By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Sept 4: During the commemoration of the 61st anniversary of the Tibetan Democracy day on Thursday, several Taiwanese lawmakers and various Tibet supporters unveiled a book on 17-point treaty in Chinese. The President of the Taiwanese Parliamentary Group for Tibet, MP Freddy Lim said that the book exposed Chinese so-called ‘peaceful liberation’ of Tibet as it revealed series of incidents that have continuously been distorted by the Chinese government.
The Office of Tibet in Taiwan and the Parliamentary support group for Tibet jointly stated the importance of opposing Chinese repression in both the occupied lands. The Independent legislator said that Taiwanese people should be aware of “the oppression of Tibetan people by the CCP detailed in the book [that] serves as a warning to Taiwan to protect what is rightfully theirs”.
Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa also argued that the agreement in 1959 distinctly revealed Tibet as an independent state until the invasion, but noted that Tibetan representatives were forced to sign the treaty under duress. “What has become of Tibet should be a wakeup call for Taiwan and the Taiwanese to protect and defend itself from yet another Tibet-like invasion by China,” he further said.
Fan Yun, a legislator from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said Taiwanese should be wary of the threat from China because Beijing has stepped up military exercises near Taiwan. She noted that the book should serve as guidance for Taiwan and urged extreme caution for any treaty with China, given how the CCP violated each of the points mentioned in the agreement with the Tibetan people.
DPP Legislators Hung Sun-han and Liu Shyh Fang were also present at the event and commended the spirit of the Tibetan struggle and the ongoing activism for over 60 years. MP Fang added that the book was an ‘eye-opener’ for lawmakers in Taiwan.
The Tibetan edition of the book was co-authored by Secretary of OOT Taiwan Sonam Dorjee and CTA official Chung Tsering and subsequently translated into Chinese by former RFA reporter Dhondup Dorjee.
One Response
The tragedy of Afghanistan and Tibet have similar parallels. Just as the Taliban has taken over by force and against the will of the Afghan people, communist China invaded Tibet by military force and occupied Tibet against the will of the people. Just as thousands of Afghans have fled their nation to escape the brutality of the Taliban in the aftermath of Taliban take over, thousands of Tibetans also fled our country to escape the brutality of the Chinese communists. Unfortunately, no Tibetan could even dream of taking a flight to escape from Tibet like many Afghans. We neither had anyone to help us nor anyone voicing their moral support. We had no one to help us or protest on our behalf. Our closest neighbour, India’s first PM Pandit Nehru decided to turn a blind eye to the atrocities communist China committed in Tibet by cozying up to communist regime. India had also forsaken its rights by signing Panchsheel agreement which the Chinese hoodwinked India to sign in order to prevent criticism of Chinese atrocities in occupied Tibet.
Only Tibetans living on the border areas of India, Nepal and Bhutan were able to escape because Tibetans had no mode of transport except to go on foot carrying their Tsampa, utensils and the clothes on their backs. Nobody had any idea how long the journey took nor had the slightest idea about the route that led to neighbouring countries. The only people who were able escape from Kham and Amdo were the resistant fighters who were gradually pushed out by the PLA with their military superiority owing to the latest weapons supplied to them but Stalin’s Russia. Stalin encouraged Mao to “pacify Tibet” and populate it with Chinese colonisers to secure “China’s borders”. The CCP was bank-rolled by Soviet Russia in its civil war with Chang Kaishek’s Republican China and later aggression on Tibet.
Just like the Taliban, driven by fanatical Islamic ideology of killing all infidels, subjugating women, stoning women to death for adultery, amputation of limbs for stealing, Chinese communist’s were driven by their fanatical ideology of killing all those who were “bourgeois”, who were the more affluent people in society. Mao mobilised the red guards to destroy anything that resembled or represented bourgeois morality and regarded them as the enemy of the party and liquidated them. Thus all the ancient monasteries of Tibet were demolished and desecrated and pillaged. The inhabitants were murdered, driven to suicide or sent to gulags to die through hard labour on starvation diet. 1.2 million Tibetans were killed during the madness of the so called Cultural revolution.
Chinese communism knows only violence and terror to cower the population to their will and anyone who refuse to toe their line are regarded as “counter-revolutionaries” to be executed. They will be murdered or jailed for life. The CCP treats women like the Taliban. According to their ethos, women are only good to gratify their sexual urges but will never trust them for any high office. Most Chinese communist leaders are said to have two or three concubines. Today, one of the biggest bribery for Chinese leaders is sexual bribery. It is seen as a privilege by the moneyed and the powerful in China. Since 1949, despite Mao’s claim that “half the sky is held by women” claptrap, there has never been a woman on the Chinese politburo let alone a national leader!
Today, another despicable dictator is committing the same mistakes Mao has by eroding the rights of the Chinese people and occupied peoples like Tibetans. Dictator Xi is again dismantling Tibetan culture, religion and language. He is committing genocide in Tibet, East Turkistan and S Mongolia. The so called “17 point treaty” between the Tibetan Government in Lhasa and Communist Government of China was a facade to hoodwink the international community to give a semblance of Tibet’s consent to the forcible occupation. Tibet was forced to sign on the dotted line against its will with the threat of war. It is therefore null and void.
Taiwan must defend herself with all it’s might because any talk of negotiations with the CCP will be another blunder that Tibet was forced to make and the British made on Hong Kong. Any agreement signed with communist China is not worth the paper it is written on. As Ronald Reagan once said, “communists make promises only to be broken”. We saw that with Sino-Tibet “17 point Treaty” and with Sino-British Joint Declaration, both reneged before the ink had dried on the paper. As the Roman General Vegetius Renatus once said, “if you want peace, prepare for war”. Taiwan must prepare for war to defend its sovereignty, freedom and its way of life. The US is committed to Taiwan not only because its a vibrant democracy but US General Douglas MacArthur referred to Taiwan as the “unsinkable aircraft carrier” in its strategy to contain communism during the Cold War. It stands true to this day! Taiwan has immense strategic value to both the US and Japan. If the Chinese invade, they can expect both the US and Japan involve in Taiwan’s defence. The Chinese can bet on it even though they are playing up the alleged American “desertion” of Afghanistan. There is just no comparison between the two.
Meanwhile all Tibetans must remember the untold misery and oppression Communist China has inflicted upon the people of Tibet and never let our guards down against our enemy. The invasion of our nation, the atrocities the CCP committed upon us must be forever engraved in the hearts of every Tibetan and must be passed onto all future generations. This will be not only keep us fighting for our national liberation but will be a tribute to the thousands of fellow countrymen who have sacrificed their precious life for the restoration of Tibet’s freedom.