EVENTS

Abstract

After the exodus in 1959, the stated task before the Tibetan leadership in exile was to highlight the plight of the Tibetan people to the world and seek international support for the independence of Tibet. That the Dalai Lama would settle for an autonomous status as envisaged by his middle way approach (MWA) was inconceivable, notwithstanding, formal contact between the two sides commenced in 1979, and continued into the 21st century. After three decades of intermittent dialoguing, the process has once again come to a standstill. One of the overriding Tibetan concerns has been that China’s participation in the talks is, and has always been, a ruse. Such a concern/representation of the Sino-Tibetan talks, however, fails to consider that the contacts were initiated by China (with an adequate amount of signaling from the Dalai Lama since the early 1970s). What did actually transpire in the three decades of engagement that resulted in the current stalemate? The prescriptive value in analyzing and highlighting the transformation in the positions of either actor – not only in terms of the engagement process but also the issues – is immense. The presentation will attempt to provide a broad overview of some of the findings of the doctoral thesis undertaken by the speaker.

About the Speaker

Ms. Tshering Chonzom has recently submitted her PhD thesis titled ‘Applying Negotiation Theory to the Sino-Tibetan talks: 1979-2006’ to the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Her areas of interest include understanding the linkages between sovereignty and its impact on sub-nationalities and ethnic minorities, China’s nationalities policy, socio-economic development on the Tibetan plateau and its effect on Tibetan nationalism, political developments among the Tibetan Diaspora community, the  Tibet factor in India-China relations, ramifications of international involvement in the Sino-Tibetan conflict, and the future of the ‘Tibet question’, especially in a post-Dalai Lama era. Some of her writings on the aforementioned issues have appeared in the Indian Council of World Affairs, China Report, Hindustan Times, World Focus, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Phayul and the Tibetan World. Recently, she was part of a three member delegation from the Institute of Chinese Studies to launch the initiative “China-India-Nepal Trilateral Cooperation” hosted by the Nepal Institute of International and Strategic Studies in Kathmandu. Among others, she worked as Programme Coordinator, Heinrich Böll Foundation from 2008 to February 2013.