Xi Jinping and the Tibet Question: Core Issues, Policies and Implications
【workshop information】
Date｜December 8, 2023 (Friday) 13:10 to 15:10
Venue｜Conference Room on the Third Floor of C-Hub, NCKU Guangfu Campus Tainan, Taiwan
Organizer｜Humanities and Social Science Research Center, National Cheng Kung University、Department of Humanities and Social Sciences , National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Moderator｜ Man-To Leung（Department of Political Science, NCKU/Professor）
Speaker｜Dr. Jigme Yeshe Lama（University of Calcutta, India/ Assistant Professor）、Ms Apa Lhamo（Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, New Delhi, India/ Research Fellow）、Dr. Lobsang Yangtso（International Tibet Network, India Office/ Environmental Researcher）
Discussant｜Dolma Tsering（Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan/ Post-doctoral Fellow）
Registration link｜
【objective】
This workshop is the result of collaboration between the Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences at National Cheng Kung University and the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, which has been ongoing since 2020. Over the years, we have engaged in discussions on individuals who are challenging to position within grand histories, national histories, and ethnic histories. This exploration has led us to encounter those who, due to historical, political, social, marital, and other factors, have become involuntary "border drifters" with uncertain identities or awkward situations. The issue of displaced Tibetan people, in particular, resonates closely with Taiwan. There are many interconnected and referenced aspects between the contemporary situation of displaced Tibetans, Taiwan's international standing, political and economic structures, cultural politics, and identity issues.
In this workshop, we will delve further into the relevant issues that have arisen between China and Tibet under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping's leadership in China marks its 11th year and in these eleven years, the Tibet issue has been a focus of both domestic and international attention due to increased political control policies such as the sinicisation of educational institutions and implementation law exerting greater control over Tibetan Buddhism including reincarnation process. In July 2021, Xi Jinping visited Tibet by becoming the second president of the People’s Republic of China to make a historic visit to Tibet. He visited on the occasion of “the 70th anniversary of Tibet's peaceful liberation” and emphasized the four major issues as policy goals: lasting stability and development, protecting ecology and achieving sustainable development, consolidation of the border area and governing religious affairs and guiding Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to a socialist society. Therefore, this workshop aims to reflect on the Tibet question during the Xi Jinping leadership with a special focus on these four policy goals. Considering that two of these issues have direct implications for neighbouring countries like India, the workshop will also address the geo-political implications of development inside Tibet.
【Speaker Bio】
Dr Dolma Tsering is a Postdoctoral fellow with Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. She was an awardee of the Taiwan Foundation of Democracy (2020)' Dissertation fellowship. In 2019, She completed her doctoral degree from Chinese Division, Center for East Asia Studies, School of International Studies, Jawa-harlal Nehru University. She published several articles, book chapters and commentaries on issues related to China-Tibet conflict and Tibetan diaspora in Taiwan.
Jigme Yeshe Lama is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at, the University of Calcutta. He completed his PhD from the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research interest lies in China-Tibet ties, the study of religion and politics in the Himalayas and Tibetan democracy in exile. He has published several chapters in edited volumes, journals and edited a volume titled Changes on the Roof of the World – Reflections on Tibet published in 2016 from Pentagon Press, New Delhi.
Ms Apa Lhamo is a Research Fellow at the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy (CCAS). She completed her PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi in January 2023. Ms Apa had worked as Director at Empowering the Vision Project and at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, as a Research Officer under their China Programme. At CCAS, she focuses on China’s policies on Tibet and publishes regular reports, articles and commentaries. She also completed a month-long training/internship programme at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France, from May to June 2017.
Dr. Lobsang Yangtso is the Environmental Researcher of the International Tibet Network. Her research focuses on climate change in Tibet and the Himalayan regions, China's environmental policies towards Tibet, and water security in the Himalayan region.
