I. The Consistent Stand Taken by the Successive
Chinese Central Governments
towards the Sovereignty over Tibet after the
Revolution of 1911
The
Republic of China was founded in 1911 when the rule of the
Qing Dynasty was overthrown by the Revolution of
1911. Though the
domestic political situation of China
was not quite stable at that time, yet the successive
central governments of China all persisted
in
the principled stand of exercising sovereign jurisdiction
over Tibet. They conducted resolute struggles
against the schemes of
splitting China by the
foreign aggressive forces and adopted various
measures of exercising sovereign jurisdiction over Tibet.
1 . Reiteration
of Sovereignty over Tibet by the Government of the
Republic of China
At the beginning
of the founding of the Republic of China, it
promptly declared that the Republic was the
integration of the Han,Manchu,
Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan
nationalities Dr. Sun
Yat-sen, Provisional
President of the Republic, pointed out in his
Declaration in January 1912: "The foundation of the
state lies in
the people's power to incorporate the
areas inhabited by the Hans,
Manchus, Mongolians, Huis
and Tibetans into one country and to unite
the
Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan nationalities into
one
nation. That is called the national
unification." He also made
succinct
explanations to the declaring of independence by more than
ten provinces after Wuchang took the lead to
revolt, saying that
"This 'independence' meant
exclusion of the Qing court through
alliance with
other provinces This also applies to Mongolia and
Tibet. The unification of territory meant the concerted
actions of
all the nationalities and provinces ,
not going astray under the
leadership of the center
and extended its rule to the four
boundaries." He stressed that the independence of
various provious
did not mean by independent kingdom,
but meant by exclusion of the
Qing court through alliance
with other provinces. He made special
statement
regarding Tibet and Mongolia . The five-colour flag used
then as the national flag symbolized the integral
whole of the five
nationalities.
On
March 11 , 1912 the Provisional Constitution of the Republic
of
China issued by the Nanjing Interim Government
stipulated that "The
territory of the Republic
of China consists of twenty-two provinces,
Inner
and Outer Mongolia, Tibet and Qinghai." Senators will
be
selected from every province, Inner and Outer
Mongolia, and Tibet,
each five persons; one from
Qinghai. The method of selection will be
decided by the
various regions . When the Senate is in session,
one-senator-one-vote will be carried out." The
above-mentioned facts
clearly pointed out that
Tibet and other regions are part of the
Chinese
territory ; their status are equal to other provinces. They
have the right to participate in the
administration of state
affairs.
On
April 22, 1912 the Order of President Yuan Shikai emphasized
that
"The Republic is composed of five
nationalities. All Mongolian,
Tibetan and Huijiang areas
are the territory of the Republic; the
Mongolians,
Tibetans and the Huis in Xinjiang are all the nationals
of the Republic. The designations used in the
period of the Empire
should not be continued.
Henceforth, overall planning should be
carried out
regarding Mongolian, Tibetan and Huijiang regions in
order
to achieve the domestic unification and realize the great
harmony of all nationalities. The Government of
the Republic will
not set up special organ to handle
national minodties affairs. The
reason is that
Mongolian, Tibetan and Huijiang regions are placed on
equal footing with the interior provinces. All
political affairs in
those regions should fall
within the limits of interior
administration, We have now
founded the unified government. The
national
minorities affairs will be merged into and taken over by
the Ministry of Interior
Affairs......"
The Constitution of the
Republic of China was issued in May 1914. It
reiterated once again that "The territory of the
Republic of China
will comply with all the territory of
the former Empire." "The
nationals of the
Republic of China will be equal before the law
regardless of their races classes or religions."
In 1928 the Nationalist Government was
established in Nanjing.On
September 23, 1929 Chiang
Kai-shek sent letters to the Dalai Lama
and the Kalons
respectively and expressed attitude of the central
government towards Tibet. It was pointed out in the letter
to the
Kalons that "On the behest of Dr. Sun
Yat-sen, the Government will
treat equally without
discrimination against Tibet. Though U-Tsang
is
located far away, its land belongs to the territory of the
Republic of China and its people belong to the
nationals of the
Republic of China. The Government will
spare no efforts to foster
the basis of regional
autonomy in order to struggle for survival in
the
world."
On June 1, 1931 the
Nationalist Government issued the Provisional
Constitution in the Political Tutelage Period of the
Republic of
China, in which it stipulated that
"The territory of the Republic of
China covers the
various provinces, Mongolia and Tibet." "The local
systems of Mongolia and Tibet shall be enacted
separately in legal
forms according to the local
conditions." Afterwards, the
Constitution of
the Republic of China, made public in 1947 pointed
out
once again that "The territory of the Republic of China
shall
comply with its inherent domains. No changes of
territory shall be
made without the resolutions adopted
by the National Assembly." The
autonomous
system of Tibet should be guaranteed." There was also
clear statement concerning the National Assembly
that "The number of
delegates to be elected
from Tibet shall be decided according to
law." It
was also stipulated that there should also include the
number of delegates from the Tibet regien among
the legislators and
controllers of the country.
The above-mentioned facts show that after the
Revolution of 1911
,the successive central governments of
China all solemnly pointed
out: Tibet is part of
Chinese territory and it was stipulated by
law.
2. The Government of the Republic
Resolutely opposed the Conspiracy
of Separating
Tibet from China by Foreign Aggressive Forces
In the early stage of the founding of the
Republic, the political
situation of China was
turbulent. The political regimes alternated
continuously. Taking advantage of this chaotic situation of
China,
the British imperialists plotted to grab Tibet
and separate it from
China. In 1914 Britain
hatched single-handedly the Simla Conference,
concocted "the Simla Convention", openly divided
our Tibetan areas
into " Inner Tibet" and
"Outer Tibet" and tampered with China's
sovereignty over Tibet into "suzerainty". This
"convention" which
gravely violated the
sovereignty of China should naturally be
opposed by the
Chinese Government. On July 3, 1914 Ivan Chen, the
chief
delegate of the Chinese government, was instructed to refuse
to affix his signature on the formal text of the
"Simla Convention"
and stated that "The
Chinese Government would not recognize any
agreement or similar documents between Britain and Tibet
today or
some other day." The British scheme hence
failed.
After the Simla Conference, the
British imperialists were not
reconciled to their
failure, and continued to play with conspiracies
and
provoked incidents so as to attain their designs.
In July 1942, the Kashag (Tibetan local
government) declared all of
a sudden the establishment
of a "bureau of foreign affairs" and
threatened to cut off supplies to the Office of the
Commission for
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs at Lhasa
and forced the Office to have
contacts with the so-called
"bureau of foreign affairs" in an
attempt to find an excuse for independence of Tibet. Mr.
Kong
Qingzong, the then director of the Office,
promptly sent an urgent
report to the central
government and pointed out in the telegram
that
"The bureau of foreign affairs is by nature an organ
that takes
up matters with foreign countries.
Today the Kashag informed me that
I should take up
all matters with the bureau. That amounts to
treating the central government as a foreign government and
Tibet as
an independent country. If we were to recognize
so, that would mean
the disappearance of articles in the
previous international treaties
which stipulate
Tibet is part of the Chinese territory. That would
also
mean the invisible validity of the various treaties, open or
secret, signed by Tibet with foreign countries
without the
recognition of the central government
of China, As this is a matter
of great importance, we
suggest that the central government should
openly cable the Kashag that we do not recognize the bureau.
The
officials of the central government in Tibet
should deal with all
matters with the Kashag as
usual." On August 5, 1942 the Commission
for
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs conveyed the instruction of
the
Executive Yuan to the Kashag, saying that"
The Tibetan side found it
necessary to set up an
organ to handle local foreign affairs but
they must
observe the following rules:a) Problems involving the
interests of the state, that is, political
problems, must be handled
in accordance with the will
of the central government;b) All
contacts and
communication between the central authorities and Tibet
should follow the usual practice and must not go
through the
above-mentioned bureau of foreign
affairs." The Office of the
Commission for
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs at Lhasa received a
telegram, ordering that "The Office should take up all
matters with
the Kashag as usual, not have any
connection with the "bureau of
foreign
affairs" . In 1943 the Tibetan Tsongdu (National
Assembly)
was held at Lhasa. The Tsongdu
accepted the opinion of the Central
Government
concerning the matter of the 'bureau of foreign affairs'
and withdrew the former decision, expressing that
"Tibet should keep
good feeling with the
Central Government and should not sever
relations with
the Office of the central authorities in Tibet."
Ngawang Gyaltsen, general representative of the
Tibet Office in
Nanjing (then moved to Chongqing), was
instructed to convey this
views to the President of
the Nationalist Government personally.
Owing to the
solemn and just stand taken by the Chinese Central
Government, the British imperialists' scheme for the
independence of
Tibet by taking advantage of
establishing the "bureau of foreign
affairs"
went bankrupt.
The incidents of
"Pan-Asian Conference" and "Trade
Mission"were
cooked up by the Kashag under the
British instigation in 1947. The
Central
Government expressed its stern stand through various
channels and resolutely opposed to them.
II. The
Attitude of the Tibet Region towards the Central Government
of China after the Revolution of 1911.
The Dalai Lama and the
Panchen Erdeni are the two most int bestial
Grand
Living Buddhas in Tibet and also the political and religious
leaders. They control the political and religious
power of Tibet. It
is therefore very important to
understand the attitude of the Dalai
Lama and the
Panchen Erdeni towards the relations the Tibet region
and the central government.
1 .
The Thirteenth Dalai Lama's Attitude towards the Central
Government of China
The thirteenth
Dalai Lama extremely hated the British and other
foreign aggressive forces which meddled actively in Tibetan
affairs
by taking advantage of the declining situation of
the late Qing
political power. He called on the
Tibetan people to rise and hit
back the British invasion
in 1904. Afterwards, the Dalai Lama
wavered for a
time due to the error of the Qing's Amban in Tibet and
the combined threats with inducements by the
British. He made some
remarks in contravention to
the historical facts.
In 1919 the
Central Government of the Republic sent special envoys
Zhu Xiu and Li Zhonglian to Tibet. They met the
Dalai Lama and the
Panchen Erdeni, explained the policy
towards Tibet by the Central
Government of the Republic,
removed previous ill will and doubts,
and mediated
between the parties. Through work they made the Tibetan
upper-class personages know the truth, cleared
their doubts and
misgivings, thereby enabling the Dalai
Lama's attitude towards the
central authorities
transformed a great deal, Before leaving Lhasa
Li
Zhonglian and Zhu Xiu were given a farewell banquet in their
honor by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama made
remarks in the banquet
to the effect that he was
not really pro-British. But he had to take
that
stand due to the excessive pressure by the imperial envoy.
He
was very grateful to their visit to Tibet. He
only hoped that the
President would speedily dispatch his
plenipotentiary to solve the
outstanding issues. He
vowed to them he inclined to the interior and
desired to seek for the common well-being of the five
nationalities.
As to the draft Convention of the
Simla Conference, it could also be
amended. Shortly
before Zhu Xiu and Li Zhonglian's entry to Tibet,
the
Dalai Lama also sent Khenpos from the three great
monasteries to
station in Beijing. They were well
received by the Central
Government. In 1924 the
Dalai Lama once again sent Khenpo Kunchok
Jungnas to
Beijing as the general representative of the Tibet Office
in Beijing (also the abbot of the Yonghegong Lama
Temple). He did a
lot of work in the respect of linking
up the relations between Tibet
and the Central Government.
The Dalai Lama sent Khenpo Lozang Pasang
from Wutai
Mountain to Nanjing to have an audience with ChiangKai
-shek to state his views on Tibetan affairs. He
was welcomed by
Chiang Kaishek who sent a letter to
the Dalai lama through him. The
letter read that
'Your Holiness just sent your representative Lozang
Pasang coming Nanjing to state all about Tibetan affairs. I
have
learned your holiness to take a broad and
long-term view and make up
your mind to turn heart and
soul to the party and the state. Looking
into the
western-most frontiers, I am greatly relieved and
assured."
"U-Tsang (the Anterior and
Ulterior Tibet) is contiguous to powerful
neighbours and
it has long been oppressed by the imperialists.
Fortunately, your holiness are deeply conscious of the
righteous
cause and are inclined to the interior
with deep affection." The
Dalai Lama henceforth once
again sent Kunchok Jungnas and others to
call on Yan
Xi-shan, Chairman of the Commission for Mongolian and
Tibetan Affairs. He said in Yan's face that he
received the Dalai
Lama's letter and stated three things:
"a) The Dalai Lama had no
alliance with Britain. He
had to have connections with the British
because of the
geographical contiguity; b) The Dalai Lama was
alleged to have hatred for the Hans. That was the result of
misinformation. The thirteenth Dalai Lama has
time again sent
officials to the interior of China; c)
The Dalai Lama and the
Panchen Erdeni had always
had good feelings with each other. The
misunderstanding
between them was not the fault of the Dalai Lama,
etc." On September 3,1929 Kunchod Jungnas and others
went to the
Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs and stated Tibetan
affairs, repeating the
Dalai Lama's statement. On September 10, 1929
President Chiang Kai-shek received Kunchok Jungnas and his
party.
During the meeting, Kunchok Jungnas conveyed the
Dalai Lama's
statement to Chiang Kai-shek that is,
"no pro-British, no departing
from the Central
Government and welcome the Panchen Lama to return
to
Tibet." From that time on, the Tibetan local
authorities
expressed time and again the desire to
treat the Central Government
honestly; all the Tibetan
administrative, military and foreign
affairs will be
under the management of the Central Government;
resident official in Tibet be dispatched by the Central
Government;
and the draft Convention of the Simla
Conference might be declared
in future by the Dalai Lama
that it should be solved by the Central
Government of
China, etc. In 1930 the Dalai Lama agreed to set up
Tibet
Offices in Nanjing, Beiping and Xikang (Khams).The same year
the Dalai Lama received special envoy from the
Central Government
Liu Manqing at Norbu Lingkha, Lhasa
and conveyed some truth in his
mind in his remarks to
Liu:What I hope for the most is nothing but
the
real peace and real unity in China...? As to the Xikang
incident, he asked the government not to send
ruthless and
tyrannical soldiers to increase the
sufferings of our Tibetan people
there. Better
send an honest and upright official to take over the
areas
concerned. I could order troop withdrawal anytime. Since all
the lands belong to the Chinese territory, it is
unnecessary to
distinguish yours from mine. If armed
confrontation continued, I
could not stop the conflict
because the Tibetan troops are famous
for its bravery.
Moreover, it is extremely worthless to quarrel
between brothers. He also said: The British did try to
entice me,
but I knew I should not forfeit the
sovereignty. Since the nature
and habits between the
British and us are entirely different and not
tolerable. I dealt with them courteously but without
sincerity
whenever they come, However, I have
never given them the slightest
right. If only the internal
relations are consolidated, the Xikang
(Khams)-Tibet
problem would not be difficult to be solved during the
feasts. He urged Liu again and again to surely
convey his letter to
Chiang Kai-shek and take
notes about what he said after going back
her residence to
avoid forgetting. Up to that time, the relations
between Tibet and the Central Government had gradually
become
normalized.
2.
The Ninth Parched Erdeni's Attitude towards Central
Government of
China
In the last
years of the Qing Dynasty, the ninth Panchen Erdeni and
the thirteenth Dalai Lama took concerted actions
and commonly
resisted the invasion of the British
troops. Afterwards, the
contradiction between the
Dalai and the Panchen occurred due to the
British
instigation. The Panchen Lama fled to the interior of China
in 1923. After reaching the interior, the Panchen
Lama was accorded
a grand reception by various circles.
The Panchen Office in Nanjing
was set up in 1929. The
founding declaration of the Office made a
brilliant
exposition with regard to the historical origin of the
relations between Tibet and the Central Govemment
as well as the
changes of the Tibetan situation in
late Qing and early Republic
period and the policy
should be adopted towards Tibetan affairs. It
pointed out that "Tibet originally existed in China.
Since the
period of the Han and Tang Dynasties,
the relations between Tibet
and China had increasingly
become close and intimate. During the
Qing period,
officers and men were dispatched to Tibet to defend the
frontier. Considering the ties of history and
geography, it is
absolutely impossible for Tibet to
separate from China to seek
independence. If China
forfeit Tibet, it would be just like a cart
without spoke. Therefore, the relations between Tibet and
China are
benefited to both sides when united
but hurt to all when split. This
is a matter of
course." "The imperialists even more engaged in
economic and cultural aggression against Tibet.
On the one hand,
they incited the independence of
Tibet... All these troubles were
made by a
handful of pro-British faction. Those people not only
destroyed the ties between Tibet and China, but
also ignored the
interests of Tibet itself. They acted
recklessly and blindly. Both
the God and human being
will be angered..." On May 5, 1931 the
Panchen Lama went to Nanjipg to attend the National
Conference, at
which he delivered a brief speech. On
May 10, 1931 he delivered an
important speech entitled
'Tibet is the territory of China' at the
Third Congress
of the Nanjing New Asia Association. The Panchen Lama
Looked back the origins of historical development
between Tibet and
China, pointed out that "a)Tibet
is the territory of China. If
invaded by the
imperialists, it would be not different from one's
door
being destroyed by others. In that case, it would hardly
avoid
the worries of the teeth without the protection
of the lips. (As the
saying goes in China: If
the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.)
b)
How to unite the Mongolian and Tibetan nationalities into
the
whole Chinese nation? We should devote a lot of
time and energy to
carry out these two things, that is,
making conceded efforts from
the central government down
to the national of the whole country."
The
Great Master Panchen had extensively toured the interior of
China for fourteen years and done a great deal of
work for
safeguarding the unification of the motherland
and strengthening the
unity of the nationalities.
The Great Master Panchen passed away at
Yushu (Jyekundo)
in December 1937. On his deathbed he still did not
forget the unification of the mothetand, He poured out his
head in
his will, saying that "The great aspirations
in my life to the
support of the Central Government, to
the propagation of Buddhist
culture, to the promotion
of the unity of the five nationalities and
to
the joint guarantee of the prosperity of the nation. In the
last
fifteen years or so, l have extensively toured
the interior of
China. I am grateful to the
preferential treatment accorded to
me,witnessed the
respect to Buddhism and the equal treatment to the
Tibetan nationality by the Central Government. I am greatly
consoled
and hence have firmed my conviction... I finally
hope our Tibetans,
officials and common people, monks and
laymen, to make efforts for
restoring good relations
between Tibet and China in the spirit of
national
construction by the five lateralities advocated by the
Central Government. The Dzasa Lamas and the
various Khenpos should
especially succeed my
aspirations well in order to promote their
realization."
After the demise of the
thirteenth Dalai Lama, the Tibetan local
government
jointly chose Rating (Rwa-sgreng) Hutuktu as the regent
in 1934. The decision was approved and Rating was
Conferred upon by
the Nationalist Government, After
taking charge of the Tibetan
political and religious
affairs, he did a lot of work for
safeguarding the
unification of the motherland and opposing the
imperialist aggression. After the outbreak of the
Anti-lapanese War,
Rating personally led
scripture-chanting ceremonies by the three
great
Tibetan monasteries praying for Chinese victory. In 1943 the
Kuomintang held its Sixth Plenary Session. He was
elected as an
alternate member of the executive
committee of the central committee
of that party,
The British imperialists were dissatisfied with
Rating's activities for actively safeguarding the
unification of the
motherland. Then they stirred up the
pro-British splitting forces to
create 'the
Rating Incident" which once again overshadowed the
Tibetan situation.
It is not
difficult to see from the above-mentioned facts that after
the Revolution of 1911, the Dalai Lama and the
Panchen Lama as well
as the broad officials,
monks and laymen, of the Tibetan local
government were
turned heart and souls to the interior of China.
They
all supported the unification of the motherland in their
fundamental stands. Although the British
imperialist aggressive
forces hatched one plot
after another against China in that period,
the
relations between Tibet has not separated from the
jurisdiction
of the Central Government of China and
become "an independent
country."
III. The Proper Handling of the Demise
of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni
as well as Their Reincarnations and
Enthronement by the Central Government of China
During the period of the
Republic of China, the demise and
condolence-offering to the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the
reincarnation, enthronement of the fourteenth
Dalai Lama as well as
the condolence-offering to
the ninth Panchen Erdeni's demise and the
reincarnation,
enthronement of the tenth Panchen Erdeni were all the
eye-catching important event in Tibetan affairs.
The Central
Government properly handlled all these
matters. These demonstrated
that the Central Government
effectively exercised sovereign
jurisdiction
over Tibet.
1. The Condolence-Offering
to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's Demise and
the Supervision
over the Reincarnation, Enthronement of the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama by the Central Governmet of China
The thirteenth Dalai Lama Tubten
Gyatso passed away at Lhasa on
December 17, 1933. The
Silon and the Kashag telegraphed to the
Central
Government care of the Tibet Office in Nanjing on December
20, 1933. The telegram read: "His Holiness
the Dalai Lama passed
away at 7:30 p.m. on the
30th in the 12th month by Tibetan calendar.
The
affairs in Tibet will temporarily be charged by the Silon
and
the Kashag, hoping to keep your minds on your
work and submit this
message to the Central
Government. Details will be notified by
another
telegram." On hearing the sad news, the Central
Government
promptly started to prepare for the
related commendatory and
comforting affairs. The
Nationalist Government issued orders on
December 21,
1933, granting the Dalai the posthumous title of "Great
Master of Patriotism, Magnanimity, Benevolence
and Sagacity." All
the commendation ceremonies
should be grand and given special
favored
treatment, The Executive Yuan should promptly order the
department in charge and the commission concerned
to make
arrangements submitting for implementation to
express the concern
and solicitude by the party and the
state to think of an absent
friend who is far away and
commend the virtuous person." The Central
Government sent Deputy Chief of the General Staff Huang
Musong as
special envoy to offer condolence on
the Dalai's death. He was
responsible for
title-granting and condolence activities. Huang
Musong was accorded grand reception when he reached Lhasa.
The four
Kalons of the Kashag called on him together, On
September 23, 1934,
Huang Musong presided over the
title-granting ceremony and paid
homage to the
demise of the Dalai Lama in the morning. There were
several hundred of clerical and secular officials from the
Silon and
other lower officials who joined the
extremely grand ceremony. The
Gyigyab Khenpo received the
jade album and jade seal on behalf of
the Dalai Lama.
On October 1, 1934, the ceremony of offering
condolence on the Dalai's death was also held in the mousing
hall at
the Potala Palace. During his stay at Lhasa,
Huang had talks with
the Tibetan local
government high-ranking officials many times and
exchanged views concerning the relations between Tibet and
the
Central Government. Though the two sides did not
reach unanimous
agreement on all matters, yet common
consensus was reached on the
question of "Tibet is
the Chinese territory". When Huang Musong left
Tibet, Liu Puchen and Chiang Zhiyu were left behind to stay
in Tibet
permanently. The relations between the Tibet
region and the Central
Government were further
strengthened.
After the discovery of the
thirteenth Dalai Lama's reincarnate soul
boy, the Tibetan
regent Rating Hutuktu sent a telegram to the
Central Government on December 12, 1938, saying that
"on the
occasion of lot-drawing from the gold
urn ceremony when the three
soul boys arrive at Lhasa,
the Central Government should send
representatives
to participate in the ceremony so as to make it more
dependable and pleased by the people far and wide." The
Central
Government attached great importance to this
request. The
Nationalist Government issued an order
on December 28, 1938, saying
that "The Chairman of
the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs Wu
Zhongxin would be sent to preside over the fourteenth
Dalai Lama's reincarnation togather with Rating
Hutuktu." Wu
Zhongxin and his party arrived at
Lhasa on January 15, 1940 and were
accorded a warm
reception. On January 26, 1940, Rating applied for
approval about the exemption of lot-drawing from the gold
urn to the
Dalai Lama's reincarnate soul boy
Lhamo Dondup. Wu Zhongxin
transmitted the application
to the Central Government for approval.
In the meantime,
he went to the Norbu Lingkha Park to examine the
soul
boy. On January 31, Chiang Kaishek, Chairman of the
Executive
Yuan, applied the Nationalist
Government for issuing an order to the
effect that
Lhamo Dondup was approved to succeed the thirteenth
Dalai
as the fourteenth Dalai Lama. On February 5, the Nationalist
Government of China issued an order, saying that
"Lhamo Dondup,the
soul boy from Qinghai, is
very intelligent and exceptional
extraordinary.
It is proved through investigation that he is the
reincarnate of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and should promptly
be
exempted from lot-drawing, thereby ratified to
succeed as the
fourteenth Dalai Lama." And the
Central Government appropriated
400,000 yuan as
the expenses for the enthronement ceremony. On the
eve
of holding enthronement ceremony, there broke out a tea-cup
storm due to the seating of Wu Zhongxin. The
Kashag planned to
arrange the seat of Wu Zhongxin the
same as the Silon or Rating. It
was sternly
refuted by Wu Zhongxin, stating that he was representing
the Central Government. His seating should follow
the old practice
of the Qing Dynasty, namely, to sit
side by side with the Dalai Lama
to embody the
authority and position of the Central Government. The
Tibetan authorities agreed to act accordingly.
During the duration
of his stay in Tibet, Wu Zhongxin
decided through consultation with
the Tibetan
local government to set up "the Office of the
Commission
for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs in
Lhasa". The relations between
Tibet and the
Central Government thus furthered, Wu Zhongxin and his
entourage were accorded a grand send-off ceremony
by the Tibetan
local-government when they left Lhasa.
According to practice the
Tibetan social government
sent Ngawang Gyaltsen leaving for
Chongqing soon
afterwards to express thanks to the Central
Government as well as to express the strong aspirations of
the
Tibetan populace to support the war against Japan
and for national
salvation.
2. The Condolence-Offering to the Demise of the
Ninth Panchen Erdeni
and the Supervision over
the Reincarnation, Enthronement of the
Tenth Panchen
Lama by the Central Government
The ninth
Panchen passed away at Yushu (Jyekundo), Qinghai Province
on December 1, 1937. The Central Government
expressed utmost concern
to the demise of the
Panchen Lama. The Central Government issued an
order
to grant posthumous title of "great Master of Sagacity,
Infinite Wisdom, Defender of the Nation and
Propagation of the
Doctrine" to the late Panchen on
December 22, 1937, and sent Dai
Chuanxian,
Chairman of the Examination Yuan to offer condolence on
the Panchen's death at Ganze. On February 4,
1941, the Great Master
Panchen's hearse was
transported to the Tashilhunpo Monastery. Up to
then
the Great Master Panchen's remains could eternally be
enshrined
there.
After eight long
years' search for the reincarnate soul boy of the
Panchen, Li Zongren, the acting President of the Nationalist
Government issued an order to approve Gongpo
Tseten to succeed as
the tenth Panchen Erdeni on
June 2, 1949. On August 10, the
Nationalist
Government sent Guan Jiyu, Chairman of the Commission
for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs as the special
envoy to supervise
the enthronement ceremony of the tenth
Panchen and granted him the
gold seal and gifts. After
the enthronement ceremony the tenth
Panchen Erdeni
sent a telegram of thanks to Acting President Li
Zongren, saying that "The Panchen Erdenis have received
state favors
for generations and the utmost
munificence. We are grateful for Your
Excellency's
issuing formal decree to approve the succession of the
ninth Panchen's legally constituted authority. We
are indebted to
the sending of special envoy Guan Jiyu
and deputy special envoy Ma
Bufang to Qinghai to
supervise over the enthronement and also
gratefu1 to the
title-granting and the generous gifts. After
acknowledging the receipt of the above-mentioned presents,
we are
deeply grateful to the Central Government. The
enthronement ceremony
was held at the Kumbum
Monastery in compliance with the instructions
on
August 10, 1949. Henceforth, in the days to come I can only
pour
out all my sincerity to the Central Government in
the spirit of the
successive Panchens and the consistent
will to protect all living
creatures. We are
duty-bound to exert all our efforts in the future
so as
to repay the boundless virtue and kindness of the central
Government."
It is thus
clearly seen from the above-mentioned historical facts
about the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas that
the Tibetan local
government reported all the important
Tibetan matters to the Central
Government and dealt with
together with the central special
representatives
after obtaining the approval of the Central
Government. AIl these fully embodied the effective sovereign
jurisdiction over Tibet by the Central
Government. These historical
facts brook no denial and
distortion.
IV. The Tibetan Local
Authorities Attended a Series of Political
Conferences Convened by the Central Government of
China
Now let us have a look at what were
the relations between Tibet and
the Central
Governments during the period of the Republic of China
from sending delegates by the Tibet region to
attend the political
conferences convened by
successive Central Governments, and see
whether or not
Tibet was "an independent country".
In 1913 the parliament was established in
Beijing. It worked out the
Executive Law for the
Election of Parliament Members for the First
Session of Tibet. Its Article One stipulated that the
election of
the senators and the members of the
House of Representatives for the
First Session
must be carried out at the seat of the Government;
Article Two stipulated that the supervision over the
election of
Tibetan members shall be performed by
the Chairman of the Bureau for
Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs; Article Three stipulated that
detailed rules
and regulations shall be drawn up by the election
supervisors. In accordance with this Law, the list of the
following
persons who were elected through
election was made public on May 15,
1913. Senators
from Anterior Tibet: Dondup Norbu, Tashi Drokar, Wang
Geng, Kalon Shatra, Sun Yuyun; alternate members:
Padma Rinchen, Yu
Baoxuan, Sun Jiangdong, Liu Wentong
and Li Anlu; Senators from
Ulterior Tibet: Gyaltsen
Sampo, Fu Xie, Ngawang Yeshe, Gong
Huanchen, Chen
Ke; alternate members: Wang Tse, Ngawang Chosdrak,
Wang
Youling, Hu Jun, Gao Luding. The parliament then was
stipulated
by the first constitution of the
Republic of China, namely, the
Provisional Constitution of
the Republic of China, as the organ of
legislation,
public opinion and of constitution enactment. It
enjoyed the legislative power, right of constitution
enactment,
right of impeachment and the right to
vote. The Tibetan
representatives were elected into the
supreme power organ ---the
Parliament--- to
participate in the state affairs. This fact rightly
demonstrated that Tibet is part of Chinese territory and the
Tibetan
people are one of the members of the big family
of the Chinese
nation.
For the purposes
of strengthening military and financial affairs,
studying the construction plans and organizing the national
representative conference, the interim
Power-Holder Duan Qirui of
the Republic of China
convened a Rehabilitation Conference on
February 1,
1925. The Dalai Lama, the Panchen Erdeni and the Central
Resident Offcial in Tibet Lu Xingqi were
appointed as members of the
Rehabilitation Conference.
During the session, they all sent their
representatives,
that is, Dondup Wanggyal, Lozang Gyaltsen and Zhu
Qinghua, to attend the Conference. The Great Master Panchen
placed
great hope on this Conference. He sent a message
to the participants
of the Conference on January 27, 1925,
hoping that the various
circles to the Conference
"in compliance with public-mindedness will
endeavour to overall planning, benefitting the people and
making the
country rich... Because the Conference
aimed at the public affairs
of the nation, not the
private affairs of one person, one family,
one
party faction or one region." During the Conference the
Great
Master Panchen also submitted a proposal to the
Conference in view
of the domestic situation of tangled
warfare among the warlords,
suggesting to put an end to
the disaster of war and implement the
Republicanization of the five nationalities.
On August 3, 1925, the constitution-drafting
commission was set up.
At the invitation of Duan
Qirui, Kunchok Jungnas from the Tibetan
local government
and Wang Lejie from the Panchen's Council of
Khenpos took part in the important organ as representatives
for
studying and formulating the fundamental law of
the country.
The above-mentioned facts
are only a few examples of the
participation in the state
affairs by the Tibet region together with
the various
provinces and regions. There were some other examples,
such as the National Political Conference
convened by Yuan Shikai in
December 1913; the
Provisional Constitution Conference in March 1914
and
the First Session of the Parliament restored after Li
Yuanhong
succeeding to the Presidency of the Republic in
1916. AIl these
conferences were participated in by
the Tibetan local
representatives.
The
foregoing historical facts demonstrate that though at the
initial stage of the Republic the domestic
situation was unstable
because of the tangled
warfare among the Northern warlords, when the
national conferences with a political nature were convened
by no
matter whatsoever central government, Tibet sent
its representatives
to participate in all these
conferences. This fully demonstrated
that the Tibet
region recognized it as one of the members of China.
On June 17, 1929, the Kuomintang (KMT) convened
the Second Plenary
Session of the Central Committee of
the Third Party Congress in
Nanjing. It adopted a
resolution on Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs.
There
were altogether six articles, namely, 1) A meeting on
Mongolian and Tibetan affairs would be held, ...
Tibet would send
certain number of delegates chosen by
the Dalai and the Panchen Lama
as well as the Tibetan
people to attend the meeting to be held in
the
capital;2) Sending official to go to Mongolia and Tibet
respectively, publicizing the policy of fostering
the Mongolian and
Tibetan nationalities formulated by
the Central Government and its
determination as well as
expressing sympathy and solicitude for the
suffering and hardships of the Mongolian and Tibetan people
and
conducting investigations; 3) A school for
Mongolians and Tibetans
would be set up in the
capital, Fine youngsters would be selected
and
enrolled into the school after passing the examination by
Mongolian and Tibetan areas; 4) Concerning the
rejuvenation of
Mongolian and Tibetan economy and
culture, it should be started with
by taking
measures of developing education; 5) The Commission for
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs should actively
plan and carry out the
above-mentioned projects in
accordance with the administrative
programme and
its implementation procedures; 6) Speeding up the
publicity toward Mongolia and Tibet, expounding that the
Mongolian
and Tibetan nationalities were part of
the whole Chinese nation;
explaining the danger of
the situation in which the Mongolian and
Tibetan
nationalities were located; the sinister schemes designed by
the imperialists; and that the educational
institutions, economic
facilities, the
construction of communications and industries in the
Mongolian and Tibetan areas should be implemented by the
local
government assisted by the Central Government;
only the military and
foreign affairs as well as
the state administration had to be
centralized into
the hand of the Central Government ... etc. In line
with
this resolution the Nationalist Government convened the
meeting
on Mongolian and Tibetan affairs in 1930. The
Resident Official in
Tibet Mr. Lu Xingqi then
was instructed to send letters to the Dalai
Lama
and the Kashag for sending officials to attend the meeting.
The
Kashag promptly replied: "The Han
nationality and the minority
nationalities have always
been of one family, ... Tibetan
nationality
being one of the five nationalities, the Tibetans have a
relation just like the lips and the teeth with
the Han nationality,
sharing weal and woe, There
should not have any reason of separation
from each
other." The Dalai Lama also expressed clearly in his
reply: "In compliance with your invitation l
instantly sent Dzasa of
the Yonghegong Monastery
and the Tibetan Affairs Office Khenpo
Dronyer Lozangwa
to attend the meeting. In addition, I would send
Dronyer from Shangshan Ngawang Gyaltsen and Tsedrung Chophel
Tubten
to attend the meeting from Tibet together with
them. They would set
out within the next few
days..."
The Nationalist Government
convoked the National Conference in 1931.
There were six
delegates from the Anterior Tibet (u), including
Kunchok Jungnas, Chophel Tubten and others; four delegates
from the
Ulterior Tibet (Tsang), including Lozang
Tsultrim, Lozang Gyaltsen
and others, In addition,
there were eight persons, including
Tsultrim Nyima,
attended the conference as the nonvoting delegates.
The
ninth Panchen not only personally attended the conference,
but
also delivered a complimentary speech to the
conference, saying that
"Acting on the behest
of the late Premier, the National Conference
was
convoked, in which the outstanding delegates could be
consulted
carefully, the provisional
constitution could be formulated to
consolidate the
foundation of the nation. The Provisional
Constitution
during the Period of Political Tutelage of the Republic
of China worked out by the Conference was a
fundamental law which
was similar to the
constitution. The Provisional Constitution
stipulated: The territory of China is the various provinces,
Mongolia and Tibet. The conference also decided
that in view of the
difference of languages between the
Mongolian and the Tibet regions
and the interior
of China, the Nationalist Government should
consider the local conditions and properly work out measures
according to the educational policy enacted in
line with the
Provisional Constitution to ensure the
speedy development to the
culture of Mongolia and
Tibet.
Before the convocation of the
conference, a dispute arose between
the delegates of
U-Tsang because of the number of quorum. The
delegates from the udemanded that the Tibetan delegates
should all
be chosen by the Dalai Lama; while the
delegates from the Tsang
demanded that the Tibetan
delegates should equally be distributed
according to the
usual practice of the successive conferences. It is
thus
clear that both the Dalai and the Panchen all wanted to
support
the Central Government.
In
November 1931, the Chinese Kuomintang held its Fourth
National
Congress in Nanjing. The participants to the
Congress from the Tibet
region were: Lozang
Gyaltsen, Kunchok Jungnas, Liu Manqing, Ngawang
Gyaltsen, Kelzang Tsering and others. Kunchok Jungian and
Lozang
Gyaltsen were elected at the Congress as members
of the Executive
Committee of the Central Committee of
the KMT. Afterwards, when the
Fifth National Congress of
Kuomintang was convened, the Tibet region
also sent its
delegates to attend that Congress.
On
April 7, 1932, the Executive Yuan convened the National
Calamity
Conference, The Tibetan local delegates attended
the conference were
Kunchok Jungnas, Lozang Gyaltsen, Liu
Jiaju and Liu Manning. During
the conference the Tibetan
delegates put forward a proposal
concerning
improving the military, political, religious and
educational affairs of Mongolia and Tibet to resist foreign
aggression, We can see the sense of
responsibility and crisis of the
delegates as the
masters of the nation towards the national destiny.
On
January 21, 1932, the Tibet Office representatives in
Nanjing
Kunchok Jungnas, Ngawang Gyaltsen and others
jointly submitted a
report to the Nationalist Government,
the Executive Yuan and the
Commission for Mongolian
and Tibetan Affairs, transmitting the Dalai
Lama's opinion concerning the method of producing Tibetan
delegates.
The report said that in the period of
national calamity, the Central
Government should
concentrate the opinions of the people of the
whole
country to make them into a whole. The production Of the
Tibetan delegates should be elected freely by the
local people so as
to express to the fullest the
patriotic opining of the Tibetan
people. That was
the power of the Tibet region and also the
obligation towards the nation.
In March 1938,
the Kuomintang Provisional National Congress adopted
a
resolution on the organizing of the People's Political
Council.
Article 3, Item B of the organizational
regulation of the Council
stipulated that "The
number of the Tibetan local delegates was two
persons; the recommendation of its candidates must be in
accordance
with the stipulations of the
regulation's Articles 2, 3 and 4, They
should be
produced doubly according to the number of delegates: man
or woman, reached the age of 30 with the
nationality of China,
served in Tibetan local
organs, public or private, or other groups,
famous and familiar with the political and social conditions
at the
localities, trustworthy and prestigious for a
long time." Article 12
of the regulation
stipulated that "The officials at their posts
should not become the senators." Through election the
Nationalist
Government made public the name list
of the First People's Political
Council on June
16, 1938, Sherab Gyatso and Tenzin Gyalpo from the
Tibet
region were elected. On July 5, the First Session of the
People's Political Council was formally held, at
which the proposal
on supporting the Nationalist
Government to carry out the Programme
of National
Reconstruction was adopted. Sherab Gyatso and others
handed in a proposal to the Second Congress of the First
Session
concerning uniting with the will of the border
inhabitants to
enhance the strength of resistance
against Japan. After the ending
of the meeting,
the Anti-Japanese raging tide of the people of all
nationalities of the country was further on the rise. The
Tibetan
people also rose to contribute money, donate
goods and organize
various Anti-Japanese groups going to
the front to comfort the
Anti-Japanese commanders
and soldiers. The Tibetan regent Rating
Hutuktu also
sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek on July 1 , 1939,
expressing his support to the Anti-Japanese far, saying that
"we
would hold sutra-chanting service to the victory
of our army and
curse to the prompt defeat of the
Japanese robbers, continuing to
the final
triumph of our country." The three great monasteries of
Lhasa held a meeting at the Drepung Monastery.
The meeting passed a
public report to the
Nationalist Government, expressing that "Now we
must
drive the enemy out of the Chinese territory and the five
nationalities must be of one heart. For the
country, those who have
money give money; those who
have no money defend the land with their
own bodies. It
is urgent for all circles to cope with the tyrannical
Japanese, hoping to exterminate the Japanese
militarism. It was over
one year that the three
great monasteries of Lhasa had been praying
days
and nights without interruption for the victory of the
country
since the Lugouqiao Bridge Incident." The
Panchen's Council of
Khenpos sent a telegram to
the Chairman of the Commission for
Mongolian and
Tibetan Affairs, saying that "Due to the tyranny of
the Japanese aggressors, the whole country shared
a bitter hatred to
the enemy. Under the influence of
justice, we would certainly win
the victory. We
would support the Central Government in line with
the
unfulfilled wish of the late Great Master, unite the border
people, stabilize the rear, relieve the cares to
the western border,
and try our best to benefit the War of
Resistance against Japan."
The foregoing
historical facts demonstrate that in the period of
Anti-Japanese War, confronting the national calamity, the
Tibetan
people acted and manifested just like the other
nationalities of the
country, warmly loved their
own country and hated the common enemy.
They were by no
means considering themselves as the people of
another country.
On November 15, 1946 the
Nationalist Government convened the
National
Assembly for the preparations of constitutional government.
The Tibetan local government and the Panchen's
Council of Khenpos
sent their delegates to participate in
the Assembly. There were
altogether 10 delegates
from the Tibet region. They were: Tubten
Samphel, Sonam
Wangdui, Tubten Sampu, Tsewang Dondup, Tubten
Trinley, Tubten Tsedan, Tubten Sengye, Jampa Ngawang, Yeshe
Dargye,
Dorji Ngodup and so on; the delegates from the
Panchen's Council of
Khenpos were: Tenjin
Gyaltsen, Ji Jigme, Lamin Yeshe Trultrim,
Tsering Dondup,
Ho Badon, Song Zhishu and others. Tubten Samphel,
the
delegate from the Tibet region was elected the member of the
Presidium. Article 6 of the General Rules of the
Organization of the
Assembly's Credentials Committee
stipulated: "The conveners of the
various
Examination Committees of the Draft Constitution should be
composed of 5 to 9 persons, who would be
appointed from among the
members of the Examination
Committees of the Presidium." In line wlh
this,
the Tibetan delegates took part in the work of various
Examination Committees respectively.
Article 120 of the Constitution of the Republic
of China formulated
by the Assembly stipulated that the
Tibetan autonomous system should
be guaranteed.
Article 168 of the Constitution stipulated that the
status of the various nationalities in the border regions
should be
legally guaranteed by the state. Its
regional autonomy should
specially be fostered.
During the session Chiang Kai-shek and
his wife gave a dinner in
honor of the entire Tibetan
delegates at the official residence on
November 28,
1946; Gyalo Thondup (the Dalai's brother), Qi Jihui
(the
Dalai's elder sister), Dorji Nyima (Qi's husband), Wu
Zhongxin,
Chiang Jinkuo and others were also
present at the dinner, The
above-mentioned Dalai's
relatives then were in Nanjing.
On
March 29, 1948, the National Assembly for constitutional
government was held. There were thirteen
delegates sept by the
Tibetan local government to
attend the Assembly. They were:Tubten
Samphel, Tubten
Tsedun, Jampa Ngawang, Dampa Phuntsok, Tenzin
Tangye, Jampa Tashi, Laixi Gyatso, Sonam Wangdui, Paljor
Trimley,
Kongpo Tsering, Geten Pempa, Khedrub Tamdan and
Sengye Dargyas.
There were eleven delegates sent by
the Panchen's Council of Khenpos
to attend the
Assembly, They were: Tenzin Gyaltsen, Lamin Yeshe
Tsultrim, Ji Jigme, Song Zhishu, Lozang Sherab, Lo Tubten,
Gao
Lozang, Lozang, Ming Toeing, Dampa, and Ji Lo
Xiuying. Tubten
Samphel from the Tibetan local
government was elected as the member
of the
Presidium. There were three legislators from the Tibet
region, namely, Tubten Zangpo, Jampa Ngawang and
Tenzin Damchok;
three controllers: Tubten Tsedun,
Jampa Tashi and Dampa Phuntsok;
there were five
legislators from the Panchen's Council of Khenpos,
namely, Ji Jigme, Tsering Dondup, Tubten Nyima, Lozang
Gyaltsen and
Ngawang Jinpa; three controllers:
Lamin Yeshe Tsultrim, Ji Yujie and
Ho Badon, Lozang
Gyaltsen was also invited as a member to the
National Policy Advisory Committee by the Presidential
Palace.
Judging from the above-mentioned
historical facts, it is absolutely
impossible for
anyone to reach the conclusion that Tibet was "an
independent country". We would like to ask:
how could the highest
organ of power of a
sovereign state admit foreigners as its MPs? How
could
the highest organs of legislation and control of a sovereign
state permit foreigners to exercise such a lofty
power ?
V. The Establishment of the
Bureau of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs (Renamed as the Yuan
for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs) and the
Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs by the Central Government to Strengthen the
Administration over the Tibet Region
After the founding of the Republic of
China, it had strengthened the
administration over Tibet
on the basis of the established practices
of the Yuan,
Ming and Qing dynasties and also specially set up the
corresponding government organs of administration
over Tibet. On
July 19, 1912, the Central Government
decided to set up the Bureau
for Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs (renamed later as the Yuan for
Mongolian and
Tibetan Affairs). It was clearly stipulated that the
Bureau was directly under the leadership of the Premier. All
the
matters relevant to the Mongolian and the Tibet
regions should be
handled by the Bureau (or Yuan) or
transmitted to the Premier for
making final decisions.
After the founding of the Nationalist
Government in Nanjing, the
Commission for Mongolian
and Tibetan Affairs was set up to take
charge of the
administrative affairs in the Mongolian and the Tibet
regions as well as the other ethnic areas in 1929
so as to further
strengthen the administration over the
Tibet region.
After the founding of the
Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs, it
handled the matters of establishing three Tibetan
Affairs offices in Nanjing, Beiping and Xikang(Khams) and of
appropriating expenses for them submitted by the
general
representative of Tibet in Nanjing Kunchok
Jungnas in 1930. The
Commission also examined
and approved the selection of the
directors,
deputy directors of the three Offices as well as the
proposed organizational outlines of the Offices. Afterwards,
in view
of the Tibet regional conditions, the Commission
formulated three
statutes successively:
On January 8, 1934, the Commission made public
the Measures on the
Respects-paying to the Central
Government by the Representatives of
the Dalai and
the Panchen. There were seven articles in the
Measures. It stipulated that the Dalai Lama and the Panchen
Erdeni
should in turn send a representative to Nanjing
to report the
situation of administration of Tibet
every year. The representative
should bring with him the
certificate of appointment and rank or
title as well as
his curriculum vitae to report for duty to the
Commission at the designated date every year. It also
stipulated in
explicit terms that the representative
would pay homage to Dr. Sun
Yat-sen's Mausoleum, call
on the Chairman of the Executive Yuan,
have an audience
with the President of the Nationalist Government,
report the border administration to the Central Government.
The
Central Government would announce the
administrative policy and
other matters.
On February 10, 1936, the Measures on Rewards and
Punishments for
the Lamas were published. There were
twenty-five articles in it. The
requirements and
the ranks of promotion for the rewarded or punished
Lamas
were all specifically stipulated.
On
September 24, 1938, the Commission issued the Measures on
the
Reincarnation of the Lamas. There were thirteen
articles in total.
It clearly stipulated that the
reincarnation of the Dalai Lamas, the
Panchen Erdenis,
Jetsun Dampa Hutuktus and the reincarnation of the
Hutuktus, Nomihans and Panditas in various places ager their
demise
should be reported to the highest administrative
organ in the
locality and transmit to the
Commission for the record. After the
discovery of the
reincarnate soul boy, it should first report to the
highest administrative organ in the locality and then convey
it to
the Commission for investigation and check, then
conducting
lot-drawing respectively... etc.
In addition, the demise of the
thirteenth Dalai Lama, the ninth
Panchen Lama and
paying religious tribute and offering condolences
to
them; the search for the reincarnate soul boys; the
enthronement
and title-granting to the Dalai Lama,
the Panchen Erdeni and other
high-rankiqg monk
officials; the examination and approval of Rating
and
Takdra as Tibetan regents as well as the appointment,
removal
arid rewards to the Tibetan officials, clerical
and secular, etc.,
all the above-mentioned matters were
specifically held responsible
for and handled by the
Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs.
Since the founding of the Commission
for Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs up to 1949, it had
all along carried out its duty. The
contact and
connections with the Commission for Mongolian and
Tibetan Affairs had never interrupted relating to the
affairs
between the Tibetan local government and the
Central Government. It
may be asked that if Tibet
were "an independent country" at that
time,
then, how were the expenses of any country's diplomatic
organs
on earth obliged to apply for appropriation and
borne by the
resident country? Moreover, according
to international practice, the
inter-state affairs were
represented and handled usually through
diplomatic
channels, but the important matters of the Tibet region
were handled through the Commission for Mongolian
and Tibetan
Affairs, not by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. Was that the
acceptable normal way to
carry on contacts between "an independent
country" and another sovereign state?
Past events remain fresh in people's memory, Just
as Francis Bacon,
the British philosopher in the
sixteenth century, said: "Histories
make men
wise," as we look back the values contained in the
above-mentioned historical facts, we are
convinced that through the
review of the
above-mentioned historical facts, the readers would be
able to reach new consensus with us; that is,
with the lapse of
history, the close ties and the
compatriotic affection between the
Tibet region and
the Central Government as well as the Tibetan
people and the people in the interior of the motherland
established
for several hundred years could only
be the longer, the stronger and
the more
consolidated. They could by no means be suddenly severed by
the development of certain historical event or
the outbreak of
social transformations, even to the
extent of all gone, nothing
left.