The Tibetan people, with their distinct culture, religion, language and national identity, face the real and imminent threat of total assimilation and extinction. Tibetans, as a people, have the legal right to determine their political status and to pursue their own economic, social and cultural development. Through their rightful exercise of self-determination they have the chance to reclaim control of their own future.
Why should you support self-determination for the Tibetan people?
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1.Tibet has been illegally and forcibly occupied by China since 1950
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2.The human cost to the Tibetan people is of tragic proportions
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3.The repression of the Tibetan people in their own land continues to this day and compounds the illegitimacy of the Chinese rule
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4.China denies the Tibetan people’s right to democratically elect their own political representatives
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5.The use of the Chinese language in Tibetan schools and as the effective official language of Tibet represses Tibetan culture and has marginalized many Tibetans
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6.Tibetans are aggressively prevented from freely pursuing their religious practices
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7.Chinese policies have encouraged Chinese settlers to the point where Tibetans have become a minority in many areas of Tibet
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8.Major economic development decisions for Tibet are made in Beijing and benefit Chinese settlers and officials more than Tibetans
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9.Tibet’s natural resources are being exploited and its environment seriously imperiled without regard to the wishes of the Tibetan people
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10.The Tibetan people are legally entitled to self-determination under international law
