[Marxism] An Appeal to the Chinese People from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

[Fei Jiao]

( This is the latest Appeals released by Dalai Lama, for your information or
comments - Fei Jiao)

An Appeal to the Chinese People from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
March 28, 2008

Today, I extend heartfelt greetings to my Chinese brothers and sisters round
the world, particularly to those in the People's Republic of China. In the
light of the recent developments in Tibet, I would like to share with you my
thoughts concerning relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples, and
to make a personal appeal to you all.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in the recent tragic events in
Tibet. I am aware that some Chinese have also died. I feel for the victims
and their families and pray for them. The recent unrest has clearly
demonstrated the gravity of the situation in Tibet and the urgent need to
seek a peaceful and mutually beneficial solution through dialogue. Even at
this juncture I have expressed my willingness to the Chinese authorities to
work together to bring about peace and stability.

Chinese brothers and sisters, I assure you I have no desire to seek Tibet's
separation. Nor do I have any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and
Chinese peoples. On the contrary my commitment has always been to find a
genuine solution to the problem of Tibet that ensures the long-term
interests of both Chinese and Tibetans. My primary concern, as I have
repeated time and again, is to ensure the survival of the Tibetan people's
distinctive culture, language and identity. As a simple monk who strives to
live his daily life according to Buddhist precepts, I assure you of the
sincerity of my motivation.

I have appealed to the leadership of the PRC to clearly understand my
position and work to resolve these problems by "seeking truth from facts." I
urge the Chinese leadership to exercise wisdom and to initiate a meaningful
dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also appeal to them to make sincere
efforts to contribute to the stability and harmony of the PRC and avoid
creating rifts between the nationalities. The state media's portrayal of the
recent events in Tibet, using deceit and distorted images, could sow the
seeds of racial tension with unpredictable long-term consequences. This is
of grave concern to me. Similarly, despite my repeated support for the
Beijing Olympics, the Chinese authorities, with the intention of creating
rift between the Chinese people and myself, assert that I am trying to
sabotage the games. I am encouraged, however, that several Chinese
intellectuals and scholars have also expressed their strong concern about
the Chinese leadership's actions and the potential for adverse long-term
consequences, particularly on relations among different nationalities.

Since ancient times, Tibetan and Chinese peoples have lived as neighbors. In
the two thousand year-old recorded history of our peoples, we have at times
developed friendly relations, even entering into matrimonial alliances,
while at other times we fought each other. However, since Buddhism
flourished in China first before it arrived in Tibet from India, we Tibetans
have historically accorded the Chinese people the respect and affection due
to elder Dharma brothers and sisters. This is something well known to
members of the Chinese community living outside China, some of whom have
attended my Buddhist lectures, as well as pilgrims from mainland China, whom
I have had the privilege to meet. I take heart from these meetings and feel
they may contribute to a better understanding between our two peoples.

The twentieth century witnessed enormous changes in many parts of the world
and Tibet, too, was caught up in this turbulence. Soon after the founding of
the People's Republic of China in 1949, the People's Liberation Army entered
Tibet finally resulting in the 17-Point Agreement concluded between China
and Tibet in May 1951. When I was in Beijing in 1954-55, attending the
National People's Congress, I had the opportunity to meet and develop a
personal friendship with many senior leaders, including Chairman Mao
himself. In fact, Chairman Mao gave me advice on numerous issues, as well as
personal assurances with regard to the future of Tibet. Encouraged by these
assurances, and inspired by the dedication of many of China's revolutionary
leaders of the time, I returned to Tibet full of confidence and optimism.
Some Tibetan members of the Communist Party also had such a hope. After my
return to Lhasa, I made every possible effort to seek genuine autonomy for
Tibet within the family of the People's Republic of China (PRC). I believed
that this would best serve the long-term interests of both the Tibetan and
Chinese peoples.

Unfortunately, tensions, which began to escalate in Tibet from around 1956,
eventually led to the peaceful uprising of March 10, 1959, in Lhasa and my
eventual escape into exile. Although many positive developments have taken
place in Tibet under the PRC's rule, these developments, as the previous
Panchen Lama pointed out in January 1989, were overshadowed by immense
suffering and extensive destruction. Tibetans were compelled to live in a
state of constant fear, while the Chinese government remained suspicious of
them. However, instead of cultivating enmity towards the Chinese leaders
responsible for the ruthless suppression of the Tibetan people, I prayed for
them to become friends, which I expressed in the following lines in a prayer
I composed in 1960, a year after I arrived in India: "May they attain the
wisdom eye discerning right and wrong, And may they abide in the glory of
friendship and love." Many Tibetans, school children among them, recite
these lines in their daily prayers.

In 1974, following serious discussions with my Kashag (cabinet), as well as
the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the then Assembly of the Tibetan
People's Deputies, we decided to find a Middle Way that would seek not to
separate Tibet from China, but would facilitate the peaceful development of
Tibet. Although we had no contact at the time with the PRC - which was in
the midst of the Cultural Revolution - we had already recognized that sooner
or later, we would have to resolve the question of Tibet through
negotiations. We also acknowledged that, at least with regard to
modernization and economic development, it would greatly benefit Tibet if it
remained within the PRC. Although Tibet has a rich and ancient cultural
heritage, it is materially undeveloped.

Situated on the roof of the world, Tibet is the source of many of Asia's
major rivers, therefore, protection of the environment on the Tibetan
plateau is of supreme importance. Since our utmost concern is to safeguard
Tibetan Buddhist culture - rooted as it is in the values of universal
compassion - as well as the Tibetan language and the unique Tibetan
identity, we have worked whole-heartedly towards achieving meaningful
self-rule for all Tibetans. The PRC's constitution provides the right for
nationalities such as the Tibetans to do this.

In 1979, the then Chinese paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping assured my
personal emissary that "except for the independence of Tibet, all other
questions can be negotiated." Since we had already formulated our approach
to seeking a solution to the Tibetan issue within the constitution of the
PRC, we found ourselves well placed to respond to this new opportunity. My
representatives met many times with officials of the PRC. Since renewing our
contacts in 2002, we have had six rounds of talks. However, on the
fundamental issue, there has been no concrete result at all. Nevertheless,
as I have declared many times, I remain firmly committed to the Middle Way
approach and reiterate here my willingness to continue to pursue the process
of dialogue.

This year the Chinese people are proudly and eagerly awaiting the opening of
the Olympic Games. I have, from the start, supported Beijing's being awarded
the opportunity to host the Games. My position remains unchanged. China has
the world's largest population, a long history and an extremely rich
civilization. Today, due to her impressive economic progress, she is
emerging as a great power. This is certainly to be welcomed. But China also
needs to earn the respect and esteem of the global community through the
establishment of an open and harmonious society based on the principles of
transparency, freedom, and the rule of law. For example, to this day victims
of the Tiananmen Square tragedy that adversely affected the lives of so many
Chinese citizens have received neither just redress nor any official
response. Similarly, when thousands of ordinary Chinese in rural areas
suffer injustice at the hands of exploitative and corrupt local officials,
their legitimate complaints are either ignored or met with aggression. I
express these concerns both as a fellow human being and as someone who is
prepared to consider himself a member of the large family that is the
People's Republic of China. In this respect, I appreciate and support
President Hu Jintao's policy of creating a "harmonious society", but this
can only arise on the basis of mutual trust and an atmosphere of freedom,
including freedom of speech and the rule of law. I strongly believe that if
these values are embraced, many important problems relating to minority
nationalities can be resolved, such as the issue of Tibet, as well as
Eastern Turkistan, and Inner Mongolia, where the native people now
constitute only 20% of a total population of 24 million.

I had hoped President Hu Jintao's recent statement that the stability and
safety of Tibet concerns the stability and safety of the country might
herald the dawning of a new era for the resolution of the problem of Tibet.
It is unfortunate that despite my sincere efforts not to separate Tibet from
China, the leaders of the PRC continue to accuse me of being a "separatist".
Similarly, when Tibetans in Lhasa and many other areas spontaneously
protested to express their deep-rooted resentment, the Chinese authorities
immediately accused me of having orchestrated their demonstrations. I have
called for a thorough investigation by a respected body to look into this
allegation.

Chinese brothers and sisters - wherever you may be - with deep concern I
appeal to you to help dispel the misunderstandings between our two
communities. Moreover, I appeal to you to help us find a peaceful, lasting
solution to the problem of Tibet through dialogue in the spirit of
understanding and accommodation.

With my prayers,

Dalai Lama

March 28, 2008