The move is seen as ‘completely politically-driven, to legitimize the occupation and rule of Tibet,’ say experts.
-by Radio Free Asia
China has replaced the use of the term “Tibet” with “Xizang” as the romanized Chinese name on official diplomatic documents, a recent speech by the Foreign Minister Wang Yi shows.
The change comes as Chinese Communist Party scholars advocate an amendment to the translated name which they claim will prevent the Dalai Lama from reestablishing the right to speak about Tibet. They pointed out that the Party needed to promote its legitimate occupation and rule of the autonomous region.
On Tuesday, the Chinese media and the official account of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China, “United Front News,” touted that “there is no more Tibet in the official documents of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
In the English transcript of Wang’s speech at the opening ceremony of the Third Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation on Oct. 5, Xizang was used throughout the copy.
The commonly used name of Tibet by the international community encompassed not just Tibet alone, but also Tibetan-related areas of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces, according to Chinese media reports. This geographical scope is consistent with the “Greater Tibet” defined by the 14th Dalai Lama.
Chinese media outlets quoted Chinese official experts as saying that the name “Tibet” has been geographically misleading to the international community, and rectifying it “will help enhance China’s international voice on Tibet.”
Dawa Tsering, director of the Tibet Policy Institute, told Radio Free Asia that scholars of Tibetan history and culture are aware that the geographical concept includes all Tibetan areas, and the CCP’s move was completely politically-driven, to legitimize the occupation and rule of Tibet.
“It’s a terribly bad political maneuver by the CCP. Concepts that have existed in history express historical facts. That ‘Tibet’ refers to the entire Greater Tibet or the entire area where Tibetans live,” Tsering said. “By imposing its Chinese concept on the English one, it wants to secretly change the concept. It wants to tell others that Tibet is just the ‘Tibet autonomous region.’ Apart from expressing its sovereignty it is adopting a divide-and-rule policy for Tibet.”
Tsering called on the international community not to compromise with the CCP’s efforts to reshape history and to stick to the established term “Tibet.”
“This is also a litmus test to see whether the international community will succumb to the CCP’s tyranny. If you give in, you will call ‘Xizang’ like the Chinese parrot; if you don’t give in, just continue to use ‘Tibet’ because this is a true fact. The most important thing is not what China does. It’s about whether the international community will buy it,” he added.
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