1978-1987

Mar 1978: In his official statement on 10 March 1978, His Holiness theDalai Lama suggested that the Chinese authorities should allow the Tibetans inTibet to visit their parents and relatives now in exile. His Holiness furthersaid, "Similar opportunities should be given to the Tibetans in exile.Under such an arrangement we can be confident of knowing the true situationinside Tibet".

Dec 1978: Li Juisin, Xinhua’s Head and China’s de facto officialrepresentative in Hong Kong, met Gyalo Thondup, elder brother of His Holinessthe Dalai Lama, and informed him that Deng Xiaoping and his colleagues wereeager to meet him and discuss about the problem of Tibet. Li invited Thondup tovisit Beijing for the purpose.

Jan 1979: On 6 January 1979, a reception committee to welcome the"returning and visiting" Tibetan exiles was formed in Lhasa, accordingto a Radio Lhasa broadcast 8 January.

Feb 1979: After seeking His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s formal approval,Gyalo Thondup visited Beijing in late February 1979 in his personal capacity.Thondup met China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, on 12 March 1979 inBeijing. Deng told Thondup that "apart from independence, all issues can bediscussed". Deng suggested that His Holiness the Dalai Lama should sendpeople to investigate the situation in Tibet and said "it is better to seewith one’s own eyes than to hear something a hundred times from otherpeople".

Aug 1979: On 2 August 1979, His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent the firstTibetan fact-finding delegation to Tibet and China. During their visit tovarious parts of Tibet for nearly six months, the Tibetan delegation found thatChina’s claim of socialist progress in Tibet had little substance - the livingstandard of the Tibetan people was extremely poor, economic development minimal,and the destruction of religion and monastic institutions almost total. On theirway back to Dharamshala, the Tibetan delegation reported their findings toBeijing. Following that, China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping instituted afive-member working committee on Tibet under Hu Yaobang, General Secretary ofthe Communist Party of China (CPC), to assess the situation and formulatecorrect policies for Tibet. The Working Committee was also given a task "towork for the return of the Dalai clique and the Tibetans abroad to themotherland".

Jan 1980: In January 1980, at the meeting of the National People’sCongress in Beijing, the Chinese leaders announced that a new law would beenacted to "realise the right to autonomy" of the minoritynationalities.

Apr 1980: In April 1980, the CPC’s Central Committee called the firstever high-level meeting on work in Tibet.

May 1980: In May 1980, Beijing sent its own high-level fact-findingdelegation to the "Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)". The delegationcomposed of members of the newly instituted Working Committee. While in Lhasa,General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Hu Yaobang, expressedastonishment at the level of poverty in Tibet. He demanded to know whether allthe money Beijing had poured into it over the years had been thrown into theYarlung Tsangpo River. He said the situation reminded him of colonialism. Husacked General Ren Rong from the post of the "TAR" Party Secretary andreplaced him with Yin Fatang, a Tibetan-speaking Chinese.

May 1980: On 4 May 1980, the second Tibetan fact-finding delegationarrived in Beijing. After spending nearly three months in Tibet, Beijing askedthe second delegation to cut short its visit as a result of emotionaldemonstration of popular support for His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Lhasa.

Jun 1980: On 11 June 1980, the Chinese Ambassador in New Delhi appealedfor the early return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. During a meeting with KalonPhuntsok Tashi Takla, the Chinese Ambassador said, "If the Dalai Lama doesnot prefer to stay long there, he can return [to India]. The Central Governmentwill respect his decision".

Jun 1980: The third Tibetan fact-finding delegation arrived in Beijing inthe first week of June 1980. Commenting on the current China’s preferentialpolicy to the "TAR", Ling Tao, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’sPolitical Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Deputy Director of the CPC’sUnited Front Work Department, said to the Tibetan delegation, "With hisvisit to Tibet, Comrade Hu Yaobang has taken a special responsibility to groomTibetan cadres to provide real autonomy to Tibet. Tibet and other nationalitiesare different. Therefore, we have developed and implemented a separate policy[for Tibet]."

Sep 1980: His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered to send 50 trained teachersfrom the exile community to help the educational development of Tibet. He alsosuggested opening a liaison office in Lhasa to build trust between the Chinesegovernment and Tibetans.

Oct 1980: In a press statement released in Dharamshala on 7 October 1980,His Holiness the Dalai Lama appealed to his countrymen both in Tibet and inexile to look forward and to approach the whole problem calmly and objectively.His Holiness said, "The recent admission by the Chinese government of themistakes committed, the failure of their policies in Tibet was a courageous stepforward but is only just the beginning. We hope that the Chinese governmentwould continue to review their policies thoroughly and respect and restore thefundamental human rights of the Tibetan people."

Oct 1980: The third Tibetan fact-finding delegation to Tibet, led byJetsun Pema of the Tibetan Administration-in-exile, returned confirming that thestandards of education in Tibet was deplorably low.

Mar 1981: In the beginning of March 1981, Gyalo Thondup, once again,visited Beijing. On 19 March, Thondup reported back to His Holiness the DalaiLama that Beijing wanted the number of volunteer teachers to be reduced and sentfirst to minority schools in China instead of Tibet, where the living conditionwas bad. Thondup also reported that the Chinese authorities suggested postponingthe Tibetan proposals to send the fourth fact-finding delegation and open aLiaison Office in Lhasa for a time being.

Mar 1981: His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent a formal letter, dated 23March 1981, to China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in which he suggestedimproving "relationship between China and Tibet as well as between Tibetansin and outside Tibet". His Holiness further said, "The time has cometo apply, with a sense of urgency, our common wisdom in a spirit of toleranceand broadmindedness in order to achieve genuine happiness for theTibetans". In a separate note attached to this letter, His Holiness agreedto the postponement of the fourth delegation’s visit and the opening of aLiaison Office in Lhasa for a time being. But, he requested the Chineseleadership to reconsider his proposal to send volunteer teachers and assuredthat the teachers would be concerned solely with education and would not"indulge in any political activities".

Jul 1981: Gyalo Thondup visited Beijing and met Ulanfu, Director of theCPC’s United Front Work Department, and Yang Jingren, Director of theNationalities Affairs Commission, on 12 July 1981. Ulanfu suggested that itwould be better for His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his followers to return atthe earliest. Thondup also met CPC’s General Secretary Hu Yaobang on 27 July.

Apr 1982: On 24 April 1982, His Holiness the Dalai Lama sent athree-member exploratory mission to Beijing with the aim of kick-starting adiscussion on key issues. The Tibetan delegation included Kalon Thupten NamgyalJuchen, Kalon Phuntsok Tashi Takla and Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, Chairman of theAssembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan Parliament-in-exile). On 29April, the Tibetan delegation met officials of the CPC's United Front WorkDepartment and Yang Jingren, Director of the Nationalities Affairs Commission.Yang Jingren handed over to the Tibetan delegation a copy of China’s"Five-Point Policy towards the Dalai Lama", which was supposed to havegiven earlier to Gyalo Thondup by Hu Yaobang in 1981. 

The five points are:

1. The Dalai Lama should be confident that China has entered a new stage oflong-term political stability, steady economic growth and mutual help among allnationalities.

2. The Dalai Lama and his representatives should be frank and sincere withthe central government, not beat around the bush. There should be no morequibbling over the events in 1959.

3. The central authorities sincerely welcome the Dalai Lama and his followersto come back to live. This is based on the hope that they will contribute toupholding China's unity and promoting solidarity between the Han and Tibetannationalities, and among all nationalities, and the modernization programme.

4. The Dalai Lama will enjoy the same political status and living conditionsas he had before 1959. It is suggested that he not go to live in Tibet or holdlocal posts there. Of course, he may go back to Tibet from time to time. Hisfollowers need not worry about their jobs and living conditions. These will onlybe better than before.

5. When the Dalai Lama wishes to come back, he can issue a brief statement tothe press. It is up to him to decide what he would like to say in the statement.

The disclosure of China’s "Five-Point Policy towards the DalaiLama" clearly reflected that Beijing was only interested in theunconditional return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and not at allinterested in discussing the issue of Tibet. The Chinese leaders contended thatthe Tibet issue was forever resolved with the introduction of "democraticreforms" in Tibet and the creation of "Tibet Autonomous Region".

Jun 1982: A high-ranking three-member exile Tibetan delegation to Chinareturned to Dharamshala on 8 June 1982 after five weeks of talks in Beijingbeginning 24 April. The delegation said it had "cordial, free and frankdiscussions with the authorities of the People's Republic of China".

Nov 1982: In November 1982, the Chinese government disclosed the contentof their discussions with the three-member Tibetan exploratory mission. In anarticle, entitled Policy Towards Dalai Lama, published in Beijing Review of 15November 1982, it said that the three-member delegation sent by the Dalai Lamarequested the central authorities "to accord Tibet the same treatment as isprovided for Taiwan in the Chinese Government’s nine-point principle" andthat "all the areas inhabited by Tibetans in Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu andYunnan be incorporated with Tibet to establish a unified big Tibet autonomousregion".

Nov 1982: In response to the Chinese statements and commentariespublished in Beijing Review of 15 November 1982, the Bureau of His Holiness theDalai Lama in New Delhi issued a press statement on 22 November which said:"According to news reports which quoted latest Peking (Beijing) Review, theCentral Chinese leadership seem to have some misapprehensions andmisunderstandings with regard to the discussions held in May this year when HisHoliness the Dalai Lama’s delegation was in Peking for exploratory talk.…His Holiness is, however, confident that the Peking authorities will sooneror later realistically recognise the reasonable desires and aspirations of theTibetan people".

Jan 1983: At the end of a teaching in Bodh Gaya, India, in January 1983,His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he would visit Tibet sometime in1985. This proposal was later officially conveyed to the Chinese leadership byKalon Phuntsok Tashi Takla when he met the Chinese Ambassador, Sheng Jiang, inNew Delhi on 5 February 1983.

Sep 1983: A press release of the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama inNew Delhi in September 1983 reported the arrest of more than 500 Tibetanstowards the end of August 1983. Many of those arrested were later known to bethose involved in contacting the Tibetan fact-finding delegations and in therestoration of Gaden Monastery, near Lhasa.

Feb 1984: The CPC’s Central Committee convened the second high-levelNational Forum on the Work in Tibet in Beijing between 27 February and 6 March1984. Held under the chairmanship of the CPC’s General Secretary, Hu Yaobang,the Forum initiated a second phase of reforms in Tibet and decided to open Tibetfurther by allowing Chinese entrepreneurs into Tibet. The policy later resultedin a chain of protests from the Tibetans in Tibet, who complained that the newimmigrants threatened their livelihood and employment.

Mar 1984: His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that the situation in Tibetwas far from satisfactory despite recent changes. In his official statement on10 March 1984, His Holiness further said, "the Tibetan people in andoutside Tibet must examine the facts by abandoning speculations and breakingfree from bondage of fear. They must struggle with greater determinations toregain the right, which is justly ours and enjoyed by people the world over: theright to govern ourselves".

Aug 1984: In August 1984, Beijing dispatched another high-leveldelegation, led by Hu Qili, to "conduct a thorough investigation" ofthe situation in Tibet. Hu Qili endorsed the policy of opening up Tibet.However, the visit once again confirmed the Central Committee’s intention ofkeeping a tight control of the running of the region.

Oct 1984: In October 1984, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, once again, sentthe same three-member Tibetan exploratory mission to Beijing. The Tibetandelegation met Deputy Director, Jiang Ping, and several other officials of theCPC’s United Front Work Department. At the meeting, Jiang Ping reiteratedBeijing’s "Five-Point Policy towards the Dalai Lama" and said,"It will remain unchanged, no matter what happens. Beijing has already madeit clear that the precondition for dialogues is the Dalai Lama’s recognitionthat Tibet is an inalienable part of China. This should be the basis for anydialogue between the two sides".

Nov 1984: On 28 November 1984, Xinhua News Agency released the documentof Beijing’s "Five-Point Policy towards the Dalai Lama" to thepublic. This was followed by another statement, on 2 December, saying that"the Tibetan delegates doubted the possibility of the Dalai Lama’s visitto Tibet" and that they had once again sought "Taiwan formula forTibet, inclusion of certain areas in a greater Tibet, and the withdrawal ofChinese troops from the region".

Dec 1984: On 3 December 1984, the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lamain New Delhi refuted the claims made in Xinhua statement. The Bureau said that"the purpose of sending the Tibetan delegation to Beijing was to maintainour dialogues with the Chinese authorities and to discuss mainly the aspirationsof the six million Tibetan people and not about the return of His Holiness theDalai Lama".

Dec 1984: On 16 December1984, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced thecancellation of his proposed visit to Tibet in 1985. In a formal pressstatement, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, "As I have often said in thepast, as long as the Tibetan people are not fully satisfied, the question of myreturn does not arise at all. The very fact that the Chinese are insistent thatI return and stay in Beijing clearly indicates that there are still problemsinside Tibet".

Jan 1985: In January 1985, the Tibetan Administration-in-exile, for thefirst time, issued a formal public statement on the Sino-Tibetan talks.

Feb 1985: The Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (TibetanParliament-in-exile) rejected the China’s "Five-Point Policy towards theDalai Lama". In a statement issued on 5 February 1985, the Chairman of theAssembly said that the Chinese terms are nothing but "a move to reduce theTibetan cause to the personal issue of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Chineseleaders pretend to forget His Holiness’ statement that the Tibetan people’sstruggle is a struggle for satisfactory happiness for the six million Tibetans.The Tibetan people will never be fully satisfied as long as they live underforeign domination".

Mar 1985: His Holiness the Dalai Lama appealed to the Chinese leaders tomake genuine attempts to resolve the Tibet issue. In his official statement on10 March 1985, His Holiness said: "It is now for the Chinese to actaccording to the enlightened ideals and principles of the modern times; to comeforward with an open mind and make serious attempt to know and understand theTibetan people’s viewpoint and their true feelings and aspirations".

Jun 1985: On 8 June 1985, the Chinese government replaced theTibetan-speaking Chinese "TAR" Party Secretary, Yin Fatang, with aslightly younger, non-Chinese national, Wu Jinghua. Wu belonged to the Yinationality of Sichuan.

Jun 1985: On 9 June 1985, while responding to the press questions duringhis visit to Great Britain, West Germany and the Netherlands, China’s PremierZhao Ziyang said, "Tibet has been inalienable part of China since theseventh century. This is the historical fact and has been recognised by theinternational community. As such there is no question of discussing its futurepattern or status except within the framework of the Chinese territory".

Jun 1985: The fourth Tibetan fact-finding delegation led by WoeserGyaltsen Kundeling arrived in Beijing in June 1985.