests and eager to prevent it, Chinese authorities have put the autonomous region and Tibetan-inhabited areas in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces under virtual martial law.

On March 10, the 50th anniversary of the rebellion, the Dalai Lama, in Dharamsala, India, severely criticized Chinese rule in Tibet. He said, "Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction." But he reaffirmed his pursuit of the "middle way" in seeking a high degree of autonomy for the Tibetan regions, not independence, through dialogue with Chinese authorities.

China has justified its policy by issuing "White Paper: 50 Years of Democratic Reform in Tibet," which says Chinese rule abolished a feudal slaveholding system and that Tibetans' lives have improved over the past 50 years.

President Hu Jintao, who in 1989 cracked down on the independence movement in Tibet as the top Chinese official there, told the recent session of the National People's Congress that while he is against granting Tibet independence, he will push economic development and improvement of people's lives.

It is unfortunate that China calls the Dalai Lama a "splittist." It is hoped that China will pursue talks with the Tibetan spiritual leader in earnest. The danger exists that the more remote the prospect for improvement of the Tibetan situation becomes, the more radicalized younger Tibetans become with the risk the situation could be destabilized.

チベット仏教の最高指導者ダライ･ラマ14世がインドに亡命するきっかけとなったチベット動乱から50年、チベット自治区ラサなどで起きた大規模なデモ抗議から1年がたった。

中国はチベット自治区や青海省、四川省のチベット人居住区に事実上の戒厳令を敷いている。

ダライ･ラマは、チベットの宗教や文化、言語やアイデンティティが消滅しつつあると語ったが、チベット独立ではなく高度な自治を求める「中庸路線」を堅持していると主張した。

胡錦濤･国家主席は全人代で、チベットの独立には反対だが、経済発展と生活水準向上を支持すると語った。中国がダライ･ラマを「分裂主義者」と呼んでいるのは残念だ。対話の促進が望まれる。現状改善への望みが遠のくにつれ、チベットの若者たちが過激化する危険性がある。