Aftermath of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising
Much of Lhasa lay in ruins on March 20, 1959.
An estimated 800 artillery shells had pummeled Norbulingka, and Lhasa's three largest monasteries were essentially leveled. The Chinese rounded up thousands of monks, executing many of them. Monasteries and temples all over Lhasa were ransacked.
The remaining members of the Dalai Lama's bodyguard were publicly executed by firing squad.
By the time of the 1964 census, 300,000 Tibetans had gone "missing" in the previous five years, either secretly imprisoned, killed, or in exile.
In the days after the 1959 Uprising, the Chinese government revoked most aspects of Tibet's autonomy, and initiated resettlement and land distribution across the country. The Dalai Lama has remained in exile ever since.
China's central government, in a bid to dilute the Tibetan population and provide jobs for Han Chinese, initiated a "Western China Development Program" in 1978.
As many as 300,000 Han now live in Tibet, 2/3 of them in the capital city. The Tibetan population of Lhasa, in contrast, is only 100,000.
Ethnic Chinese hold the vast majority of government posts.
Return of the Panchen Lama
Beijing allowed the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's second-in-command, to return to Tibet in 1989.
He immediately gave a speech before a crowd of 30,000 of the faithful, decrying the harm being done to Tibet under the PRC. He died five days later at the age of 50, allegedly of a massive heart attack.
Deaths at Drapchi Prison, 1998
On May 1, 1998, the Chinese officials at Drapchi Prison in Tibet ordered hundreds of prisoners, both criminals and political detainees, to participate in a Chinese flag-raising ceremony.
Some of the prisoners began to shout anti-Chinese and pro-Dalai Lama slogans, and prison guards fired shots into the air before returning all the prisoners to their cells.
The prisoners were then severely beaten with belt buckles, rifle butts, and plastic batons, and some were put into solitary confinement for months at a time, according to one young nun who was released from the prison a year later.
Three days later, the prison administration decided to hold the flag-raising ceremony again.
Once more, some of the prisoners began to shout slogans.
Prison official reacted with even more brutality, and five nuns, three monks, and one male criminal were killed by the guards. One man was shot; the rest were beaten to death.
2008 Uprising
On March 10, 2008, Tibetans marked the 49th anniversary of the 1959 uprising by peacefully protesting for the release of imprisoned monks and nuns. Chinese police then broke up the protest with tear gas and gunfire.
The protest resumed for several more days, finally turning into a riot. Tibetan anger was fueled by reports that imprisoned monks and nuns were being mistreated or killed in prison as a reaction to the street demonstrations.Furious Tibetans ransacked and burned the shops of ethnic Chinese immigrants in Lhasa and other cities. The official Chinese media states that 18 people were killed by the rioters.
China immediately cut off access to Tibet for foreign media and tourists.
The unrest spread to neighboring Qinghai (Inner Tibet), Gansu, and Sichuan Provinces. The Chinese government cracked down hard, mobilizing as many as 5,000 troops. Reports indicate that the military killed between 80 and 140 people, and arrested more than 2,300 Tibetans.
The unrest came at a sensitive time for China, which was gearing up for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The situation in Tibet caused increased international scrutiny of Beijing's entire human rights record, leading some foreign leaders to boycott the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Olympic torch-bearers around the world were met by thousands of human rights protestors.
Conclusion
Tibet and China have had a long relationship, fraught with difficulty and change.
At times, the two nations have worked closely together. At other times, they have been at war.
Today, the nation of Tibet does not exist; not one foreign government officially recognizes the Tibetan government-in-exile.
The past teaches us, however, that the geopolitical situation is nothing if not fluid. It is impossible to predict where Tibet and China will stand, relative to one another, one hundred years from now.
