The Conflict

Tibet, a land of Buddhists, currently is governed by the People's Republic of China. China discourages and actively interferes with religion. The controversy over Tibet's independence has become a media event with each side undertaking a public relations campaign.

Political

• Tibet has not been independent for much of known history.
• Tibet comprises unique people—dissimilar from Chinese in ethnicity and religion—who are seeking self-determi-nation.
• Many Chinese have moved to Tibet, and it is not clear what would happen to them if China granted independence to Tibet.
• China fears that the ethnic separatism of Tibet—if allowed to lead to independence—could spread to other areas of China.

Religion

• Free religious expression in Tibet is denied.

In December 1999, Urgyn Trinley Dorje, a fourteen-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk, left the Tsurphu monastery outside Lhasa, the capital of Chinese-occupied Tibet. He arrived in...