Tibet Brief 20/20

If you thought China's incorporation of Tibet is water under the bridge, think again. 

Tibet Brief 20/20 is a wakeup call for governments to rethink their stance on Tibet, as their current policies enable Chinese hegemonistic behavior in the region. 

"China has occupied Tibet against the will of the Tibetan people for nearly three generations now. Its sovereignty claim to Tibet has no legal basis and rests solely on a self-serving historical narrative. This narrative is Sino-centric, part inaccurate and part misleading. But it is so persistently and forcefully pushed by Beijing, that the world has gradually bought into it and today largely treats Tibet as China's internal affair, beyond its purview. We have become passive bystanders to an unfolding tragedy and as a result of our governments' appeasement on Tibet, China has become an entitled bully, aggressively pursuing strategic territorial expansion elsewhere." Michael van Walt van Praag (FNA Webinar 'Tibet in Sino-Indian Relations,' Sep. 22, 2020).

Devoid of the self-censorship often encountered in works on Tibet and China, the authors of Tibet Brief 20/20 meticulously debunk Beijing's historical narrative and convincingly demonstrate that:

Tibet was historically never a part of China;

the PRC has not acquired sovereignty over Tibet since seizing the country; 

Tibetans are wrongfully denied the exercise of their right to self-determination; and 

the international community is failing in its legal obligations and responsibility to help end the Sino-Tibetan conflict.

Tibet Brief 20/20 is a call to action, to course-correct. The result of ten years of collaborative research, and benefitting from the authors' intimate understanding of the Sino-Tibetan conflict and efforts to resolve it, it is a must read and indispensable reference for policymakers, civil society advocates and Asia specialists.