(TibetanReview.net, May23’21) – China marked the 70th anniversary of its annexation of Tibet on May 23 with the release of a white paper and celebrations of “liberation, development and progress,” while insisting that the region was part of it since ancient times. However, the Central Tibetan Administration at Dharamshala, India, countered by saying the day marked 70 years of invasion and occupation rule, marked by violent repression, destruction and assimilation.
Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Party Secretary Wu Yingjie has said May 22, “First and foremost we must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China,” reported Reuters May 22. Wu left no one in any doubt who are the masters of the region, despite China’s claims that Tibetans are the masters.
In its statement for the occasion, the Tibetan Parliament in Exile insisted that Tibet had continued remain an independent nation since the second century BC, until China’s armed invasion and annexation of it in 1951.
It called the 70 years of Chinese occupation rule since then as one of unparalleled violent repression, destruction, killing, and assimilation in the history of Tibet.
It said the “17-Point Agreement” of May 23, 1951 under which it annexed Tibet had no legal validity after it was annulled by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and on which the Tibetan acquiescence was obtained under duress with threats of use of overwhelming armed invasion force.
Besides, the parliament in exile said China itself never adhered to the terms of that so-called agreement even as it was now celebrating the signing of it.
