Sinicization of Tibet

The sinicization of Tibet includes the programs and laws of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to force cultural assimilation in Tibetan areas of China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region and the surrounding Tibetan-designated autonomous areas. The efforts are undertaken by China in order to remake Tibetan culture into mainstream Chinese culture.

The changes, which have been evident since the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1950–51, have been facilitated by a range of economic, social, cultural, religious and political reforms which have been implemented in Tibet by the Chinese government. Critics cite the government-sponsored migration of large numbers of Han Chinese into the Tibet Autonomous Region, deemed Chinese settlements, as a major component of sinicization. Some academics have described it as a form of Han settler colonialism.^[1]^[2]^[3]

According to the Central Tibetan Administration, the government of Tibet in exile, China's policy has allegedly resulted in the disappearance of elements of Tibetan culture; this policy has been called a "cultural genocide".^[4]^[5]^[6] The government in exile says that the policies intend to make Tibet an integral part of China and control desire for Tibetan self-determination. The 14th Dalai Lama and the Central Tibet Administration have characterized sinicization programs as genocide or cultural cleansing.^[7]^[8]

The Chinese government claims that its policies have benefited Tibet, and it also claims that the cultural and social changes which have occurred in Tibet are consequences of modernization. According to the Chinese government, Tibet's economy has expanded; improved services and infrastructure have improved the quality of life of Tibetans, and the Tibetan language and culture have been protected.

^ McGranahan, Carole (17 December 2019). "Chinese Settler Colonialism: Empire and Life in the Tibetan Borderlands". In Gros, Stéphane (ed.). Frontier Tibet: Patterns of Change in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 517–540. doi:10.2307/j.ctvt1sgw7.22. ISBN 978-90-485-4490-5. JSTOR j.ctvt1sgw7.22.
^ Ramanujan, Shaurir (9 December 2022). "Reclaiming the Land of the Snows: Analyzing Chinese Settler Colonialism in Tibet". The Columbia Journal of Asia. 1 (2): 29–36. doi:10.52214/cja.v1i2.10012. ISSN 2832-8558.
^ Wang, Ju-Han Zoe; Roche, Gerald (16 March 2021). "Urbanizing Minority Minzu in the PRC: Insights from the Literature on Settler Colonialism". Modern China. 48 (3): 593–616. doi:10.1177/0097700421995135. ISSN 0097-7004. S2CID 233620981.
^ Burbu, Dawa (2001) China's Tibet Policy, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7007-0474-3, pp 100–124
^ Davidson, Lawrence (2012). Cultural Genocide. Rutgers University Press. pp. 89–111. ISBN 978-0-8135-5243-9. JSTOR j.ctt5hj5jx.
^ Samdup, Tseten (1993) Chinese population – Threat to Tibetan identity Archived 5 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Dalai Lama: 'Cultural genocide' behind self-immolations". BBC News. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
^ T. G. Arya, Central Tibetan Administration, China's 'ethnic unity' bill aimed at complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau through ethnic cleansing: CTA Information Secretary, (15 January 2020), https://tibet.net/chinas-ethnic-unity-bill-aimed-at-complete-sinicization-of-the-tibetan-plateau-through-ethnic-cleansing-cta-information-secretary/ ["China has waged unceasing campaigns at both central and local government level to aggressively consolidate its military occupation of Tibet in the last more than six decades. But this new state-sponsored regulation is seen as a desperately contemplated measure to curb the undiminishing defiance of the Tibetan people and their call for the protection of their identity, for freedom, human rights and for the honourable return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet." "Central Tibetan Administration's Information Secretary Mr T.G. Arya condemned the new ethnic identity law, calling it a measure of ethnic cleansing aimed at complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau. The Secretary also criticised the legislation as a gross violation of the international law and the Chinese constitution." " "What China could not achieve through the sixty years of occupation and repression, now they are trying to achieve it through repressive law. The law aims to achieve complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau through ethnic cleansing. China finds Tibetan language, religion and culture as the main barrier to achieving complete control over the land," Secretary TG Arya told the Tibet News Bureau.]

[1] McGranahan, Carole (17 December 2019). "Chinese Settler Colonialism: Empire and Life in the Tibetan Borderlands". In Gros, Stéphane (ed.). Frontier Tibet: Patterns of Change in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 517–540. doi:10.2307/j.ctvt1sgw7.22. ISBN 978-90-485-4490-5. JSTOR j.ctvt1sgw7.22.

[2] Ramanujan, Shaurir (9 December 2022). "Reclaiming the Land of the Snows: Analyzing Chinese Settler Colonialism in Tibet". The Columbia Journal of Asia. 1 (2): 29–36. doi:10.52214/cja.v1i2.10012. ISSN 2832-8558.

[3] Wang, Ju-Han Zoe; Roche, Gerald (16 March 2021). "Urbanizing Minority Minzu in the PRC: Insights from the Literature on Settler Colonialism". Modern China. 48 (3): 593–616. doi:10.1177/0097700421995135. ISSN 0097-7004. S2CID 233620981.

[4] Burbu, Dawa (2001) China's Tibet Policy, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7007-0474-3, pp 100–124

[5] Davidson, Lawrence (2012). Cultural Genocide. Rutgers University Press. pp. 89–111. ISBN 978-0-8135-5243-9. JSTOR j.ctt5hj5jx.

[Samdup-6] Samdup, Tseten (1993) Chinese population – Threat to Tibetan identity Archived 5 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[7] "Dalai Lama: 'Cultural genocide' behind self-immolations". BBC News. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2020.

[8] T. G. Arya, Central Tibetan Administration, China's 'ethnic unity' bill aimed at complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau through ethnic cleansing: CTA Information Secretary, (15 January 2020), https://tibet.net/chinas-ethnic-unity-bill-aimed-at-complete-sinicization-of-the-tibetan-plateau-through-ethnic-cleansing-cta-information-secretary/ ["China has waged unceasing campaigns at both central and local government level to aggressively consolidate its military occupation of Tibet in the last more than six decades. But this new state-sponsored regulation is seen as a desperately contemplated measure to curb the undiminishing defiance of the Tibetan people and their call for the protection of their identity, for freedom, human rights and for the honourable return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet." "Central Tibetan Administration's Information Secretary Mr T.G. Arya condemned the new ethnic identity law, calling it a measure of ethnic cleansing aimed at complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau. The Secretary also criticised the legislation as a gross violation of the international law and the Chinese constitution." " "What China could not achieve through the sixty years of occupation and repression, now they are trying to achieve it through repressive law. The law aims to achieve complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau through ethnic cleansing. China finds Tibetan language, religion and culture as the main barrier to achieving complete control over the land," Secretary TG Arya told the Tibet News Bureau.]

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