IndexHistory of TibetDalai LamaTraditional lifestyle changed through forced assimilationLanguageReligionSelf-immolationOne China/Single Unified Chinese/Central GovernmentConfucianism/Collective PunishmentConclusion The History of Tibet and China provides a basic understanding of the fundamental issues faced by the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Furthermore, the history of spiritual figures such as the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama provides a better understanding of Tibetan values ​​and cultural relativity. When considering self-immolations in Tibet it is important to discuss the religion and lifestyle of this ethnic minority. When the way of life and religious freedom are threatened by colonial rule, the action of setting oneself on fire makes clearer sense to the reader. Finally, understanding that Tibet doesn't want to be China, they want to be Tibet. Forced assimilation oppresses Tibetan citizens and reinforces China's vision of “One China.” All these factors justify the fact that colonialism is a useful topic when talking about the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayHistory of TibetLocated in southwest China, Tibet has a long history of existence among the various empires and kingdoms of its past. It was in 1913 that the 13th Dalai Lama proclaimed Tibet an independent country after the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty. Under the Dalai Lama, Tibet had its own currency, passports, army and national flag. After the 1948 communist revolution in China, he targeted Tibet and invaded the republic in 1950. With the People's Republic of China in control of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama staged an uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. The uprising did not happened and led him to flee into exile in India. Subsequently, many other Tibetan citizens also fled into exile, which had a drastic impact on religion in Tibet. “In the whole of Tibet in the past there were a total of about 110,000 monks and nuns. Of these, 10,000 fled abroad, leaving around 100,000 left. After the conclusion of the democratic reform, the number of monks and nuns living in monasteries amounted to approximately 7,000 people, or a reduction of 93%. Not only were the spiritual members who left the monasteries destroyed. "Of the 2,500 monasteries that once existed only 70 remained", and 98-99% of the approximately 1,900 monasteries in Kham and Amdo were also destroyed." The People's Republic of China has since controlled Tibet and incorporated the province into China Under Chinese control, the Tibetan people face oppression, incarceration, harsh punishments, human rights violations, and are forced to leave their Tibetan identity behind. Historically, if Tibet had remained an independent country, it would have been the tenth largest nation of the world. After the invasion of Tibet in 1950, China dismembered the territory without regard to ethnic territories and boundaries. Under Chinese control, parts of Tibet were renamed and incorporated into Chinese provinces under the People's Republic of China he invasion of Tibet challenged Tibetan identity and culture. There was Chinese immigration into Tibet with government control over language, religion, culture and identity. Some parts of Tibet today have more Chinese citizens than Tibetans. Under the Chinese government, opportunities have also decreased due to economic development that favors Chinese migrants over the Tibetan minority. Before China's control, Tibet had a separate culture with a different language, religion and traditions, but according to visionof "One China" these values ​​are assimilating into a majority culture. Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama is a title given to a spiritual leader of the Tibetan people under a Buddhist faith. They are the main monks of Tibetan Buddhism and also play a role in the governance of Tibet. The name Dalai Lama is a Mongolian title meaning "Ocean of Wisdom" and according to Buddhist beliefs the Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of a Lama from the past. The concept comes from the Gelug tradition which is one of the major influences of Tibetan culture. Gelug tradition founded in the 14th century follows the teachings of Je Tsongkhapa, a 15th century scholar monk. “This tradition strongly emphasized the monastic system as the basis for the study and practice of the Sutra and Tantra teachings of Lord Shakyamuni.” Tsongkhapa founded the tradition not long after Palden Atisha, an Indian Buddhist master, visited Tibet in the 11th century. Palden Atish's teachings can be traced back to Buddha Shakyamuni, who was the founder of Buddhism. The current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth monk. to hold the title and was born in 1935. He has been in exile since 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Another important Lama in Tibetan culture is the Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was appointed the 11th Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama. a few days after the announcement he was taken into protective custody by China and has not been seen publicly since May 17, 1995. Shortly thereafter the Chinese government appointed Gyaincain Norbu the 11th Panchen due to the disappearance of Tibetans and the Government of Tibet in exiles do not recognize Norbu as the Panchen. They refer to him as the “Panchen Zuma” (false Panchen) or “Gya Panchen” (Chinese Panchen). The Dalai Lama is seen as an enemy of the state because he is at the center of Tibetan culture. which threatens the idea of ​​“One China”. Ethnic Tibetan citizens want to be recognized as a separate ethnicity from the People's Republic of China. “The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China, my statement will not change the past history. History is history. "The traditional way of life has changed through forced assimilation. The Tibetan population practices a lifestyle unique to their culture and ethnic background. The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau in the world. For centuries it has been home to many Tibetan nomads, but has also been subject to severe scrutiny and control by Chinese authorities. Threats to their way of life have put a strain on centuries-old traditions to face challenges such as political pressure, forced resettlement by the Chinese government, climate change and rapid modernization.” The Chinese government is destroying their way of life by moving more than two million nomads from their lands into new urbanized buildings of 2017 by The International Campaign for Tibet talks about the change in their traditional way of life: “On the. they give authorities greater administrative control over people's movements and lifestyles. “Tens of thousands of Tibetan herders have been forced to slaughter their livestock and move into newly built housing colonies in or near cities, abandoning their traditional way of life.” The Chinese government is benefiting financially from the remote region thanks to “large-scale mining of copper, gold, silver, chromium and lithium.” Many Tibetan shepherds have started to appeal to the new policies saying: “Taking away citizens' grazing rights is against the constitution, against national and local laws and one of themain causes of damage to people's survival and lifestyle". Appealing is rare because of the risk of being imprisoned, tortured or killed for speaking out against the government. The ban on traditional grounds has a direct impact on their unique ethnic values ​​and traditions. The man was interviewed about the government's use of the land and explained how culturally the land embodies his religion and values. “Tibetans do not learn the value of the land through science, but through our religion and the way our ancestors have protected our land for thousands of years. The destruction of the land, the mining of the sacred mountains and sacred lakes, is more than pollution and destruction of the environment. It is a violation of our tradition, our religious beliefs and the destruction of the legacy of our ancestors.” Moving them from their lands and moving them into newly built homes near cities forces them to assimilate into the Chinese majority culture. The government does not see land as a cultural factor but simply an economic culture that aids in its “One China” agenda. LanguageThe group of 25 languages ​​descended from ancient Tibetan known as; Tibetan languages ​​are spoken in China, India and Pakistan. The 25 languages ​​include about a dozen major dialect groups and another dozen minor dialect groups. The most common Tibetan language is Standard Tibetan or “Lhasa Tibetan”. It is an official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. An estimated 8 million people speak Tibetan languages ​​worldwide, of which approximately 1.2 million speak Standard Tibetan. Tibetan is separate from the Chinese languages ​​and uses a different alphabet and script. After the invasion of Tibet, Chinese replaced it as the official language in schools and business. Due to college entrance exams being held in Chinese, many young Tibetans are no longer literate in Tibetan. Primary and secondary education is taught in Mandarin, continuing this trend of forced assimilation. For the Tibetan people to be successful they must know how to speak the official language of China and therefore sacrifice their own culture and language. As a result there have been public figures such as Khenpo Kartse, a respected monk, well known for his work to preserve the Tibetan language and culture. Even at the risk of being arrested or punished by Chinese authorities, Kartse held courses teaching the local language. Unfortunately, on December 6, 2013, Kartse was arrested and sentenced behind closed doors. Although he was recently released after serving a 2.5-year sentence, there are reports that he was mistreated while in prison. The International Campaign for Tibet reported that "There was concern for his health in custody as medical problems known before his detention had gone untreated, he was kept in a cold cell and had inadequate food." Religion Many Tibetan Buddhists dedicate their lives to this belief. and take part in religious customs every day. The People's Republic of China wants to control and limit this practice to weaken Tibetan identity. One of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist institutes in the world is under threat from the Chinese government. Located in Sichuan, the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy has appointed Communist Party officials to run the institute. This comes after the center has already faced numerous demolitions and orders to reduce the Buddhist population living there. The reduction in size occurred over several months during which the center was demolished, which involved the use of explosions. The government ordered the population to go from 10,000 to 5,000 by applying more lawsstrict on religious freedom. “The administrative takeover of Larung Gar by party officials demonstrates that the government's goal was not simply to reduce the number of inhabitants of the settlement,” says Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Chinese authorities are also imposing pervasive control and surveillance on every level of activity within religious communities.” Furthermore, monks and nuns expelled from Larung Gar are required to take part in patriotic re-education programmes. “The rehabilitation of those displaced monks and nuns requires studying Chinese policy and regulations regarding Tibet.” Self-immolation Several Tibetan monks and nuns have taken part in self-immolation in the form of setting themselves on fire to protest the Chinese government's oppressive rule. They ask for freedom and respect for human rights. Since March 2009, more than 150 people have set themselves on fire in protest, some as young as 15. In November 2013, a young monk named Tsering Gyal set himself on fire and told his friends a powerful message about self-immolations. He was quoted as saying, “Today I self-immolated for the gathering of Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. My only wish for you is to be united and work for the preservation of the Tibetan language and tradition. If we do these things, Tibetans will reunite." Tsering Gyal was willing to set himself on fire to preserve his Tibetan culture and identity. Another young monk named Sonam Topgyal left a letter before his self-immolation. His letter stated that the oppressive Chinese government is erasing their existence by silencing their culture, religion and traditions, stripping them of everything they are. The letter reads: “The Chinese authorities repress [Tibetans] with their violent and brutal law, demolishing our religion, tradition and culture and causing environmental devastation. Meanwhile, people have absolutely no freedom of expression nor can they express their grievances.” They cannot mourn the loss of themselves because the way they grieve has been taken away from them. The Chinese government's response paralleled the propaganda already available against the protesters. There is no real concern from the government for the well-being of the Tibetans who set themselves on fire, but instead they are using security forces and punishment for the families and communities of the protesters. The few protesters who survived the self-immolation have been detained by the government and little is known about their conditions or whereabouts. The lack of attention from the Chinese government calls into question respect for the lives of minorities. These are human beings willing to die in an extremely painful way in the hope that people will understand their frustration and desperation. One China/One Unitary Chinese/Central GovernmentThe People's Republic of China is made up of a multitude of ethnic minorities. Under the current government, the concept of “One China” or “One unitary Chinese nation” is painting a picture of China as a single country, regardless of ethnic minorities or lack of cultural homogeneity. It is more important for the government that people believe in the idea of ​​“one-china” than in the reality of cultural heterogeneity. Within colonialism there is a group of people who take over another's territory and then impose their own culture on them. As for Tibet, China's invasion and control of the territory is perpetuating colonial values. China forced Tibet to assimilate into the Han Chinese culture by imposing Mandarin Chinese as the official language of Tibet. Secondly, we see that the central relationship between the Dalai.