(TibetanReview.net, Aug20’25) – Amid sweeping security measures and tight restrictions on local Tibetans, Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Tibet’s capital Lhasa today to take part in celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The TAR is made up of roughly the western half of what Tibetans consider to be their national homeland.
Leading a central delegation, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, received a warm welcome from people of various ethnic groups in Xizang at the airport and in Lhasa’s city proper, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Aug 20, using the Sincized name for TAR.
The report said Xi was accompanied by Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of the central delegation, as well as Cai Qi, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee. Both Wang and Cai are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, China’s top policy decision-making body, the report noted.
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China began its armed invasion of Tibet following the founding of the PRC on Oct 1, 1949. After overrunning much of eastern Tibet, it forced the Tibetan government at Lhasa to sign what it called an “Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” with threats of all out military assault in 1951. The “agreement” promised a sort of “one country, two systems” status for Tibet.
However, China did not honour any provision of this arrangement and interfered in every aspect of the functioning of the government of Tibet. Matters came to a head when the Tibetan public feared that an invitation to the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s temporal head and spiritual leader, to attend a PLA theatre performance without being accompanied by his security staff, was a plot to kidnap him or worse.
It led to the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa of Mar 10, 1959 when Tibetans turned up en masse to prevent the Dalai Lama from moving out of his Norbulingkha palace for the invitation. China suppressed the largely peaceful Tibetan protests by firing on the protesters indiscriminately. It also bombarded the Potala winter palace of the Dalai Lama, which compelled his escape to India.
China then tore up the 1951 “agreement” and carried out a full takeover of Tibet by announcing the launch of what it called “democratic reforms”, which entailed large-scale killings, arrests, persecution, and imprisonment of people from every section of the Tibetan society.
Meanwhile, Tibet continued to be under military control until a semblance of civilian rule was announced with the launch of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region on Sep 9, 1965.
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Though defined as “autonomous”, TAR is more directly and tightly controlled from Beijing than the other provincial regions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
TAR is made up of Tibet’s traditional U-Tsang province and the Chamdo region of Kham (or Dotoe).
The rest of the Kham province has been annexed to the neighouring Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.
A good section of Kham, namely the Kardzes (Ganzi) region, has been annexed to China’s Sichuan province, which also includes the Ngaba (Aba) region of Amdo.
The Dechen region of Kham has been annexed to China’s Yunnan province.
Qinghai province constitutes the bulk of the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo (or Domey). It also includes the Yulshul (Chinese: Yushu) region of Kham.
Besides, Kanlho (Gannan), a region of Amdo, has been made part of China’s Gansu province.
They are officially defined as autonomous prefectures and counties in those provinces.