Tibet and Mongolia

by Erdene

Tibet and Mongolia

Tibet and Mongolia

H went to the anti-China rally during the olympic torch relay in Canberra. He said the Tibetans and Tibet-supporters were outnumbered by the busloads of Chinese by 20 to 1, trying to drown out the protests and the Tibetan flags with their Chinese flags.

Led me to thinking about the relationship between Mongolia and Tibet. Came across some sites before on this issue.

In 1913, Mongolia and Tibet signed a treaty declaring themselves to be independent states. The English translation of the treaty can be found here. Obviously this treaty was not considered legitimate by the rulers of China. Tibet was shortly occupied by Chinese troops, first of the genocides that would culminate in the massacre of millions of Tibetans

I also found an interesting article on the Tibet / Mongolian relationship and shared history. Below is an excerpt:

By the time Mao's successor finally granted the country the status of "Tibetan Autonomous Region" in 1965, the country had seen "1.2 million deaths, the destruction of 6352 monasteries and nunneries, the absorption of two-thirds of Tibet into China, 100,000 Tibetans in labor camps, and extensive deforestation."

And though religious freedom was reestablished, it was done so more nominally than in sincerity. In addition, monetary rewards were offered to Han Chinese willing to uproot and move to Tibet, and the year 1984 saw over 100,000 take up the offer.

asiangypsy.net