Originally Posted by Luke

Regarding to Tibet Issue:

We respect Dalai Lama as a knowledgable person, but I see his political positions hypocritical. About Tibet, the facts are:

1. Mongolians first conquered Tibet in 11th or 12th century, and included Tibet in the Yuan Dynasty, with capital in Beijing, together with Siberia, Xinjiang and Manchuria.

2. Throughout the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, every new Dalai Lama and Panchan Lama must be inaugurated by the government in Beijing. Beijing usually sent some generals to Tibet to represent the central government. But it is true that the central government rarely interfere with the theocracy in Tibet.

3. During the Republic of China, due to the warfares in the rest of China, Tibet nobel lamas did have more autonomy power, but even Americans admitted Tibet as part of China, which can be shown in American documentaries about China through 1930s and 1940s.

4. In 1952, CCP army entered Tibet with little resistance. Dalai Lama and Panchan Lama acceptted the Communist Party and went to Beijing to see Mao in 1954.

5. In 1957 and 1958, national land reform began to spread to Tibet. In Han China, the land were distributed to the peasants from the landlords. In Tibet, the land were given to the serfs and slaves from the monastary nobles. This severely hurt the interest of those high ranking Lamas, which provoked the 1959 Dalai Lama's fleeing.

6. Throughout the cultural revolution, some Tibetan temples were destroyed. But this was not specifically focused on Tibetans, those temples in Han China were also destroyed. It is Mao's mistakes that hurt all China.

7. In 1960s and 1970s, CIA funded and trained those exile Tibetan nobles to fight with Chinese army. During these periods, Dalai Lama never said any thing about "peace".

8. After Nixon's visit, America abandoned Tibet army, and in 1980s, it was almost impossible for Dalai Lama to win anything in the fight. Then, he began his peace advocation.

Nowadays, Dalai Lama has become a "nice" guy with Buddhism thoughts, which most westerners feel curious and exotic. It is good. I would like more people to know about Buddhism thoughts.

Before CCP entered Tibet in 1952, Tibet was under absolute theocracy. Female serfs' skins were often peeled to make drums for religious ceremonies. It was not a peaceful and beautiful story as Dalai Lama tells the westerners. I agree that: after 1959, monastary nobles in Tibet were persecuted, but most of the peasants and serfs gain much more rights than before.