"Tibet-China" in English!

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[中英]西藏政教合一封建农奴制与中世纪西欧农奴制                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        人民网4月14日报道  “达赖是旧西藏政教合一农奴制度的总代表。这种农奴制是人类历史上最黑暗的奴隶制，没有任何形式的民主、自由和人权，只有农奴主的特权。”“达赖所追求的‘中间道路’，就是要恢复他昔日的天堂，这是要把获得翻身解放的百万农奴重新打入黑暗的牢笼。这样的‘中间道路’，有谁能够接受呢？” ——外交部新闻发言人姜瑜

记者：外交部新闻发言人姜瑜这番话揭露了达赖所追求的“中间道路”的本质是恢复农奴制度。在历史上，西藏的农奴制度是一种什么样的制度？

张云：１９５９年民主改革前，西藏长期处于政教合一、僧侣和贵族专政的封建农奴制社会，其黑暗、残酷比中世纪西欧的农奴制度有过之而无不及。

旦增伦珠：被称作“西藏通”的英国人查尔斯·贝尔在他的《十三世达赖喇嘛传》中这样写道：“你从欧洲和美洲来到西藏，就会被带回到几百年前，看到一个仍处在封建时代的国家。贵族和绅士对其佃户权力很大。这些佃户是在较肥沃的平原和河谷耕耘的农民。或是身穿羊皮袄游牧在高山峻岭的牧人。”

西藏的农奴主主要是官家、贵族和寺院上层僧侣三大领主。他们不到西藏人口的５％，却占有西藏的全部耕地、牧场、森林、山川以及大部分牲畜。据１７世纪清朝初年统计，当时西藏实有耕地３００多万克（１５克相当于一公顷），其中官家占３０．９％，贵族占２９．６％，寺庙和上层僧侣占３９．５％。１９５９年民主改革前，全西藏有世袭贵族１９７家，大贵族２５家，其中最大的贵族有七八家，每家占有几十个庄园，几万克土地。

张云：农奴超过旧西藏人口的９０％，藏语叫“差巴”（即领种份地，向农奴主支差役的人）和“堆穷”（意为冒烟的小户）。他们不占有土地，没有人身自由，都依附在某一领主的庄园中为生。此外还有占人口５％的“朗生”，他们是世代家奴，没有任何生产资料，也没有丝毫人身自由。

农奴主用差役和高利贷对农奴进行残酷的剥削，农奴成年累月地辛勤劳动，却连温饱也得不到保障，经常要靠借高利贷勉强糊口。法国藏学家亚历山大·达维·尼尔在她的《古老的西藏面对新生的中国》中说，旧西藏，所有农民都是终身负债的农奴，他们身上还有着苛捐杂税和沉重的徭役：“完全失去了一切人的自由，一年更比一年穷”。

孟广林：据我所知，大约在１０世纪，农奴制在西欧基本形成。正如马克思所说的那样，农奴制是人类历史上的一种主要奴役形式，是封建剥削制度最本质的体现。

农奴是西欧封建社会的一种农业劳动者。在封建土地所有制的基础上，封建领主占有了土地等生产资料，以人身依附关系为纽带，采用“超经济强制”的力量来奴役农奴，即用经济外的政治、法律、习俗等对他们人身控制，以榨取他们的剩余劳动。农奴在三个方面屈从于主人。第一，他人身不自由，是属于主人的财产；第二，他耕种的土地是主人的，依附于主人；第三，他法律上和主人没有平等的地位，接受领主法庭的审判。

记者：农奴政治上毫无权利，经济上受到压榨，只能年复一年地劳动。看来，西欧中世纪的农奴制与西藏的政教合一体制下的封建农奴制是很相似的。

孟广林：是的，作为农奴制的本质，两者是一样的。这就是：对劳动者生产资料与劳动成果的剥夺；对劳动者人性尊严高贵的蔑视；对劳动者主体权利与创造精神的压制。

这种制度是传统社会中人身依附关系的集中体现，表现为“直接的统治和依附关系”。在这种关系中，人性、人格、人权、人道都受到摧残，人的高贵价值沦为领主权和神权的祭品。

张云：在旧西藏，农奴主占有农奴的人身，把农奴当作自己的私有财产随意支配，可以买卖、转让、赠送、抵债和交换。旧西藏通行了几百年的《十三法典》和《十六法典》，将人分成三等九级，明确规定人们在法律上的地位不平等。农奴主运用成文法或习惯法，设立监狱或私牢。地方政府有法庭、监狱，大寺庙也设法庭、监狱，领主还可在自己的庄园私设监狱。刑罚极为野蛮残酷，如剜目、割耳、断手、剁脚、抽筋、投水等。在西藏最大的寺庙之一甘丹寺就有许多手铐、脚镣、棍棒和用来剜目、抽筋等的残酷刑具。

因此，西藏政教合一的封建农奴制度是僧侣和贵族联合专政的制度，“这种农奴制下的广大农奴，没有任何形式的民主、自由和人权，只有农奴主的特权。”

孟广林：从前面的讲述来看，西藏政教合一的封建农奴制社会，其黑暗、残酷的确比中世纪欧洲的农奴制度有过之而无不及。

只有从这种体制的锁链中挣脱出来，获得自由解放，才能迸发出巨大的主动性与创造性，才能推动历史的真正发展。正如马克思指出的那样，“任何一种解放都是把人的世界和人的关系还给人自己。”

在封建农奴制下神权对人的精神控制

“为了理解２０世纪的西藏历史，就有必要明了西藏在很多基本方面仍然是一个前现代的神权政体，而并非由于任何非同寻常的与世隔绝。”

——美国著名藏学家、人类学家梅尔温·戈斯坦

记者：在封建农奴制度下，无论是旧西藏还是中世纪西欧，神权对公众精神的控制与禁锢，在剥夺了农奴的人身自由之外，又剥夺了普通百姓思想的自由。这是不是其黑暗的又一面？

孟广林：的确，对人们的思想取向和行为规范的禁锢，正是黑暗的封建农奴制的一个突出表现。中世纪的欧洲虽然不完全是政教合一，但是神权制度和世俗权力的结合为封建农奴制提供了保障。

问题不在宗教信仰，而在于教会对宗教与思想的垄断与控制。比如，在中世纪欧洲，普通百姓是没有阅读、解释圣经权利的，这个权利掌握在教士手里。只要违背了教会的观念、思想和准则就会被视为“异端”，将其开除教籍，这意味着他的生命财产得不到保障。

张云：在政教合一的旧西藏，这一点表现得更加充分，也更加残酷——宗教势力一方面通过行政权力，对广大人民进行今生统治；另一方面，同时通过宗教特权，以对百姓的来世进行赏罚为名，实施精神恐吓。

由于历史文化的原因，西藏很多百姓都信奉佛教，相信来生转世说，而统治阶级正利用了这一点为自己服务。英国人埃德蒙·坎德勒在《拉萨真面目》一书中写道，“因为西藏人虔信他们那种形式的佛教，强大的僧侣势力掌管一切。”事实上，我们知道，旧西藏的绝大多数普通僧侣同样没有摆脱农奴身份，所谓“僧侣势力”是被极少数上层僧侣和僧侣化的贵族所把持。“你下辈子是人还是猪，难道对你没有什么关系吗？达赖喇嘛能保你投胎成人，当大官，或者更好一些——在一个佛教兴盛的国度里当大喇嘛”，相反，如果你不听他们的，会世世代代不得转世。“僧侣势力”就是采用这种精神恐吓，来维护他们政教合一的统治。

记者：要想摆脱神权对人的精神控制，教育是至关重要的一环。在１２世纪以前的欧洲，教会垄断了教育。但此后随着商品经济的兴起，世俗学校开始出现，西方大学兴起，尽管当时的教会仍然在不同程度上控制着这些大学，但这为欧洲走出中世纪神学桎梏迈出了重要的一步。政教合一封建农奴制统治下的旧西藏，有类似的教育机构出现吗？

张云：没有。在旧西藏，政教合一的统治阶级完全垄断了教育和受教育的权利。要想获得教育，唯一的途径就是进寺院“读经”。即便如此，农奴的子弟成为僧侣也只是从领主的农奴变成了寺院的农奴，只有那些贵族子弟才有可能将读经作为晋身的阶梯。在政教合一的体制里，僧侣在嘎厦政府里占了很大比例，行使着生杀予夺的权力，享受着实际的经济利益，普通百姓哪有丝毫的希望呢？

在这样的黑暗体制下，老百姓没有表达思想的权利，甚至没有思考的权利。一切都要听活佛怎么说，否则，就是有罪。也正是这样一个黑暗体制，让旧西藏日趋封闭保守。这充分证明了这个制度对西藏人民思想的禁锢，对西藏历史、文化包括宗教传承的破坏。值得注意的是，欧洲在１５世纪已经告别中世纪的阴霾，而比欧洲中世纪更加黑暗的统治，在西藏竟一直延续到上世纪５０年代。

企图恢复政教合一的农奴制是逆时代潮流而动

“在西藏试图适应２０世纪的迅猛变化之际，由于将现代化等同于世俗化及西蔵毒特恢宏的大众僧侣制全盛期的衰落，宗教的权力和特权及大寺院在阻挠进步方面扮演了主要角色。”——美国著名藏学家、人类学家梅尔温·戈斯坦

记者：当封建农奴制成为社会发展和进步的障碍的时候，为什么在欧洲与中国西藏，却产生了不同的走向？

孟广林：残酷的封建农奴制和神权奴役，导致了西欧的农民反抗，并且是以宗教“异端”的方式发动的。比如，以“罗拉德”派约翰·保尔为代表的下层教士就提出，“当亚当耕田、夏娃织布之际，谁是贵族？”他们要求废除封建农奴制，取消徭役、地租、捐税和财产差别，实行社会各阶层的平等。在保尔的鼓动下，爆发了１３８１年英国农民大起义，农民在瓦特·泰勒率领下攻入伦敦，给统治者以沉重打击。同一时期法国的“扎克雷”起义和１６世纪的德国农民战争，也都因同样的理想而爆发。

张云：旧西藏政教合一的统治结构，为农奴制营造了一个相对封闭的系统，在这个系统中，尽管人们的行为没有自由、精神没有自由，社会的生产抑制、停滞不前，人口在减少，但野蛮统治却一直在延续，甚至变本加厉。

旦增伦珠：人类进入２０世纪５０年代，旧西藏政教合一的封建农奴制统治显然早已和历史发展潮流格格不入。它是西藏贫穷落后的根源，不对其改革、废除，广大僧俗群众将永远在水深火热中煎熬，西藏也不可能走上文明、进步之路。

１９５１年西藏和平解放，为废除西藏封建农奴制带来了曙光。但由于当时西藏上层人士对民主改革还心存疑虑；不少僧俗群众有沉重的、历史形成的心理负担，对民主改革需要一个了解和认识的过程；而西藏上层中的亲帝反动集团利用民族、宗教作招牌，欺骗群众，挑拨民族关系所造成的民族误解，一时还难以消除，中央对民主改革采取了“慎重稳进”的方针。在中央政府和西藏地方政府签订的“十七条协议”中规定：“有关西藏的各项改革事宜，中央不加强迫。西藏地方政府应自动进行改革，人民提出改革要求时，得采取与西藏领导人员协商的方法解决之。”同时，对西藏地区投入大量财力、物力支持。仅１９５２年到１９５８年，中央给予西藏地方的财政补助就高达３．５７亿元。

为实现和平民主改革，中央争取了八年、忍让了八年、等待了八年；百万农奴看了八年、比了八年、想了八年、盼了八年。然而，西藏上层统治集团的一些人却企图永远保持农奴制，维护既得利益，于１９５９年发动武装叛乱。达赖集团流亡海外，妄图“西蔵毒立”、恢复农奴制度，这是违背历史进步潮流、与广大西藏人民利益背道而驰的，怎么可能实现呢？

张云：如今，达赖总是将“民主”挂在嘴边，但是我们看看，达赖集团所组建的所谓“流亡政府”实行的仍然是政教合一体制。达赖宣称，为了西藏人民的自由他可以放弃自己的权力。按照他的逻辑，他现在运用政教合一的“流亡政府”的统治权力，为的是实现“大藏区”“高度自治”而放弃政教合一的统治权力，如此自相矛盾的说法，谁又能相信呢？归根结蒂，达赖编织所有谎言所掩饰的，还是要“西蔵毒立”，在西藏恢复政教合一的封建农奴制统治。

记者：旧西藏，不是西方一些人梦想中的“香格里拉”。今日欧洲，不可能再回到５００多年前的中世纪欧洲；同样，今日中国西藏，也不可能再回到达赖集团政教合一封建农奴制统治下的旧西藏。任何人梦想将西藏拉回黑暗统治的时代或为这样的企图而鼓噪，都注定是不可能实现的。

对话专家：
张云中国藏学研究中心历史研究所研究员
旦增伦珠中国藏学研究中心社会经济研究所副所长、研究员
孟广林中国人民大学历史学院世界古代中世纪史教研室主任、教授 (本文来源：人民网 )

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Tibet's feudal serf system of politics and religion is the monks and nobles of the dictatorship

"In old Tibet, politics and religion and the Dalai Lama is the chief representative of serf system. Such serfdom, the history of mankind is the darkest of slavery, without any form of democracy, freedom and human rights, only the privileges of serf owners.", "Pursued by Dalai Lama the 'middle path', is to resume his former paradise, which is to receive millions of emancipation and liberation of the serfs re-enter the dark cage. this kind of 'middle path' Who can accept it? "

-- Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang-yu

Reporter: Foreign Ministry spokesman made the remarks exposed the Jiang-yu pursued by the Dalai Lama's "middle way" is to restore the essence of serf system. Historically, the serf system in Tibet What kind of a system?

Zhang: 1959 before the democratic reform of politics and religion in Tibet in the long-term, monks and nobles dictatorship of the feudal serf system, society, a dark and brutal than that of medieval serf system is worse than Western Europe.

Dan Zeng Lhunzhub: known as the "Tibet-" the British Charles Bell, in his "13th Dalai Lama Biography" in such a way: "You come from Europe and the Americas Tibet, will be back to the several hundred years ago, saw a still in the feudal era country. nobility and gentry its tenant great powers. these tenant is in the more fertile plains and valleys working farmers. Yangpiao nomadic or wearing in the Gaoshanjunling Shepherd. "

Tibet is Guanjie serf owners, nobles and the upper temple monks three feudal lords. They fail to 5 percent of Tibet's population, but occupy Tibet all farmland, pastures, forests, mountains and rivers as well as most livestock. According to statistics the early years of the 17th century Qing dynasty, when Tibet is a land over 300 10,000 grams (15 grams equivalent to one hectare), which Guanjie accounted for 30.9%, 29.6% of the nobility, monasteries and monks of the top 39.5%. Before democratic reform in 1959, Tibet has all 197 hereditary nobles, the aristocracy 25, the largest of which there are 78 nobles, and each occupy dozens of houses and tens of thousands of grams of land.

Zhang: serfdom in old Tibet more than 90 per cent of the population, the article called "poor Palestinians" (that is, from kind of Fendi, serf owners to render their support of the people) and "stack poor" (meaning smoking small households). They do not occupy the land, and did not have personal freedom, are dependent in a feudal serfdom of living. In addition, five percent of the population, "Lang", they are slaves for generations, there is no means of production, but also do not have the slightest liberty.

Serf owners with loan-sharking and render their serfs to the brutal exploitation, serfdom Chengnianleiru to hard labor, refuse food and clothing also are not guaranteed and often rely on loan from a loan shark below subsistence level. Tibetologists Alexander Daweinier France in her "old face of new China in Tibet," said the old Tibet, all farmers are lifelong liabilities of the serfs, they are on the exorbitant taxes and levies and heavy corvee: " completely lost the freedom of all people, the year 2001 more than the poor. "

Meng Lin: As far as I know, about 10 century, the serf system in Western Europe is basically formed. As Marx said, the serf system in the history of mankind is one of the main forms of slavery, feudal exploitation system is the embodiment of the essence.

Western European feudal serf society is a kind of agricultural workers. In feudal land ownership on the basis of feudal lords of the land and other means of production possession, Personal Dependence relations as a link to a "supra-economic coercion" to force slavery serfs, namely economy, politics, laws, customs, and so they personal control to squeeze their surplus labor. Serfs in three respects subservient to the owner. First, he is not personal freedom, is a master of the property; Secondly, he is master of arable land, dependent on the master; Thirdly, he did not masters of the law and equality of status, the trial court accepted the Lord.

Reporter: serfs no political rights, economic squeeze on the subject, year after year, only labor. It seems, Western Europe and the medieval serfdom in Tibet under the system of politics and religion and the feudal serf system is very similar.

Meng Lin: Yes, the essence of a serf system, which is the same. That is: the means of production workers on the outcome of the labor and deprivation; for workers noble contempt for human dignity; for workers rights and the creation of the main spirit of repression.

This is the traditional system of social relations in the concentrated expression of Personal Dependence, for the performance of "direct rule and dependence relations." In this relationship, the humanity, dignity, human rights, humanity have been destroyed, reduced to the noble values and the divine right of sovereignty from the offerings.

Zhang: In old Tibet, serf owners of serfs the personal possession of the serfs as their private property at its disposal, sale, transfer, gift, exchange and debt bondage. In old Tibet passage several hundred years of "Code 13" and "Code 16", third class will be divided into nine people to make it clear that people in the legal status of inequality. Serf owners use statutory or customary law, the establishment of private prisons or jail. Local governments courts, prisons, the temple has set up courts, prisons, the feudal lords of the manor can be in their own setting up a prison. Extremely savage and cruel punishment, such as cutting into heads, cutting off their ears, breaking their arms, cutting the legs, cramps, and other Doushui. The largest monasteries in Tibet, there are many of the Gandan Monastery in handcuffs, leg irons, sticks and head for enucleation, cramps and other cruel instruments of torture.

Therefore, the Tibetan politics and religion and the feudal serf system is the joint dictatorship monks and the nobility of the system, "such serfdom under the broad masses of serfs, without any form of democracy, freedom and human rights, only the privileges of serf owners."

Meng Lin: on view from the front of Tibet politics and religion and society of feudal serfdom, its dark, cruel indeed than that of medieval Europe is worse than the serf system.

Only from such a system free of the chain out, access to freedom and liberation can burst forth tremendous initiative and creativity, and can promote the development of the real history. As Marx pointed out, "are any of the liberation of the people of the world and the relationship between people back to themselves."

In feudal serfdom under theocracy on the spiritual control

"In order to understand the 20th century in Tibet's history, it is necessary to understand many basic aspects of Tibet is still a pre-modern polity of divine right, and not due to any extraordinary isolation." - Well-known American Tibetologists, anthropology Jane Meyer-Gean

Reporter: In the feudal serf system, whether it is old Tibet or the Middle Ages in Western Europe, the spirit of God to the public the right to control and detention, the deprivation of the liberty of the serfs, and deprived of the freedom of ordinary people thinking. This is not the dark side again?

Meng Lin: Indeed, the people's thinking and behavior norms of detention, is the dark feudal serf system, a prominent performance. Although medieval Europe is not entirely of politics and religion, but a theocratic system and the secular power of the feudal serf system for providing protection.

Problem is not religion, but the Church of religious and ideological monopoly and control. For example, in medieval Europe, the common people are not reading, interpretation of the Bible right, this right is in the hands of the priests. As long as contrary to the Church's concept, thinking, and criteria will be regarded as "heresy", and their expulsion from the membership, which means that his life and property can not be guaranteed.

Zhang: In politics and religion and the old Tibet, this performance even more fully and more brutal - religious forces on the one hand through the power of the broad masses of the people in this life rule on the other hand, through religious privileges to the people stick to the name of the afterlife, the spirit of intimidation.

Due to historical and cultural reasons, the Tibetan people have a lot of Buddhist, I believe that the reincarnation of the next life, and the ruling class is using this point for their own services. British Aidemengkandele "Lhasa true" one wrote, "because they Devout Tibetans that form of Buddhism, monks powerful forces in charge of everything." Indeed, we know that the old Tibet the vast majority of ordinary monks from the serfs did not identity the so-called "monk forces" is a very small number of top monks, and monks dominated by the aristocracy. "You Xiabeizi people or pigs, is not related to you? Dalai Lama-you can Toutai adults, when official or better - in a country where Buddhism thrive, when the majority of the lamas," On the contrary, if you do not listen to them, not to be the reincarnation of generations. "Monks forces" is the adoption of this spirit intimidation, politics and religion and to maintain their rule.

Reporter: divine right to shake off the mental control of the people, education is a vital part. In the 12th century ago in Europe, the church monopoly of the education. But with the commodity economy since the rise of secular schools beginning to emerge, the rise of the West, despite the fact that the church, in varying degrees, are still in control of these universities, but for Europe out of the shackles of medieval theology an important step forward. Politics and religion and the rule of the feudal serf system of the old Tibet, have similar educational institutions there?

Zhang: none. In old Tibet, politics and religion and the ruling class of monopoly of education and the right to education. To access to education, the only way into the temple is "reading." Even so, the children of serfs only become monks from the feudal lords of the serfs become a temple of the serfs, only those aristocratic children will read the classics can be joined as a ladder. In the system of politics and religion, the monks in the Kashag, make up a large proportion of the Shengshayudui exercise of the power of enjoying the actual economic interests, the ordinary people there the slightest hope?

In the darkness of this system, not the people the right of expression, not even the right thinking. All should listen to how the Living Buddha said that, otherwise, is guilty. It is also a dark, allowing the closure of old Tibet increasingly conservative. This has fully demonstrated that this system of the Tibetan people thinking of the detention of Tibet's history and culture, including religious heritage destruction. It is worth noting that Europe has already bid farewell to the 15th century in the shadow of the Middle Ages, and more than the Middle Ages in Europe, dark rule in Tibet, has been extended to the 1950s.

Politics and religion and an attempt to restore the serf system is moving against the tide of the times

"Tibet in the 20th century tried to adapt to the rapid changes, due to the secular equivalent to the modernization of Tibet's unique and extensive public monks heyday of the decline of religion and the powers and privileges of blocking progress in the temple played a major role." -- The well-known American Tibetologists, anthropologists Mel temperature Gean

Reporter: When the feudal serf system, social development and progress of the obstacles, why in Europe and China's Tibet, it had a different direction?

Meng Lin: the cruel feudal serfdom, slavery and the divine right, leading to a peasant resistance in Western Europe, and religion is "heresy" to the launch. For example, "Luolade" John Paul sent representatives to the lower clergy on the proposed, "When Adam farming, weaving of the Eve, who is the elite?" They are calling for the abolition of the feudal serf system, abolished corvee, rent, and the difference in property taxes, implement various social strata equality. Encouraged by the Paul, the 1381 British outbreak of the uprising of peasants, farmers, led by the scoring Watetaile in London, a heavy blow to the rulers. During the same period France's "Zakelei" Uprising and the 16th-century German peasant war, but also because of the outbreak of the same ideals.

Zhang: In old Tibet, politics and religion and the rule of the structure, creating a system of serfdom relatively closed system, in this system, even though it does not act in freedom, not the spirit of freedom, social inhibition of the production, stagnant population reduced, but brutal rule has been in the continuation, and even intensified.

Dan Zeng Lhunzhub: mankind enters the 1950s, the old Tibetan politics and religion and rule of the feudal serf system, and obviously has been incompatible with the development trend of history. It is the root cause of poverty and backwardness in Tibet, not its reform, abolition, the majority of the monks and laity will be forever in dire straits in torment, Tibet will not take civilized and progressive way.

The peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, for the abolition of the feudal serfdom in Tibet has brought the dawn. However, as the people of the upper class in Tibet was also skeptical about democratic reform; many monks and laity are heavy, the psychological burden of a history of democratic reform requires a knowledge and understanding of the process, and in the upper Tibet pro-imperialist reactionary groups use the nation , for religious signs, deceiving the masses, and stir up ethnic relations caused by the ethnic misunderstanding, it will be difficult to for a time, the central authorities have adopted a democratic reform "cautious and steady advance" policy. In the Central Government and the local government of Tibet signed the "17-Article Agreement" provides that: "matters relating to the reform, the Central did not force the local government of Tibet should be automatically reform, when the people demand reform, may take in consultation with the leading personnel of Tibet the solution. "At the same time, Tibet region putting in a lot of financial, material support. Only 1952 to 1958, the Central Committee for the Tibet financial assistance amounted to 357 million yuan.

To achieve peace democratic reform, the Central for eight years, eight years patience to wait for the 2008 2008 saw millions of serfs than eight years, to eight years, I hope eight years. However, the upper ruling clique in Tibet some people are always trying to maintain serfdom, and safeguarding vested interests, in 1959 launched an armed rebellion. Dalai clique in exile in a vain attempt to "Tibet independence" and restore serf system, which runs counter to the historical trend of progress, and runs counter to the interests of the broad masses of the Tibetan people, how possible?

Zhang: Now, the Dalai Lama is always "democracy" is always, but we see the Dalai clique set up by the so-called "government in exile" is still a system of politics and religion. That the Dalai Lama to the Tibetan people's freedom he can give up their own powers. According to his logic, politics and religion and he is now using the "government in exile" of the ruling power, in order to achieve "the Tibetan" and "high degree of autonomy" and to abandon politics and religion and the rule of power, such contradictory statements, who to believe? Ultimately, all lies woven by the Dalai disguise, or "Tibet independence" of politics and religion in Tibet and restore the rule of the feudal serf system.

Reporter: In old Tibet, some people dream of the West is not the "Shangri-La." Europe today, it is impossible to go back to more than 500 years ago medieval Europe; Similarly, China's Tibet today, it is impossible to go back to the Dalai clique of politics and religion under the rule of feudal serfdom in old Tibet. Anyone who dreams of Tibet back to the dark era of domination or for such attempts and clamor, is doomed to be unattainable.

fussfun

大家到Youtube、CNN、BBC、NYT等不要光吵架、说气话，作用不大，要摆点事实，更有力地回击zd，教育不明真相者： 1、不总是有人说西藏是中国1949年“才”占领的吗，那就来点史料：1653年清朝皇帝确立了对西藏宗教领袖达赖和班禅的册封制度及其继承人灵童“转世”的金瓶。（In 1653, Qing Emperor offically gave the title Dalai to the head of Gelug Schools of Buddhism in Tibet. Since then any reincarnation aka successor of Dalai has to be approved and confirmed by Chinese central government.) ..现在的达赖也是中国政府认定(officiated)的，是1940年由当时执政的民国政府认定。

fussfun

　　2、zd不是说xz不是被中国领土、dl（四眼和尚）被zf逼走的吗，dl（四眼和尚）可一直在中国政府里任有公职滴：1953年dl（四眼和尚）被推选为中华人民共和国佛教协会荣誉会长， 1954年为dl（四眼和尚）当选为第一届全国人民代表大会常务委员会副委员长（In 1954 current Dalai Lama became Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committe of the National People’s Congress aka the parliment of PRC),
　　直到59年出逃前都在中国政府管辖下的xz自治区任职。 。SO, if Tibet had been an independent country then, how came a "foreigner" like Dalai could hold such an important position in the parliment of PRC?
　　3、要求恢复xz从前在dl（四眼和尚）众僧人政教合一统治(theocracy)下农奴时代的“美好时光”？请看"Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth" by Michael Parenti(记着，一定要给出文章的题目和作者的名字，因为youtube等网站不让发带网址链接的贴子。)
　　原文：
　　链接出处
　　感谢河友厚积薄发提供中文翻译：
　　链接出处
　　youtube上的录像“Michael Parenti - Tibet: Friendly Fuedalism? ”
　　链接出处 www.csuchen.de/ 没有比较就没有进步，顺便请愤愤们看看TG统治下新xz,题目就叫Tibet Diary - Episode 1~6 on youtube。 www.csuchen.de/ 其它好的有关xz的youbube video还有mitbbs同学们提供的
　　"Tibet WAS,IS,and ALWAYS WILL BE a part of China"
　　链接出处
　　“Inferno under Dalai Lama & aristoric rule”
　　链接出处
　　建议：大家可以把这些好的video加到自己的favorite里、Rate打5星、youtube里可以直接post a video response。 。在其它网站留言，为了防止网站删除带链接的帖，大家要给出video、文章的标题，方便别人搜索。 www.csuchen.de/
　　4、无脑zd说什末他们和偶们文化、语言不同并有自个的Flag啥啥的，所以要求dl，那偶们就得帮助丫提高逻辑思维能力：西班牙的 Basque、 Catalonia也拥有自己独特的文化、历史、语言、音乐、Flag等，为虾米西班牙政府不让它们dl出去捏？（Why does Spain NOT allow Basque and Catalonia to become independent countries while both regions have their unique culture, languages, music, flags?) www.csuchen.de/ 加拿大的Québec、大英帝国的威尔士、苏格兰、法国的科西嘉（Corsica）、布列塔尼(Brittany)均可按照此逻辑推导一下,美国的印第安人、澳洲的Aboriginal也可以拿出来扯一扯。。。 www.csuchen.de/ 不爱多打字的同学，顺便喊两句啥的, 正好和上zd的口号:
　　Free Basque!
　　Free Catalonie!
　　Free Québec!
　　Free Corsia!
　　Free Brittany!
　　Free Scotland!
　　Free Walse! www.csuchen.de/ 新添加的还可以Free的有阿布哈兹、南奥塞梯、德涅斯特河沿岸及北科索沃：
　　Free Abkhazia!
　　Free South Ossetia!
　　Free Pridnestrovie!
　　Free Serb-dominated Northern Part of Kosovo! www.csuchen.de/ 河友江城孤舟提供的多国语口号：http://www.cchere.net/thread/1483899#C1486437 www.csuchen.de/
　　5、有藉口免煮柿油而呼唤zd的，不妨请看厚积薄发兄弟找到的纽约时报（NYT）的文章：“How China Got Religion” By SLAVOJ ZIZEK www.csuchen.de/ "...the problem with Tibetan Buddhism resides in an obvious fact that many Western enthusiasts conveniently forget: the traditional political structure of Tibet is theocracy, with the Dalai Lama at the center. He unites religious and secular power — so when we are talking about the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, we are taking about choosing a head of state. It is strange to hear self-described democracy advocates who denounce Chinese persecution of followers of the Dalai Lama — a non-democratically elected leader if there ever was one. ” www.csuchen.de/ 原文
　　链接出处
　　厚积薄发那也提供中文翻译文本。 www.csuchen.de/ 建议：不妨把这些话带引号直接copy过去，根本不用自己再多说什末。 www.csuchen.de/
　　6、河友在下面提醒,西方媒体试图树立汉藏对立、挑动种族情绪，大家用词时一定要注意，可采用Seperatists/ Rebels/Gangsters in this Lhasa/Tibet riot，区别对待。尽量把视线集中在xz分裂分子对中国民生进行的破坏，对中国主权的侮辱，对中国人民的暴力行为等。谴责暴力、强调汉藏都是中国人是主题。
　　Tibetan and Hans are all Chinese. The violent roit in Lasha is instigated by Tibet Seperatists who have greatly upset the local public security and threatened the safety of local residents (Including hans, tibetans, mongols and other minorities).
　　谢谢颜子
　　链接出处 www.csuchen.de/ 外国游客见证拉萨暴乱报道、现场图像等
　　Tibetans attacked Chinese, say Lhasa tourists
　　By Thomas Bell
　　瑞士游客：
　　"The young people were in action and the old people were supporting with screaming. Howling like wolves, that’s how they supported them. www.csuchen.de/ "Anything that looked Chinese was attacked. I saw at least seven to eight Chinese people attacked with stones and fists." www.csuchen.de/ He saw one old Chinese man rescued from the mob by elderly Tibetan people, and believes the intervention of a Canadian tourist saved another life. www.csuchen.de/ 加拿大游客：
　　John Kenwood, a 19-year-old Canadian, believes he saw a man die. "They were knocking people off motorcycles," he said. "One man was hit several times in the head with a large piece of sidewalk." When his attackers left him he was not moving. www.csuchen.de/ Mr Kenwood also saw boxes of stones being supplied to Tibetan throwers. www.csuchen.de/ "To me it was like it was planned," he said. 。链接出处
　　中文文本
　　链接出处
　　一个台湾MM的Blog让我们知道更多真相链接出处 www.csuchen.de/ 录像
　　CCTV
　　链接出处
　　澳大利亚旅游者拍摄的
　　Tibetan protest images released
　　链接出处 www.csuchen.de/
　　7、英文不好的如何跟贴、留言反击对手？英文不好的各位（包括偶自己）不是袖手旁观，拱手将网上的舆论阵地让与zd和反中斗士们。英文不象对手那样洋洋洒洒，那就借助西人写好的、比较公正的揭露dl（四眼和尚）之流真面目的文章，这样既可以回击zd和脑残的免煮人士，又可以让感兴趣的读者去追看原文，何乐不为？(但 是，请注意在不同的地方和场合应该使用的不同的技巧。) www.csuchen.de/ 这里提供详细的、分解成短小段落、可供copy & paste的西文段落：http://www.cchere.net/article/1489262 www.csuchen.de/ 这里还有可供选择的西人英文文章：http://www.cchere.net/thread/1483899/2#C1484922 www.csuchen.de/ 这里有不少揭露dl（四眼和尚）及其所代言的藏传佛教的真面目，偶已经把它们分列入下：
　　•藏传佛教的求神问鬼、精神控制、大一统政教合一论:http://www.cchere.net/article/1484725
　　•藏传佛教圣战论(Jihad):http://www.cchere.net/article/1484748
　　•藏传教的性丑闻:http://www.cchere.net/article/1484758
　　•dl（四眼和尚）和纳粹、东京沙林毒气大王子麻原登等恐怖极端分子的亲密关系：http://www.cchere.net/article/1484875
　　•曼荼罗和世贸大楼的灰飞烟尽：http://www.cchere.net/article/1484906 www.csuchen.de/ 以上的所有文字片断欢迎大家随便使用、随便传播、随便粘贴，无需具名。也欢迎大家把好的宣传建议和video、外媒对这场暴乱的有明显歪曲导向的报道、 BBC/CNN/NBC/ABC/FOX/TIMES/GUARDIAN/
　　NYT等重要媒体可以留言的网址链接集中在这个帖子里，以方便大家。 www.csuchen.de/ 这里有几个留言的地址：http://www.cchere.net/thread/1488469#C1489324 www.csuchen.de/
　　If people have the rights to let their vioce be heard,
　　it should not be only the Tibetan’s

fussfun

　2、zd不是说xz不是被中国领土、dl（四眼和尚）被zf逼走的吗，dl（四眼和尚）可一直在中国政府里任有公职滴：1953年dl（四眼和尚）被推选为中华人民共和国佛教协会荣誉会长， 1954年为dl（四眼和尚）当选为第一届全国人民代表大会常务委员会副委员长（In 1954 current Dalai Lama became Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committe of the National People’s Congress aka the parliment of PRC),
　　直到59年出逃前都在中国政府管辖下的xz自治区任职。 。SO, if Tibet had been an independent country then, how came a "foreigner" like Dalai could hold such an important position in the parliment of PRC?
　　3、要求恢复xz从前在dl（四眼和尚）众僧人政教合一统治(theocracy)下农奴时代的“美好时光”？请看"Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth" by Michael Parenti(记着，一定要给出文章的题目和作者的名字，因为youtube等网站不让发带网址链接的贴子。)
　　原文：
　　链接出处
　　感谢河友厚积薄发提供中文翻译：
　　链接出处
　　youtube上的录像“Michael Parenti - Tibet: Friendly Fuedalism? ”
　　链接出处 www.csuchen.de/ 没有比较就没有进步，顺便请愤愤们看看TG统治下新xz,题目就叫Tibet Diary - Episode 1~6 on youtube。 www.csuchen.de/ 其它好的有关xz的youbube video还有mitbbs同学们提供的
　　"Tibet WAS,IS,and ALWAYS WILL BE a part of China"
　　链接出处
　　“Inferno under Dalai Lama & aristoric rule”
　　链接出处
　　建议：大家可以把这些好的video加到自己的favorite里、Rate打5星、youtube里可以直接post a video response。 。在其它网站留言，为了防止网站删除带链接的帖，大家要给出video、文章的标题，方便别人搜索。 www.csuchen.de/
　　4、无脑zd说什末他们和偶们文化、语言不同并有自个的Flag啥啥的，所以要求dl，那偶们就得帮助丫提高逻辑思维能力：西班牙的 Basque、 Catalonia也拥有自己独特的文化、历史、语言、音乐、Flag等，为虾米西班牙政府不让它们dl出去捏？（Why does Spain NOT allow Basque and Catalonia to become independent countries while both regions have their unique culture, languages, music, flags?) www.csuchen.de/ 加拿大的Québec、大英帝国的威尔士、苏格兰、法国的科西嘉（Corsica）、布列塔尼(Brittany)均可按照此逻辑推导一下,美国的印第安人、澳洲的Aboriginal也可以拿出来扯一扯。。。 www.csuchen.de/ 不爱多打字的同学，顺便喊两句啥的, 正好和上zd的口号:
　　Free Basque!
　　Free Catalonie!
　　Free Québec!
　　Free Corsia!
　　Free Brittany!
　　Free Scotland!
　　Free Walse! www.csuchen.de/ 新添加的还可以Free的有阿布哈兹、南奥塞梯、德涅斯特河沿岸及北科索沃：
　　Free Abkhazia!
　　Free South Ossetia!
　　Free Pridnestrovie!
　　Free Serb-dominated Northern Part of Kosovo! www.csuchen.de/ 河友江城孤舟提供的多国语口号：http://www.cchere.net/thread/1483899#C1486437 www.csuchen.de/
　　5、有藉口免煮柿油而呼唤zd的，不妨请看厚积薄发兄弟找到的纽约时报（NYT）的文章：“How China Got Religion” By SLAVOJ ZIZEK www.csuchen.de/ "...the problem with Tibetan Buddhism resides in an obvious fact that many Western enthusiasts conveniently forget: the traditional political structure of Tibet is theocracy, with the Dalai Lama at the center. He unites religious and secular power — so when we are talking about the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, we are taking about choosing a head of state. It is strange to hear self-described democracy advocates who denounce Chinese persecution of followers of the Dalai Lama — a non-democratically elected leader if there ever was one. ” www.csuchen.de/ 原文
　　链接出处
　　厚积薄发那也提供中文翻译文本。 www.csuchen.de/ 建议：不妨把这些话带引号直接copy过去，根本不用自己再多说什末。 www.csuchen.de/
　　6、河友在下面提醒,西方媒体试图树立汉藏对立、挑动种族情绪，大家用词时一定要注意，可采用Seperatists/ Rebels/Gangsters in this Lhasa/Tibet riot，区别对待。尽量把视线集中在xz分裂分子对中国民生进行的破坏，对中国主权的侮辱，对中国人民的暴力行为等。谴责暴力、强调汉藏都是中国人是主题。
　　Tibetan and Hans are all Chinese. The violent roit in Lasha is instigated by Tibet Seperatists who have greatly upset the local public security and threatened the safety of local residents (Including hans, tibetans, mongols and other minorities).
　　谢谢颜子
　　链接出处 www.csuchen.de/ 外国游客见证拉萨暴乱报道、现场图像等
　　Tibetans attacked Chinese, say Lhasa tourists
　　By Thomas Bell
　　瑞士游客：
　　"The young people were in action and the old people were supporting with screaming. Howling like wolves, that’s how they supported them. www.csuchen.de/ "Anything that looked Chinese was attacked. I saw at least seven to eight Chinese people attacked with stones and fists." www.csuchen.de/ He saw one old Chinese man rescued from the mob by elderly Tibetan people, and believes the intervention of a Canadian tourist saved another life. www.csuchen.de/ 加拿大游客：
　　John Kenwood, a 19-year-old Canadian, believes he saw a man die. "They were knocking people off motorcycles," he said. "One man was hit several times in the head with a large piece of sidewalk." When his attackers left him he was not moving. www.csuchen.de/ Mr Kenwood also saw boxes of stones being supplied to Tibetan throwers. www.csuchen.de/ "To me it was like it was planned," he said. 。链接出处
　　中文文本
　　链接出处
　　一个台湾MM的Blog让我们知道更多真相链接出处 www.csuchen.de/ 录像
　　CCTV
　　链接出处
　　澳大利亚旅游者拍摄的
　　Tibetan protest images released
　　链接出处 www.csuchen.de/
　　7、英文不好的如何跟贴、留言反击对手？英文不好的各位（包括偶自己）不是袖手旁观，拱手将网上的舆论阵地让与zd和反中斗士们。英文不象对手那样洋洋洒洒，那就借助西人写好的、比较公正的揭露dl（四眼和尚）之流真面目的文章，这样既可以回击zd和脑残的免煮人士，又可以让感兴趣的读者去追看原文，何乐不为？(但 是，请注意在不同的地方和场合应该使用的不同的技巧。) www.csuchen.de/ 这里提供详细的、分解成短小段落、可供copy & paste的西文段落：http://www.cchere.net/article/1489262 www.csuchen.de/ 这里还有可供选择的西人英文文章：http://www.cchere.net/thread/1483899/2#C1484922 www.csuchen.de/ 这里有不少揭露dl（四眼和尚）及其所代言的藏传佛教的真面目，偶已经把它们分列入下：
　　•藏传佛教的求神问鬼、精神控制、大一统政教合一论:http://www.cchere.net/article/1484725
　　•藏传佛教圣战论(Jihad):http://www.cchere.net/article/1484748
　　•藏传教的性丑闻:http://www.cchere.net/article/1484758
　　•dl（四眼和尚）和纳粹、东京沙林毒气大王子麻原登等恐怖极端分子的亲密关系：http://www.cchere.net/article/1484875
　　•曼荼罗和世贸大楼的灰飞烟尽：http://www.cchere.net/article/1484906 www.csuchen.de/ 以上的所有文字片断欢迎大家随便使用、随便传播、随便粘贴，无需具名。也欢迎大家把好的宣传建议和video、外媒对这场暴乱的有明显歪曲导向的报道、 BBC/CNN/NBC/ABC/FOX/TIMES/GUARDIAN/
　　NYT等重要媒体可以留言的网址链接集中在这个帖子里，以方便大家。 www.csuchen.de/ 这里有几个留言的地址：http://www.cchere.net/thread/1488469#C1489324 www.csuchen.de/
　　If people have the rights to let their vioce be heard,
　　it should not be only the Tibetan’s

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The XIV Dalai Lama, the God-King of Tibet is the highest representative of Tantric Buddhism, established in Tibet in the 8th century, A.D. Tantrism, the last stage in the history of Buddhism (since the 5th century A.D. in India) is based on ritual and magic formulas. Not unlike other religions it also has “sk广告s in its’ closet” which it carefully conceals as a guest in the Western world. Tibetan Tantrism is a belief in spirits and demons, secret sexual practices, occultism, mind control, and an obsession with power. In contrary to every democratic custom, the present Dalai Lama consults with the Nechung Oracle, a monk who is possessed by a Mongolian war God, on all important state decisions.

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　No mere spiritual leader, he was the head of Tibet’s government when he went into exile in 1959. It was a state apparatus run by aristocratic, nepotistic monks that collected taxes, jailed and tortured dissenters and engaged in all the usual political intrigues. (The Dalai Lama’s own father was almost certainly murdered in 1946, the consequence of a coup plot.)
　　
　　-Behind Dalai Lama’s holy cloak by Michael Backman
　　
　　____________________________________________________________
　　The government set up in exile in India and, at least until the 1970s, received $US1.7 million a year from the CIA.
　　
　　The money was to pay for guerilla operations against the Chinese, notwithstanding the Dalai Lama’s public stance in support of non-violence, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
　　
　　-Behind Dalai Lama’s holy cloak by Michael Backman
　　
　　_____________________________________________________________
　　The Dalai Lama himself was on the CIA’s payroll from the late 1950s until 1974, reportedly receiving $US15,000 a month ($US180,000 a year).
　　
　　- Behind Dalai Lama’s holy cloak by Michael Backman

fussfun

　In the Kalachakra Tantra is prophesized the establishment of a Buddhocratic Empire, a clash of civilizations will arise as the military forces of Buddhism wage war against the armies of non-Buddhist religions. Murderous super-weapons possessed by the Buddhist Shambhala Army are described at length and in enthusiastic detail in the Kalachakra Tantra Text (Shri Kalachakra I. 128 – 142) and employed against "enemies of the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings).”
　　
　　- An Interview with Victor and Victoria Trimondi (Germany)
　　
　　_____________________________________________________________
　　The secret text of the Kalachakra explicitly names the "leaders" of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as the opponents of Buddhism: "Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mani, Muhammad and the Mahdi" describing them as "the family of the demonic snakes" (Shri Kalachakra I. 154). The final, Armageddon-like battle (Shambhala war) ends in the total victory of the Buddhists. The official Kalachakra-Interpreter Alexander Berzin openly compares the principles of the Islamic “Jihad” with that of the Shambhala war. As in the Islamic martyr-ideology Shambhala-Warriors, who will be killed in the last battle have earned passage into the [Buddhist] paradise.
　　
　　- An Interview with Victor and Victoria Trimondi (Germany)

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Risky Geopolitical Game: Washington Plays ‘Tibet Roulette’ with China

by F. William Engdahl

Global Research, April 10, 2008

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Washington has obviously decided on an ultra-high risk geopolitical game with Beijing’s by fanning the flames of violence in Tibet just at this sensitive time in their relations and on the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. It’s part of an escalating strategy of destabilization of China which has been initiated by the Bush Administration over the past months. It also includes the attempt to ignite an anti-China Saffron Revolution in the neighboring Myanmar region, bringing US-led NATO troops into Darfur where China’s oil companies are developing potentially huge oil reserves. It includes counter moves across mineral-rich Africa. And it includes strenuous efforts to turn India into a major new US forward base on the Asian sub-continent to be deployed against China, though evidence to date suggests the Indian government is being very cautious not to upset Chinese relations.

The current Tibet operation apparently got the green light in October last year when George Bush agreed to meet the Dalai Lama for the first time publicly in Washington. The President of the United States is not unaware of the high stakes of such an insult to Beijing. Bush deepened the affront to America’s largest trading partner, China, by agreeing to attend as the US Congress awarded the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal.

The immediate expressions of support for the crimson monks of Tibet from George Bush, Condi Rice, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Angela Merkel most recently took on dimensions of the absurd. Ms Merkel announced she would boycott attending the August Beijing Summer Olympics as her protest at the Beijing treatment of the Tibetan monks. What her press secretary omitted is that she had not even planned to go in the first place.

She was followed by an announcement that Poland’s Prime Minister, the pro-Washington Donald Tusk, would also stay away, along with pro-US Czech President Vaclav Klaus. It is unclear whether they also hadn’t planned to go in the first place but it made for dramatic press headlines.

The recent wave of violent protests and documented attacks by Tibetan monks against Han Chinese residents began on March 10 when several hundred monks marched on Lhasa to demand release of other monks allegedly detained for celebrating the award of the US Congress’ Gold Medal last October. The monks were joined by other monks marching to protest Beijing rule on the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

The geopolitical game

As the Chinese government itself was clear to point out, the sudden eruption of anti-Chinese violence in Tibet, a new phase in the movement led by the exiled Dalai Lama, was suspiciously timed to try to put the spotlight on Beijing’s human rights record on the eve of the coming Olympics. The Beijing Olympics are an event seen in China as a major acknowledgement of the arrival of a new prosperous China on the world stage.

The background actors in the Tibet “Crimson revolution” actions confirm that Washington has been working overtime in recent months to prepare another of its infamous Color Revolutions, these fanning public protests designed to inflict maximum embarrassment on Beijing. The actors on the ground in and outside Tibet are the usual suspects, tied to the US State Department, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the CIA’s Freedom House through its chairman, Bette Bao Lord and her role in the International Committee for Tibet, as well as the Trace Foundation financed by the wealth of George Soros through his daughter, Andrea Soros Colombel.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating the latest unrest to sabotage the Olympic Games “in order to achieve their unspeakable goal”, Tibetan independence.

Bush telephoned his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao, to pressure for talks between Beijing and the exiled Dalai Lama. The White House said that Bush, “raised his concerns about the situation in Tibet and encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives and to allow access for journalists and diplomats.”

President Hu reportedly told Bush the Dalai Lama must “stop his sabotage” of the Olympics before Beijing takes a decision on talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

Dalai Lama’s odd friends

In the West the image of the Dalai Lama has been so much promoted that in many circles he is deemed almost a God. While the spiritual life of the Dalai Lama is not our focus, it is relevant to note briefly the circles he has chosen to travel in most of his life.

The Dalai Lama travels in what can only be called rather conservative political circles. What is generally forgotten today is that during the 1930’s the Nazis including Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler and other top Nazi Party leaders regarded Tibet as the holy site of the survivors of the lost Atlantis, and the origin of the “Nordic pure race.”

When he was 11 and already designated Dalai Lama, he was befriended by Heinrich Harrer, a Nazi Party member and officer of Heinrich Himmler’s feared SS. Far from the innocent image of him in the popular Hollywood film with Brad Pitt, Harrer was an elite SS member at the time he met the 11 year old Dalai Lama and became his tutor in “the world outside Tibet.” While only the Dalai Lama knows the contents of Harrer’s private lessons, the two remained friends until Harrer died a ripe 93 in 2006.1

That sole friendship, of course, does not define a person’s character, but it is interesting in the context of later friends. In April 1999, along with Margaret Thatcher, and former Beijing Ambassador, CIA Director and President, George H.W. Bush, the Dalai Lama demanded the British government release Augusto Pinochet, the former fascist dictator of Chile and a longtime CIA client who was visiting England. The Dalai Lama urged that Pinochet not be forced to go to Spain where he was wanted to stand trial for crimes against humanity. The Dalai Lama had close ties to Miguel Serrano2, head of Chile’s National Socialist Party, a proponent of something called esoteric Hitlerism. 3

Leaving aside at this point the claim of the Dalai Lama to divinity, what is indisputable is that he has been surrounded and financed in significant part, since his flight into Indian exile in 1959, by various US and Western intelligence services and their gaggle of NGOs. It is the agenda of the Washington friends of the Dalai Lama that is relevant here.

The NED at work again…

As author Michael Parenti notes in his work, Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth, “during the 1950s and 60s, the CIA actively backed the Tibetan cause with arms, military training, money, air support and all sorts of other help.” The US-based American Society for a Free Asia, a CIA front, publicized the cause of Tibetan resistance, with the Dalai Lama’s eldest brother, Thubtan Norbu, playing an active role in the group. The Dalai Lama’s second-eldest brother, Gyalo Thondup, established an intelligence operation with the CIA in 1951. It was later upgraded into a CIA-trained guerrilla unit whose recruits parachuted back into Tibet, according to Parenti.4

According to declassified US intelligence documents released in the late 1990s, “for much of the 1960s, the CIA provided the Tibetan exile movement with $1.7 million a year for operations against China, including an annual subsidy of $180,000 for the Dalai Lama.” 5

With help of the CIA, the Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India where he lives to the present. He continues to receive millions of dollars in backing today, not from the CIA but from a more innocuous-sounding CIA front organization, funded by the US Congress, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The NED has been instrumental in every US-backed Color Revolution destabilization from Serbia to Georgia to Ukraine to Myanmar. Its funds go to back opposition media and global public relations campaigns to popularize their pet opposition candidates.

As in the other recent Color Revolutions, the US Government is fanning the flames of destabilization against China by funding opposition protest organizations inside and outside Tibet through its arm, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The NED was founded by the Reagan Administration in the early 1980’s, on the recommendation of Bill Casey, Reagan’s Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), following a series of high-publicity exposures of CIA assassinations and destabilizations of unfriendly regimes. The NED was designed to pose as an independent NGO, one step removed from the CIA and Government agencies so as to be less conspicuous, presumably. The first acting President of the NED, Allen Weinstein, commented to the Washington Post that, “A lot of what we [the NED] do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.” 6

American intelligence historian, William Blum states, “The NED played an important role in the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, funding key components of Oliver North's shadowy "Project Democracy." This network privatized US foreign policy, waged war, ran arms and drugs, and engaged in other equally charming activities. In 1987, a White House spokesman stated that those at NED "run Project Democracy." 7

The most prominent pro-Dalai Lama Tibet independence organization today is the International Campaign for Tibet, founded in Washington in 1988. Since at least 1994 the ICT has been receiving funds from the NED. The ICT awarded their annual Light of Truth award in 2005 to Carl Gershman, founder of the NED. Other ICT award winners have included the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation and Czech leader, Vaclav Havel. The ICT Board of Directors is peopled with former US State Department officials including Gare Smith and Julia Taft. 8

Another especially active anti-Beijing organization is the US-based Students for a Free Tibet, founded in 1994 in New York City as a project of US Tibet Committee and the NED-financed International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). The SFT is most known for unfurling a 450 foot banner atop the Great Wall in China; calling for a free Tibet, and accusing Beijing of wholly unsubstantiated claims of genocide against Tibet. Apparently it makes good drama to rally naïve students.

The SFT was among five organizations which this past January that proclaimed start of a "Tibetan people's uprising" on Jan 4 this year and co-founded a temporary office in charge of coordination and financing.

Harry Wu is another prominent Dalai Lama supporter against Beijing. He became notorious for claiming falsely in a 1996 Playboy interview that he had “videotaped a prisoner whose kidneys were surgically removed while he was alive, and then the prisoner was taken out and shot. The tape was broadcast by BBC." The BBC film showed nothing of the sort, but the damage was done. How many people check old BBC archives? Wu, a retired Berkeley professor who left China after imprisonment as a dissident, is head of the Laogai Research Foundation, a tax-exempt organization whose main funding is from the NED.9

Among related projects, the US Government-financed NED also supports the Tibet Times newspaper, run out of the Dalai Lama’s exile base at Dharamsala, India. The NED also funds the Tibet Multimedia Center for “information dissemination that addresses the struggle for human rights and democracy in Tibet,” also based in Dharamsala. And NED finances the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

In short, US State Department and US intelligence community finger prints are all over the upsurge around the Free Tibet movement and the anti-Han Chinese attacks of March. The question to be asked is why, and especially why now?

Tibet’s raw minerals treasure

Tibet is of strategic import to China not only for its geographical location astride the border with India, Washington’s newest anti-China ally in Asia. Tibet is also a treasure of minerals and also oil. Tibet contains some of the world's largest uranium and borax deposits, one half of the world's lithium, the largest copper deposits in Asia, enormous iron deposits, and over 80,000 gold mines. Tibet's forests are the largest timber reserve at China's disposal; as of 1980, an estimated $54 billion worth of trees had been felled and taken by China. Tibet also contains some of the largest oil reserves in the region.10

On the Tibet Autonomous Region’s border along the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is also a vast oil and mineral region in the Qaidam Basin, known as a "treasure basin." The Basin has 57 different types of mineral resources with proven reserves including petroleum, natural gas, coal, crude salt, potassium, magnesium, lead, zinc and gold. These mineral resources have a potential economic value of 15 trillion yuan or US$1.8 trillion. Proven reserves of potassium, lithium and crude salt in the basin are the biggest in China.

And situated as it is, on the “roof of the world,” Tibet is perhaps the world’s most valuable water source. Tibet is the source of seven of Asia's greatest rivers which provide water for 2 billion people.” He who controls Tibet’s water has a mighty powerful geopolitical lever over all Asia.

But the prime interest of Tibet for Washington today is its potential to act as a lever to destabilize and blackmail the Beijing Government.

Washington’s ‘nonviolence as a form of warfare’

The events in Tibet since March 10 have been played in Western media with little regard to accuracy or independent cross-checking. Most of the pictures blown up in European and US newspapers and TV have not even been of Chinese military oppression of Tibetan lamas or monks. They have been shown to be in most cases either Reuters or AFP pictures of Han Chinese being beaten by Tibetan monks in paramilitary organizations. In some instances German TV stations ran video pictures of beatings that were not even from Tibet but rather by Nepalese police in Kathmandu. 11

The western media complicity simply further underlies that the actions around Tibet are part of a well-orchestrated destabilization effort on the part of Washington. What few people realize is that the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was also instrumental, along with Gene Sharp’s misnamed Albert Einstein Institution through Colonel Robert Helvey, in encouraging the student protests at Tiananmen Square in June 1989. The Albert Einstein Institution, as it describes itself, specializes in "nonviolence as a form of warfare." 12

Colonel Helvey was formerly with the Defense Intelligence Agency stationed in Myanmar. Helvey trained in Hong Kong the student leaders from Beijing in mass demonstration techniques which they were to use in the Tiananmen Square incident of June 1989. He is now believed acting as an adviser to the Falun Gong in similar civil disobedience techniques. Helvey nominally retired from the army in 1991, but had been working with the Albert Einstein Institution and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation long before then. In its annual report for 2004 Helvey’s Albert Einstein Institution admitted to advising people in Tibet. 13

With the emergence of the Internet and mobile telephone use, the US Pentagon has refined an entirely new form of regime change and political destabilization. As one researcher of the phenomenon behind the wave of color revolutions, Jonathan Mowat, describes it,

“…What we are seeing is civilian application of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's "Revolution in Military Affairs" doctrine, which depends on highly mobile small group deployments "enabled" by "real time" intelligence and communications. Squads of soldiers taking over city blocks with the aid of "intelligence helmet" video screens that give them an instantaneous overview of their environment, constitute the military side. Bands of youth converging on targeted intersections in constant dialogue on cell phones constitute the doctrine's civilian application.

“This parallel should not be surprising since the US military and National Security Agency subsidized the development of the Internet, cellular phones, and software platforms. From their inception, these technologies were studied and experimented with in order to find the optimal use in a new kind of warfare. The "revolution" in warfare that such new instruments permit has been pushed to the extreme by several specialists in psychological warfare. Although these military utopians have been working in high places, (for example the RAND Corporation), for a very long time, to a large extent they only took over some of the most important command structures of the US military apparatus with the victory of the neoconservatives in the Pentagon of Donald Rumsfeld.14

Goal to control China

Washington policy has used and refined these techniques of “revolutionary nonviolence,” and NED operations embodied a series of ‘democratic’ or soft coup projects as part of a larger strategy which would seek to cut China off from access to its vital external oil and gas reserves.

The 1970’s quote attributed to then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a proponent of British geopolitics in an American context comes to mind: “If you control the oil you control entire nations…”

The destabilization attempt by Washington using Tibet, no doubt with quiet “help” from its friends in British and other US-friendly intelligence services, is part of a clear pattern.

It includes Washington’s “Saffron revolution” attempts to destabilize Myanmar. It includes the ongoing effort to get NATO troops into Darfur to block China’s access to strategically vital oil resources there and elsewhere in Africa. It includes attempts to foment problems in Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan and to disrupt China’s vital new energy pipeline projects to Kazakhstan. The earlier Asian Great Silk Road trade routes went through Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Almaty in Kazakhstan for geographically obvious reasons, in a region surrounded by major mountain ranges. Geopolitical control of Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan would enable control of any potential pipeline routes between China and Central Asia just as the encirclement of Russia controls pipeline and other ties between it and western Europe, China, India and the Middle East, where China depends on uninterrupted oil flows from Iran, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries.

Behind the strategy to encircle China

In this context, a revealing New York Council on Foreign Relations analysis in their Foreign Affairs magazine from Zbigniew Brzezinski from September/October 1997 is worth quoting. Brzezinski, a protégé of David Rockefeller and a follower of the founder of British geopolitics, Sir Halford Mackinder, is today the foreign policy adviser to Presidential candidate, Barack Obama. In 1997 he revealingly wrote:

‘Eurasia is home to most of the world's politically assertive and dynamic states. All the historical pretenders to global power originated in Eurasia. The world's most populous aspirants to regional hegemony, China and India, are in Eurasia, as are all the potential political or economic challengers to American primacy. After the United States, the next six largest economies and military spenders are there, as are all but one of the world's overt nuclear powers, and all but one of the covert ones. Eurasia accounts for 75 percent of the world's population; 60 percent of its GNP, and 75 percent of its energy resources. Collectively, Eurasia's potential power overshadows even America's.

‘Eurasia is the world's axial super-continent. A power that dominated Eurasia would exercise decisive influence over two of the world's three most economically productive regions, Western Europe and East Asia. A glance at the map also suggests that a country dominant in Eurasia would almost automatically control the Middle East and Africa. With Eurasia now serving as the decisive geopolitical chessboard, it no longer suffices to fashion one policy for Europe and another for Asia. What happens with the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to America's global primacy….’15 (emphasis mine-w.e.).

This statement, written well before the US-led bombing of former Yugoslavia and the US military occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq, or its support of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, puts Washington pronouncements about ‘ridding the world of tyranny’ and about spreading democracy, into a somewhat different context from the one usually mentioned by George W. Bush of others.

It’s about global hegemony, not democracy. It should be no surprise when powers such as China are not convinced that giving Washington such overwhelming power is in China’s national interest, any more than Russia thinks that it would be a step towards peace to let NATO gobble up Ukraine and Georgia and put US missiles on Russia’s doorstep “to defend against threat of Iranian nuclear attack on the United States.”

The US-led destabilization in Tibet is part of a strategic shift of great significance. It comes at a time when the US economy and the US dollar, still the world’s reserve currency, are in the worst crisis since the 1930’s. It is significant that the US Administration sends Wall Street banker, former Goldman Sachs chairman, Henry Paulson to Beijing in the midst of its efforts to embarrass Beijing in Tibet. Washington is literally playing with fire. China long ago surpassed Japan as the world’s largest holder of foreign currency reserves, now in the range of $1.5 trillions, most of which are invested in US Treasury debt instruments. Paulson knows well that were Beijing to decide it could bring the dollar to its knees by selling only a small portion of its US debt on the market.

Endnotes:

1 Ex-Nazi, Dalai's tutor Harrer dies at 93, The Times of India, 9 Jan 2006, in
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1363946,prtpage-1.cms.

2 Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas, Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity, New York University Press, 2001, p. 177.

3 Goldner, Colin, Mönchischer Terror auf dem Dach der Welt Teil 1: Die Begeisterung für den Dalai Lama und den tibetischen Buddhismus, March 26, 2008, excerpted from the book Dalai Lama: Fall eines Gottkönigs, Alibri Verlag,, new edition to appear April 2008, reproduced in
http://www.jungewelt.de/2008/03-27/006.php.

4 Parenti, Michael, Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth, June 2007, in www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html.

5 Mann, Jim, CIA funded covert Tibet exile campaign in 1960s, The Age (Australia), Sept. 16, 1998.

6 Ignatius, D., Innocence Abroad: The New World of Spyless Coups, The Washington Post, 22 September 1991.

7 Blum, William, The NED and ‘Project Democracy,’ January 2000, in www.friendsoftibet.org/databank/usdefence/usd5.html

8 Barker, Michael, ’Democratic Imperialism’: Tibet, China and the National Endowment for Democracy, Global Research, August 13, 2007, www.globalresearch.ca.

9 McGehee, Ralph, Ralph McGehee’ s Archive on JFK Place, CIA Operations in China Part III, May 2, 1996, in www.acorn.net/jfkplace/03/RM/RM.china-for.

10 US Tibet Committee, Fifteen things you should know about Tibet and China, in
http://ustibetcommittee.org/facts/facts.html.

11 Goldner, Colin, Mönchischer Terror auf dem Dach der Welt Teil 2: Krawalle im Vorfeld der Olympischen Spiele, op cit.

12 Mowat, Jonathan, The new Gladio in action?, Online Journal, Mar 19, 2005, in
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/printer_308.shtml.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 Brzezinski, Zbigniew, A Geostrategy for Eurasia, Foreign Affairs, 76:5, September/October 1997.

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Tibetan feudal serfdom under theocracy and Western European serfdom in Middle Ages
www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-17 22:58:12                   Print

Special report: Tibet: Its Past and Present

    BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Guangming Daily on April 15 published an article based on interviews with three Chinese scholars concerning the Tibetan system of feudal serfdom under theocracy and Western European serfdom in the Middle Ages.

    Following is the full text of the article:

    The three experts who gave interviews were:

    Zhang Yun, research professor of the Institute of History of the China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC).

    Tanzen Lhundup, research professor and deputy-director of the Institute of Social Economy of the CTRC.

    Meng Guanglin, professor and course convenor of world history of the Middle Ages at the School of History of Renmin University of China.

    The reporters who conducted the interviews:

    Yuan Xiang and Xing Yuhao with the Guangming Daily

   

    The Tibetan feudal serfdom under theocracy was a combined dictatorship of monks and aristocrats

    Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said (at a press conference on April 8): "The Dalai Lama is the head representative of the serf system, which integrated religion with politics in old Tibet. Such a serf system, which harbors no democracy, freedom or human rights in any form, was the darkest slavery system in human history. Only serf owners could enjoy special privileges under such a system."

    Jiang also said: "The 'middle way' approach that the Dalai Lama is pursuing is aimed at restoring his own 'paradise in the past', which will throw millions of liberated serfs back into a dark cage. Such a 'middle way', who can accept it?"

    Reporter: Jiang Yu's words revealed that the nature of the Dalai Lama's "middle way" is to restore serfdom. In terms of history, what kind of system was the Tibetan serf system?

    Zhang Yun: Before the democratic reform in 1959, Tibet was a society of feudal serfdom under the integration of religion and politics and the dictatorship of monks and aristocrats, one even darker and more backward than medieval Europe.

    Tanzen Lhundup: British diplomat Sir Charles Bell, who was regarded as "an expert on Tibet", wrote in his book "Portrait of a Dalai Lama: The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth": "When you come from Europe or America to Tibet, you are carried back several hundred years. You see a nation still in the feudal age. Great is the power of the nobles and squires over their tenants, who are either farmers tilling the more fertile plains and valleys, or shepherds, clad in their sheepskins, roaming over the mountains."

    Serf owners in Tibet were composed of local officials, aristocrats and high-level monks. They barely made up 5 percent of the total Tibetan population but possessed all the farmland, pastures, forests, mountains and rivers, and most of the livestock.

    According to official statistics dating from the early Qing Dynasty in the 17th century, the local government owned 30.9 percent of more than 3 million ke (1 hectare equals 15 ke) of farmland in Tibet. Aristocrats owned 29.6 percent and high-level monks, 39.5 percent.

    Before the democratic reform in 1959, Tibet had 197 families belonging to the hereditary aristocracy, including 25 large families. The seven or eight biggest such families each owned dozens of manors and tens of thousands of ke of land.

    Zhang Yun: The number of serfs surpassed 90 percent of the population in old Tibet. The serfs were further divided into three categories, namely "treba" (sharecroppers), who rented land from serf owners and worked as compulsory laborers and "dujung", which means small households working for lords. Besides these two types of serfs, there were "nangsen", who made up 5 percent of the total population. They were household servants for lords for generations without any production materials or personal freedom.

    Serf owners cruelly exploited serfs through compulsory labor and usury. Serfs toiled throughout the year but could hardly feed themselves, and usually had to make a living by borrowing at usurious rates. French Tibetologist Alexandra David-Neel wrote in her book "Old Tibet Faces A New China": "In old Tibet, all the peasants are serfs who are in debt for a life-long time. They also had to pay exorbitant taxes and levies and do heavy compulsory labor. "They totally lost their personal freedom and became poorer and poorer every year," she wrote.

    Meng Guanglin: As far as I know, serfdom was established in the 10th century in western Europe. As Karl Marx said, serfdom was one of the major slavery systems in human history and the essential representation of the feudal exploitation system.

    Serfs were a kind of agricultural laborer in the feudal society of western Europe. On the basis of feudal land ownership, the feudal lords owned land and other production materials and depended on personal dependent relations to control the serfs. They used "supra-economic coercion" to enslave them. In other words, they used political means, laws and customs, besides economic means, to control their personal freedom and exploit their surplus labor.

    Serfs were subservient to their owners in three respects: first, they did not have personal freedom and were their owners' property; second, the land they worked on belonged to their owners, so they were attached to their owners; third, they did not have equal legal rights the same as their owners and were judged by lords in court.

    Reporter: Serfs did not have any political rights and were exploited in the economic sense. They had to toil and do hard labor year after year. It seems that the system of western European serfdom in the Middle Ages was quite similar to the Tibetan feudal serfdom under theocracy.

    Meng Guanglin: Yes, it was of the same nature as serf systems, under which laborers were deprived of production materials and products, enjoyed no respect for their dignity or personal rights, and their creative spirit was suppressed.

    The system was a concentrated expression of personal dependence relations in traditional societies, which equals "direct governance and dependence relations."

    In this type of relationship, humanity, personality, human rights and humanism were all devastated, and the noble value of human individuals was sacrificed to the rights of lords and theocracy.

    Zhang Yun: In old Tibet, serf owners owned the serfs and treated them as private property. They could sell them, give them as gifts, use them to pay debts and trade them for other serfs. The Thirteen-Article Code and the Sixteen-Article Code, which were practiced in Tibet for hundreds of years, divided people into different categories and stipulated that they had different legal rights.

    Serf owners built public prisons and private prisons in accordance with both written and unwritten laws. The local government had courts and prisons. Large monasteries also had courts and prisons. Lairds could build private prisons in their manors.

    The punishments for serfs, which included gouging out eyes, cutting off ears, hands and feet, pulling out tendons, and throwing people into rivers, were cruel and savage. Handcuffs, fetters, sticks and clubs and cruel instruments of torture for gouging out eyes and pulling out tendons were found in Gandan Monastery, one of the biggest monasteries in Tibet.

    Therefore, the Tibetan feudal serf system under the integration of religion and politics was a dictatorship of monks and aristocrats. "Under such a system, serfs -- who made up a majority of the population in Tibet -- had no democracy, freedom or human rights in any form. Only serf owners could enjoy privileges."

    Meng Guanglin: Based on the above statements, the feudal serf system under the integration of religion and politics was an even darker and crueler system than European serfdom in the Middle Ages.

    Only by breaking loose from the shackles of this system, could the Tibetan people be freed and liberated and their great enterprise and creativity be brought into full play and the development of history be pushed forward. As Karl Marx pointed out: "Liberty in any form is all about bringing back to people the relationship between their world and themselves."

   

    Theocracy shackled people's spiritual life under feudal serfdom

    "To understand 20th century Tibetan history, therefore, it is necessary to understand that Tibet was, in many fundamental ways, a pre-modern theocratic polity, and this was not because of any unusual isolation." -- American Tibetologist and anthropologist Melvyn C. Goldstein, "A History of Modern Tibet".

    Reporter: Under the feudal serf system, no matter in old Tibet or in western Europe in the middle ages, theocracy controlled and shackled people's minds. In addition to expropriation of personal freedom, it also deprived commoners' freedom of thought. Isn't this another dark side of the system?

    Meng Guanglin: Yes, shackling people's thoughts and behavior was indeed a conspicuous aspect of the dark feudal serfdom. Although western Europe in the middle ages was not under a completely theocratic system, the integration of religion and politics was the guarantee of the feudal serf system.

    The problem does not lie in religion or belief, but in the church's monopoly and control of people's religion and thought. For example, in medieval Europe, commoners had no right to read or interpret the Bible. Instead, the right lay in the hands of the clergy. Everyone who betrayed the church's faith, thoughts and criteria would be labeled as a heretic and be expelled from the church, which meant neither his life or property could be safeguarded.

    Zhang Yun: In the old theocracy in Tibet, which featured a dictatorship by monks and nobles, this dark side was more fully demonstrated in a crueler way -- the religious authority ruled people's Earthly lives with administrative power, while terrorizing them in the name of meting out rewards and punishments for their afterlives with religious privileges.

    Due to historical and cultural reasons, many Tibetans believe in Buddhism and thus believe in an afterlife. The ruling class, however, just utilized this to serve their own interests. British expert Edmund Candler said in his book, "The Unveiling of Lhasa," that "the monks are the overlords, the peasantry their serfs." The poor and the small tenant farmers "work ungrudgingly for their spiritual masters, to whom they owe a blind devotion".

    In fact, we know that most of the common monks in old Tibet also failed to cast off their identities as serfs. The so-called "monk forces" were only comprised of an extremely small number of upper-class monks and nobles with a monastic background. As Sir Charles Bell stated in his Portrait of A Dalai Lama: the Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth:

    "Does it not matter to you whether you are reborn as a human being or as a pig? The Dalai Lama can help to secure that you will be reborn as a human being in a high position, or, better still, as a monk or nun in a country where Buddhism flourishes."

    On the contrary, if you refused to listen to them, you would not be reincarnated from generation to generation. The "monk forces" just used this kind of spiritual intimidation to safeguard their theocracy.

    Reporter: Education was vital for people to shed theocracy's control over their spiritual lives. The church had monopolized education in Europe before the 12th century. With the burgeoning of the commodity economy, however, secular schools began to emerge and western universities started to mushroom. Though these colleges were to some extent controlled by the church at that time, they still played a vital part in freeing people from the shackles of medieval theology. Did old Tibet, with feudal serfdom under theocracy, have similar educational institutions?

    Zhang Yun: No. In old Tibet, education and the right to education were monopolized by the ruling class featuring a dictatorship by monks and nobles. The only way to get access to education was to enter monasteries to "read scriptures". Although this made it possible for serf's children to become monks, their status was only shifted from a "serf" of lords to a "serf" of the monasteries.

    Only the offspring of the nobles could use it as a channel to the upper echelons. Under the theocratic system, monks accounted for a large proportion of the members in the Kasha (the former local government of Tibet). They held the absolute power to punish and execute innocent people at will, while members of the Kasha enjoyed practical economic interests. How could commoners have any hope under those circumstances?

    Under such a dark system, people had no right to express their thoughts and they even had no right of thought. They should listen to whatever the living Buddha said, otherwise, it would be considered a crime.

    It was such a dark system that led to a gradually closed and conservative old Tibet. It fully showed that the system not only fettered Tibetan people's thoughts, but also harmed traditional Tibetan history and culture, including the passing on of religion. It merits noticing that as early as the 15th century, Europe had bid farewell to the medieval shadow. The darker dictatorship in Tibet, however, lasted until the 1950s.

   

    Attempts to return Tibet to a feudal serfdom system advocating the integration of politics and religion go against the times

    "As Tibet attempted to adapt to the rapid changes of the 20th century, religion and the monasteries played a major role in thwarting progress."

    -- by American Tibetologist and anthropologist Melvyn C. Goldstein, "A History of Modern Tibet," 1913-1951, the Demise of the Lamaist State, P37)

    Reporter: Why did Europe and China's Tibet react differently to serfdom when it stood in the way of social development and progress?

    Meng Guanglin: The cruel serfdom and theocracy in the West led to the rebellion of farmers in the form of "heresy" at the time. For example, low-ranking missionaries in 14th century England including John Ball, one of the preachers of Lollardy (an anti-clerical movement), demanded: "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"

    The Lollards demanded the abolishment of serfdom, forced labor, land tax, tallage (an agricultural production tax) and differences in property, to ensure equality among the classes of society. Prompted by Ball, the English Peasants' Revolt erupted in 1381 as peasants led by Walter Tyler entered London and severely weakened the reigning class. The Jacquerie revolt at about the same time in France, and the German peasants' revolt in the 16th century, all erupted for the same purpose.

    Zhang Yun: The old reigning authorities in Tibet integrated politics with religion and isolated the serfdom region (Tibet) from the outside world. In this region, people had no control over their lives, no free will. Social production was suppressed and halted, and the population declined. However, the brutal reign continued, even worsened.

    Tanzen Dhumdup: In the 1950s, the serfdom system in Tibet could no longer fit in with the times. Serfdom became the root cause of Tibet's poverty and falling behind the world. Under the serfdom system, the Tibetan people, both monks and secular people, could not live a better life, and Tibet could not make progress.

    The peaceful Liberation of Tibet in 1951 brought light to the abolition of the serfdom system. However, some leading personages of Tibet at the time still had doubts about democratic reform, and a good number of monks still needed more time to learn about reform. Moreover, some high-ranking secessionists close to imperialistic countries who were among the leading personages used religion and ethnicity as illusions to instigate ethnic conflicts, and it took time to disillusion the common Tibetan people.

    The central government decided to take a more cautious measure to push for reform. According to the "Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" ("17-Article Agreement" for short) signed by the central government and the Tibet authorities, "the Central Government will not use coercion to implement such a reform, and it is to be carried out by the Tibetan local government on its own; when the people demand reform, the matter should be settled by way of consultation with the leading personnel of Tibet."

    In the meantime, the central government has provided help for Tibet in terms of goods and financial support. Government subsidies to Tibet topped 357 million yuan between 1952 and 1958.

    The central government waited eight years for the peaceful democratic reform of Tibet, as did millions of Tibetan peasants. But some people in the upper ruling strata of Tibet, in order to preserve feudal serfdom, staged an armed rebellion on March 10, 1959.

    After the rebellion failed, the backers of the Dalai Lama fled abroad, still hoping to restore serfdom in Tibet and advocating "Tibet Independence".

    Their actions since then have gone against the times and the well-being of the people of Tibet, and they will not succeed.

    Zhang Yun: Now, the Dalai Lama has been calling for "democracy" all the time. But as we can see, the "government in exile" of the Dalai Lama's group still advocates the integration of politics and religion. The Dalai Lama claimed that he would give up his power in exchange for the freedom of the Tibetan people.

    That means that the Dalai Lama now actually rules the "government in exile", which advocates the integration of politics and religion, while also stating that he would renounce his ruling position in return for the so-called "high level of autonomy in Greater Tibet".

    Who would believe that kind of self-contradictory statement? In other words, the Dalai Lama wanted nothing other than "Tibet Independence" and the restoration of the feudal serfdom system, which advocates the integration of politics and religion in Tibet.

    Reporter: The old Tibet is far from the Shangri-la of some westerners' minds. Modern Europe cannot return to what it used to be 500 years ago. And China's Tibet cannot return to the old Tibet, ruled by the backers of the Dalai Lama, where a feudal serfdom system advocating the integration of politics and religion still existed. Anyone who attempts to, or dreams of, returning Tibet to a dark reign is doomed to fail.