By Khedroob Thondup

For sixty-seven years, Tibet has endured the heavy hand of Communist China’s occupation. If Tibetans were ever given a genuine choice, the majority would not choose to remain under Beijing’s rule. The lived experience of generations—marked by broken promises, cultural suppression, and political disenfranchisement—has forged a collective conviction: independence is not optional; it is essential. For me personally, the idea of accepting Chinese rule is unthinkable.

The Broken Covenant of Autonomy. The Seventeen Point Agreement of 1951 was presented as a guarantee of Tibet’s autonomy, religion, and culture. In reality, it was a trap. Within a few years, monasteries were destroyed, leaders imprisoned, and the Dalai Lama forced into exile after the 1959 Uprising. Tibetans learned that Beijing’s word was not a covenant but a betrayal.

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