| The history of such an ancient country
like Tibet could take up this entire website, and more besides! But this
is not the role we feel the Tibet Site should be playing.
An excellent brief history however, of early Tibet to the present day,
along with some relevant facts and figures, can be found at;
www.tibetanyouthcongress.org
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| Below we have listed some of the key
dates in modern Tibetan history starting with the Chinese invasion in 1950. |
| 1950 |
1950 40,000 Chinese troops invade Tibet. |
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15 year old Tenzin Gyatso is given full powers as
the 14th Dalai Lama to ensure the survival of his country. |
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| 1951 |
The ’17 Point Agreement’ is agreed between
the Dalai Lama and the Chinese occupiers to regain some degree of independence
for the Tibetan people. |
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| 1959 |
The Dalai Lama and his government abandon their
attempt to work with the Chinese and flee into exile in India. |
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Over 400,000 Tibetans are killed in a national uprising
and over 100,000 more follow the Dalai Lama into exile. |
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| 1966 |
In the madness of the so called ‘Cultural Revolution’,
6000 Buddhist monasteries are destroyed. Thousands of Tibetans are imprisoned,
many are tortured, and Tibetan society itself comes under attack. |
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| 1987 |
The Dalai Lama address’s the US Congress and
presents his Five Point Peace Plan. |
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New protests begin in Tibet with monks and nuns bearing
the brunt of the Chinese crackdown. |
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| 1988 |
In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg,
the Dalai Lama renounces claims for full Tibetan Independence in exchange
for internal Tibetan autonomy. |
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| 1989 |
The Dalai Lama is presented with the Nobel Peace
Prize. The US$469,000 he was given for this award was immediately donated
to help starving peoples and for peace projects throughout the world. |
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| 1995 |
Gedhan Choekyi Nyima the 11th Panchen Lama, the 2nd
highest political and spiritual position in Tibetan society, is abducted
by the Chinese at the age of 6. |
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| 1999 |
The 40th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising
is remembered by protests in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. |
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| 2002 |
Formal contacts are established between the Tibetan
government in exile and China. Contacts which exist to this day. |
