1954 Chairman Mao: Long Live Dalai Lama!

1954
Chairman Mao: Long Live Dalai Lama!
Cao Guqiang's article on the honeymoon between Mao Zedong and Dalai Lama, published in Over the Party History, a Chinese journal (in translation):-
In 1954, Dalai Lama visited Beijing to participate the first National People's Congress. On September 11, Mao Zedong received Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama for the first time in Zhongnanhai and they had a long talk ... On September 27, Dalai Lama was elected to be the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the first National People's Congress ... Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama became the youngest state leaders ... Mao Zedong said: "every nation has its own national leader. It is good for Tibet to have leaders like Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama." He also pointed out that in Tibet, people should shout not only "long live Chairman Mao" or
"long live Commander-in-Chief Zhu", but also "long live Dalai Lama" and "long live Panchen Lama". They should display not only the portraits of Chairman Mao and
Commander-in-Chief Zhu, but also that of Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. Mao Zedong practised what he preached: when the Tibetan delegates to the National
Day ceremony chanted "long live the Communist Party" and "long live Chairman Mao", Mao shouted "long live Dalai Lama" and "long live Panchen Lama".
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How he carry out his responsibilities last 55years?
Dalai coterie's secessionist attempts doomed to fail(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-17 06:43
LHASA - Memories of horror were alive again. Rioting that erupted in Lhasa on Friday resembled two previous riots in 1959 and 1989, only in its cruelty and
always indisputable links to peace-preaching Dalai Lama.
On March 10th, more than 300 monks from the Zhaibung Monastery ventured into downtown Lhasa. The monks, who were supposedly converted to peace, were
invective and aggressive, and flagrantly confronted with the security forces. In the Sera Monastery, ten monks held up flags of the so-called Tibetan exile government and shouted "Tibetan independence". In the ensuing days, a few monks
chanted independence slogans and challenged officers who were maintaining order. Lime and boiling water were poured over those around them, and stones rained
down. In blatant attempts to create sensation, three monks in the Zhaibung monastery lacerated their bodies with knives and took pictures of one another, photos that were
to be used to blame others for the harm they inflicted upon themselves, police said.
Affrays turned violent, and losses were grave. The mob on Friday set off a destruction rampage and spared nothing and nobody along their way. Rioters set fire to
buildings, torched dozens of police cars and private vehicles and looted banks, schools and shops. Innocent civilians were stabbed, stoned and scourged. At least 10
died, mostly from burns.
In the shocking degree of cruelty which local Tibetans said they had not seen in their whole lives, "brutal" was an understatement of the true picture, but the word was
only reserved for the mob, and not for the policemen.
Throughout the incident, Lhasa police officers exercised great restraint. They remained patient, professional and were instructed not to use force. In humanitarian
spirit, they even rescued the malicious monks who attempted sensation through hurting themselves. But such restraint was met with even more malice.
Young officers -- fathers, husbands and brothers -- were stoned, lunged, stabbed and clubbed, like any other innocent victim. Twelve of them were badly injured,
two of them critical.
Such hostility was not "non-violence" as Dalai preached, but what the "revered" monk practiced. Religious leaders, local Tibetans and other residents stood out and
condemned the riot.
It is obvious that the latest well-planned sabotage in Lhasa was another bloody exercise of Dalai clique's political conspiracy.
The Dalai coterie fled to India following a failed armed rebellion in 1959, but they were neither willing to say farewell to their privilege under the feudal serfdom, nor
to see a flourishing new Tibet.
From the frequent armed assaults along the border areas in the 1960s, to the bloody Lhasa riot in 1989, the secessionist activities backed by the Dalai clique never
stopped.
In recent years, the Dalai clique has been telling the world that they has stopped seeking "Tibetan independence". However, it is just another huge lie.
In an effort to fan up the international community to link the "Tibet issue" with the Beijing Olympics, he repeatedly preached during his frequent international trips that
the year 2008 is of key importance and the Olympic Games would be the "last chance" for the Tibetans.
How can the Dalai clique justify themselves when the Tibetan Youth Congress vowed to pursue "Tibet independence" at the cost of blood and lives in a March 10
statement, which says "they would never give up the fight for Tibet independence"?
Starting from March 10, the group launched a so-called "Marching to Tibet" in India. Organizers claimed that once they were blocked outside China, they would
stage protests and instigate followers to echo them by making troubles inside China.
After the riot broke out in Lhasa, the Dalai clique maintained real-time contacts through varied channels with the rioters, and dictated instructions to his hard core
devotees and synchronized their moves, police sources say. Evidence again mounted against the Dalai coterie's trumpet for "non-violence", exposing them as a
deceitful bunch.
It has been the common understanding of the international community that Tibet is an inseparable part of China. No country in the world recognizes the so-called
"Tibetan government-in-exile". The series of farces and sabotages by the Dalai clique were strongly opposed by the international community.
On March 10, several Tibetan separatists staged a torch lighting ceremony in front of the ancient archeological site of Olympia of Greece to protest against the
upcoming Games in Beijing. The much-ridiculed episode was soon over when police drove them out.
The "marching to Tibet" in India became another aborted act as the crowd were greeted by Indian police awaiting in the midway.
All these facts have come to say and will continue to prove that the Dalai group's ill-willed attempts to destabilize Tibet, in whatever forms, will not succeed, since
such efforts go against the popular will of the international community and 2.8 million people in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Dalai-backed violence scars Lhasa
(Xinhua)Updated: 2008-03-15 08:51
LHASA -- The riot in Lhasa on Friday has left 12 policemen and servicemen of the armed police gravely injured, in addition to deaths of 10 civilians, a Tibet
Autonomous Region government official said Saturday evening.
Two of the injured policemen are critical, said Zhang Yijiong, deputy Party secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region, at an assembly of local officials in Tibet. "The sabotage has led to great losses of people's lives and property," Zhang said.
According to preliminary statistics, 22 buildings were set on fire and dozens of police and private vehicles were burnt.
A few vandals carrying backpacks filled with stones and bottles of inflammable liquids smashed windows, set fire to vehicles, shops and restaurants Friday afternoon
in a plotted sabotage in the regional capital Friday.
No casualties have been reported among the foreigners in the riots that erupted in Lhasa on Friday, local government said on Saturday.
Witnesses said the unrest started around 1:10 pm on Friday, several people clashed with and stoned the local police around the Ramogia Monastery in downtown
Lhasa.
Rioters began gathering around 2 pm around the Ramogia Monastery, and set fire to shops along two main streets in the capital, and around Jokhang Temple,
Ramogia Monastery and Chomsigkang Market. At least five blazing spots were reported and dense smoke was seen blanketing the area.
A number of shops, banks and hotels were burnt, causing blackouts and interruption of communications in some areas. Shops close to the Jokhang Temple and
Ramogia Monastery were shut down.
A Tibetan government official told Xinhua that there had been enough evidence to prove that the sabotage in Lhasa was "organized, premeditated and masterminded"
by the Dalai clique.
The violence, involving beating, smashing, looting and burning, has disrupted the public order and jeopardized people's lives and property, the official said.
Xinhua reporters in Lhasa saw many rioters were carrying backpacks filled with stones and bottles of inflammable liquids, some holding iron bars, wooden sticks and
long knifes, a sign that the crowd came fully prepared and meant harm.
The mobs assaulted passersby, sparing no women or children, witnesses said. They hit at things along their path, smashing windows, automatic teller machines and
traffic lights. Several clothing shops, restaurants, and mobile phone stores were looted. Bikes, motorcycles and cars were burnt down.
The vandals started burning the local Sifang Supermarket, Landun Shopping Mall and Wenzhou Mall around 3:00 pm Friday, causing more blazing spots. A Muslim
mosque was also set on fire at around 8:30 pm.
There were injuries reported in the violence and the wounded were sent to the hospital. People were also seen burnt by the attackers. But death toll is not yet
available.
GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
Sources told Xinhua that policemen were ordered not to use force against the attacker. But they were forced to use a limited amount of tear gas and fired warning
shots to disperse the desperate crowds.
Xinhua reporters learnt that many policemen on duty were badly injured.
Police have not made any announcement of arrest, but an officer said the search for the vandals could be difficult as the mobs disguised themselves in plain clothes as
ordinary citizens.
Around midnight, fire-fighters and policemen were cleaning the burning wreckages discarded on the Beijing Middle Road, one of the main streets in downtown
Lhasa.
Police cordoned off a few downtown sections and are on close lookout for comeback of violence.
The regional government took emergency measures to rescue residents under attack, reinforced protection for schools, hospitals and gas stations, and required the
government agencies and businesses to ensure safety of their employees.
Local government imposed traffic control on the main streets in Lhasa Friday night and it also informed the citizens of the sabotage through TV, calling for them to
take precautions.

Curbs on Protest in Tibet Lashed by Dalai Lama Gurinder
Osan/Associated PressThe Dalai Lama accused China of

“cultural genocide.”
By SOMINI SENGUPTAPublished: March 17, 2008DHARAMSALA, India —
The Dalai Lama accused China on Sunday of waging “cultural genocide” against his followers in Tibet and called for an international
inquiry into the suppression of protests there, his strongest defense to date of Tibetan Buddhists who have staged an uprising against Chinese rule.
Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesTibetans held a vigil on Sunday in Dharamsala, India, where the Tibetan government in exile is based. Protesters have made more strident demands in recent days
than the Dalai Lama has. Speaking at the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, the Dalai Lama endorsed the right of his people to press grievances peacefully against the Chinese
authorities, and said he would not ask Tibetans to surrender to Chinese military police by midnight on Monday, as Beijing has demanded. He said that he had no
moral authority to do so and that Tibetans had beseeched him not to capitulate to that demand.
“Whether the Chinese government admits it or not, a nation with an ancient cultural heritage is actually facing serious dangers,” the Dalai Lama told reporters during
an emotionally charged news conference here. “Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place.”
His comments reflected the inflamed passions among Tibetans abroad, who view the revolts, the largest since the late 1980s, as a watershed moment.
Some Tibetans hope to press for outright independence from China. They argue that they have an unprecedented political opportunity to push for change as China
prepares to be the host country for the Olympic Games in August and faces intense scrutiny of its human rights record.
The Dalai Lama, 72, who heads the Tibetan government in exile and serves as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, does not call for Tibetan independence and
has remained far more cautious, fearing that the reprisals could worsen in Tibet. But his tone on Sunday and the words he chose to describe the Chinese crackdown
are the strongest he has used since his representatives began negotiations with the Chinese in 2002.
Though the impact of the Dalai Lama’s words was difficult to gauge, they were almost certain to further enrage Beijing. Even as he spoke, there were unconfirmed
reports that demonstrations by ethnic Tibetans had spread to the nearby Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.
The developments also appeared to diminish the Dalai Lama’s hopes of persuading Chinese leaders to allow him to return to Tibet, his goal in talks between his
representatives and Communist Party leaders.
“They have no experience how to deal with problems through talk, only suppress,” he said.
Aides to the Dalai Lama said they had confirmed 80 killings on March 13 and 14 in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, including 26 victims killed just outside Drapchi prison.
Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala said they had also received news that at least two Buddhist monks had set themselves afire in protest. The claims could not be
independently confirmed. China says the death toll in the recent unrest is much lower.
China says Tibet has been part of its territory for hundreds of years. It has exercised full control only since 1951.
Several times during the news conference, the Dalai Lama reminded reporters that he was not calling for secession. “As far as material development concerned, we
get much benefit” from being part of China, he said. He also said he remained supportive of the Olympics’ being held in China but called on the international
community to exercise its “moral responsibility” to remind Beijing about human rights.
Asked whether he endorsed the protests in Tibet, during which, the Chinese authorities say, ethnic Tibetans assaulted Han Chinese, the Dalai Lama said Tibetans
were entitled to air grievances peacefully. “Protest — peaceful way express their deep resentment — is a right,” he said.
The unrest comes during the twilight of the Dalai Lama’s life, during which he has achieved awards and acclaim but little progress to resolve the fate of Tibet, which
he fled for India after a failed uprising in 1959.
China has consolidated its hold on the frontier region, most recently extending a rail line that many Tibetans believe will spread Han Chinese domination.
Some Tibetans say they fear that Beijing is simply waiting for the Dalai Lama to die in hopes that his influence will be difficult to replicate.
The latest clashes in Lhasa are by far the largest since the late 1980s, when China declared martial law and violently suppressed demonstrations there, leaving scores,
perhaps hundreds, of ethnic Tibetans dead. The Dalai Lama said Sunday that he feared such a crackdown again.
“I do feel helpless,” he said. “I feel very sad, very serious, very anxious. Cannot do anything.”
The Dalai Lama said the Chinese ultimatum to Tibetan protesters to surrender reminded him of 1959. Asked if he could stop the protesters from defying the deadline,
he replied, “I have no such power.”
He went on to say that he had spoken with a caller in Tibet on Saturday who said, “Please don’t ask us to stop.” The Dalai Lama promised he would not, even
though he expected the Chinese authorities to suppress the protests with force.
“Now we really need miracle power,” he said, before laughing starkly. “But miracle seems unrealistic.”
He took questions for more than an hour inside a temple in the lap of snow-capped Himalayas. The limits of his influence, and even his “middle path” message of
freedom for Tibetans, rather than total independence for Tibet, came into sharp relief as thousands of mostly young Tibetan exiles raised a chorus of stridently anti-
Chinese slogans and called for outright secession.
“We, the young people, feel independence is our birthright,” said Dolma Choephel, 34, a social worker active with the Tibetan Youth Congress, who went to a
demonstration on Sunday morning outside the gates of the main town temple. “We understand the limitations of the Dalai Lama’s approach. What we got after six
rounds of talks — this violence?”
She was referring to the six negotiating sessions between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Chinese authorities over the past six years.
Just behind where Ms. Choephel stood, Buddhist monks began a hunger strike. Protesters laid Chinese flags on the road, inviting cars and pedestrians to trample
them. Later, thousands streamed down the hill, to Dharamsala town, the largest Tibetan settlement in India. Many had painted their faces with the colors of the
Tibetan flag.
“Long live the Dalai Lama,” they chanted, making it plain that, despite their more radical calls, they remained loyal to him.
For the second consecutive day, protests appeared to have spread into Tibetan-populated regions beyond Tibet. Buddhist monks and the police reportedly clashed
in Abe County in Sichuan Province. A crowd of about 200 Tibetan protesters burned a local police station, according to news agency reports. One witness said a
police officer was killed in the confrontation.
The India-based Tibet Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported that the police had killed at least eight Tibetan protesters. Meanwhile, monks at a
monastery in Qinghai Province defied an order to remain inside the Rongwo Monastery, according to The Associated Press.
A day after Buddhist monks and other Tibetans demonstrated in Xiahe in Gansu Province, residents said the military police had secured the city. Witnesses said
numerous people were injured in Xiahe after the Tibetans hurled rocks and the police responded with tear gas.
Meanwhile, Chinese military police continued to canvass the streets of Lhasa on Sunday in what has become a virtual lockdown of the city. More than 200 transport
vehicles, each carrying as many as 60 military policemen, had moved into the central part of Lhasa, according to a Hong Kong television crew there.
Foreigners were blocked from traveling to Lhasa, while some tourists trapped there during the riots said the authorities were arranging for them to leave. Some
witnesses reported continued unrest in small pockets of the city and described hearing the sound of gunshots.
India has been the host country for Tibetan refugees since the Dalai Lama’s exodus, but on condition that they not protest against the Chinese government on Indian
soil. India’s efforts to improve ties with China in recent years have made the Tibet issue exceptionally tricky. The Dalai Lama, while acknowledging India’s hospitality,
described the government’s official position as “overcautious.”
Hari Kumar contributed reporting from Dharamsala, and Jim Yardley from Beijing.