Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy

Publications

Impoverishing Tibetans

Contents

Introduction
A recurrent theme, which appears in the official Chinese discourse on Tibet, is that of development and growth. Very often the Chinese government has attempted to negate criticism of its human rights history in Tibet by asserting ... [Read]
  1. What Do We Mean by Development? [Read]
    • The Emergence of the Human Right to Development
      Although there is continuing debate about ways in which the right to development can be realised, there is now no real doubt as to its existence as a key human right. [Read]
    • The Right to Development Inside and Outside International Law
      The concept of development is as we shall see hotly contested. For some it means pure economic growth with little synergy with human rights, for others it is the ... [Read]
    1. Current Issues in the Development Debate
      [Read]
    2. China's Recent Development Claims
      [Read]
  2. Poverty in Tibet
    [Read]
  3. Economic Policies Resulting in the Violation of the Right to Development
    [Read]
    1. Population Transfer and the Economic Marginalisation of Tibetans
      [Read]
      • International Law
        [Read]
    2. Forced Labour Practices and Exploitation of Cheap, Unskilled Labour
      [Read]
      • International law
        [Read]
      • Unemployment and Underemployment
        [Read]
    3. Expropriation of Land
      [Read]
      • International Law
        [Read]
    4. Excessive Taxation
      [Read]
      • Urban Taxation
        [Read]
    5. Agricultural Policies and Insufficient Food Security for Tibetans
      [Read]
      • Food Shortages and Poverty
        [Read]
      • Animal Limits
        [Read]
      • Fencing and Attempts to Control the Nomadic Existence
        [Read]
      • Readvernment Assistance to Tibetan Farmers and Nomads
        [Read]
    6. Medical treatment
      [Read]
    7. Housing and Local Infrastructure
      [Read]
    8. Housing in Lhasa
      [Read]
    9. Standard of Living: Food, Clothing, Family and Life
      [Read]
  4. The Tibetan People and the Right to Development
    [Read]
    1. The Future of Development in Tibet
      [Read]
    2. Conclusion
      [Read]
Appendix: Toiling Hard for Basic Subsistence [Read]
 
Notes [Read]

Introduction

A recurrent theme, which appears in the official Chinese discourse on Tibet, is that of development and growth. Very often the Chinese government has attempted to negate criticism of its human rights history in Tibet by asserting that the Tibetan people have benefited as a result of the development policies implemented by the Chinese authorities.

As an illustration of their claims official Chinese reports state that, "The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Tibetan Autonomous Region was 3 billion yuan in 1992 and 3.6 billion yuan in 1993. But by 1997 it was 7.35 billion yuan, an increase of 83.57 % since 1993 in adjusted terms and representing an annual increase of 12.9 %. Grain production increased from 500,000 tons in the early 90's to 820,000 in 1997. Tibetans enjoy a per capita grain share of over 350 Kg; most farmers and herders have enough to eat and wear; and the number of those considered as poverty stricken has dropped to some 200,000 since 1994. Tibet's revenue has risen from 109 million yuan in 1992 to 250 million yuan in 1997." 1

In a recent brochure inviting foreign investment into Tibet the Chinese government proudly claims that, "There is a highway system in Tibet that consists of 15 main highways and 315 branch highways. The total length of the roads in Tibet suitable for automobiles is 22,000 kilometers of which 920 km is made of asphalt. There are 433 power plants with capacity of 1,70,000 kilowatts. Furthermore, there are several energy resource facilities being built and will be put into operation one after another to meet the development needs." 2

If the claims of the Chinese government are to be believed then Tibet is one of the most economically developed regions in China. And yet the growing number of refugees escaping Tibet, and their testimonies, seem to indicate that while there has been notable economic growth in Tibet, especially in the urban areas, this has principally benefited the Chinese settlers. Furthermore, it has been a growth heavily dependant on state subsidies and characterised by a preference for large scale infrastructure projects, mining or state-owned industry. This kind of growth has been very top down and has yet to encourage active Tibetan participation or ownership in either the means of production or in its outcomes. There is also evidence to suggest a systematic marginalisation of the Tibetans from the mainstream economy. This is resulting in the creation of a new social underclass whose task is primarily to service the mainstream economy.

This report seeks to analyse the claims of the Chinese government contrasting them where possible with independent statistics and figures, as well as with the oral testimonies of refugees who have come to India. It also seeks to analyse the policies of the Chinese government through the prism of international human rights law principles. Finally, this report shall argue for a right to development for the Tibetan peoples. The methodology employed is to look at what constitutes development, both in its legal as well as in its empirical sense. 3 To that end this report relies on the narratives of the Tibetan refugees as proof of the socio-economic conditions of the Tibetan people.

This report serves a further end, for too often economic and social rights have played second fiddle to civil and political rights in discussion of human rights. This has meant that when China has attempted to destabilise the coherency of the international human rights regime and framework, through efforts to quarantine development and subsistence rights from the mainstream of human rights discourse, their divisive discursive strategy has only been echoed and affirmed by their opponents. The shadows of the cold war have lingered in the rubric of present day human rights talk. This paper hopes to give voice to Tibetan frustrations over the illusory nature of China's human rights promises, without dismissing economic and social rights as second order rights. Instead rights such as the right to development and subsistence are to be seen as necessarily entwined within the broader framework of rights. Ann Kent has written of the problems associated with the past divide and conquer strategies: "In a vast oversimplification of a complex reality, during the post-War decades civil, political, and individual rights were seen as inherently Western whereas economic, social, cultural, and collective rights were viewed as the province of the socialist and developing world. 4 It has not just been a question of Western arrogance about rights, for many developing countries have coalesced in this division, as Kent probes: "Contrary to their declaratory policy, many non-Western states do not in fact wish in their operational policy to focus on individual economic and social rights, since such rights involve sensitive political, economic and social issues of redistribution." 5 With this in mind we must examine the reality of access to development for Tibetans living under Chinese economic and social policies, whether this be as a group right of the Tibetan people or indeed seen in more individualistic terms. What is being developed, and for whom? Do Tibetans in "New China" have enough to eat, and to wear? Do they have access to education, health and equality of access to meaningful employment?

[ Next: I. What Do We Mean by Development? ]

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