Michael van Walt van Praag / Miek Boltjes
If you thought Tibet was water under the bridge, this book will make you think again.Tibet Brief 20/20 is a wakeup call that establishes a link between China’s current expansionism and the international community’s misguided appeasement on Tibet. The book maintains that many states are today not only acting contrary to their international legal obligations by treating Tibet as China’s internal affair, beyond their purview; they are also enabling China’s aggressive behavior and blunt display of entitlement. Our governments, the authors argue, must urgently course correct, and not only in order to do right by the Tibetans.The authors first convincingly show that, contrary to what Beijing claims and to what many people take for granted, Tibet was historically never a part of China, and Beijing does not have the right to rule Tibet and exploit its resources. They do so by thoroughly debunking China’s narrative created to justify its sovereignty over Tibet. The result of their historical and legal analysis is not only a new appreciation of Tibet, but also a new understanding of the Mongol and Manchu empires as well as China.Next the book demonstrates that both Tibet’s occupation and Beijing’s suppression of the Tibetans’ right to self-determination are serious violations of international law, and that all states have an obligation to help end the seven-decade Sino-Tibetan conflict.Tibet Brief 20/20 is a call to action. 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, the book is a must read and indispensable reference for policy makers, civil society advocates and Asia specialists.
