Seventy-five years after the Chinese invasion, Tibet remains under siege but unbroken, as Tibetans worldwide reflect on the events of October 7, 1950.
BEIJING – Seventy-five years after the Chinese invasion, Tibet continues to endure under oppressive circumstances, yet remains resilient. This sentiment was echoed in a report released on October 8, as Tibetans across the globe commemorated the events of October 7, 1950. On that day, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China entered Tibet’s eastern province of Kham, marking the beginning of what many describe as occupation rather than liberation.
The report from the Tibet Rights Collective vividly described the invasion, stating, “Tibet’s mountains were shaken when eighty thousand Chinese troops descended upon the plateau like a dark wave, overpowering the 8,000-strong Tibetan army defending their homeland. It was a day an ancient, peaceful civilization was invaded, silenced, and scarred.”
In 1951, the Seventeen-Point Agreement was signed under duress, promising Tibet autonomy, religious freedom, and dignity. However, the report asserts that “China promised peace — and delivered chains.” Over the decades, the consequences of this agreement have been dire, with more than 6,000 monasteries destroyed, scriptures burned, and countless monks imprisoned. The report lamented, “The world stayed silent — but the mountains remembered.”
Today, nearly one million Tibetan children are reportedly held in Chinese state-run boarding schools, separated from their families, monasteries, and cultural heritage. In these sterile environments, the Tibetan language has been replaced by Mandarin, and party slogans have supplanted compassion. As a result, many children grow up unable to communicate with their grandparents, leading to a profound estrangement from their own identity.
The report also referenced a 2025 study titled “Weaponizing Big Data: Decoding China’s Digital Surveillance in Tibet,” which outlines how biometric data, DNA, and facial recognition technologies are utilized by Beijing to implement predictive policing. This system aims to suppress dissent even before it is articulated.
The United Nations has characterized these actions as cultural erasure, with the clear objective of raising a generation that views Tibet not as their homeland, but as merely a “region of China.” The report emphasized that this is not education; it is a form of assimilation, contributing to the gradual erasure of an entire civilization, one child at a time.
Furthermore, the report highlighted the environmental impact of Chinese policies on the Tibetan Plateau, often referred to as the Third Pole. It noted that the region is melting under the pressures of militarization and exploitation. China’s dam projects on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River pose significant threats to the water lifeline of South and Southeast Asia.
Despite these challenges, the Tibetan diaspora, spanning from India to Europe and the United States, continues to raise awareness about the situation. The report concluded with a powerful reminder: “You can occupy a country, but not its conscience.”
As the world reflects on the 75th anniversary of the invasion, it is evident that while Beijing may control the land, the spirit of Tibet lives on in those who refuse to forget.
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