© Penelope Gan – All Rights Reserved – Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre (TRSHC), Darjeeling, INDIA

For centuries Tibet maintained its position as a distinct nation despite China, Mongolia and Britain’s past attempts to exert control over it. Tibet had its own government, religion, language, laws and customs … pretty much like every other nation in the world until the Chinese invaded them in 1949. 

Since then, Tibetans have struggled to regain their freedom and keep their culture intact.

Viewed as ‘inferior’ and ‘backwards’ by their invaders, the Chinese government, through its establishment of colonial political and economic structures have been ruled and treated Tibetans like children, with rampant racism that has led to the de facto segregation of races in Tibet as well as inequitable economic and infrastructure development.

On the latter, central subsidies and investments in Tibet has been channelled to the Chinese administrators and (Chinese) settlers, which have a much higher standard of living today than the Tibetans. Officially, studies and statements have been released with blunt statements stating that the Chinese settlers  ”cannot be expected to live on the local fare. They need good housing, hospitals, cinemas and schools for their children.” Officials have furthermore made it a ‘policy’ to only hire and care for Chinese settlers.

The Tibetan Autonomous Region, which it is formally known as under China’s rule, is the poorest region of China with annual per capita income of less than USD 100 per year. Economic conditions in rural areas are extremely poor with little changes and progress since the first half of the century. Electricity and running water is a novelty, let alone the prospects of having any healthcare or an education system. Clinics, schools, electricity and other social services and infrastructures are for the Chinese settlers, mostly in the central administration areas that are far from the Tibetan communities, making it irrelevant in their lives.

Whilst the Tibetans who live near the Chinese settlements may be casual beneficiaries of government programs that would not exist in their present state but for the Chinese population, they face fierce discrimination and at times repression and brutality.

SOME STATISTICS & FACTS ABOUT TIBET

Size: 2.5 million sq. km.

Capital: Lhasa

Population:6 million Tibetans and an undetermined number of Chinese, most of whom are in Kham and Amdo

Religion: Tibetan Buddhism is practiced by 99% of the Tibetan Population

Language:Tibetan (of the Tibeto-Burmese language family). The official language is Chinese after Chinese occupation in 1959.

Staple Food:Tsampa (roasted barley flour)

National Drink: Salted butter tea

Typical Animals:Wild yak, Bharal (blue) sheep, Musk deer, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, Kyang (wild ass), Pica

Typical Birds:Black necked crane, Lammergeier, Great crested grebe, Bar headed goose, Ruddy shel duck, Ibis-bill

Major Environmental Problems: Rampant deforestation in eastern Tibet; desertification, poaching of large mammals

Average Altitude: 14,000 Feet

Highest Mountain:Chomo Langma (Mt. Everest) 29,028 ft

Average Temperature: July 58º F; January 24º F

Mineral Deposits: Borax, uranium, iron, chromite, gold

Major Rivers:Mekong, Yangtse, Salween, Tsangpo, Yellow, Indus, Karnali

Economy: Tibetans: predominantly in agriculture and animal husbandry. Chinese: predominantly in government, commerce and the service sector

Provinces:U-Tsang (Central Tibet), Amdo (NE Tibet), Kham (SE Tibet)

Bordering Countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China

National Flag: Snow lions with red and blue rays. Outlawed in Tibet

Political and Religious Leader:The 14th Dalai Lama. In exile in Dharamsala, India

Government: Communist (after Chinese occupation in 1959)

Relationship with the People’s Republic of China: Colonial

Legal Status: Occupied