Taipei, March 10 (IANS) As Tibetans worldwide observe the 67th anniversary of the uprising in Lhasa on Tuesday, China continues its relentless campaign to exert control over both Tibetan land and identity, a report has highlighted.
The rebellion on March 10, 1959, saw ordinary Tibetan men and women confront the Chinese forces to defend their dignity, culture and faith.
According to an editorial in Taipei Times on Tuesday, despite Beijing’s machinery of surveillance, propaganda and coercion, the Tibetan spirit remains unbroken.
“China’s strategy has always gone beyond physical occupation. It seeks to reshape Tibetan identity itself — rewriting history, controlling monasteries, and attempting to sever the bond between Tibetans and the Dalai Lama. Textbooks are censored, language policies erode Tibetan instruction, and religious practice is monitored or restricted. The aim is clear: to engineer loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party by erasing the memory of resistance and the hope of freedom,” the Taipei Times editorial detailed.
“However, minds are not so easily colonised. Tibetan resilience rests on three pillars: faith, philosophy and collective memory. For faith and philosophy, Buddhism teaches endurance, compassion and the impermanence of suffering, values that have fortified Tibetans against despair. For collective memory, families pass down stories of the uprising, of exile and of survival. Oral history resists official erasure,” it added.
The editorial piece noted that on March 10 every year, the Tibetan diaspora and allies worldwide make their voices heard, reminding the world of their enduring struggle against the repression of Chinese authorities
“Attempts to control thought often backfire. The more Beijing insists on conformity, the more Tibetans cling to their identity. The very act of repression becomes proof of the truth Tibetans carry within them — that their culture and dignity are not gifts from the state, but inheritances from centuries of civilisation,” it mentioned
“March 10 is not only a day of mourning, but also of defiance. It is a reminder that oppression has limits: It can dictate behaviour, but it cannot command belief. Each year, Tibetans reaffirm that their minds remain free, even if their bodies are constrained,” it further noted.
Emphasising that China’s failure over 67 years underscores the futility of attempting to dominate the human spirit, the report said, “Tibetans endure because they know that identity is not granted by power, but preserved through memory, practice and faith. As long as March 10 is remembered, Beijing’s project of control will remain incomplete.”
--IANS
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