A: No. Early in the 7th century, Songtsan Gambo used force to annex the other
tribes living on the Tibet Plateau, and set up the Tubo Kingdom, which included
the larger part of today's Tibet autonomous Region.
In 1247 the religious
leader of Tibet and China's Mongol regime laid down the terms for Tibetan submission
to the Mongols, which included presentation of maps and census records, payment
of tributes, and the acceptance of rule by appointed officials. The regime of
the Mongol Khanate changed its title to Yuan in 1271 and unified the whole of
China in 1279. Tibet thus became an administrative region directly under the administration
of the central government of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). This occurred 500 years
prior to the independence of the United States.
In the centuries following,
the Chinese central government maintained the right to determine Tibet's local
administrative bodies, to appoint and remove local officials, and to conduct regular
censuses. The central government of the Qing Dynasty also dispatched commissioners
to be stationed in Tibet, to supervise Tibet's local administrative affairs on
behalf of the central authorities. In 1653 and 1713, the Qing emperors granted
honorific titles to the 5th Dalai Lama and the 5th Panchen Lama, thereby officially
establishing the titles of Dalai Lama and panchen Erdini and their political and
religious status in Tibet. This also instituted the process whereby reincarnation
and enthronement of various generations of Dalai and Panchen could take place
only after first obtaining central government approval. The reincarnation of the
14th Dalai Lama, who is currently in exile abroad, was approved in 1940 by the
then president of the National Government.
No country in the world regards
Tibet as an independent country. The assertion that "historically Tibet has
been an independent country" is one that has been fabricated by a handful
of people with ulterior motives, and it does not conform to historical facts. |
