Steeped in rich traditions, Tibet is a land of rugged, breathtaking beauty and intriguing spirituality. But political repression and population engineering are radically changing the cultural landscape. Can Tibet's traditions, ethnicity and customs survive in such controversial and precarious times? To what extent has Tibet been able to maintain its cultural identity? China's and Tibet's long and haggard history reached its dramatic climax in 1949, the start of China's invasion and illegal annexation of a country they claimed was crying out for ‘liberation' from ‘imperialist forces' and from the ‘reactionary feudal regime in Lhasa', with ludicrously fabricated justification that it had the right to do so using its own colonial policies,
Declaring that setting up schools provides advantages for students, the Tibetan language is suppressed and all classes are taught in Chinese, which are under the watchful eye of education officers who make sure that teachings which run counter to their regime and any possibilities of resistance is contained. Before 1950, Tibet had an extensive education system, mainly religious in content and run chiefly through the monasteries, although there were also a number of secular schools. Religious teaching is forbidden now (except in the monasteries, but even there it is severely restricted). Emphasis is placed on the alleged historic unity of Tibet with China and the 'evils' of the old society. In addition, peasants were forced into education groups, where the ideals of communism were elucidated, and the ‘evils' of theocracy ‘enlightened' to them.
In 1948 the United Nations espoused the Declaration of Human Rights. This guaranteed all humans the right to inalienable freedoms (such as self determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression and travel). The occupation of Tibet and the removal of said rights go hand in hand. Political prisoners are held for such crimes as verbal protests, posters and words conferred to foreigners about their situation. These unjust incarcerations are said to be for the ‘security of the People's Republic'. China's one child policy has also been enforced unto Tibetan women, as are, consequentially, unwanted abortions and