Politics: Good article on Tibet

History of Tibet before the Chinese Invasion of 1949

by Michael C. van Walt – an international legal scholar and a board member of the International Campaign for Tibet. Reprinted from the Cultural Survival Quarterly. Vol.12 1988 Number 1

This was written around two decades ago, but hits the points concerning Tibet’s legal right to sovereignty so concisely and clearly that it is very much worth a read today. As I read it, I found myself wishing I had had it in hand on the first day of class back when I taught Tibetan Buddhism. Even though the course focused on the religion of Tibet, a mammoth undertaking in itself for just one semester, a fair amount of politics and legal history had to be discussed and understood along the way. This article could serve as a brilliant focal point for those discussions.

The article asks the question: “At what point in history, then, did Tibet cease to exist as a state to become an integral part of China?” The answer in legal terms is, “it didn’t:”

From a legal standpoint, Tibet has to this day not lost its statehood. It is an independent state under illegal occupation. Neither China’s military invasion nor the continuing occupation has transferred the sovereignty of Tibet to China.

Many thanks to Michael C. van Walt for writing the article and thanks to E.D. Kain at the NeoConstant blog for posting it.