Population Transfer


Population transfer is defined as the movement of people as a consequence of political and/or economic processes in which the State government or State authorized agencies participate.79 In Tibet today there are over 7.5 million non-Tibetan settlers including Chinese and Hui Muslims while Tibetans inside Tibet comprise only six million. The increasing Chinese population transfer into Tibet has reduced the Tibetan people to a minority group in their own land. The marginalisation of the Tibetan people has resulted in exertion of Chinese control in all spheres of economic, social and political life.

10.1. International Law

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to which China is a signatory, states:

The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies

Article 85, paragraph 4 of the Additional Protocol 1 80 states:

... the following shall be regarded as grave breaches of this protocol, when committed willfully and in violation of the Convention or Protocol: (a) the transfer by the occupying power of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies... in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Convention

Ever since the 1949 invasion of Tibet, China has been illegally occupying Tibet and using this occupation to transfer its population into Tibet including the areas of Kham and Amdo which have now been incorporated in Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai.

The U.S. State Department's 1995 Country Report on Human Rights Practices acknowledged that there has been a massive influx of Chinese into Tibet: "In recent years, freer movement of people throughout China, government-sponsored development, and the prospect of economic opportunity in Tibet have led to a substantial increase in the non-Tibetan population (including China's Muslim Hui minority as well as Han Chinese) in Lhasa and other urban areas".

10.2. Population Transfer: A State Endorsed Policy

In recent years, there has been a return to the practice of transferring large numbers of Chinese staff to Tibet. In April 1992 around 130 "cadres and professionals" were sent to remote border counties of the "TAR" on ten-year contracts. In December 1994, it was announced that "about 100 graduates of excellent academic performance and good conduct would be assigned work in Tibet". Signs that such involuntary resettlement is currently being stepped up were confirmed when Xinhua reported in February 1995 that 1000 "officials and technicians" were to be sent to the TAR "to help boost the economy"81.

During the Third Work Forum on Tibet held in Beijing in July 1994, the Chinese authorities publicly admitted a policy of population transfer for the first time. It was officially stated that former soldiers, paramilitary troops, cadres, technicians and entrepreneurs were to be encouraged to move to Tibet through incentives provided by the central government. It had been previously stated in a leaked report of a top secret meeting held in Chengdu on 12 May 1993 that strategies would be adopted to flood Tibet with more Chinese settlers.

The privileges and incentives offered to Chinese settlers in Tibet include employment guarantees at wage levels nearly 90% higher than in China itself and three-month fully paid holidays for every 18 months worked82. China's policy of providing incentives to the Chinese settlers in Tibet has put the Tibetans at an apparent disadvantage in all fields. The Tibetans now face discrimination in employment, education, health and housing.

10.3. Increasing Transfer of Chinese Population into Tibet

The government of China continues to encourage Chinese nationals to settle permanently in Tibet. On 25 February 1995 the Chinese authorities announced that 1000 "outstanding leading officials and technicians" from China were to be sent to the "Tibet Autonomous Region". It was reported in June 1995 that the work of dispatching selected cadres from China to Tibet was nearly completed with some 500 cadres having already arrived in Tibet.

On 22 April 1995 the Xinhua News Agency reported that nearly 2000 officials in Eastern China's Zhejiang province have applied to work in the "Tibet Autonomous Region". A total of 1970 officials sent applications to the Zhejiang Communist Party Committee to compete for 45 jobs in Tibet.

At the Third General Body Meeting of the Sixth People's Political Consultative Conference, held in Lhasa from 16 to 22 May 1995, it was stated that "Moreover in Gansu and from Tso-ngon province to the districts to the west of Nagchu in central Tibet there are over 12,000 (Chinese) gold miners".

In April 1996, it was reported that some 500,000 ethnic Chinese were to be moved into Tibet to work on copper mines and that the Beijing authorities planned to build several mining towns to house about 100,000 migrant workers83. On 16 September 1996 Radio Lhasa announced that Chinese teachers, doctors and staff were transferred to Medro-Gongkar District near Lhasa.

In April 1996, 2,000 Chinese were send to the Changthang Basin area in Tibet where a team of "Geological Prospecting Team" is being led by Zhao Huan, Chief Engineer with the Geophysical Bureau of China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation. Zhao Huan and his team of workers have been exploring for oil and natural gas reserves since 1995. 84

Over the past two years, the China has sent many officials to Tibet under the pretext of surveying the progress of the various developmental projects initiated in Tibet85, but according to sources in Tibet these officials seldom leave Tibet after completing their "survey".

The massive transfer of Chinese population into Tibet is a source of great concern for the Tibetans. China's policy of encouraging Chinese nationals to settle permanently in Tibet is seen as a deliberate attempt to completely destroy the Tibetan identity. The serious threat that this situation poses for the Tibetans has frequently led to disturbances between the Chinese settlers and the Tibetans and has resulted in an obvious division in the society. The Tibetans are denigrated as being "backward" and are often looked down upon by the Chinese who have been brought up with a strong racial disdain for the Tibetans.

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Last updated: 14-Feb-97