1950
Radio Beijing announce that: "The task of the
People's Liberation Army for 1950 is to liberate Tibet." 40,000
Chinese troops invade Tibet in October, unprovoked and with
no accepted legal basis for claims of sovereignty. Fifteen
year-old Tenzin Gyatso given full powers to rule as the 14th
Dalai Lama - the Tibetans' spiritual and temporal leader.
1951
China undertakes 17-Point Agreement to refrain from
interfering with Tibet's government and society following negotiation
by the Dalai Lama.
1953
Mao Zedong promises the Dalai Lama that the Chinese will
leave Tibet once 'liberation' is complete.
1954
Dalai Lama meets Chinese leaders who explain the Chinese
presence in Tibet is "to help develop" Tibet.
1959
National Uprising - explosion of Tibetan resistance resulting
in severe crackdown by the Chinese and widespread brutality. An
estimated 430,000 Tibetans are killed (Chinese estimate: 87,000
killed). One hundred thousand Tibetans flee with Dalai Lama into
exile in India.
1960 - 1962
340,000 Tibetan peasants and nomads die in Tibet's first
recorded famines following the destabilisation of the economy after
an influx of Chinese settlers and forced agricultural modernisation.
1965
Chinese formally inaugurate one of Tibet's three provinces
as the 'Tibet Autonomous Region' (TAR).
1966
Thousands of Buddhist monasteries destroyed and tens of
thousands of Tibetans sent to labour camps during the Cultural
Revolution.
1980s
The Dalai Lama starts to make political speeches abroad
and international support for Tibet starts to grow.
1987
Tibetans begin a new era of protest. Since 1990, the number
of political prisoners has doubled. 1988
The Dalai Lama puts forward the ' Strasbourg proposal
' in which he calls for genuine autonomy for Tibet rather than
independence. The following year the Dalai Lama receives the
Nobel Peace Prize.
1995
Six year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the
Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, and his family disappear.
China selects and enthrones another child. Gedhun's location
and safety remain unknown.
1996
China launches a patriotic re-education campaign, removing
photos of the Dalai Lama from monasteries.
1999
The 40th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising marked by
protest in Lhasa.
2000
The 17th Karmapa flees Tibet.
2002-2003
Dalai Lama's envoys establish direct contact with Chinese
government of President Jiang Zemin with two trips (Sept 2002 and
May-June 2003). His Holiness advocates a "Middle-Way-Approach" for
peaceful resolution of the Tibetan issue.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and Lobsang Dondrup sentenced to death for in connection
with a series of explosions.
2003
Lobsang Dondrup executed without fair and proper trial
and without evidence Jan 2003. Tenzin Delek's execution suspended
for 2 years.
Rate of political imprisonment in Eastern Tibet sharply increased.
2004
Tibetans protest their exclusion from World Parliamentary
forum in Mumbai, India. Italian MPs threaten to boycott the Conference.
Decision to exclude overturned and Tibetan Parliament-In-Exile
permitted to attend.
2008
Beijing to host Olympic Games and World Exposition
Free Tibet Campaign uses the term 'Tibet' to refer to the three original provinces
of U'sang, Kham and Amdo (sometimes called Greater Tibet). When the Chinese refer
to Tibet, they invariably mean the Tibet Autonomous Region or TAR, which includes
only U'sang. Amdo and Kham were re-named by the Chinese as the province of Qinghai
and as parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces, respectively. |
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