dalai-lama
|
|
| Image: The Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, left, greets the crowd gathered to welcome him as he arrives at the Tsuglakhang temple to attend a prayer session for the victims of the 1989 uprising in Lhasa, in Dharmsala, India, Sunday, March 8, 2009.(Copyright AP. Any unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.) |
Beijing: The question of Tibet's autonomy has been a bone of contention for decades. The following are important dates in modern Tibetan history:
1912 Chinese troops expelled from Lhasa after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing. The 13th Dalai Lama declares independence from China. Tibet rules itself until 1950.
1935 Fourteenth Dalai Lama born on July 6.
1949 The People's Republic of China founded by Mao Zedong after the Chinese Civil War.
1950 Chinese People's Liberation Army invades Tibet in October. Fourteenth Dalai Lama enthroned in November.
1951 Tibet's representatives in May agree under pressure to a 17-point agreement, in which they give up independence but are promised autonomy from China. People's Liberation Army enters Lhasa in September.
1954 Dalai Lama visits Beijing.
1959 Uprising against Chinese occupation begins in Lhasa on March 10.
Dalai Lama flees to India March 17. Large-scale destruction of monasteries and temples follows.
1965 China creates the Tibet Autonomous Region, which includes about half of Tibet's historical settlement area. The rest is incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces.
1966 China's Cultural Revolution - which includes further destruction of cultural heritage, temples and monasteries - begins. Farming organised into collectives.
1976 Mao dies, and Cultural Revolution ends.
1979 Slow liberalisation and opening of Tibet begins.
1980 Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang visits Tibet.
1985 Tibet opened to mass tourism.
1987 Unrest breaks out in Lhasa and Shigatse.
1989 Protests in Tibet violently crushed under current Chinese president and party leader, Hu Jintao.
2002 Chinese government opens dialogue with the Dalai Lama. The talks have reached no agreement to date.
2008 Protests spread to other Tibetan-settled regions March 14 after anti-Chinese riots in Lhasa. China puts down the uprising, many Tibetans are arrested and Tibet is declared off-limits to foreign journalists.
For more International news | For more Political news | For more Offbeat news
| Slide Shows | Columns | Calendar
Share | 
Print | Rate 
