Monday, March 10th, 2008, marked the 49th anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese invasion, oppression, and genocide. While demonstration of any kind against the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) is illegal and punishable by imprisonment, torture, and death, every year, both in the TAR and around the world (Thank You, Nepal), people bravely speak out against China's crimes. This year, the protests broke into riot in Lhasa, resulting in gunfire and intensification of the already harsh martial law.
This year however, with the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympics, China has been under pressure to account for its human rights violations domestically as well as its involvement in support of the Khartoum government in Sudan. The Chinese government has tried to present China as a unified nation and has ignored its gross human rights abuses. On October 17, 2007, His Holiness XIV Dalai Lama was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the United States' highest civilian honor, by President Bush (probably the only good thing the President has and will ever do in his lifetime and although the two have met in private several times, this is the first time Bush has agreed to publicly do so). The Chinese government "called the ceremony an affront to the budding relations between the countries." While the Chinese government has attempted to paint His Holiness as a separatist, His Holiness strongly advocates for more democracy and meaningful autonomy in Tibet. The Chinese government has claimed that Tibet has always been a part of China even though all historical evidence proves otherwise.
In addition to the human rights and Geneva Convention violations that the Chinese government commits against the Tibetan people, China has implemented plans for complete ethnic/cultural genocide of the Tibetan people since China's unlawful invasion led by Mao Zedong in 1949. Some of the largest projects today that will result in this are the Quinghai-Tibet Railroad, already under construction, and the Quinghai Airport, both expected to bring in even larger numbers of Chinese into Tibet (where they currently outnumber Tibetans) and further eradicate Tibetan culture. The Chinese government states that the railroad's first run is good because "not only national pride is on the rise, but also infrastructure convenience for Sino-South Asian trade boom is largely improved" while admitting through its ambassadors that the TAR is the poorest region in China by far and contributes the least to China's economy. The Quinghai-Tibet Railroad will extend from Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), to Xigaze, near the boarders of India, Bhutan, and Nepal. The new line is expected to open in 2010 and carry seven million tons of cargo per year and eventually increase that amount to ten million tons at speeds of at least 120 km/h.
The opening of a new extension to this railroad, especially near these specific boarders, is crucial to the survival of the Tibetan people. Because of the legal system in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Tibetans attempting to flee the TAR (most heading to Dharamsala, India) can be arrested and imprisoned. If escaping Tibetans get out of the TAR and PRC and into Nepal, they can still be arrested until they can make it to Katmandu, Nepal’s capital, and obtain official refugee status. Without those papers, they can be arrested by Nepalese officials; under King Gyanendra’s rule, Nepal and the PRC were allies so Tibetans arrested by Nepalese police were routinely handed over to PRC officials (1). However, with Maoist rebels in Nepal becoming integrated in a new political system in Nepal after a ten year war, it appears as though the PRC is unsure of what the outcome will be and if it will be able to maintain that relationship with Nepal. On February 12, 2007, a report was released by the International Campaign for Tibet documenting the passage from the TAR into exile (2). In 2006, the issue received international attention when a 25 year old Tibetan nun and other unarmed civilians were shot attempting to make a pilgrimage to HH XIV Dalai Lama. With a new railway opening near the boarders of the countries that Tibetans flee into, the PRC will be able to arrest far more Tibetans without the help of Nepalese authorities.
This situation of the railroads is reminiscent of the American railroads into the Great Plains. The expansion of rail lines into the western part of the United States led to a tremendous influx of American settlers and led to the destruction of the American Indians and their cultures. There is much evidence to suggest that the same scenario is occurring presently within the TAR. When the Qinghai-Tibet railroad first began construction, it was expected to be a major transportation route for trade and tourists, thus making Tibetans minorities in their homeland and contributing to further destruction of their culture (3). The Qinghai-Tibet Railroad was simply another way for the PRC to try to destroy a group of people and a second line opening without substantial protest from the rest of the world will have horrible repercussions for the Tibetan people and the world will witness the preventable elimination of a unique group of people and their culture.
With the Beijing 2008 Olympics around the corner, the opportunity to confront China about its genocidal policies, both domestically in Tibet and abroad in Darfur, is clear and necessary to show the commitment a country makes when signing the Geneva Conventions and joining the United Nations. As an economic tiger that may soon overtake the United States as the leading global superpower, an unwavering commitment to human rights and democracy is needed now more than ever before. While the United Nations can enforce binding economic sanctions or follow Spain's brave example of prosecuting Chinese leaders for war crimes, the international community can no longer continue to ignore the worst genocide of modern times.
