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Is China's Claim to Tibet Justified? Essay

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As much as I would like to take a neutral approach to the Tibetan-Chinese issue, I am concerned it is simply impossible. I remember when I first read Patric French's “Tibet, Tibet. A personal history of a lost land”. I was in my dorm room up all night, shivers constantly running down my spine, from time to time tears running down the cheeks too, I have to confess. Back then I did not know what exactly was going on in this remote and mysterious country, apart from that it is under Chinese occupation and the people are looking for liberation.* But when I read the book I instantly empathized with the story of Tibet. This is probably due to the fact that Estonia, my home country, once was in a similar desperate situation, being succumbed to …show more content…

So lets now take a closer look on why China so furiously disagrees with Buss and how Chinese government gives cause for its legacy on Tibet. In 617 Songtsen Gampo, “he who is powerful, just and profound”, ascended to the throne as the 32nd king of Tibet. He expanded and united the Tibetan territories so that it became a real empire. He conquered Nepal, part of Burma and the Northern part of India. He also embraced Buddhism and enhanced the proliferation of literacy.5 He also moved the capital to Lhasa. In 634 Gampo defeated Chinese army and he demanded for a bride as a sign of honor from the Chinese emperor, who at this time was Tai Tsung. The emperor at first refused to give the princess, but after another successful military campaign by Tibetan army he had no choice but to agree.6 The bride arrived to Lhasa in 641. In fact, she was not a Chinese princess. At best she was a stepdaughter of the emperor or just a random girl.7 However, Songtsen Gampo and the Chinese bride got married and now the Chinese take this marriage as an act of Chinese and Tibetan union. Sun Wade of course too supports this theory by confirming: “In historical aspects Tibet has been a part of China since the Tang dynasty (617-907)”.8 The next moot point in the tussle over Tibet comes from the

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