Sharchok Khukta* argues that Tibetans remain ready to return to an autonomous homeland within the People’s Republic of China whereas the Chinese government keeps levelling false accusations and imposing impossible preconditions to prevent talks towards the realisation of this goal.
A person of great political expertise who is like a key to opening the door to Tibetan-Chinese dialogue, a pivotal figure in modern Tibetan history, someone who has always prioritized the happiness of and concern for the suffering of the poor and who worked tirelessly since childhood for equality and the rule of law, someone who sought to transform the backwardness of a system based on aristocratic and sectarian feudalism, someone who sought a global path for Tibet based on the aspirations of the Tibetan people, former Kalon Tripa Gyalo Thondup, an elder brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, passed away at his Taktser home in Kalimpong, India, on February 8, 2025.
During a routine press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on February 10, 2025, a Reuters reporter asked about the passing away of Gyalo Thondup. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, evaded a direct answer and, instead, reiterated the Chinese government’s hardline and indifferent stance which has delayed substantive negotiations on Tibet-China relations.
The reiteration included the Chinese government’s position that the negotiating parties be the Dalai Lama and his personal representatives, that the issue for discussion be the future of the Dalai Lama and, at most, a few people around him, and that there be no discussion on the issue of high-level autonomy for Tibet. It was also stated that the Dalai Lama should stop separatist activities and take the correct path; that he publicly acknowledge that both Tibet and Taiwan are part of China; and that the current Chinese government is the only legitimate government of China. He also stated without any sense of demur that the Central Tibetan Administration is an illegal organization.
The fact that the Chinese government continues to repeat its coercive approach after having failed to seize the opportunity for a negotiated settlement during the lifetime of such selfless former Tibetan leader as Gyalo Thondup, who had a sincere concern for the long-term future of both Tibetans and Chinese, does not augur well for the future relationship between the two sides. Gyalo Thondup was not only the most trusted confidante of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he was also a person who could speak face-to-face, on an equal footing with the top leaders of China on any issue in a direct manner, and there has never been a person like him who could do that. It cannot be that the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson knew nothing about this fact. Nor could he have forgotten about the fact that Gyalo Thondup had already responded to these hardline reiterations of China’s position in a manner that is mutually beneficial to the two sides.
His Holiness has no demands to make for his personal benefits by holding talks with the Chinese government. On the contrary, he enjoys prestige, respect, trust, and devotion among Tibetans, who are the rightful determiners of Tibet’s destiny, and in the international community, that surpassing those of the successive Chinese leaders thus far. At a time when it pretends that there is no such thing as a Tibetan issue and utterly disregards the Central Tibetan Administration, the Chinese government is still unable to ignore His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is no doubt on account of the power of his matchless leadership, personal integrity, and peaceful influence. Even if one were to survey the people in the international community and especially the Tibetan public, there is no doubt about the fact that the trust in His Holiness the Dalai Lama undoubtedly far exceeds that in the leaders of the government of China. It is therefore laughable that China seeks to create the impression that the personal future of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is contingent on the position adopted by a government.
Neither His Holiness the Dalai Lama nor anyone else on the Tibetan side has ever uttered any word seeking high or low level of autonomy for Tibet. Rather, they have publicly made known both in their pronouncements and publications that they have been seeking genuine autonomy. Whether or not this aspiration of the Tibetan people could be fulfilled depended primarily on whether or not there is a will to change the way the boundary of this autonomous territory is demarcated. There is no basis to associate this with separatism, whether internally or externally or secretly. In this regard, His Holiness, in 2008, asked representatives of the Chinese government to come and examine even the documents of the various offices of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Secondly, if the autonomy proposal put forward by the Tibetan side is inconsistent with the law, the Chinese government only needed to clearly state which and which of the provisions of the autonomy proposal from the Tibetan side was in violation thereof. Otherwise, qualifying the discussion on autonomy by bringing in a term called “high level” in order to avoid it defies intelligence.
It has become clear not just to the Tibetan people but also to the rest of the world that the question whether Tibet and Taiwan are part of China has been used by China at all times to create an obstacle to the realization of Sino-Tibetan dialogue. Not rewriting the history of Tibet for the sake of its political future is an exceptionally proper thing to do and is only in keeping with the reality. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the then Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche have repeatedly spoken on this, as has the current Sikyong Penpa Tsering many times. The philosophical foundation of the policy based on the Middle Way Approach is not derived from Tibetan history. Nor at all is the framework of the Tibetan autonomy proposal put forward through the Middle Way Approach based on that history. Rather, it was the Chinese government which has since 1949 been trying create this historical dispute on the Sino-Tibetan dialogue table only in order to play for time. Moreover, a few individuals who lack genuine interest to see the Tibetan issue being resolved through the Middle Way Approach have been making inflammatory remarks saying that the lack of historical basis for this would mean we are empty handed beggars. This puts them in the company of those who agree with China on its lack of genuine interest to resolve the issue of Tibet. This performance is, however, too old and no one with a brain to think could believe it. The time has come to withdraw this meaningless tactic of obstructing progress by relying on a supposed history-based dispute.
As regards the history of Taiwan, it is the domain of people with expertise in the evolution of Taiwan. As Tibetans, we have never believed in playing dirty politics of working to draw the flow of water on others for the sake of our selfish benefits. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a genuine, pre-eminent leader of the people and there is no room for such self-serving policies and discussions for him. There has never been a case where we interfered with Taiwan’s stance on its issue. When a delegation from the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, including myself, made an official visit to Taiwan, some students holding banners calling for Hong Kong’s independence asked to take pictures with us. Even at that time, we did not agree to get involved. Out stand on these things is transparent, unequivocal, and decisive.
In the 1980s, Tibetan representatives – based on a side conversation on a topic that was not part of His Holiness’s vision – and Chinese leaders such as Yang Jianren decided that the central government should get His Holiness to take a stand on whether or not Taiwan is part of China. This decision was a serious mistake of judgment based on an utterly wrong view of the reality. The resentment China showed towards His Holiness with false accusations during his visits to Taiwan after 1990 too lacked merit and interfered with the religious belief of the country’s faithful. In my view, it would be honourable for China to withdraw such hardline policies henceforth.
As the late honourable Mr. Gyalo Thondup repeatedly said, His Holiness and the Tibetan people are not carrying out a separatist movement; rather, they are waiting to return to an autonomous homeland in the great big family, with the eagerness of a people dying to quench their thirst for water.
The late Mr. Gyalo Thondup had a genuine selfless concern for the well-being of both the Chinese and Tibetan peoples, which was one reason why he lived a long life in good health and with a sharp mind. Chinese folks have a saying, “a kind-hearted person lives a long life”.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the soul of the Tibetan people, has reached an advanced age. It is time for the Chinese government to respond in a meaningful way to his unblemished aspiration for the Middle Way solution and the Tibetan people’s single-minded belief in this approach.
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* Sharchok Khukta is a Former Executive Member of the Thirteenth Kashag’s China Response Committee