Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 7:19:30 PM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

50 Years On, Tibet's Secret War Simmers

Posted Aug 30, 08 2:23 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – The little-known Tibetan resistance struggle after China's 1950 invasion still affects its politics today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dalai Lama's brother played a vital role in the CIA-backed armed movement, largely made up of Buddhist monks, and Chinese suspicion still lingers over how much the spiritual leader himself was involved.

Some historians say the Dalai Lama was fully informed about the resistance, while his aides say his brother kept him in the dark. By the early '70s, the resistance had largely been crushed, and the Dalai Lama called for the rebels to disband and the bloodshed to stop. Faced with the choice of abandoning the struggle or disobeying the spiritual leader, some Tibetan fighters took their own lives.

Source Wall Street Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • As Crisis Bites, UK Changes Stance on Tibet

    Nov 25, 08 8:25 AM CST
    As Crisis Bites, UK Changes Stance on Tibet Last month Gordon Brown called on China to pump more money into the International Monetary Fund, whose coffers are nearly bare as more nations succumb to the global financial crisis. Only a few days later, writes Robert Barnett in the New York Times, the British government quietly announced a change to a century-old policy: It explicitly recognized Tibet as a part of China.
    More »

  • Tibetans Push Lama Toward Harder Stance on China

    Nov 24, 08 1:07 PM CST
    Tibetans Push Lama Toward Harder Stance on China Tibetans still support the Dalai Lama’s “middle way” policy of negotiating for greater autonomy under Chinese rule, the Christian Science Monitor reports, but a conference of Tibetan exiles that ended today in India revealed many are growing impatient with Beijing’s endless foot-dragging. Members of the conference said there was a limit to their support for the middle way. More »

  • Tibet Strategy 'Failed': Lama

    Nov 15, 08 3:03 PM CST
    Tibet Strategy 'Failed': Lama Nearly five decades since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, he and his followers are growing restless. Last month, the Lama announced that the “middle way” strategy he pursued for 30 years—an attempt to negotiate autonomy for Tibet rather than pure independence—had failed. “As far as I’m concerned, I have given up,” he said. Experts say China plans to keep discouraging the Lama, 73, until he dies.
    More »

  • China Offers to Restart Talks With Dalai Lama

    Oct 29, 08 12:49 PM CDT
    China Offers to Restart Talks With Dalai Lama China has offered a fresh round of negotiations with the Dalai Lama on Tibet’s political status, the BBC reports. The religious leader should “treasure this opportunity,” according to an announcement in Chinese state media, which added that Beijing was willing to overlook the violent Tibetan protests that broke out last March. The Dalai Lama said over the weekend that he doubts whether talks with China will ever result in substantive change.
    More »

  • Dalai Lama Breezes Through Gall Stone Surgery

    Oct 10, 08 2:13 AM CDT
    Dalai Lama Breezes Through Gall Stone Surgery The Dalai Lama underwent gall stone surgery today in India after he was rushed to a hospital again suffering from abdominal pain, reports the Times of London. The 73-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists spent four days in a hospital with similar pains in August. The operation went off "without a hitch," said a spokesman. The Dalia Lama's recent health troubles have raised concerns about a successor.
    More »

In this picture taken April 11, 1959, a Chinese military officer a addresses Tibetans in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, after an unsuccessful armed uprising against Chinese rule.   (Getty Images)
A pro-Tibet supporter holding a poster of the Tibetan spiritual leader.   (Getty Images)
Tibetan monks, surrounded by soldiers of the Chinese Popular Liberation Army, lay down arms in April 1959 somewhere in the Tibetan mountains after an unsuccessful armed uprising against Chinese rule.   (Getty Images)
This undated file photograph shows Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's elder brother, Gyalo Thondup, in Dharamsala. Thondup was a key figure in the Tibetan resistance.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

China • CIA • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Tibetan independence • Buddhist monks • Buddhism • Tibetan monks


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »