Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Tibetan
National Uprising Day, 10 March 1979
Today, on the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Tibetan
National Uprising Day, I express my warmest greetings to every Tibetan
inside and outside Tibet, united by our common language, race,
traditions and customs while having a variety of ideology, behaviour
and profession.
During the past 20 years 100,000 or so Tibetan refugees (mostly in
India and 16 countries in the East and the West) have been earning
their livelihood by agriculture, small business, handicrafts, etc., and
their living standard is improving and they are becoming
self-sufficient. Of special importance is the fact that over 20,000
Tibetan youths who were provided with both the traditional and modern
education, which are like the wings of a birdare joining the
mainstream of modern life. Our religion and cultureconsidered poison
by the Chineseare not only preserved and their centres firmly
established in the Tibetan settlements in India, but are also spreading
among peoples of different social strata and races and gaining much
interest and respect in the East and the West. Regarding our political
situation, we follow the democratic system and tread the path of
freedom, not only in word but in deed. And considering that we were
forced to leave our land and wander in other peoples lands, the fact
that we have achieved a lot of success for the benefit of both the
society and the individual is worth remembering.
We must not, however, be content with what we have achieved so far, for
we must still strive for greater progress. Especially, since the main
reason why we are in exile is the welfare of the 6 million Tibetans.
Learning from our past experienceswithout being discouraged by our
tragedywe must persevere and carry on the struggle until the day the 6
million Tibetans are fully satisfied, and peace and freedom are fully
restored to our land.
The Chinese, of course, say that we are against progress and
revolution, against the Tibetan people and very oppressive, following
the wrong path. It is not necessary for us to say repeatedly that these
are lies, nor is there a need for us to lie. The free world knows that
we have fought for change and reforms, what we have done to preserve
our ancient culture and race and how we have tried to work, with
justice and impartiality, for the welfare of our people; our actions
are clear like a writing on a wall. If friends, enemies or observers
investigate, it will be clear as to who is telling the truth, who is
following the right path; and where it is that black is changed to
white within only a year or two without a single basis for trust, and
where earlier statements are contradicted by later ones and statements
are like the words of a mad man.
We had no wish to challenge the Chinese military might, but the Tibetan
masses in desperation, from 1955 onwards and in 1959, opposed, resisted
and rose up in rebellion against the Chinese and cried: “Chinese Quit
Tibet! Tibet will be Governed by Tibetans!” This was a spontaneous
feeling expressed by all Tibetans against the Chinese. But the Chinese
declared that it was fomented and led by external opponents who were
the paper tiger American imperialists and the expansionist Indians, and
the internal enemies who were a few reactionaries. They forcibly
suppressed the Tibetan national uprising and misrepresented to the
world that the Tibetan people actually supported the Chinese.
Similarly, in China, many campaigns were launched from the 1950
onwards, such as the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, Learn
from Tachai, which, as is known and accepted by all today, contained
faults and mistakes and did not succeed but brought heavy losses. But
at that time the Chinese said these campaigns were great successes.
Moreover in China many old Chinese leaders who had worked for the
Revolution for many years were purged under various pretexts and names;
and when actual conditions necessitated their reinstatement they were
appointed again on various excuses. In a short period it seems that in
Chinese politics a person is purged many times and reinstated many
times and thousands of reasons are given for the most unexpected
changes. But, the Chinese are an intelligent people and can no longer
believe the words of their leaders. Also, in the case of nations, the
USSR, which was once a trusted and close friend of China, is now
regarded as her chief enemy.
For a long time there were successive heavy losses and problems in the
Chinese economy, education, and so forth. However to hide these
problems, propaganda about great success was drummed up; even workers
and common cadres were made to publicise statistics learnt by rote. The
amount of energy spent on these could have moved mountains and churned
oceans but all these efforts achieved nothing and only exhausted the
people.
So now, in order to catch up with the rest of the world, to cope with
realities and to modernise China, great changes in Chinese politics
have taken place recently. And, particularly, since their propaganda
failed, the Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping has been repeatedly making
statements like: “seeking truth from facts”, “if the masses feel some
anger, we must let them express it”, “if you have an ugly face, it is
no use pretending to be handsome”, “we must recognise our shortcomings
and mistakes”. Unlike the previous Chinese leadership, there now
appears to be a desire for honesty, modernisation and leniency.
The present Chinese leaders should give up the past dogmatic
narrow-mindedness and fear of losing face and recognise the present
world situation. They should accept their mistakes, the realities, and
the right of all peoples of the human race to equality and happiness.
Acceptance of this should not be merely on paper; it should be put in
practice. If these are accepted and strictly followed all problems can
be solved with honesty and justice.
During the commemoration of the last 10th March Anniversary, I said
that Tibetans inside Tibet who desire to travel abroad should be
allowed to do so and those outside Tibet should be able to visit their
country and meet with people. If this freedom existed, the truth about
conditions on both sides would be clear to the Tibetans. This
opportunity is the right of the Tibetans. Such a policy is also
practicable and reasonable.
A beginning has now been made of granting such an opportunity for the
Tibetans in exile to meet their families and relatives. It is their
right and so this is a welcome gesture. But, it is important that,
besides the showcases, they must be permitted to see the actual
conditions in Tibet, because so far the true conditions have been
hidden from all foreigners who have visited Tibet. Such actions may
serve the Chinese purpose a few times but will, in the end, bring only
disgrace. This is clear from recent events in China. Therefore, I hope
the Chinese will not resort to similar attempts when Tibetans visit
Tibet in the future.
In short, to find the truth about conditions in Tibet from such visits
we shall have to investigate whether all the conditions for a
satisfactory meeting of the visitors and residents exist. I hope that
any Tibetan who desires to travel outside Tibet will be able to do so
without any restriction, and such an opportunity may not be denied on
various excuses and pretexts as done in the past.
My statements, which have been based on our experiences of the past 20
years or so might not at first mean much to the present Chinese
occupation forces and some Tibetan cadres, but if they discarded bias
and chauvinism, and remembered past experiences, stopped being
narrow-minded and egoistic and making statements like, “East Wind Will
Prevail Over the West Wind”, and instead considered the good and the
bad aspects of the actual conditions and welfare of both the East and
the West, I hope and believe that this statement becomes the basis for
discovering the truth and thereby bringing improvement.
Finally, I would like to make special mention at this time of our 20
years in exile the assistance given by the government of India to the
Tibetan people in rehabilitating, educating and in preserving and
promoting our culture and religion. We also deeply appreciate Indias
humanitarian concern and the warm relationship that exists between the
two countries from centuries ago and in particular our religious and
cultural relationship, which may be described as that of one between a
teacher and student. The incalculable goodwill and assistance that the
Tibetan people have received from the people, the central and state
governments of India at a particularly tragic period in the history of
Tibet, will never be forgotten and will be accorded an important
chapter in the history of Tibet as well as the history of world
Buddhism.
The Dalai Lama
March 10, 1979