Published: 10:44 AM, 10 November 2025
Chinese communists want total control over lives of Tibetans
When President of China Xi Jinping at the end of 2022 appointed historian and politician Gao Xiang the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and the President at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and also the President of its affiliate body the Chinese Academy of History, it was a manifestation of his admiration for the past glory of the Qing dynasty in China. Gao Xiang is a specialist on the Qing dynasty.
The CASS is the top national research institution in China that formulates ideology and advises leaders on policy-making. As the Guardian of London has pointed out, the promotion of a historian who has spearheaded rehabilitation of the Qing period has prompted the speculation that the glory of the Qing dynasty is now being invoked to bolster the global ambitions of President Xi.
At the height of the Qing dynasty, the Chinese empire was one of the great powers of the world, spanning the civilizations of Central Asia, Mongolia and Tibet; with an enviable economic prosperity and military might.
But President Xi wants to take modern China one step ahead of the Qing dynasty of the past. Not only does he want to conquer for China all the territories that were once part of the Qing dynasty but also to impose on the vanquished people ‘Chinese characteristics.’ That’s why in 2019, at the launch of the Chinese Academy of History, President Xi mandated that the mission of the newly formed Academy of History was to push a historical narrative with ‘Chinese characteristics.’
President Xi thus wants to impose on the people of the conquered lands not only Chinese rule, but also Chinese language, culture and way of life; in other words the identity of the majority people, the Han identity.
This explains why in Tibet the Qing dynasty had no conflict with the institution of the Dalai Lama, while President Xi, as leader of modern China, is keen to extinguish the institution of the Dalai Lama; or at any rate appoint in Lhasa a puppet Dalai Lama when the 14th Dalai, who is now 90, is no more. For, as long as the Dalai Lama is around, it will be difficult to wean the Tibetans away from Vajrayana Buddhism; a religious institution that endows the people of Tibet with a distinctive identity.
The rule of the Qing dynasty, also called the Manchu dynasty, in China spanned from 1644 to 1912. The territory of the empire grew to treble its size under the preceding Ming dynasty. “There can be no question of subordination of Tibet to Manchu-ruled China,” writes Melvyn C.Goldstein in his magnum opus ‘A History of Modern Tibet.’ But, “Chinese influence in the Lhasa government via the Manchu commissioners (ambans) was marginal. The selection of the 13th Dalai Lama was made without recourse to the lottery system (the method of the golden urn) instituted by the Manchu empire in 1793.” In fact, it was a kind of loose control which many historians have described as ‘suzerainty’ that China had enjoyed over Tibet; as distinct from the present-day sovereignty rule of China over Tibet.
From the early 18th century, when the Chinese presence was consolidated over the plateau, till the end of the Manchu rule in 1912, no less than six Dalai Lamas, from the seventh to the 12th, ruled in Lhasa; interspersed with rules by regents during the infancy of incumbent Dalai Lamas. They had run their land freely, with Chinese control being more symbolic than real. In 1751, the Seventh Dalai carried out a major administrative reform, the formation of the ‘Kashag’ or the Council of Ministers to administer the Tibetan government; and abolished the post of ‘Desi’ to prevent too much concentration of power in one person. Tibetans on their own fought the Dogra War of 1841, the Nepal War of 1857 and the British invasion of 1903-04; without assistance from China. During the reign of the 13th Dalai Lama who died in 1933 Tibet had enjoyed total sovereignty that lasted till the invasion by communist China in 1950.
There was thus little interference with the institution of the Dalai Lama till the military occupation of the plateau in 1950 by the Chinese army, the attempt to arrest the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 and his flight to India. Even from exile, however, the Dalai Lama has continued to guide the Tibetans spiritually. The authorities in Beijing have taken measures like abducting the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important reincarnate lama in the Tibetan hierarchy, and instituting in his place a puppet Panchen. Even then they have failed to erase the influence of the Dalai Lama and that of Buddhism.
Like all authoritarian rulers, the mandarins of the Chinese Communist Party too presume any culture alien to the dominant culture, in the case of China the Han culture, as a threat to their existence. The Chinese government has set up Tibetan children boarding schools where they are brought up in the Han way of life, the medium of instruction is Mandarin Chinese and the study of the Tibetan language is ignored.
To complete the subjugation of the Tibetan people, therefore, President Xi has floated the concept of ‘religion with Chinese characteristics,’ a euphemism for Sinicizing religion. But what does he mean by this?
President Xi himself, while presiding over a group study session of the Chinese Communist Party politburo in September, offered an elaboration of his idea: more laws and regulations to control religious affairs and their stricter enforcement. “Governing religious affairs in accordance with the law is the fundamental way to properly handle various contradictions and problems in the religious field,” he said, according to a Xinhua report quoted in South China Morning Post.
In the context of Tibet, the most relevant part of Xi’s teachings was that religion in China could only be passed down in a healthy manner by always having its roots in Chinese culture. To the chagrin of China, religion in Tibet is firmly rooted in the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism; with its origin in India. To bring the Tibetans under complete subjugation, therefore, President Xi wants total control over the lives of Tibetans. The law is already there to clamp down on the freedom of Tibetans to choose their own Dalai Lama. Rules for the choice of reincarnate lamas were introduced in 2007 by the Chinese Religious Affairs Department. It is no wonder that President Xi is insisting that religious affairs in China must conform to Chinese laws. (By, Linn Maung)
>> Source: Mekong News
The CASS is the top national research institution in China that formulates ideology and advises leaders on policy-making. As the Guardian of London has pointed out, the promotion of a historian who has spearheaded rehabilitation of the Qing period has prompted the speculation that the glory of the Qing dynasty is now being invoked to bolster the global ambitions of President Xi.
At the height of the Qing dynasty, the Chinese empire was one of the great powers of the world, spanning the civilizations of Central Asia, Mongolia and Tibet; with an enviable economic prosperity and military might.
But President Xi wants to take modern China one step ahead of the Qing dynasty of the past. Not only does he want to conquer for China all the territories that were once part of the Qing dynasty but also to impose on the vanquished people ‘Chinese characteristics.’ That’s why in 2019, at the launch of the Chinese Academy of History, President Xi mandated that the mission of the newly formed Academy of History was to push a historical narrative with ‘Chinese characteristics.’
President Xi thus wants to impose on the people of the conquered lands not only Chinese rule, but also Chinese language, culture and way of life; in other words the identity of the majority people, the Han identity.
This explains why in Tibet the Qing dynasty had no conflict with the institution of the Dalai Lama, while President Xi, as leader of modern China, is keen to extinguish the institution of the Dalai Lama; or at any rate appoint in Lhasa a puppet Dalai Lama when the 14th Dalai, who is now 90, is no more. For, as long as the Dalai Lama is around, it will be difficult to wean the Tibetans away from Vajrayana Buddhism; a religious institution that endows the people of Tibet with a distinctive identity.
The rule of the Qing dynasty, also called the Manchu dynasty, in China spanned from 1644 to 1912. The territory of the empire grew to treble its size under the preceding Ming dynasty. “There can be no question of subordination of Tibet to Manchu-ruled China,” writes Melvyn C.Goldstein in his magnum opus ‘A History of Modern Tibet.’ But, “Chinese influence in the Lhasa government via the Manchu commissioners (ambans) was marginal. The selection of the 13th Dalai Lama was made without recourse to the lottery system (the method of the golden urn) instituted by the Manchu empire in 1793.” In fact, it was a kind of loose control which many historians have described as ‘suzerainty’ that China had enjoyed over Tibet; as distinct from the present-day sovereignty rule of China over Tibet.
From the early 18th century, when the Chinese presence was consolidated over the plateau, till the end of the Manchu rule in 1912, no less than six Dalai Lamas, from the seventh to the 12th, ruled in Lhasa; interspersed with rules by regents during the infancy of incumbent Dalai Lamas. They had run their land freely, with Chinese control being more symbolic than real. In 1751, the Seventh Dalai carried out a major administrative reform, the formation of the ‘Kashag’ or the Council of Ministers to administer the Tibetan government; and abolished the post of ‘Desi’ to prevent too much concentration of power in one person. Tibetans on their own fought the Dogra War of 1841, the Nepal War of 1857 and the British invasion of 1903-04; without assistance from China. During the reign of the 13th Dalai Lama who died in 1933 Tibet had enjoyed total sovereignty that lasted till the invasion by communist China in 1950.
There was thus little interference with the institution of the Dalai Lama till the military occupation of the plateau in 1950 by the Chinese army, the attempt to arrest the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 and his flight to India. Even from exile, however, the Dalai Lama has continued to guide the Tibetans spiritually. The authorities in Beijing have taken measures like abducting the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important reincarnate lama in the Tibetan hierarchy, and instituting in his place a puppet Panchen. Even then they have failed to erase the influence of the Dalai Lama and that of Buddhism.
Like all authoritarian rulers, the mandarins of the Chinese Communist Party too presume any culture alien to the dominant culture, in the case of China the Han culture, as a threat to their existence. The Chinese government has set up Tibetan children boarding schools where they are brought up in the Han way of life, the medium of instruction is Mandarin Chinese and the study of the Tibetan language is ignored.
To complete the subjugation of the Tibetan people, therefore, President Xi has floated the concept of ‘religion with Chinese characteristics,’ a euphemism for Sinicizing religion. But what does he mean by this?
President Xi himself, while presiding over a group study session of the Chinese Communist Party politburo in September, offered an elaboration of his idea: more laws and regulations to control religious affairs and their stricter enforcement. “Governing religious affairs in accordance with the law is the fundamental way to properly handle various contradictions and problems in the religious field,” he said, according to a Xinhua report quoted in South China Morning Post.
In the context of Tibet, the most relevant part of Xi’s teachings was that religion in China could only be passed down in a healthy manner by always having its roots in Chinese culture. To the chagrin of China, religion in Tibet is firmly rooted in the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism; with its origin in India. To bring the Tibetans under complete subjugation, therefore, President Xi wants total control over the lives of Tibetans. The law is already there to clamp down on the freedom of Tibetans to choose their own Dalai Lama. Rules for the choice of reincarnate lamas were introduced in 2007 by the Chinese Religious Affairs Department. It is no wonder that President Xi is insisting that religious affairs in China must conform to Chinese laws. (By, Linn Maung)
>> Source: Mekong News
