China issues 18th white paper on Tibet, marking 66th anniversary of its full annexation

(TibetanReview.net, Mar28’25) – China celebrated on Mar 28 the 66^th anniversary of what it calls Tibetan “serfs emancipation day”, marking its unilateral termination of the 17-point Agreement of 1951 which promised a modicum of autonomy for Tibet, with a flag raising ceremony and the release of a white paper in Tibet’s capital Lhasa.

Earlier, on Mar 10, Tibetans marked the 66^th anniversary of their uprising against the Chinese occupation rule in their homeland with protest rallies in major cities across the free world.

The flag raising ceremony was held on the square in front of the Potala Palace with the singings of China’s national anthem and its battle march song, reported China’s online Tibet news service tb.tibet.cn Mar 28.

Gama Cedain, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, has addressed a gathering on Mar 27 for the occasion, describing what he has called “the abolition of feudal serfdom in Xizang” as “not only a significant milestone in the region’s social development and human rights progress but also a monumental leap in the history of human civilization and global human rights,” according to China’s official Xinhua news agency Mar 27.

On the same day, China’s State Council Information Office released a white paper on Tibet at a press conference in the city.

The white paper, “Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era,” paints a glowing picture of the situation in Tibet Autonomous Region spread over eight main chapters, without addressing the panoply of troublesome issues on which it keep facing gruelling questionings at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The paper makes it clear that “the succession of living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism is carried out in accordance with religious rituals and historical convention,” by which China means with its overriding involvement and approval.

“The central government and governments at all levels in Xizang Autonomous Region strictly follow the Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism and manage the process in accordance with the law,” the white paper said, using its Sinicized name for Tibet and without mentioning the Dalai Lama reincarnation issue specifically.

This is the 18^th white paper China has issued specifically on Tibet since 1992.