The Situation in Tibet

Abstract

The overall picture of Tibet today is one of complete Chinese control—not in the pre-revolt sense of control through the Dalai Lama, Tibetan officials and institutions, but direct control by Chinese personnel over Chinese institutions reorganized on the Chinese pattern through Chinese heads of departments and Chinese cadres as in China itself.* There is no Tibetan in any position of influence and trust, and all pretence that there is has been dropped, except for photographs with visiting dignitaries. Only one gesture in this connection has been made by the Chinese authorities in the past year and that was to invite the Panchen Lama, Cabinet Minister Ngabu Ngawang Jigme, chief collaborator since the signing of the 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement, and Pangdatshang Topgyay, Chairman of the East Tibetan Autonomous Government and Khamba leader, to Peking. Since they returned to Lhasa, they have not attended any major function. One luncheon party to be given to the “officials of the Panchen Erdeni Conference Committee” in the Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's former summer palace, was suddenly cancelled for the rather specious reason “due to a bad weather forecast from the meteorological department.” Since then persistent rumours have arrived in India that the Panchen Lama has “disappeared” or is dead.