Tibet Unrest
A look at recent unrest in Tibet and Tibetan regions of western China and some of the history behind it.
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Tibet reasserts independence after decades of rebuffing attempts by Britain and China to establish control.
Photos: Tibet Tumult
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Mao Zedong proclaims the founding of the People's Republic of China and threatens Tibet with "liberation".
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China enforces a long-held claim to Tibet. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama, aged 15, officially becomes head of state.
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Tibetan leaders are forced to sign a treaty dictated by China. The treaty, known as the "Seventeen Point Agreement," professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion, but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa.
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Mounting resentment against Chinese rule leads to outbreaks of armed resistance.
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The Dalai Lama visits Beijing for talks with Mao, but China still fails to honor the Seventeen Point Agreement.
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Full-scale uprising breaks out in Lhasa. Thousands are said to have died during the suppression of the revolt. The Dalai Lama and most of his ministers flee to northern India, to be followed by some 80,000 other Tibetans.
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Foreign visitors are banned from Tibet.
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Chinese government establishes Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).
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The Cultural Revolution reaches Tibet and results in the destruction of a large number of monasteries and cultural artefacts.
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Foreign visitors are again allowed to enter the country.
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The end of the Cultural Revolution leads to some easing of repression, though large-scale relocation of Han Chinese into Tibet continues.
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The Dalai Lama calls for the establishment of Tibet as a zone of peace and continues to seek dialogue with China, with the aim of achieving genuine self-rule for Tibet within China.
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China imposes martial law after riots break out.
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The Dalai Lama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Talks between China and the Dalai Lama break down.
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The Dalai Lama names a six-year-old boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. The Chinese authorities place the boy under house arrest and designate another six-year-old boy, Gyancain Norbu, as their officially sanctioned Panchen Lama.
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Contacts between the Dalai Lama and Beijing resume.
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A new railway linking Lhasa and the Chinese city of Golmud is opened. The Chinese authorities hail it as a feat of engineering, but critics say it will significantly increase Han Chinese traffic to Tibet and accelerate the undermining of traditional Tibetan culture.
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The Dalai Lama hints at a break with the centuries-old tradition of selecting his successor, saying the Tibetan people should have a role.
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The number of tourists travelling to Tibet hits a record high, up 64 percent from the previous year, at just over four million, Chinese state media say.
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As many as 300 monks march to the center of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa from Drepung monastery to commemorate the anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Nine monks also shout slogans near a main temple in central Lhasa.
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Monks start a hunger strike and there are two attempted suicides as Lhasa's three biggest monasteries are sealed off by thousands of soldiers and police.
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Protests led by Buddhist monks turn violent, with shops and vehicles torched and gunshots echoing through the streets of Lhasa.
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Violence in Tibet spills over into neighboring provinces where Tibetan protesters defy a government crackdown. Protests were reported in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces and in western Gansu province. All are home to sizable Tibetan populations. The government says at least 22 people died in Lhasa violence. Tibetan rights groups say nearly 140 Tibetans were killed, including 19 in Gansu province.
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China blankets Tibetan areas outside of Tibet with troops, where more than half of China's 5.4 million Tibetans live.
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The official Xinhua News Agency says protesters in Garze, a prefecture in Sichuan province, attacked police with knives and stones, killing one policeman. The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said one monk died and another was critically wounded after security agents fired live rounds into the gathering.
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A group of foreign journalists is brought to Lhasa on a strictly controlled tour that appeared part of a government effort to show life is back to normal, but the presence of police throughout the city indicated the capital remains under lockdown.
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A group of monks shouting there was no religious freedom disrupted the carefully orchestrated visit for foreign reporters to Tibet's capital, an embarrassment for China as it tried to show Lhasa was calm following the deadly anti-government riots.
Photos: Tibet Tumult
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The Dalai Lama, in a speech to mark the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising that sent him into exile, said China has overseen a "brutal crackdown" in Tibet since protests shook the Himalayan region last year, part of decades of Chinese oppression that have driven Tibetan culture to the verge of extinction.
Photos: Rallying For Tibet
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Credits:
CBS/AP/BBC
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