BOOK REVIEW
Vijay Kranti* writes that, challenging the Chinese art of manufacturing history of convenience, a new book convincingly exposes all those narratives which China has been using as a weapon to make the world accept its colonial occupation of Tibet, East Turkistan and South Mongolia as its ‘internal matters’.
TIBET EXPLAINED – Legal Status, Rights and State Responsibility by Michael van want van Praag AND Miek Boltjes
Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi
Price: Rs. 1250, 319 pp
Since the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) succeeded in replacing the ‘Republic of China’ (ROC) and emerging as the ‘real’ China on global forums like the United Nations, its aggressive expansionist assertion of its identity, rather than subsiding, has only increased. The world looks amused to watch that in addition to laying its claims over ROC-Taiwan, it has expanded its claims about its ‘One China Policy’ about Taiwan also over its colonies like Tibet, East Turkistan (Ch. ‘Xinjiang’) and South Mongolia. These claims look illogical and funny in view of the fact that when Mao’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) occupied these three countries (East Turkistan and S. Mongolia in 1949 and Tibet in 1951) in front of the eyes of living generation of historians and international leaders, all of them were enjoying their status as independent and free countries.
To keep the world community at bay from challenging China against its occupation rule or from raising concerns about ever deteriorating human rights situation in these territories, Beijing has been presenting an aggressive set of narratives and historical claims. For example, it claims that all of these three territories have always been ‘inalienable parts of China’ due to the ‘seamless transition’ from Mongol and Manchu empires to modern day ROC of 1912 and thence to the present-day PRC. Another narrative about Tibet is that the so called ‘Seventeen-Point Agreement’ between the Beijing government and Dalai Lama’s representatives in 1951 in Beijing automatically transferred ‘sovereignty’ of Tibet to China. This, Beijing claims, rules out any right of Tibetan people to exercise any ‘right to self-determination’.
It is interesting to note that since acquiring new economic, military and diplomatic muscles, China has started imposing these claims and narratives as the ‘Gospel Truths’ on the world community, demanding that governments across the world, international bodies, the global media and other opinion forums to follow its diktat about these three colonies. China has not only declared every issue related to these countries as its ‘internal matter’ but also as its ‘core issues’ which none of them can even discuss openly. It wants everyone to refer to the Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongols as ‘ethnic minorities’ of PRC and frowns upon any attempt to term any of them as a ‘country’. This aggression has now reached such level that China now demands that governments and institutions across the world refer to Tibet as ‘Xizang’ – a clear attempt to wipe out even the idea of ‘Tibet’ from international community’s mindscape.
It is in such a situation that an interesting and forceful book, based on nearly ten years of research by two dedicated and committed scholars, has come as a big relief to those who want to see history and related facts being presented without being tainted with China;s coloured narratives. This research includes analysis and engagement with Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan and Manchu historians, experts and non-Chinese historical sources.
This book is one of the most outstanding works of research on Tibet since the country was occupied by China 74 years ago, in 1951. Both of the authors are internationally acknowledged specialists in interstate conflict and international law. Michael is a renowned international law jurist who conducted a major part of this research during his tenure at the School of Historical Studies of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
In an international webinar on this subject, organized by this author, under the aegis of Centre for Himalayn Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE), Michael cautioned the world governments, diplomats, the academics and especially the international media to stop using certain terminology which the Chinese rulers have been trying to spread through a very systematic and refined propaganda. Giving examples he said that referring to the Tibetans, the Uyghurs and the Mongols as ‘ethnic minorities’ of China, amounts to accepting China’s claim that they are integral parts of a wider Chinese population. The reality is that all of them are distinct ‘peoples’ and belong to three different nations, namely Tibet, East Turkistan and Mongolia, ‘occupied’ by China in recent history.
This precaution about using Chinese terminology and narratives blindly is important because in international law an ‘ethnic minority’ in a country may have some rights but they cannot claim full self-determination rights……” This book deals with all such Chinese narratives which Beijing uses to justify its forced occupation of these three countries which functioned as free nations before China colonized them.
What adds to the credibility of this book is that the authors organized long sittings and interactions with about 70 scholars and experts on East and Inner Asia who belonged to these regions and worked in Asia, North America and Europe. The result is that this book, divided into five sections and spread over thirteen chapters, offers meticulously researched and minutely discussed historical facts which challenge and expose every single false narrative of Chinese communist propaganda machine that is focused at claiming ownership of Tibet.
Part-1 of this book has three chapters which deal with PRC’s claim to Tibet, especially China’s narrative that ‘Tibet has always been a part of China’. While the first chapter explains why it matters whether Tibet was or was not historically part of China, the second one narrates why China makes such claims. According to the authors, China’s claims over Tibet have serious impact on India’s sovereignty as it claims over its Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Ladakh purely on the basis of claiming Tibet as a part of China.
Chapter three stands out as one of the most important and impressive part of this book as it logically and graphically exposes present day China’s real historic and legal status vis-à-vis Tibet or other colonies. Through a graphic chart, the authors have visually exposed the hollowness of Chinese claims as it explains the historic time line of all dynasties which ruled over China for 1222 years from 690 AD till 1912, when the modern ‘Republic of China’ was declared and came into existence.
In this chapter, the authors have exposed present day PRC government’s claims over Tibet, East Turkistan and South Mongolia with clinical precision on the basis of expansive footprint of the Mongol and Manchu empires who ruled many other countries and region in addition to China. “This makes very clear why the PRC insists on superimposing the label ‘China’ on the Mongol and Manchu empires, as it is only these empires that exercised authority in large regions of Inner Asia, not only the Chinese Ming Empire.” In other words, the present day communist Chinese rulers are laying their claims over Tibet, ‘Xinjiang’ and South Mongolia simply on the logic that since the Mongols and the Manchus ruled over China while the abovementioned regions were also under their influence; hence they belong to China of today. If such a Chinese logic is applied to other parts of the world, then India can very well claim Australia as an ‘integral part of India’ or New Zeeland would also be entitled to claim India as its part simply because all three were ruled by Britain once.
In Part-2 the book’s focus is on the assessment of the PRC’s historical claim to Tibet. In five chapters, the book analyses the historic relations of Tibet with the Mongol, Ming and Ching Empires. One of these chapters is dedicated to independent modern Tibet between 1912 and 1951.
In two chapters in Part-3, the authors have analyzed and demolished the idea that China’s military action against Tibet and the forced signing of the ’17-Point Agreement’, and the Dalai Lama’s delegation bestowed upon China sovereignty over Tibet.
Through two detailed chapters on the question of Tibet’s right of self-determination in the Part-4 of this book, the authors argue that since Tibetans qualify to be ‘a people’, they have the right to full exercise of self-determination under the prevailing international laws. All Chinese governments since the occupation of Tibet in 1951 have been resisting similar international demands by claiming that Tibet is an ‘integral part of China’.
However, Part-5 appears to be the main highlight of this book as it deals with the international community’s policies and approach towards Tibet. Here, the authors have reminded governments across the world about their obligations under international law which include asking them “not to recognize the PRC’s unlawful seizure and annexation of Tibet’; and to desist from rendering any aid or assistance to the PRC government which helps it to maintain its unlawful occupation of Tibet.
But the most significant. operative part of this chapter and the book is a list of nine policy recommendations by the authors to governments, institutions and media across the world to stop using terminology and taking actions which promote China’s false narratives on Tibet and its other colonies. These points include: desisting from stating that “Tibet is a part of PRC”; refraining from stating that they oppose the idea of independence for Tibet; treating China-Tibet conflict as an international matter and not an ‘internal matter of China’; endorsing Tibetan people’s right to self-determination; never using terms like ‘national minorities’ for Tibet, Uyghurs and Mongols because they reduce their identity to some minor Chinese ethnic groups whereas they have been independent ‘nations’ in recent history; and rejecting and contesting the PRC’s assertion that Tibet is a ‘core interest’ of China.
In short, his book is a rich mine of authentic information on the history of China and its major colonies namely Tibet, East Turkistan and South Mongolia, and will prove invaluable to all researchers, China experts, diplomats, media persons and activists. This is especially so to those looking for authentic answers to the barrage of narratives which Chinese propaganda machinery has been spreading to confuse the world community. A massive appendix of 104 pages with endnotes, bibliography and index also provide additional information, besides enhancing the authenticity of the authors’ research work.
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* Vijay Kranti is a senior Indian journalist, a veteran Tibetologist and a close friend of Tibetan people. Currently he is Chairman, Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (chase).