| From dark past to bright future（1） author： |
| link China Daily 2011-07-12: |
| The peaceful liberation of Tibet was epoch-making, transforming it from a serfdom to a modernized society Editor's note: The Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, on Monday published a white paper on the 60 years since the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Following is the full text: I. Realizing the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet 1. Tibet has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times. China is a unified, multi-ethnic country, and the Tibetan people are important members of the Chinese nation. China's territory and history were created by the Chinese nation, and the Tibetan group, as one of the centuries-old ethnic groups in China, has made important contributions to the creation and development of this unified, multi-ethnic country, and to the formation and evolution of the Chinese nation. Archaeological and academic research findings show that since ancient times the Tibetan people have been closely connected with the Han and other ethnic groups by blood, language, culture and other aspects, and that economic, political and cultural exchanges between Tibet and inland China have never been broken off. In the 13th century the central government of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) formally incorporated Tibet into the central administration by setting up the Supreme Control Commission and Commission for Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs to directly administer the military and political affairs of the Tibet region. Following this, the Yuan central government gradually standardized and institutionalized the administration of Tibet, including directly controlling the local administrative organs of Tibet and exercising the power of appointing local officials in Tibet. It also stationed troops there and conducted censuses. Following the Yuan system, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) government implemented such policies as multiple enfeoffment and tributary trade and established subordinated administrative divisions. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) strengthened the central government's administration of Tibet. In 1653 and 1713 the Qing emperors granted honorific titles to the 5th Dalai Lama and the 5th Panchen Lama, officially establishing the titles of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Erdeni, and their political and religious status in Tibet. In 1727 the Qing court established the post of grand minister resident in Tibet to supervise local administration on behalf of the central authorities. In 1751 the Qing government abolished the system under which the various commandery princes held power, and formally appointed the 7th Dalai Lama to administer the local government of Tibet, and set up the Kashag (cabinet) composed of four Kalons (ministers). In 1793, after dispelling Gurkha invaders, the Qing government promulgated the Ordinance by the Imperial House Concerning Better Governance in Tibet (29 Articles), improving several systems by which the central government administered Tibet. The Ordinance stipulated that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and other Living Buddhas had to follow the procedure of "drawing lots from the golden urn", and that the selected candidate was subject to approval by the central authorities of China. In the Qing Dynasty five Dalai Lamas were selected in this way, but two did not go through the lot-drawing procedure as approved by the Qing emperors. The Qing emperors deposed the 6th Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, in 1706 and the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, in 1904, and again in 1910. The Revolution of 1911 ended the Qing Dynasty, and the Republic of China (1912-1949) was founded. On March 11, 1912 the Republic of China issued its first constitution - the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China - which clarified the central government's sovereignty over Tibet. It clearly stipulated that Tibet was a part of the territory of the Republic of China, and stated that "the Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui and Tibetan peoples are of one, and the five ethnic groups will be of one republic". On July 17 the government set up the Bureau of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs under the State Council. After the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was set up in Nanjing, a Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs was established in 1929 to exercise administrative jurisdiction over Tibet. In 1940 the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs opened an office in Lhasa as the permanent mission of the central government in Tibet. The central government of the Republic of China safeguarded the nation's sovereignty over Tibet in spite of frequent civil wars among warlords in the interior. The 14th Dalai Lama, Dainzin Gyatso, succeeded to the title with the approval of the national government, which waived the lot-drawing convention. No country or government in the world has ever acknowledged the independence of Tibet. |
| (2011-7-12 14:32:00hits:891) |