Facts about Tibet

• Tibet covers an area the size of Western Europe and is the world’s highest plateau.

• Tibet’s culture is magnificent and unique. Until 1950 Tibet retained that ancient culture and was revered by Buddhists throughout the world.
• Tibetans (6 million) are now outnumbered by Chinese (7.5 million) within Tibet.
• Over 1.2 million Tibetans have died in the widespread programme of imprisonment, torture and executions.
• 120,000 Tibetans have fled their country, risking their lives, for uncertain lives as refugees in India, Nepal and elsewhere.
• China, which controls Tibet, is the world’s most oppressive police state. There are between a quarter and half a million Chinese troops in Tibet.
• China permits no news media in Tibet. Amnesty International and foreign diplomats are refused permission to visit. Tibetans in Tibet are liable to interrogation, imprisonment and torture for having unofficial contact with foreigners.
• Tibet’s unique culture and Buddhist religion have been systematically suppressed, with the destruction of over 6,000 monasteries and public buildings.
• China has looted Tibet’s enormous mineral wealth, natural resources and priceless art treasures, transporting them back to China to fuel its own economic growth.
• China has developed limited tourism in parts of Tibet where some rebuilding has taken place. Some monks have been allowed to return to plundered monasteries but their numbers and activities are closely controlled by the Chinese.
• An Apartheid system is in place. Following mass migration of Chinese into Tibet, the economy is now dominated by these immigrants who hold all the best jobs. Employment prospects for Tibetans are virtually nonexistent.
• Coercive birth control policies, including enforced abortion and sterilisation, are completing the policies of wiping out Tibet’s identity for ever.