视频：

http://www.youtube.com/v/RGNEy0JXPyA&hl=en

http://www.youtube.com/v/Qlrx07A7vOs&hl=en

http://www.youtube.com/v/CGR3C1EMCAY&hl=en

http://www.youtube.com/v/wN6IUL3sn6w&hl=en
　

在英华人青年举行示威抗议达赖喇嘛 宣传西藏是中国一部分

2008年5月22日，在英华人青年和部分中国留学生在伦敦举行示威，抗议达赖喇嘛歪曲西藏真相，呼吁西方民众要了解真实的西藏，宣传西藏是中国一部分的事实。

5月22日上午，众人在英国国会大厦附近的Portllis House举行小型示威，共约1.5小时。下午，众人在英国皇家阿尔伯特厅外举行大型示威，人数超过300人，分别有来自全英各地的华人青年和留学生，上班族都提早请假前来助威。

飘扬的红旗，迎风的横幅，飞旋的大气球，给活动增加了活跃的气氛。大家一起高喊："西藏是中国的一部分。""我们爱中国，我们爱西藏。"等英文口号，并向路人分发实现印制和准备好的小册子、书籍和DVD等。

大家手持的制作精美，内容丰富的大型展板吸引了许多路人驻足观看，为他们了解西藏人民今天的幸福生活提供了一个特别的"窗口"。期间，大家更高唱《我的中国心》、《歌唱祖国》、《爱我中华》、《义勇军进行曲》等歌曲，高亢的歌声反映了旅英华人青年的拳拳爱国心。

活动新闻发言人英国华人青年联会主席李俊辰在接受媒体访问时表示，我们希望，达赖集团以实际具体行动放弃"西藏独立"的主张，停止任何形式的、企图把西藏从中国分裂出去的活动，以兑现他"不谋求西藏独立，支持中国奥运"的承诺。我们希望，达赖喇嘛可以作为宗教领导人回来，但不能作为政治家回来。我们希望，在包括藏族同胞在内的全体中华儿女，为了中华民族的真正崛起，为了中华民族早日屹立于世界民族之林而奋斗！

<- 英国华人青年联会会员单飞达手持自制标语"Da Lie La Ma"，成为当天受到媒体关注的志愿者之一，包括英国广播公司，法新社等许多新闻机构次日的报道均采用了他手持挡板的图片。

在下午17：30分结束时，众人手绑黄丝带，面向东方，默哀3分钟，向5月12日在中国四川8级地震中遇难的汉族同胞、藏族同胞其他各民族同胞表示深切的哀悼，希望受灾同胞在中国政府的安排下，"众志成城，共度难关"。

相关报道：

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7415525.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7415623.stm

http://www.abc.es/20080522/internacional-asia/budistas-contra-dalai-lama_200805221828.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080522/wl_asia_afp/britainchinatibetpolitics_080522173423

http://www.dailymotion.com/country:gb/video/x5irw8_dalai-lama-protest-london-22-may-20_news

http://estate.chinanews.com.cn/tp/gjxw/news/2008/05-23/1259837.shtml

伦敦522宣传西藏真相活动发言稿

 新闻发言人：李俊辰 

各位朋友，

在旅英各界华人华侨的支持下，由旅英华人青年自发组成的“伦敦522宣传西藏真相活动筹委会”今天在此（Westminster / Royal Albert Hall）举行“西藏过去、现在、未来都是中国不可分割的领土”的集会，旨在向英国各界介绍中国西藏自治区的历史沿革和今日西藏的繁荣情况。

首先，我谨代表伦敦522宣传西藏真相活动筹委会向5月12日在中国四川7.9级地震中遇难的汉族同胞、藏族同胞、羌族同胞以及其他各民族同胞表示深切的哀悼，希望受灾同胞在中国政府的安排下，“众志成城，共度难关”。

接下来，我想先介绍一下中国基本的民族组成情况。中国是由多民族共同缔造的统一国家，历史上中华民族大家庭中每一个成员，在祖国土地上劳动生息的范围及其所建立的政权的疆域和政区，都是中国历史上疆域、政区的一部分，但其中所包含广泛内涵和深邃的历史背景。

今天中国国家疆域的形成是有其悠久的历史过程的。“中国”这个概念，在历史上不是固定不变的，而是随着历史的变化而变化。《礼记•中庸》提到，“是以名声洋溢乎中国，施及蛮貊。”这里的“中国”是华夏活动中心的黄河中游地区，因为我国阶级社会初期，华夏族多建都于黄河中游地区，故称这个地区为中国，称陕北、晋北和冀北地区的民族为北戎、山戎，称东部沿海地区和南部长江流域为东夷、南蛮。春秋时期黄河中下游的周王朝及晋、郑、齐、鲁、宋、卫诸国都自称“中国”，而将秦、楚、吴、越视为夷狄。秦汉以后，随着华夏族、汉族统治地域的扩大，“中国”一词指统一王朝的全部疆土。两晋南北朝时期，东晋人将十六国看成夷狄，南朝人骂北朝为索虏，北朝人骂南朝人为岛夷，都自称中国。唐朝统一，没有这种分野，视这个时期为南北朝，双方都是中国的一部分。宋朝把辽、金、西夏视为夷狄，而元朝则将宋、辽、金、夏均视为中国。明朝人把蒙古视为鞑虏，东北女真为建虏，而清人则将蒙古、新疆、西藏、台湾均视为中国的一部分。由此可见，“中国”一词有其发展的过程，其含义也不断扩大。“中国”一词作为我们国家主权所达到的范围，是鸦片战争后几十年，中华民族民族意识加强后逐渐形成的。因此我们讲历史上的中国，就应以这个多民族统一国家范围的中国为中国，凡历史上在这个范围内的一切民族和政权都是中国历史的一部分。

可以说，今天的中国是几千年来生活在这块土地上的所有民族共同缔造的，每一个民族在中国历史上建立的政权都是历史上中国的一个政权，每一个民族活动的范围都是历史上中国领土的一部分。奠定今天中国疆域规模的，不仅是汉族，而是包括藏族、满族、维吾尔族、苗族、高山族等56个民族共同缔造的。今天的中国文化也不是汉族文化，而是多民族共同缔造的中华文化，我们从音乐、服饰、饮食和其他习俗都可以看到多民族融合的痕迹。

从藏族来看，藏族是藏区的主要民族，但是，藏区从来也不是一个单纯的藏族聚居区，从经济形态上讲，藏族和回族在经济上是互补的。藏区很多人是牧民，牧民在经济上从来都不是独立的，必须依靠农业才能生存，因为牧民不种粮。汉族种粮，牧民有畜产品，他们之间必须有交换的关系，生活才能延续。而回族人善于经商，在中间起一个沟通的作用。所以西藏的多民族共处，实际上有个经济的互补性在里面。

今天，我们身处的21世纪这个时代是经济一体化的时代，人员的交流和往来是非常频繁的，西藏也是一样的。在这种情况下，从人类学的角度来讲，文化上的冲突和相互的适应是非常普遍的现象，多元文化共存成为全世界的普遍现象，这样一个时代，所有人都必须要学会跟其他的民族、跟其他的文化相处。

回首来看西藏的历史。唐朝时期，即公元618年至907年，这是一个强大的统一政权——大唐王朝，它结束了中原地区三百多年的混乱分裂局面。与此同时，藏族的民族英雄松赞干布兼并十余个部落和部族，在西藏高原实现统一，正式建立了吐蕃王朝。后来，松赞干布迎娶了唐太宗的宗女文成公主，学习唐文化，奠定了吐蕃王朝与唐朝二百余年频繁往来的“甥舅亲谊”。记载这段历史的包括至今立于拉萨大昭寺前的石刻“唐蕃会盟碑”。

公元842年，吐蕃王朝分裂，战争持续四百余年。十三世纪初，成吉思汗在中国北部建立蒙古汗国。1247年，萨迦派高僧班智达•贡嘎坚赞同蒙古汗国皇子阔端在凉州（今天的甘肃武威）议定了西藏诸部归顺蒙古汗国和接受所规定的地方行政制度的内容；萨迦地方政权建立。1271年，蒙古汗政权定国号为元，并于1279年统一全中国，建立了统一的中央政权，西藏成为中国元朝中央政府直接治理下的一个行政区域。 1260年，元朝皇帝忽必烈即蒙古汗王位后，封贡嘎坚赞的侄子、萨迦派法王八思巴为国师。1264年起，忽必烈设释教总制院，宣慰使司都元帅府等，负责处理和管辖现今西藏大部分地区的军政事务。1268年、1287年和1334年，元朝中央曾三次派官员在西藏清查户口，还在西藏地区设立了15个驿站，联成通往大都（今天的北京）的交通线，推行并确立了西藏地方的“乌拉”（意为徭役、差役）制度。

自十三世纪中叶西藏地区正式归入元朝版图后，中国虽然经历了几代王朝的兴替，多次更换中央政权，但西藏一直处于中央政府的管辖之下。

1354年，以降曲坚赞为首的帕竹噶举派成为西藏大部分地区的统治者，形成了政教合一的帕竹地方政权。在西藏帕竹时期，元中央政府承认了这一事实，封降曲坚赞为大司徒。1368年明朝建立后，采取了普遍封赐的政策，对具有政治实力的地方诸教派首领均赐加以“王”、“法王”、“灌顶国师”等名号；王位的继承必须经皇帝批准，遣使册封。这时，达赖喇嘛和班禅喇嘛两大活佛系统所属的格鲁派兴起，三世达赖喇嘛索南嘉措向明廷入贡，获得明朝中央封赐的“朵儿只唱”名号。明朝中央对西藏地方的治理，沿袭了元朝的办法，先后设置乌思藏、朵甘两个 “卫指挥使司”和“俄力思军民元帅府”，分别管理前后藏、昌都和阿里地区的军政事务。其间，帕竹地方政权在西藏部分地区建立了宗本制度，所任各宗的行政首脑，明朝皆授以官职，使其既为宗本（相当于县长）又为中央命官。

1644年，清朝取代明朝，对西藏的治理更加严密，使中央政府在西藏行使主权管辖的施政进一步制度化、法律化。清顺治皇帝数次邀请五世达赖进京，1652年，五世达赖进京入见。1653年，顺治皇帝颁赐金册、金印，敕封五世达赖，正式确定了达赖喇嘛的封号。1713年，康熙皇帝册封五世班禅罗桑益西为“班禅额尔德尼”，正式确定了班禅喇嘛的名号。自此，达赖喇嘛在拉萨统治西藏的大部分地区，班禅额尔德尼在日喀则统治西藏的另一部分地区。

1727年，清朝设立驻藏大臣，代表中央监督西藏地方行政；西藏与四川、云南、青海的区界，就是于此时派员正式勘定的。1751年，西藏废除郡王制度，建立西藏地方政府（即“噶厦”），规定了驻藏大臣与达赖喇嘛共同掌握西藏事务的体制。1793，清朝政府就驻藏大臣的职权、达赖与班禅及其他大活佛转世、边界军事防务、对外交涉、财政税收、货币铸造与管理，以及寺院的供养和管理等，颁布了著名的《钦定藏内善后章程》，共二十九条。此后一百余年，二十九条章程确定的基本原则一直是西藏地方行政体制和法规的规范。

1911年，中国爆发辛亥革命，建立了合汉、满、蒙、回、藏等民族为一体的共和国——中华民国。中央政府一如元、明、清三朝，实行对西藏地方的治理。1912年中央政府设蒙藏事务局（1914年改称蒙藏院），主管西藏地方事务，并任命了中央驻藏办事长官。南京国民政府于1927年成立，1929年设立蒙藏委员会，主管藏族、蒙古族等少数民族地区行政事宜。1940年，国民政府在拉萨设立蒙藏委员会驻藏办事处，作为中央政府在西藏的常设机构。西藏地方政府多次选派官员参加国民代表大会。中华民国期间，外患不已，内乱频仍，中央政府孱弱，而达赖喇嘛、班禅额尔德尼继续接受中央政府册封，获得在西藏地方的政治、宗教上的合法地位。现在的十四世达赖喇嘛拉木登珠的任职，就是经由国民政府主席颁令批准的。

1949年，中华人民共和国成立。中央人民政府根据西藏的历史和现实情况，决定采取和平解放的方针。1951年5月23日，中央人民政府和西藏地方政府的代表就西藏和平解放的一系列问题达成协议，签订了《中央人民政府和西藏地方政府关于和平解放西藏办法的协议》（简称“十七条协议”）。“十七条协议”的主要内容是：一方面，中央政府要求西藏地方政府积极协助人民解放军进驻西藏，巩固国防，坚决驱逐帝国主义势力；西藏地区一切涉外事务由中央人民政府统一处理；藏军逐步改编为人民解放军。另一方面，中央人民政府对西藏现行制度及达赖喇嘛的固有地位及职权不予变更；尊重西藏人民的风俗习惯，宗教信仰自由得到保护，西藏的社会改革，采取与西藏领导人员协商解决，在西藏实行民族区域自治等。达赖喇嘛和班禅额尔德尼分别致电中央人民政府主席毛泽东，表示拥护“十七条协议”，决心维护祖国主权的统一；西藏各阶层僧俗人士和各地藏族领袖也表示坚决支持。从此，西藏历史翻开了新的一页。

1954年，达赖喇嘛、班禅额尔德尼联袂赴北京参加中华人民共和国第一届全国人民代表大会。在这次会议上，达赖喇嘛当选为全国人民代表大会常务委员会副委员长，班禅额尔德尼当选为全国人民代表大会常务委员会委员。1956年，西藏自治区筹备委员会成立，达赖喇嘛就任西藏自治区筹备委员会主任委员。1959年3月，西藏地方政府多数噶伦和上层反动集团全面发动了旨在分裂祖国、维护封建农奴制、反对民主改革的武装叛乱。中央人民政府命令驻西藏的人民解放军坚决平息了叛乱，期间，达赖喇嘛避走国外至今。

周恩来总理于1959年3月28日发布命令，宣布解散西藏地方政府，由西藏自治区筹备委员会行使西藏地方政府职权。与此同时，中央人民政府顺应西藏人民的意愿，在西藏进行了民主改革，废除了封建农奴制度，百万农奴和奴隶翻身解放，不再被作为农奴主的个人财产加以买卖、转让、交换、抵债，不再被农奴主强迫劳动，从此获得了人身自由。又经过几年的发展，1965年9月正式成立了西藏自治区。

让我们再回首2个月前的那个2008年3月14日，西藏拉萨发生了极少数不法分子打砸抢烧暴力事件，海外一些带有偏见的媒体和人士不顾事实攻击西藏人权状况。然而，西藏的历史告诉世界：在达赖统治的那个政教合一、封建农奴制社会的旧西藏，人权只是所谓官家、贵族、寺院上层僧侣的人权，农奴主可以把农奴用于租让、转让、赌博、抵押，赠送或出卖给其他领主。

与此形成鲜明对照的是，新中国从根本上保障了西藏人民的生存权和发展权。只有在西藏和平解放后，翻身做了社会主人的广大藏族人民才真正拥有了政治自主权、社会经济发展权、继承发展文化和宗教自由信仰权。

旧西藏的历史是一部血淋淋的罪恶史。50多年前的西藏，在农奴制度下，居住在世界最高处的广大农奴生活在世界的最底层。当时的西藏社会，剜眼、砍手、断足、剥皮等刑法极为野蛮和残酷。让我们来读一读这封至今保存在西藏自治区档案馆里，上世纪50年代初旧西藏地方政府有关部门致热不典头目的信件，文中写道，“为达赖喇嘛念经祝寿，下密院全体人员需念忿怒十五施回遮法，为切实完成此事，需当时抛食，急需湿肠一付、头颅两个、各种血、人皮一整张，望即送来。”藏族民谚中描写道，“农奴身上三把刀，差多、租重、利钱高；农奴面前三条路，逃荒、为奴和乞讨”。

大量近代史档案表明，在西藏和平解放以前，用人体器官进行宗教活动的情况经常出现。在1959年西藏民主改革前，农奴的人身为领主所占有，农奴主可以把农奴用于租让、转让、赌博、抵押，赠送或出卖给其他领主。

史料记载，处在封建农奴制度下的西藏，占总人口不到5%的官家、贵族、上层寺院几乎占有了西藏全部的土地、草原、山林和绝大部分牲畜。一份历史档案记载，1950年的西藏有100万人口，其中没有住房的就达90万人。当时的拉萨城区只有2万人，而露宿街头的贫民和乞丐就达1000多人。

西藏和平解放50多年来，中央政府和中国各族人民十分关注和支持西藏的发展进步。2007年西藏国内生产总值超300亿元人民币，人均达到1.2万元人民币。西藏经济增长速度已多年高于全国平均水平，目前已实现了粮油肉基本自给，绝大多数贫困人口解决了温饱问题，部分群众的生活达到小康水平。

解放前，西藏由于长期处于封建农奴制社会，语言的传承和发展、文字的使用和传播受到严重影响。新中国成立以来，政府加大了藏语文推广工作，使得藏语文在政治、经济、法律等社会各个领域得到广泛应用。以前只有极少数僧侣和贵族阶层掌握藏文，如今，随着教育的普及，越来越多的百姓开始使用藏文，藏语言文字的发展进入历史最好时期。1959年前，旧西藏没有一所现代意义上的学校，青壮年文盲率高达95%，现在西藏有各类学校1011所，在校学生45万多人，小学入学率达到92%以上。西藏孕产妇的死亡率由新中国成立初期的十万分之五千降至现在的十万分之三百九十九；人均寿命由解放初期的35.5岁，提高到现在的67岁；西藏藏族人口则从1964年的120多万增加到现在的250多万，占西藏总人口的95%以上。

西藏实行民族区域自治后，西藏人民能够充分行使宪法和民族区域自治法赋予的权利，保护、传承和发展自己的民族文化。西藏目前全面实行以藏文为主的双语教学，教育系统编译有从小学到高中的所有藏语教材和教辅书籍。自治区各种文件和发布的各种公告，各种公共场所标牌，以及法律诉讼案件，均使用藏汉两种语言文字。西藏自治区人大还颁布了一系列法规，保护藏族和其他少数民族的历史文物、自然生活环境和生产生活习俗。2008年，在西藏的自治区、地（市）、县、乡（镇）四级换届选举中，全区有95%以上的选民参加了县级直接选举，有些地方选民参选率达到100%。在选举出的人大代表中，藏族和其他少数民族代表所占的比例，在自治区和地市两级达80%以上，在县、乡(镇)两级达90%以上。

近年来，中央政府根据西藏的特点和需要，努力帮助西藏经济社会快速发展，让普通西藏群众成为经济发展最大的受惠者。在税收方面，全国只有西藏一直执行比全国低３个百分点的税收优惠政策，而且对农牧民一直免收各种税费；在金融方面，西藏一直实行比全国低两个百分点的优惠贷款利率和低保险费率政策。政府还对农牧民实行免费医疗，农牧民子女上学实行免交学杂费和免费吃住等政策。

近50年来，西藏人民始终享有充分的宗教信仰自由。西藏自治区的绝大部分藏族和门巴、珞巴、纳西族群众等信奉藏传佛教，同时还有不少群众信奉伊斯兰教和天主教。

西藏实行开放政策，开放的西藏欢迎世界各国客人。实际上，近年来到西藏观光旅游、投资经商的西方国家朋友不断增多。百闻不如一见，我们欢迎越来越多的包括英国朋友在内的西方国家朋友到西藏，了解西藏的真实情况。

近些年，达赖集团始终没有放弃图谋“西藏独立”，在国际场合上经常所谓的宣扬的“中间道路”，也就是：在中国宪法的框架内，在西藏及其他藏区实行“高度自治、真正自治”。但只要稍加研究就可以发现，达赖集团宣称的“中间道路”，其内涵和实质与“西藏独立”主张是一回事，即都是要把西藏从中国分裂出去。这主要表现在五个方面：第一，达赖集团坚持“西藏在历史上和文化上都是一个独立国家，不是中国的一部分”；第二，坚持要将中国军队和军事设施从西藏撤走，西藏地位交由国际会议讨论，西藏成为“和平区”“缓冲国”；第三，坚持西藏可与其他国家或国际组织保持外交关系；第四，坚持在包括青海、甘肃、四川、云南等省藏区在内的相当于中国土地面积约1/4的240多万平方公里的“大藏区”实行“真正自治”，也就是要推翻西藏和其他藏区的社会制度和民族区域自治制度，西藏事务全由十四世达赖喇嘛来管；第五，坚持要把非藏族群众从“大藏区”迁走。

就拿中央政府不能在西藏驻军，西藏可与其他国家或国际组织保持外交关系来说。众所周知，如果一个国家的中央政府不能在其领土上驻军，允许其管辖下的一个地方政府与外国政府或国际组织保持外交关系，也就无主权可言。所以，达赖集团主张的“真正自治”，实质上是要改变西藏属于中国的法律地位，否定中国政府对西藏拥有主权。

近几年，达赖集团在公开场合的讲话、声明、访谈中，仍不时称西藏为“国家”，把西藏与中国并列的口气、语气依旧未变。对达赖集团来说，“西藏独立”的道路行不通，也没有“中间道路”好走，只有一条光明之道，就是放弃“西藏独立”的主张，停止分裂中国的行径，与旧日的梦想彻底决裂。

4月23日，达赖在接受采访时，称他的目标是中国宪法内“真正的自治”，而不是独立；他不赞成“藏青会”使用暴力谋求西藏独立；他支持中国主办奥运会，反对阻挡奥运火炬的传递。5月13日，达赖喇嘛对四川阿坝藏族羌族自治州汶川县大地震遇难者表示哀悼，并称赞政府救灾的行动迅速，措施得力。

对达赖喇嘛近期这些有利于国家和民族团结的言论，在予以肯定之余，我们希望，达赖集团以实际行动放弃“西藏独立”的主张，停止任何形式的、企图把西藏从中国分裂出去的活动。达赖喇嘛能落实到具体行动上，以兑现他“不谋求西藏独立，支持中国奥运”的承诺。

我们希望，达赖喇嘛可以作为宗教领导人回来，但不能作为政治家回来。

我们希望，在包括藏族同胞在内的全体中华儿女，为了中华民族的真正崛起，为了中华民族早日屹立于世界民族之林而奋斗！
　

Tibet is a part of China
We welcome Dalai Lama backing China as a religious leader but not a politican

Jonsson

The speech for London 522 Tibet Truth Action Demonstration (Royal Albert Hall)

China exercised sovereign rights over Tibet since the 13th century.

Tibet’s first palace Yumbulagang is located in the Yarlung River Valley near Tsetang Town. It was built by the first Tibet King Nyentri Tsenpo. Tibet has a recorded history of about 1300 years. What happened before that had been passed down in the form of legends and these legends were written down by later generations. In the 7th century AD, the 32nd Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo established the first kingdom in Tibetan history, the Tupo Regime, through conquest and alliances. The kingdom had the largest territory ever. The Tupo Regime lasted 200 years to the year of 877. Slave and common people’s uprisings spread through various parts of the kingdom. And the insurrectionary army seized Qiongjie, dig up the tombs of Tibetan kings. Since then, the Tupo Regime fell apart.
After the fall the Tupo Regime, Tibet had seen 400 years of division, local powers and wars. In the beginning of 13th century, Genghis Khan unified China and his grandson, Godan Khan unified Tibet by making use of the local religious power. When he learned that Sakya sect was the most powerful and summoned Gonggejianzan, the head of Sakya Monastery, to his court. They discussed and agreed on the conditions for Tibet’s submissions to Mongol Empire. Khubli Khan granted Basiba, the head lama of Sakya monastery, the position of spiritual leader and presented him a jade seal. The emperor also authorized him to take charge of national Buddhism affairs and administrative affairs of Tibet. In the year of 1265, Basiba was ordered to return to Tibet. He enlarged Sakya Monastery and set up Sakya kingdom to administer the local affairs in Tibet. Now Sakya Monastery is still there 60 kilometers away from Shigates City.

In 1271, Kublai, a grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Central Plain, founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and made Dadu (today's Beijing) the capital. Kublai wrote finis to the centuries-long situation in which many independent regimes existed side by side, and formed a united country that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan under its sway. During the Song-Yuan period, the "four great inventions" in science and technology of the Chinese people in ancient times-papermaking, printing, the compass and powder-were further developed, and introduced to foreign countries, making great contributions to world civilization.

In 1322, a very eminent person in Tibetan history, Qiangqujianzan assumed office as the 10th head of the Wanhu (ten-thousand households). In 1348, Qiangqujianzan defeated Caiba. And in 1354 he occupied Sakya Monastery and replaced the Sakya authorities. Thus he instituted a government called Pazhu Regime controlling the most part of Tibet. Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty bestowed a title “Dasitu” on Qiangqujianzan and an official seal, authorized him to govern Tibet. At that time, the different sects of Buddhism had gradually lost its appeal to the public and the support from people due to the lack of the religious disciplines and monks’ corruption. Tsongkhapa then appeared on the historic stage who advocated the strict observation of the disciplines and religious reform. He gained great support from the Pazhu Government. In 1409, funded by the Pazhu Government, Tsongkhapa gathered 10,000 monks from the various part of Tibet and held a meeting on religious affairs. Later, he established Ganden Monastery near Lhasa. The establishment of Ganden Monastery marked the founding of the strictly disciplined Gelupa sect (also called Yellow Sect). There were 12 generations of kings in Pazhu Regime and they ruled Tibet for 264 years from 1354 to 1618.

Dalai Lama and Panchen were the two great disciples of Gelupa sect founded by Tsongkhapa. They bore the responsibilities of expanding the sect. The 5th Dalai is a dominant person in Tibet history. He lived in the years of both Ming and Qing Dynasty. After the overturned Gema Regime, the 5th Dalai established the Gedanpozhang Regime. In 1652, the 5th Dalai escorted by 3000 people went to Beijing and Emperor Shunzhi of Qing Dynasty, who awarded him a golden seal and bestowed him as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. And the title “Dalai Lama” and the position of Dalai were confirmed by the Chinese central government. Ever since, it has become a practice for the central government to approve and confirm a new Dalai Lama.

Nurhachi. Kangxi (r. 1661-1722) was the most famous emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He brought Taiwan under Qing’s rule, and resisted invasions by tsarist Russia. To reinforce the administration of Tibet, he also formulated the rules and regulations on the confirmation of the Tibetan local leaders by the Central Government.

In 1895, 13th Dalai assumed the power to manage the political and religious affairs. In 1904, British army invaded Tibet and occupied Lhasa for 50 days. The 13th Dalai retreated to Qinghai. In 1908, he went to Beijing where Emperor Guangxu had an audience with him and his title as Dalai Lama was officially approved.

Britain and China signed the Cheffoo Agreement on Sept. 13, 1876, under which Britain had to obtain permission from China to send an exploration mission to Tibet. The mere fact that a foreign state, in this case, Great Britain, signed with China treaties concerning Tibet, instead of directly with the region itself, indicates that China's sovereign rights over the territory were internationally recognized. Another example, In the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, Britain and Russia pledged not to engage in direct negotiations with Tibet without China's approval. The Regulations Respecting Trade in Tibet, which China and Britain signed on April 20, 1908, also expressively recognized China's authority over Tibet.

After the Revolution of 1911, Republic of China was founded. In the 5-color national flag, the color of red, yellow, blue, white and black symbolized Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui and Tibetan ethnic group respectively. In the following year, the government of Republic of China restored the title to Dalai Lama and he returned to Tibet. The 13th Dalai Lama was the teacher of the 9th Panchen Lama. They shared equal political rights in Tibet. However, due to taxation problem, the two leaders had a conflict and confrontation, resulting in Panchen fleeing to Qinghai, where he died of disease in1937.

In 1940, the government of Republic of China hosted the bed-sitting ceremony for the 14th Dalai, Danzengjiacuo. In 1949, the central government hosted the bed-sitting ceremony for the 10th Panchen, Erdeni.

In 1949, People’s Republic of China was founded. The government stuck to the policy of peaceful liberation of Tibet. As a result, Tibet was liberated peacefully in 1951. The policy of regional national autonomy was exercised in Tibet. The democratic reform wad carried out and the feudal serfdom was abolished. In September 1965, Tibet Autonomous Region was established.

Hence, from the standpoint of customary international law and treaty law, China's claim over Tibet is absolutely unassailable.

Then, we also have to know that China is a united multi-ethnic state founded jointly by the people of all its ethnic groups. So far, there are 56 ethnic groups identified and confirmed by the Central Government, namely, the Han, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Va, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Deang, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Jino. As the majority of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group, China's other 55 ethnic groups are customarily referred to as the national minorities.

A policy of equity has always been promoted among the many ethnic groups. The Han ethnic group has the largest population, accounting for about 91% of the total population. The other 55 ethnic groups are customarily referred to as national minorities. The fifth census (by the end of the 1st of November 2000) showed that the population of the ethnic groups came up to 106.43 million, accounting for about 8.41% of the total population.

The ethnic minorities, with a comparatively small population, are distributed widely in China, but are mostly congregated in the northwest, southwest and northeast. The Uygur people, good at singing and dancing, are concentrated in Xinjiang. Mongolians, long known as the "Grassland people" are mainly distributed on the Mongolian Plateau. Tibetans distributed over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are often called the "Eagles of plateau". The Oreqen people inhabiting the mountainous areas of the Xing'an Range are often simply called the "Mountain people". For hundreds of years, various customs and habits of different Chinese ethnic groups have developed under different natural, social and historical conditions.

Minority peoples live in every province, autonomous region and municipality directly under the Central Government, and in most county-level units two or more ethnic groups live together. Now minority peoples are mainly concentrated in provinces and autonomous regions such as in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan and Taiwan.

China has been a united multi-ethnic country since ancient times. In 221 B.C., the first united, multi-ethnic, centralized state--the Qin Dynasty--was founded in China. Today's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province, where minority peoples are concentrated, were prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of the united Qin regime. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), the centralized feudal state became even more powerful by inheriting the Qin system. The Han Dynasty set up a Frontier Command Headquarters in the Western Regions (a general term for today's territory west of Dunhuang, Gansu Province, since the Han Dynasty) and added 17 prefectures governing the people of all ethnic groups there. In this way, a state with a vast territory embracing the ancestors of the various peoples living in Xinjiang today emerged. In the course of the frequent communication between the Han Dynasty and the surrounding minority peoples, the people of the Chinese nation were called the Han by other ethnic groups, and the most populous ethnic group in the world, the Han, emerged. China as a united multi-ethnic country was created by the Qin Dynasty and consolidated and developed by the Han Dynasty.

The central governments of all dynasties following the Han developed and consolidated the united multi-ethnic entity. The central governments of the past dynasties were established not only by the Han people but also by minority peoples. In the 13th century, the Mongolians established the united multi-ethnic Great Yuan Empire (1206-1368). The Yuan Dynasty established the Pacification Commissioner's Commandery in charge of military and administrative affairs in Tibet, whereby Tibet has became thenceforth an inalienable part of Chinese territory, as well as the Penghu Police Office for the administration of the Penghu Islands and Taiwan. Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. The rise of the Manchu in the 17th century culminated in the founding of the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The Qing Dynasty set up the Ili Generalship and Xinjiang Province in the Western Regions, appointed resident officials in Tibet and established the historical convention of conferring honorific titles on the two Living Buddhas Dalai and Panchen lamas by the Central Government. In addition, the Qing Dynasty carried out a series of policies, including a system of local administrators in minority areas appointed by the Central Government, in southwestern China.

Although there were short-term separations and local divisions in Chinese history, unity has always been the mainstream in the development of Chinese history.

During the long process of unification, economic and cultural exchanges brought the people of all ethnic groups in China closely together, giving shape to a relationship of interdependence, mutual promotion and mutual development among them and contributing to the creation and development of the Chinese civilization.

Due to their interdependent political, economic and cultural connections, all ethnic groups in China have shared common destiny and interests in their long historical development, creating a strong force of affinity and cohesion.

The unity and cooperation among the various ethnic groups have helped to safeguard China as a united multi-ethnic state. In particular in modern times, when China became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society and the Chinese nation suffered from imperialist invasion, oppression and humiliation and was reduced to the status of an oppressed nation, in order to safeguard the unity of the state and the dignity of the Chinese nation, all the ethnic groups united and fought unyieldingly together against foreign invaders and ethnic separatists. In the 19th century, the people of all the ethnic groups in Xinjiang together with the Qing troops wiped out Yakoob Beg's reactionary forces and defeated the British and Russian invaders' plot to split China. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Tibetan people and troops dealt a heavy blow on the British invaders at the Mount Lungthur and Gyangze battles. During the eight-year war of resistance against Japanese imperialist aggression (1937-1945), the Chinese people of all ethnic groups shared bitter hatred of the enemy and fought dauntlessly and unflinchingly. It is well known that many anti-Japanese forces with ethnic minorities as the mainstay, such as the Hui People's Detachment and the Inner Mongolia Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Contingent made great contributions to China's victory in the War of Resistance. The people of all ethnic groups fought unswervingly and succeeded in safeguarding national unity against acts aimed at splitting the country, which went counter to the historical trend and the will of the Chinese nation, including plots for the ``independence of Tibet'', for the setting up of an ``Eastern Turkestan'' in Xinjiang and the carving out of a puppet state of ``Manchoukuo'' in Northeast China, hatched or engineered by a few ethnic separatists with the support of imperialist invaders.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the central governments of the various periods in China each had a sequence of policies and systems of its own concerning ethnic affairs, but under all of them, whether set up by the Han people or an ethnic minority, there was no equality to speak of among ethnic groups. The founding of the People's Republic of China opened up a new era in which all ethnic groups in China enjoy equality, unity and mutual aid. In the big, united family of ethnic groups in the People's Republic of China, on the basis of equality of all rights, the people of all ethnic groups unite of their own accord for mutual promotion and common development and dedicate to the building of a strong, prosperous, democratic and civilized New China.

Few weeks ago, in London, there are some people who protested loudly for the Free Tibet. Most of them probably have not seen Tibet. Do they know the history and the current happy life in Tibet? After the description of the Tibet’s history, let’s review the current life for Tibetan Chinese people.

There are 4 million torists visit Tibet every year. The past 5 years saw the income of farmers and herdsmen increasing by 83.3%. In 2006, there were more than 1000 schools with 500,000 students. In this Autonomous region where 92% of the population is Tibetans, there are 1780 temples, or one for every 1,600 people, which is more than in England, where there is one church for every 3,125 people. On the complicated question of religion mixing with politics, separation is unacceptable. But People are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed. That has been the main objective of China for centuries. Tibet may not grow into an industrial place like the eastern cities in China, but it will move on like other parts of China.

The policy in China permits all Tibetan families to have up to three children. At present, Tibetan families in Tibet average 3.8 children, larger than Tibetan families in India. In fact, the population of Tibet in 1959 was only about 1.19 million. Today however, the population of Great Tibet is 7.3 million, of which, according to the 2000 census, 6 million are ethnic Tibetans. If we consider the Tibet Autonomous Region only, then according to the census conducted in 2000, as referred to in Wikipedia, “there were 2,616,300 people in Tibet, with Tibetans totaling 2,411,100 or 92.2% of the current regional population. The census also revealed that the Tibetan's average lifespan has increased to 68 due to the improving standard of living and access to medical services.” In 1950 the average lifespan was only 35, and “infant mortality has dropped from 43% in 1950 to 0.661% in 2000.”

As Barry Sautman, who is Associate Professor of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology points out in his study on Tibet and the Representation of Cultural Genocide, “the state sponsored transfer of Han Chinese to Tibet is on a small scale. From 1994 to 2001 the PRC organized only a few thousand people to go to Tibet as cadres. Most serve only 3 years and then return to their ex-places.”

These facts are supported by articles in the Columbia Journal of Asian Law and by an Australian Chinese demographer in Asian Ethnicity in 2000, and show that the claims of ethnic swamping in Tibet are misleading. "What I think these articles show,” says Barry Sautman, “is that there is no evidence of significant population losses over the whole period from the 1950s to the present. There are some losses during the Great Leap Forward but these were less in Tibetan areas than in other parts of China. Where these were serious were in Sichuan and Qinghai, but even there not as serious in the Han areas of China. There are no bases at all for the figures used regularly by the exile groups. They use the figure of 1.2 million Tibetans dying from the 1950s to the 1970s, but no source for this is given. "

In fact, as Michael Parenti has pointed out in his article on Friendly Feudalism: the Tibet Myth, “both the Dalai Lama and his advisor and youngest brother, Tendzin Choegyal, claimed that ‘more than 1.2 million Tibetans are dead as a result of the Chinese occupation.’ But the official 1953 census - six years before the Chinese crackdown -recorded the entire population residing in Tibet at more than 1.2 million Other census counts put the ethnic Tibetan population within the country at about two million. If the Chinese killed 1.2 million in the early 1960s then whole cities and huge portions of the countryside, indeed almost all of Tibet, would have been depopulated, transformed into a killing field dotted with death camps and mass graves - of which we have not seen evidence. The thinly distributed Chinese military force in Tibet was not big enough to round up, hunt down, and exterminate that many people even if it had spent all its time doing nothing else.”

Barry Sautman also convincingly challenges claims that the Tibetan language is being devalued and replaced by Mandarin. "92-94% of ethnic Tibetans speak Tibetan,” he notes. “Instruction in primary school is pretty universally in Tibetan. Mandarin is bilingual from secondary school onward. All middle schools in the TAR also teach Tibetan. In Lhasa there are about equal time given to Mandarin, Tibetan, and English.”

There is also an upsurge of the performing arts, poetry and painting by Tibetans, which many visitors to Tibet today cannot fail to notice, all of which are encouraged and funded by Chinese Central Government, though of course the growing tourist market also plays an important role in encouraging Tibetans to continue practicing their traditional arts and crafts.

Importantly, most of the western people have observed surprisingly that few aspects of Chinese culture in Tibet, but there are many aspects of Western culture, such as jeans, disco music, and so on. We can easily find out that in Tibet, the processes of cultural change in religion, the arts, language, migration and various other aspects are rightly attributed mainly to Westernized modernity.

Let us take attitudes towards the Beijing to Lhasa railway for starters. In the lead-up to the opening of that railway, the Dalai Lama expressed fears that the railway was going to aid in the Sinocisation of Tibet, and this was quickly seized on by Tibetans in exile support groups throughout the Western world as a development that would aid in Beijing’s alleged policy of genocide. Such claims of course, excited the imaginations of many ordinary Tibetans, many of who not surprisingly then expressed suspicions about what the new train line would bring them. But as many tourists and journalists to Tibet soon discovered, many urban ethnic Tibetans felt as though the positives would outweigh the negatives, and this is because an increasing number of Tibetans now have a very real material stake in the new economy. Their living standards are improving, and although Han retailers and small businesses stand to benefit more from increases in tourism and trade, the fact is that this will likely change as more and more Tibetans accumulate sufficient enough capital to start up enterprises of their own. And many Tibetans know this. Jonathon Watts, of The Guardian newspaper, reported that “Among the four or five unscheduled meetings I had with Tibetans, most were looking forward to the economic benefits the line is expected to bring: 2.5m tonnes of cargo and 1m tourists and business people.”

Take a closer, more objective look at Tibet today. The mass protests have stopped. As Robert Barnett, author of Lhasa: Streets with Memories (published by Columbia University Press) stated in an interview back in April 2006, “Tibet has become a dispute in which the main weapons are forms of economic change that have benefits and drawbacks: the market, the leisure industry, mass tourism, population shift, uneven wealth, and consumerism.”

It won’t be all that much longer Tony, before Lhasa’s main thoroughfares find themselves hosting McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut fast food outlets, along with Starbuck’s and other such global enterprises. And don’t be too surprised if some of the license holders turn out to be ethnic Tibetans.

Finally, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the Tibetans in exile and their supporters have consistently exaggerated the human rights abuses that have taken place in Tibet, as Barry Sautman and others have convincingly demonstrated. Such exaggerations from the Tibetan community in exile come as no surprise though. As Michael Parenti says:

“For the rich lamas and lords, the Communist intervention was a calamity. Most of them fled abroad, as did the Dalai Lama himself, who was assisted in his flight by the CIA… throughout the 1960s, the Tibetan exile community was secretly pocketing $1.7 million a year from the CIA, according to documents released by the State Department in 1998. Once this fact was publicised, the Dalai Lama's organisation itself issued a statement admitting that it had received millions of dollars from the CIA during the 1960s to send armed squads of exiles into Tibet to undermine the Maoist revolution. The Dalai Lama's annual payment from the CIA was $186,000. Indian intelligence also financed both him and other Tibetan exiles. He has refused to say whether he or his brothers worked for the CIA. The agency has also declined to comment….Today, mostly through the National Endowment for Democracy and other conduits that are more respectable-sounding than the CIA, the US Congress continues to allocate an annual $2 million to Tibetans in India, with additional millions for ‘democracy activities’ within the Tibetan exile community.”

Finally, we are happy to say that, Dalai Lama, We are welcoming you back China as a religious leader but not a politician.