[Buddha-l] Xinjiang vs Tibet

[Christopher Fynn]

Weng-Fai Wong wrote:

> The topic came up during lunch with friends. One commented that Tibet is
> mild compared to Xinjiang. He expects Tibetans to be eventually assimilated
> completely. There are fewer Tibetans, their religion is familiar to
> mainstream Chinese and despite appearances, the idea of a theocracy is not
> supported outside Tibet - esp. by the U.S. 

I don't think Tibetans are calling for a return to a theocracy, least of 
all the Dalai Lama or the Tibetans now living outside Tibet. They may 
want real autonomy or self-determination but not to re-establish a 
theocracy.

> The riot in Lhasa was therefore
> easily put down. And in fact, the Chinese government has been playing hard
> ball with the Tibetans so as to set an example to the Uighurs.

> The Uighurs, on the other hand, is a completely different game. There is a
> consistent history of rebellion and suppression by the power to be in China
> (Mongol, Qing, Nationalist and then Communist governments) - see
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_Uyghur_Autonomous_Region. The Uighurs
> also get the sympathy and perhaps support from the neighboring Turkic
> countries and the greater Islamic brotherhood. Thus the difficulties the
> current riots are presenting to the Chinese government.

OTOH the consistent history of the powers that be in China was first to 
support one Tibetan faction over another and then to bribe some of the 
larger important monasteries with donations which they came to rely on.
The communists of course stopped this then looted the monasteries.

Going back to the old ways of pacifying the Tibetans might be cheaper 
and more effective than maintaining a large and repressive army and 
police force in Tibet.

> Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang together accounts for nearly 1/3 of the land
> area of China. 

If you add to these the Tibetan areas of Sichuan and other province 
together they probably amount to considerably more than 1/3 - then there 
is Inner Mongolia....

> The water resources of Tibet and the oil and gas resources of
> Xinjiang mean that it impossible for any central Chinese government to
> remain in power even at the slightest hint of "letting them go".

China's claims to have "developed" Tibet and helped the Tibetans are 
pretty hollow. I live in Bhutan which is similar culturally to Tibet and 
in the 1950's was far more backward than Tibet was at the time. Bhutan 
has managed to develop just fine without Chinese assistance - and they 
still control their own land, resources etc.

> Any thoughts?

> W.F. Wong