Serfdom in Tibet controversy

"(This article is about a political debate. Social classes of Tibet is focused on socio-economic conditions in Tibet.)"

The serfdom in Tibet controversy rests on both a political and an academic debate. In the political debate, Chinese sources claim moral authority for governing Tibet, based on narratives that portray Tibet as a feudal serfdom and a "hell on earth" prior to the invasion of Tibet in 1950.Powers 2004, pg. 122] Tibetologists have presented a range of opinions as to the accuracy of this characterization, and there continues to be a lack of consensus on the topic. Accusations of the existence of unfree labour of all sorts has been a recurrent theme, these accusations covering periods both before and after the Chinese takeover. Sympathisers with the Communist regime highlight statements by the government of the People's Republic of China that, prior to 1959, 95% of Tibetans lived in 'feudal serfdom',cite web|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/features/Tibetpaper/tb1.html|title=White Paper on Tibet's March Forward|accessdate=2008-07-10] and cite cases of abuse and cruelty in the traditional Tibetan systemGoldstein 1997, p.56] . Sympathisers with the Free Tibet movement have highlighted reports of Communist-run forced labour camps in the region [Amnesty International, "Peoples' Republic of China: Repression in Tibet, 1987-1992"] and point out the efforts made by the Tibetan authorities to modernise the country and improve conditions in Tibet in the first half of the 20th Century.

In the academic debate of the 'Serfdom in Tibet' controversy, the nature of serfdom and its applicability to Eastern societies is contested amongst academics. Tibetologist Melvyn Goldstein wrote in 1971 that "Tibet was characterized by a form of institutionalized inequality that can be called pervasive serfdom". However many academics have questioned the applicability of the concept to Tibet, a recent example being Heidi Fjeld who in 2003 argued that feudalism and the use of the term 'serf' was misleading in relation to the social system of Tibet and instead described it as "a caste-like social hierarchy". [cite book|last=Fjeld|first= Heidi|title=Commoners and Nobles:Hereditary Divisions in Tibet |publisher= Nordic Institute of Asian Studies|date=2003|pages=p.5|isbn=9788791114175|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g0V5lV_M-SYC&]

In Europe, serfdom is associated with manorialism and was a historical phenomenon primarily of the Middle Ages. It has been argued, however, that the PRC's experimentation with collective farming and People's communes in the 1950s and 60s amounted to a return to government-owned serfdom. (See the Alleged Return of Serfdom.) For a description of social conditions in pre-1950 Tibet see Social classes of Tibet.

Tibet: region or regions?

The term Serfdom in Tibet can be misleading since Tibet cannot simply be defined as one political entity or social system, its political and socio-economic structures having varied greatly over time and between sub-districts. Although the central leadership in Lhasa had authority for various periods this did not imply the kind of political control of modern Western states. According to Luciano Petech, in the 18th Century CE "K'ams [Kham] was practically independent of Lhasa under its great lamas"Petech 1973, pp. 51, 98] . Even the definition of Tibet has been contested with a map of competing claims identifying six distinct types of Tibetan region claimed by various entities. Generally, the government of the PRC limits Tibet to the area it has designated the Tibet Autonomous Region, consisting of the provinces of U and Tsang; whereas the Tibetan government in exile claims that other ethnically Tibetan areas to the east also belong to Tibet.Powers 2004, pg. 163] Scholarship available frequently represents a limited survey, restricted to the central region of Tibet and may not accurately represent the whole of Tibet or all Tibetan speaking peoples.

Discussing the social structure of Tibet inevitably leads to difficulties with defining terms. Not only may serf and feudalism be Western terms inappropriate for Asian use but the geography and peoples of Tibet vary according to interpreter. The lack of agreement of the various sides as to terminology highlights that the 'Serfdom in Tibet' controversy is a politicised debate, with the term 'feudal serfdom' largely being used by the People's Republic of China as a justification for their taking control in Tibet. According to the PRC:

...there was a historically imperative need for the progress of Tibetan society and the happiness of the Tibetan people to expel the imperialists and shake off the yoke of feudal serfdom. The founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought hope for the deeply distressed Tibetan people. In conforming to the law of historical development and the interests of the Tibetan people, the Central People's Government worked actively to bring about Tibet's peaceful liberation. After that, important policies and measures were adopted for Tibet's Democratic Reform, regional autonomy, large-scale modernization and reform and opening-up. [cite web|url=http://english.gov.cn/official/2005-07/27/content_17564.htm|title=Tibet's March Toward Modernization |date=2001|publisher=People's Republic of China|accessdate=2008-07-03]

However, the Tibetan government in exile responds:

...the Chinese justifications make no sense. First of all, international law does not accept justifications of this type. No country is allowed to invade, occupy, annex and colonize another country just because its social structure does not please it. Secondly, the PRC is responsible for bringing more suffering in the name of liberation. Thirdly, necessary reforms were initiated and Tibetans are quite capable of doing so. [cite web|url=http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white4.html|title=Traditional society and democratic framework for future Tibet |date=1996|publisher=Tibetan Government-in-Exile|accessdate=2008-07-03]

Competing versions of history

Material in English on the history of Tibet by both Chinese writers and Tibetan writers are available. The Chinese sources use only Chinese and English sources; the Tibetan sources use only Tibetan and English sources. Chinese materials may be published by mainstream Western printers, or within the PRC; Tibetan materials, similarly, may be published by mainstream Western printers, or by the Tibetan government in exile. In both cases, the materials published by mainstream Western printers are moderate in their tone and content, compared to the other materials.Powers 2004, pg. 5] Both sides hope to persuade foreign readers to support their own point of view through these publications.Powers 2004, pp. 6-7]

Two issues are at stake: :- the international perception of the nature and justifiability of Chinese rule in Tibet:- the presentation of Tibet by some Western followers of Tibetan Buddhism as, in Robert Thurman's words: 'a mandala of the peaceful, perfected universe.' [Inner Revolution: Robert Thurman] .

In the first debate the Chinese wish readers to understand, first, that Tibet truly and historically belongs to China, and that affairs of Tibet are internal matters; the Tibetans seek to internationalize their cause, in part by convincing readers that Tibet was independent.Powers 2004, pg. 8] The second major component of Chinese claims is that the common Tibetans suffered appallingly before the Chinese takeover.Powers 2004, pp. 19-20]

Many of the Chinese works in English on the subject were translated from Chinese. Translators are not named, but censors are. Asian studies and histories scholar John Powers, noting also the error-ridden and awkward English, concludes that ideology was the most powerful influence on the translations. "In contemporary China, the Communist Party strictly controls the presentation of history, and several formal 'Resolutions' have been issued by the Central Committee, which are intended to guide historians in the 'correct' interpretation of historical events and actors." The writings of contemporary Chinese historians conform to Marxist-Leninist doctrine, which asserts that societies progress from primitive communism, to slave societies, which are then overthrown and replaced by feudalism, which are in their turn overthrown and replaced by capitalism, which is followed (via rebellion, again) by socialism, which may progress peacefully toward communism. Several Chinese sources insert peasant rebellions into their accounts of Tibetan history, to achieve conformity with this required structure. Historians in China are prevented from performing research that could challenge orthodoxy. Marx condemned religion as "the opiate of the masses", and this doctrine is also infused in Chinese writings on history.Powers 2004, pp. 12-14]

Western authors typically claim fact-oriented objectivity in their writings on Tibetan history, but often turn out to be just as rhetorically polarized. For example, Hugh Richardson, who lived in Lhasa in the 1930s and 1940s, before the takeover by the PRC in 1951, finds (in his "Tibet and Its History") Chinese versions of Tibetan history contemptible and considers the Chinese rule brutal and illegal.Powers 2004, pg. 16] Israel Epstein, born in Poland but a naturalized Chinese citizen, similarly claims the authority of first-hand knowledge, but after the Chinese takeover, and is vehemently pro-China.Powers 2004, pp. 17-18]

Probably the most scholarly and weightiest [Pinfold 1991] history of Tibet in the first half of the 20th century was written by anthropologist and historian Professor Melvyn Goldstein, who is fluent in Tibetan and has done considerable fieldwork with Tibetans in exile and in Tibet. He considers pre-1950 Tibet to have been a feudal theocracy impaired by corrupt and incompetent leaders.Powers 2004, pg. 21] . It was "de facto" independent of China from 1911 to 1949, but not recognised as "de jure" independent of China by any nation, including its protective power Great Britain. [Goldstein 1989, ps. 815-824] Goldstein has also co-authored two biographies of pro-China Tibetans who are critical of PRC policies in Tibet, and who were jailed for many years for their opinions. [Goldstein, Tsering, and Siebenschuh, 1997] [Goldstein, Sherap, Siebenschuh 2004]

Tibetologist [cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/faculty/barnett.html|title=The Faculty and Scholars of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute: Robert J. Barnett|accessdate=2008-09-05] Robert Barnett writes:

:"Chinese references to preliberation conditions in Tibet thus appear to be aimed at creating popular support for Beijing's project in Tibet. These claims have particular resonance among people who share the assumption—based on nineteenth-century Western theories of "social evolution" that are still widely accepted in China—that certain forms of society are "backward" and should be helped to evolve by more "advanced" societies. This form of prejudice converges with some earlier Chinese views and with vulgar Marxist theories that imagine a vanguard movement liberating the oppressed classes or nationalities in a society, whether or not those classes agree that they are oppressed. Moreover, the Chinese have to present that oppression as very extensive, and that society as very primitive, in order to explain why there were no calls by the Tibetan peasantry for Chinese intervention on their behalf.:The question of Tibet's social history is therefore highly politicized, and Chinese claims in this respect are intrinsic to the functioning of the PRC, and not some free act of intellectual exploration. They have accordingly to be treated with caution. From a human rights point of view, the question of whether Tibet was feudal in the past is irrelevant. A more immediate question is why the PRC does not allow open discussion of whether Tibet was feudal or oppressive. Writers and researchers in Tibet face serious repercussions if they do not concur with official positions on issues such as social conditions in Tibet prior to its "liberation," and in such a restrictive climate, the regime's claims on this issue have little credibility."Barnett 2008, p. 84]

Common Tibetans as "serfs"

The political debate

Chinese sources portray Tibet before 1950 as a feudal serfdom in which serfs suffered terribly under the despotic rule of lamas and aristocrats. Tibetan sources describe the people as happy, content, and devoted to Buddhism.Powers 2004, pp. 18-19]

For instance the Tibetan Phuntso Wangye who founded the Tibetan communist party in the 40's describes the old system as unequal and exploitative [Goldstein, Sherap, and Siebenschuh 2004, pp. 68-69] , one of the pro-Tibetan sources, Richardson, the British Trade Envoy to Tibet in the last decade of Lamaist rule, agrees with the Tibetan government in exile, stating there was little difference between the rich and the poor.Powers 2004, pg. 22]

One of the earliest publications in English to apply the term "serf" to Tibet was Marxist Anna Louise Strong's work from 1960, "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet", published by the Chinese governmentPowers 2004, pg. 167] . Another seminal promoter of the term is historiancite web|url=http://www.nyhumanities.org/speakers/adult_audiences/speaker.php?speaker_id=223|title=A. Tom Grunfeld|accessdate=2008-06-23] A. Tom Grunfeld, who based his writings on the work of British explorers of the region, in particular Sir Charles Bell. It has been argued that his book is not supported by traditional Tibetan, Chinese, or Indian histories, that it contains inaccuracies and distortions,Powers 2004, pg. 167] Powers 2004, pg. 21] , and that Grunfeld's extracts from Bell were taken out of context to mislead readers.cite web|url=http://studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=425|title=Students for a Free Tibet: A Lie Repeated-The Far Left's Flawed History of Tibet|accessdate=2008-06-23] .Grunfeld is a polarizing figure for the Chinese, who praise his work, his scholarship, and his integrity; and the Tibetans, who match this praise with condemnationPowers 2004, pg. 165] , calling him a "sinologist" who lacks authority on Tibetan history due to his inability to read Tibetan.

Political scientist Michael Parenti's 2003 (revised in 2007) essay "Friendly Feudalism:The Tibet Myth"cite web|url=http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html|title=Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth|accessdate=2008-06-23] was largely based on the preceding work of Stuart and Roma Gelder ("Timely Rain: Travels in New Tibet" 1964), Strong and Grunfeld,.

Several Tibetan sources portray Tibetan peasants and workers to support their own view of a Tibetan people who were not only independent of China, but found the Chinese alien and incomprehensible, and who suffered genocide under Chinese rule.Powers 2004, pp. 9-12]

Goldstein has produced many works on Tibetan society since the 1960s and uses the term "serf" to translate "mi ser" (literally "yellow person")Powers 2004, pg. 168] and to describe both the landless peasant classes and the wealthier land holding and taxpaying class of families. He has written, "with the exception of about 300 noble families, all laymen and laywomen in Tibet were serfs ("Mi ser") bound via ascription by parallel descent to a particular lord (dPon-po) though an estate, in other words sons were ascribed to their father's lord but daughters to their mother's lord."Goldstein, Central Asiatic Journal, pg. 15] In his 1989 book "A History of Modern Tibet" Goldstein argued that although serfdom was prevalent in Tibet, this did not mean that it was an entirely static society. There were several types of serf sub-status, of which one of the most important was the "human lease", which enabled a serf to acquire a degree of personal freedom. This was an alternative which, despite retaining the concept of lordship, partially freed the 'mi ser' from obligations to a landed estate, usually for an annual fee.Goldstein, "Journal of Asian Studies", May 1971, pp. 521-34] In 1997 Goldstein used the term 'serf' in the following way "...monastic and aristocratic elites who held most of the land in Tibet in the form of feudal estates with hereditarily bound serflike peasants."Goldstein 1997, p.35]

Powers characterized Goldstein as "generally pro-China"Powers 2004, pg. 24] but also called his "History of Modern Tibet" "the most balanced treatment"Powers 2004, pg. 17] . Goldstein describes himself as having conservative political views. [Letter to WTN by Goldstein July 2008, quoted on http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=22134&article=Goldstein's+Response+to+Jamyang+Norbu.]

Not all writers use the term "serfdom" to describe pre-Communist society in Tibet pejoratively. Pico Iyer, a journalist whose father is a friend of the Dalai Lama and who has himself been in private conversation with him for over thirty years writes: "Almost as soon as he came into exile, in 1959, the Dalai Lama seized the chance to get rid of much of the red tape and serfdom that had beset Tibet in the past".Iyer 2008, p.176]

The Dalai Lama himself used the term 'serf' in 1991. "The relationship between landlord and serf was much milder in Tibet than in China and conditions for the poor were much less harsh." [Freedom in Exile, HHDL 1991. p. 101]

Journalist Thomas Laird notes that scholars debate the applicability of these terms to Tibet, and struggle with a lack of sufficient data.Laird 2006, pp.317-9] . Journalist Barbara Crossette asserted in 1998 that "scholars of Tibet mostly agree that there has been no systematic serfdom in Tibet in centuries." [Crossette 1998]

The Tibetan Government-in-Exile says about conditions in Tibet pre-Communism:

Traditional Tibetan society was, by no means, perfect and was in need of changes. The Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders have admitted as much. That is the reason why the Dalai Lama initiated far-reaching reforms in Tibet as soon as he assumed temporal authority. The traditional Tibetan society, however, was not nearly as bad as China would have us believe. [cite web|url=http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white4.html|title=Traditional society and democratic framework for future Tibet |date=1996|publisher=Tibetan Government-in-Exile|accessdate=2008-07-03]

The academic debate

The academic debate as to whether "serf" is an applicable term for a society such as pre-Communist Tibet continues to this day. Goldstein and Miller's exchanges in an academic journal between 1986 and 1989 were a notable part of this debate. The applicability of the concept of serfdom to Tibet was debated between Melvyn Goldstein and anthropologist Beatrice D. Miller of Wisconsin University over a series of five articles in the "Tibet Journal". [cite web|url=http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/social.htm|title=Tibetan History and Social & Political Structure|accessdate=2008-07-03] The debate was initiated by Goldstein in the XI edition of the "Tibet Journal", in which he defended his description of the features of Tibetan society as being very comparable to European serfdom [Goldstein (1986) pp.80-86] . He based the comparison on the features of serfdom described by French Historian Marc Bloch including: [Goldstein (1986) p.81]

* The status was hereditary.
* A serf, unlike a slave had rights and possessed but did not own productive resources (land).
* The lord had the legal right to command his serfs including judicial authority over him or her.

Goldstein argued that Tibetan society fulfilled all these requirements, and argued in detail against the specific diverging opinions of fellow scholars Miller, Micheal, Dargyay and Aziz. He underpinned his assertions by research, first hand accounts and case studies, and responded to criticisms which had been voiced by these researchers in the preceding years.

Only Miller responded in the next "The Tibet Journal", in a short letter, in 1987. She acknowledged Goldstein's scholarship, stating "Goldstein's article ... cannot be faulted. It is an outstanding example of his exemplary collection of fine data."Miller (1987) p.65] She disagreed however with his interpretation, specifically the use of the word "serf" and challenged him by asserting the following:

* That a lord also had obligations to the central government, so the specific obligations of a peasant (Tibetan: "mi ser") to a lord were only examples of societal obligations which everyone had.
* That the obligations owed to a lord were by the family collective, and not "personal" or individual.Miller (1987) p.66]
* That the obligations of a peasant were not so onerous as it was easy to run away.Miller (1987) pp.66-67]

In the following issue Goldstein replied in brief arguing:

* The nature of the lord's relation with the central government was radically different to the peasant/lord relation and not relevant to the peasant/lord relation he was discussing
* While corvee obligations fell primarily on households, a peasant's legal status very much related to his person, was hereditary and not rescindable. [Goldstein (1988) p.62]
* He pointed out that running away was illegal, punishable and European serfs also ran away. [Goldstein (1988) p.64]
* He strongly disagreed with Millers assertion that the peasant/lord relation was fundamentally contractual. [Goldstein (1988) p.65]

In a later publication and response Goldstein agreed to differ on the use of the word "serf" to prevent a terminological discussion distracting from the examination of societal conditions. He argued that running away was an act of desperation severing familial, social and economic ties. [Goldstein (1989) p.56] He discussed the form of partial manumission known as "human lease" and argued that it: only temporarily freed from daily service but not occasional service at the lord's discretion; the payment of an annual fee decided by the lord was required; it was revocable at will by the lord. Thus he felt it was a very weak form of manumission. [Goldstein (1989) pp.56-59]

Human Rights in Tibet

Both before and after the Communist takeover of 1950 there have been examples of human rights abuses, both state-sanctioned and otherwise. The political debate associated with the Serfdom in Tibet controversy rests on whether these incidents justify the positions of the opposing parties. Communist sympathisers view the pre-1950's abuses as justifying the Communist regime in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Supporters of the Tibetan Government in Exile argue that Tibet was in the process of reform and no outside intervention was justified.

Prior to the Communist Takeover

Judicial mutilation - principally the gouging out of eyes, and the cutting off of hands or feet - was formalized under the Sakya school as part of the 13th century Tibetan legal code, and was used as a legal punishment until being declared illegal in 1913 by a proclamation of the 13th Dalai Lama.Barnett 2008, pp. 81-83] . To what extent this proclamation had practical effect, and to what extent judicial mutilation was actually practiced in which regions and which centuries is unclear. The 14th Dalai Lama's brother Jigme Norbu reports that capital punishment was also abolished in 1913, and living conditions in jails were improved, with officials being designated to see that these conditions and rules were maintained."Norbu 1968, pg. 317.] Laird 2006, p. 244] .

Incidents of mutilation have been recorded in Tibet in the period between the start of the 20th Century and the Chinese occupation. Tibetan communist Phuntso Wangye recalled his anger at seeing freshly severed human ears hanging from the gate of the county headquarters in Damshung north of Lhasa in 1945. [Goldstein, Sherap, Siebenschuh 2004 p. 90]

An eye gouging by direct order of the Kashag or Tibetan Government was carried out in 1934.A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951, Melvyn C. Goldstein pp. 208-209] This was sufficiently unusual that the untouchables ("ragyaba") carrying it out had no previous experience of the correct technique and had to rely on instructions heard from their parents. An attempt was made at anesthetizing the alleged criminal with intoxicants before performing the punishment, which unfortunately did not work well..

Whipping was legal and common as punishment [French (1995) pp. 276, 316, 321-322] in Tibet including in the 20th century, also for minor infractions and outside judicial process. Whipping could also have fatal consequences, as in the case of the trader Gyebo Sherpa subjected to the severe "corca" whipping for selling cigarettes. He died from his wounds 2 days later in the Potala prison. [Goldstein, 1989 p163] Tashi Tsering, a self-described critic of traditional Tibetan society, records being whipped as a 13 year old for missing a performance as a dancer in the Dalai Lama's dance troop in 1942, until the skin spilt and the pain became excruciating. [Goldstein, Tsering, and Siebenschuh, 1997 pp. 3-5]

In its "100 Questions and Answers About Tibet" [cite web|url=http://zt.tibet.cn/tibetzt/question_e/1/menu.htm|title=100 Questions and Answers About Tibet|publisher=China Tibet Information Center|accessdate=2008-06-30] the PRC states that human rights were 'severely infringed upon' by the Dalai Lama's administration. The evidence for these accusations is disputed. [Barnett, Robert, in: Blondeau, Anne-Marie and Buffetrille, Katia (eds). "Authenticating Tibet: Answers to China’s 100 Questions" (2008) University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24464-1 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-520-24928-8 (paper)]

According to writer Rebecca French, Tibetans viewed criminal offenses as uncommon, but there are few records to establish frequency. However, Tibetans also believe that theft and banditry were common especially along trade routes.French (1995) p.315-316] . Because it was considered harsh by most Tibetans, they tended to seek alternative settlements and leniency from local courts instead of pursuing government action in disputes. Local officials were also more likely to find peaceful outcomes in a community setting than to resort to harsher government resolution.

Political power could play a role in a judicial process in Tibet. In the eye gouging case above the alleged criminal was a deposed member of the Kashag called Lungshar who had proposed democratic reform. The charge was planning a coup and the attempted murder of another Kashag member who opposed reform. It was strenuously denied by the accused. Conviction was based on the evidence of one informer who claimed to have seen a document which was never produced. He was richly rewarded, and the trial seems to be have been a show trial by traditionalists seeking to prevent reform. From arrest to execution of the sentence was only ten days, limiting the possibilities of appeal. [Goldstein, pp. 200-210]

lavery

Epstein wrote that prior to the Communist takeover, poverty in Tibet was so severe that in some of the worst cases peasants had to hand over children to the manor as household slaves or nangzan, because they were too poor to raise them.Epstein 1983, pg. 46] On the other hand, Laird asserted that in the 1940s Tibetan peasants were well off and immune to famine, whereas starvation was common in China.Laird 2006, pp. 318-9]

In 1904 the British army invaded and held the Tibetan Chumbi Valley, in the border region adjacent to Bhutan and India. Sir Charles Bell was put in charge of the district from September 1904 to November 1905 [Bell 1992, pg. xviii] and wrote that slavery was still practiced in Chumbi but had declined greatly over the previous thirty years. He noted that only a dozen or two dozen slaves remained, unlike nearby Bhutan where slavery was more widespread. Bell further remarked, "The slavery in the Chumpi valley was of a very mild type. If a slave was not well treated, it was easy for him to escape into Sikkim and British India." [Bell 1992, pp. 78-79.]

Tibetan welfare after the Chinese takeover

Just as the Chinese and the Tibetan exile community argue over whether common Tibetans suffered or flourished before the Chinese takeover, they take diametrically opposing views on the fate of ordinary Tibetans since 1950. This is understood to be highly important in persuading readers of the legitimacy or illegitimacy of Chinese rule. Chinese sources in English claim rapid progress for prosperous, free, and happy Tibetans participating in democratic reforms, although nothing like a free and open election has ever occurred in Tibet under Chinese rule. Tibetans, on the other hand, write of Chinese genocide in Tibet, comparing the Chinese to the Nazis.Powers 2004, pp. 11-12] According to Powers, scholar Warren Smith, whose work became focused on Tibetan history and politics after spending five months in Tibet in 1982, portrays the Chinese as chauvinists who believe they are superior to the Tibetans, and claims that the Chinese use torture, coercion and starvation to control the Tibetans.Powers 2004, pp. 23-24]

There is also evidence of human rights infringements since the Communist takeover in Tibet, including the 2006 Nangpa La shootings. See human rights in the People's Republic of China for an overview. The "Human Rights Watch World Report 2008:Events in China 2007" states:

Widespread and numerous instances of repression target ordinary citizens, monks, nuns, and even children in an effort to quash alleged “separatism.” Seven Tibetan boys in Gansu province were detained for over a month in early September after they allegedly wrote slogans on the walls of a village police station and elsewhere calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and a free Tibet. Ronggyal Adrak was detained and charged under state security offenses by police on August 1 after he called for the Dalai Lama’s return at a horse race festival in Sichuan province. He is awaiting trial. The Chinese government has failed to bring to justice those responsible for the shooting death by People’s Armed Police officers of a 17-year-old nun, Kelsang Namtso, while trying to cross the border into Nepal on September 30, 2006. [cite web|url=http://china.hrw.org/press/other_news/hrw_world_report_2008_events_in_china_in_2007|title=Overview of key developments relating to human rights in China in 2007|date=2008|publisher=Human Rights Watch|accessdate=2008-07-23]

Comparison to other regions

Debate continues as to whether pre-Communist Tibetan society was especially oppressive or was comparable to similar social structures in nearby regions. According to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile: "In terms of social mobility and wealth distribution, independent Tibet compared favourably with most Asian countries" [cite web|url=http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white4.html|title=Traditional society and democratic framework for future Tibet |date=1996|publisher=Tibetan Government-in-Exile|accessdate=2008-07-03] the fact that most Dalai Lamas, including Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama and Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, came from peasant families being cited as an example of this. Academics debate whether tribal cultures, such as the Mongolian nomadic steppe culture, are feudal in nature [Di Cosmo, Nicola, State Formation and Periodization in "Inner Asian History Journal of World History" - Volume 10, Number 1, Spring 1999, pp. 1-40 ] . Much of Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese political history is inter-related but the extent of their shared social culture is uncertain.

According to the 'United Nations Research Institute for Social Development', bonded labor and other forms of economic exploitation currently exist in nearby regions including India, Nepal, and several Chinese provinces. [United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. [http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpAuxPages)/B4D9538DE438A5F3C1256BB900324E59/$file/shah.pdf "Layers of Silence:Links between women's vulnerability, trafficking and HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh, India and Nepal"] Draft paper, 2002. Source (accessed: June 17, 2008),] Kamaiya, the bonded labour system in neighbouring Nepal, was formally abolished in the year 2000.cite web|url=http://www.msnepal.org/reports_pubs/reports/kamaiyabook/|title=MS Nepal: Development through Partnership|accessdate=2008-06-18] cite web|url=http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2006/intl_conference2005/II_B_3_Nepal_Case_Study.pdf|title=Nepal Case Study on Bonded Labour|accessdate=2008-06-18] In 2007 Shanxi, China was the scene of its own slave scandal that turned out to involve human trafficking and slave labor in Hebei, Guangdong and Xinjiang provinces as well. According to the U.S. Dept of State "Trafficking in Persons Report 2008"cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2008/|title=US Dept. of State:Trafficking in Persons Report 2008|accessdate=2008-06-20] Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia and Pakistan are all Tier 2 countries, with China and India both on the Tier 2 watchlist. However no local regions are in Tier 3.

References

Bibliography

*Barnett, Robert, in: Blondeau, Anne-Marie and Buffetrille, Katia (eds). "Authenticating Tibet: Answers to China’s 100 Questions" (2008) University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24464-1 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-520-24928-8 (paper).
*Bell,Charles. [http://books.google.com/books?id=RgOK7CgFp88C&printsec=frontcover&dq=charles+bell+tibet&sig=yT3l0BUdCWfXbbwDYnmc6cudXyQ#PPA79,M1 "Tibet Past and Present"]
*Childs, Geoff. 2003. [http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/childs.polyandry.and.population.growth.pdf "Polyandry and population growth in a Historical Tibetan Society"] , "History of the Family", 8:423–444.
*Crossette, Barbara (1998) [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE3D9173EF936A35754C0A96E958260&scp=1&sq=china+tibet+slavery+communism&st=nyt "The World: Searching for Tibet; The Shangri-La That Never Was"] in "The New York Times" July 5, 1998
*Dalai Lama, Freedom in Exile (NY: HarperPerennial edition, 1991)
*Epstein, Israel. "Tibet Transformed" (1983) New World Press. ISBN 978-0835110877
*cite book|last=Fjeld|first= Heidi|title=Commoners and Nobles:Hereditary Divisions in Tibet |publisher= Nordic Institute of Asian Studies|date=2003|isbn=9788791114175|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g0V5lV_M-SYC&
*French, Rebecca Redwood "The Golden Yoke: The Legal Cosmology of Buddhist Tibet" (1995) Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801430848
*Goldstein, Melvyn C. (1971) [http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/stratification.html "Stratification, Polyandry, and Family Structure in Central Tibet"] , "Southwestern Journal of Anthropology", 27(1): 64-74.
*Goldstein, Melvyn C. (1971) "Serfdom and Mobility: An Examination of the Institution of "Human Lease" in Traditional Tibetan Society The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 30, No. 3, (May, 1971).
*Goldstein, Melvyn. "Central Asiatic Journal" (1971). "Taxation and the Structure of a Tibetan village".
*Goldstein, Melvyn C. "A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State" (1989) University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520061408
*Goldstein, Melvyn C. "The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama" (1997) University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21951-1
*Goldstein, Melvyn C., Tsering, Tashi, and Siebenschuh, William. "The Struggle for Modern Tibet: The Autobiography of Tashi Tsering" (1997) East Gate. ISBN 978-1563249501
*Goldstein, Melvyn C., Sherap, Dawei, and Siebenschuh, William. "A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phüntso Wangye" (2004) UC Press. ISBN 0-520-24089-8
*Iyer, Pico. "The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama" (2008) Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0307267603
*Laird, Thomas. "The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama" (2006) Grove Press. ISBN 0-80211-827-5
*Norbu, Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin M. "Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet" (1968) Touchstone Books. New York. ISBN 0-671-20559-5
*Petech, Luciano. "China and Tibet in Early Eighteenth Century: History of the Establishment of the Chinese Protectorate in Tibet" (1973) Hyperion Press. ISBN 978-0883550892
*Pinfold, John. "Tibet" World Bibliographical Series (1991) ISBN: 1-85109-158-0
*Powers, John. "History as Propaganda: Tibetan Exiles versus the People's Republic of China" (2004) Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195174267
*Smith, Warren W., Jr. "Tibetan Nation: A History Of Tibetan Nationalism And Sino-tibetan Relations" (1997) Westview press. ISBN 978-0813332802
*cite book|title = A Cultural History of Tibet | author = Snellgrove, David | coauthors = Hugh Richardson | date =1968 | publisher = George Weidenfield and Nicolson Ltd | location = London | isbn = 0297763172

External links

* [http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/social.htm The Goldstein and Miller Debate on "Reexamining Choice, Dependency and Command In The Tibetan Social System: 'Tax Appendages' and Other Landless Serfs"]