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Argument: China has aggressively transported ethnic Chinese into Tibet

Supporting Evidence

  • “Proving Truth from Facts”. Released by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile on 7 July 1993 partly in response to China’s white paper.[1] – “Population Transfer
In many regions of Tibet and in the urban areas, Tibetans are already greatly outnumbered by Chinese settlers and administrators. All instruments of political, economic, social and even cultural power in Tibet are in the hands of the Chinese. In reality Tibetans are fast being marginalised and becoming second-class citizens in their own country. The population transfer policy is carried out with the help of Government incentive programs for Chinese to relocate in Tibet. Higher wages, special housing, business and pension benefits are but some of the incentives provided. China’s fourth population census in 1990 put the Chinese population (including a small number of Mongols) in the Tibetan provinces of Kham and Amdo at 4,927,369. However, it is said that there is at least one unregistered Chinese for every two registered ones.
The policy and practice of population transfer is not only a violation of the Fourth 1949 Geneva Convention, it also constitutes a violation of the human rights of the people into whose territory the settlers are being transferred. In Tibet, population transfer presents the greatest threat to the survival of the Tibetan people and culture and is therefore a form of ethnic submersion and cultural genocide.”
  • “Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony – transcripts of speeches and webcast , The Tibet Post” “Today we watch China as it rapidly moves forward. Economic liberalization has led to wealth, modernization and great power. I believe that today’s economic success of both India and China, the two most populated nations with long history of rich culture, is most deserving. With their new-found status, both of these two countries are poised to play important leading role on the world stage. In order to fulfill this role, I believe it is vital for China to have transparency, rule of law and freedom of information. Much of the world is waiting to see how China’s concepts of “harmonious society” and “peaceful rise” would unfold. Today’s China, being a state of many nationalities, a key factor here would be how it ensures the harmony and unity of its various peoples. For this, the equality and the rights of these nationalities to maintain their distinct identities are crucial. With respect to my own homeland Tibet, today many people, both from inside and outside, feel deeply concerned about the consequences of the rapid changes taking place. Every year, the Chinese population inside Tibet is increasing at an alarming rate. And, if we are to judge by the example of the population of Lhasa, there is a real danger that the Tibetans will be reduced to an insignificant minority in their own homeland. This rapid increase in population is also posing serious threat to Tibet’s fragile environment. Being the source of many of Asia’s great rivers, any substantial disturbance in Tibet’s ecology will impact the lives of hundreds of millions. Furthermore, being situated between India and China, the peaceful resolution of the Tibet problem also has important implications for lasting peace and friendly relation between these two great neighbors.”
  • “Tibet Facts No.1: Major Allegations: Key Facts on the Chinese Occupation Invasion and Refugees”. Free Tibet. Retrieved April 19th, 2008 – “Chinese Immigrants Flood Tibet

    • Beijing has admitted a policy of deliberately encouraging Chinese to settle on a long-term basis in Tibet.
    • The influx of Chinese nationals has destabilised the economy. Forced agricultural modernisations led to extensive crop failures and Tibet’s first recorded famine (1960-1962), in which 340,000 Tibetans died. Tibetan farms and grazing lands have been confiscated and incorporated into collectivised and communal farms.
    • Resettlement of Chinese migrants has placed Tibetans in the minority in many areas, including Lhasa, causing chronic unemployment among Tibetans.
    • Official figures put the number of non-Tibetans in the TAR at 79,000. Independent research puts the figure at 250,000 to 300,000, and for the whole of Tibet 5 to 5.5 million Chinese to 4.5 million Tibetans. In Kham and Amdo the Chinese outnumber Tibetans many times over.”
Chinese settlers now dominate the economy of Tibet. The rapid development that is taking place in Tibet is carried out in such a way as to benefit the settler population rather than Tibetans. Chinese control of Tibet is being consolidated by the assimilation of the Tibetan people and economy into China, with the aim of transforming Tibet into a Chinese province. A 1994 study into immigration to Tibet, commissioned by Tibet Support Group UK, concluded that the Chinese government is responsible for having set up a framework which facilitates and encourages migration to Tibet. (New Majority: Chinese Population Transfer Into Tibet, Tibet Support Group 1994).” [see full article]