Taiwan and the exiled Tibetan relations: exploring historical ties and current challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACT

The paper takes a descriptive-analytical method to examine the emerging relationship between Taiwan and exiled Tibetans. It identifies four key issues to underscore the historical ties, current challenges and prospects of Taiwan and exiled Tibetan relations. The study finds that Tibetan Buddhism has played an important role in strengthening relations, especially people-to-people connections, even though higher-level exchanges and engagement were often obstructed by factors such as the Chinese hegemony and the Kuomintang’s contestation of sovereignty over Tibet. Therefore, the study argues that to establish a cohesive relationship, both sides should focus on non-political factors, such as religion, education and the promotion of democratic values.

KEYWORDS:

• Tibet
• Central Tibetan administration
• Taiwan
• China
• Kuomintang
• Buddhism

Acknowledgments

This paper has benefited from fellowships short and long-term provided by the following institutions; Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (2019), the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, National Cheng Kung University (2022) and the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (2023).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The first visit took place in 1997, followed by the second visit in 2001, and the third visit in 2009.

2. Interviewed with Dawa Tsering Bawa, director of the Office of the Religious Foundation of the Dalai Lama, Taipei and he mentioned that there was no contact and any interest shown by the Tsai Ing-wen government in establishing relationship with the CTA. He served as director from 2010 to 2021.

3. Sokyong Penpa Tsering received Congratulation letter from Foreign Minister of Taiwan, available at https://m.facebook.com/PenpatseringSupport/photos/letter-from-minister-of-foreign-affairs-republic-of-china-taiwan/991739261632027/, and https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2021/10/10/2003765847.

4. Goldstein, The Snow Land and the Dragon: China, Tibet and the Dalai Lama, 31.

5. Van Schaik, Tibet: A History.

6. Lin, Tibet and Nationalist China’s Frontier: Intrigues and Ethno politics: 1928–49; Werake, ‘Foreign Policy of Yuan Shih-Kai with Special Emphasis on Tibet 1912–1916,’ 94.

7. During the Qing Period, relationships with the non-Chinese people were handled through two main agencies known as the Lu bu and the Li Fa Yuan. The Lu bu dealt with southern and western states like Vietnam and Korea, which shared tributary relationships with the Chinese. The Li Fa Yuan supervised the relationships with Tibet, Mongolia, and Russia. The MTAC succeeded the Li Fa Yuan to take charge of the ROC relationship with Tibet and Mongolia. See Zablocki, The Global Mandala, 227.

8. Kuzmin, Hidden Tibet, 95.

9. Teon, ‘Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China (1931)’

10. Lin, Tibet and Nationalist China’s Frontier: Intrigues and Ethno-politics,1928–1949, 21.

11. More on the Zhao Erfeng invasion see Sperling, ‘The Chinese Venture in K’am, 1904–1911, and the Role of Chao Erh-Feng.’

12. Shakabpa, Tibet a Political History, 245; Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State, 65.

13. Tsomu, ‘Taming the Khampas: The Republican Construction of Eastern Tibet’

14. Goldstein, ‘The Dalai Lama’s Dilemma’

15. Ibid., 83.

16. Norbu, China’s Tibet Policy, 105.

17. Goldstein, Sherap, and Siebenschuh. A Tibetan Revolutionary.

18. Gyari, The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy, 99.

19. This group include more than nineteen Tibetans relocated from Tibet to Taiwan from 1949-50s. A few of the prominent figures were Changkya Khutukhtu (章嘉呼圖克圖), Lobsang Yeshi(羅桑益西), Cai Ding Zhong (蔡定中: Tsepal Dorjee/Caibu Daorji), and Yeshi Lhadon (伊西娜珍/吳香蘭), and her husband Kelsang Chomphel (格桑曲批). See 總統府檔案[Presidential archives] 1955, available at https://aa.archives.gov.tw/ELK/SearchDetailed?SystemID=MDAwNTIyMDkxOA==.

20. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan). 1959, April 01. Special Report: Tibetan Resist Communist Rule, Taiwan Today, available at https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=4.

21. Zablocki, The Global Mandala, 231.

22. Okawa, ‘Lesson from Tibetan in Taiwan: Their history, current situation and relationship with Taiwan nationalism’

23. Gyari, The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy, 121.

24. After ten months of arriving in exile, on 3^rd February, 1960, exiled Tibetan leaders including the Dalai Lama, officials of Tibetan government of Lhasa, spiritual masters from all sects of Tibetan Buddhism and leaders from Kham and Amdo, gathered at Bodhgaya, a scared Buddhist place in India and took an oath pledging unity of all Tibetan under the leadership of the Dalai Lama to fight against the common enemy; china. The Oath is called the great oath of unity (na-gan thumoche).

25. Gyari, The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy, 121–122.

26. Ministry of Culture. ‘西藏抗暴軍代表嘉瑪桑佩(前右)抵台向政府報告抗暴經過 [Tibetan Resistance Force Chama Samphel Arrived in Taiwan to Report about Anti-Communist Riot in Tibet].’ Before him, Gyalo Dhundup, brother of the Dalai Lama arrived in Taipei with His wife by using ROC passport.

27. Dhokham, The Warriors of the Snowland – a History of Chushi Gangdrug – Volume One.

28. Namgyal, ‘The Twisting Saga of Tibet-Taiwan Relations’; Wu, ‘Scattered Dzi Beads – Exiled Tibetans in Taiwan’

29. Knaus, Orphans of the Cold War: America and the Tibetan Struggle for Survival.

30. Norbu, ‘Untangling a Mess of Petrified Noodles II: Surkhang, Yuthok and Taiwan’

31. Chen, ‘海島流亡: 勇敢西藏人在台灣的故事 [Island Exile: The Story of Brave Tibetans in Taiwan]’

32. One established in Taipei and another one the cabinet office within the Tibetan government in exile.

33. Kalon Yuthok requested the MTAC to change the name of the office from ‘Kalon Bureau’ to ‘Tibet Anti-Communist Government Affairs Reconstruction and Preparation Office’, but the MTAC refused his request and kept the name for both political and propaganda interests. The proposed request can be accessed here at File Number :C5060607701/0058/, National Archive of Taiwan, submitted by the Chinese Kuomintang, available at https://aa.archives.gov.tw/ELK/SearchDetailed?SystemID=MDAwNzUwNzQ3Ng==.

34. More about Surkhang and Yuthok see Yuthok, ‘The Truth about Surkhang Wangchen Gelek’

35. Okawa, ‘Lesson from Tibetan in Taiwan: Their history, current situation and relationship with Taiwan nationalism,’ 599.

36. Tethong, ‘Tibet and Taiwan: Past History and Future Prospects,’ 65.

37. Hsu, ‘The Tibetan Children’s Home

38. Hsu, 民國以來蒙藏重要政策彙編 [A Compilation of Important Policies of Mongolia and Tibet since the Establishment of ROC], 132–147; Liu, 蒙藏委員會簡史續篇 [A Brief History of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission], 186–195.

39. Pan, ‘Neither Compatriots nor Refugees: Status Discrimination of Exiled Tibetans and the Contradictory Faces of the Republic of China (Taiwan),’ 41–59.

40. Zhang, Chen, ‘藏在胞台生活狀況調查及輔導措施之研究 [Survey on Living Conditions of Tibetan Compatriots in Taiwan and Counseling Measures],’ 63–65.

41. Zablocki, The Global Mandala, 228–229.

42. Frechette, ‘Tibetans in Nepal: The Dynamics of International Assistance among a Community in Exile,’ 19.

43. Dhompa, ‘From the Margins of Exile: Democracy and Dissent within the Tibetan Diaspora,’ 119.

44. Lin, “西藏評論 - 台藏關係解讀 不宜泛政治化[Tibet Review – Interpretation of Taiwan-Tibet Relations should not be politicized]. Interviewed MTAC Tibetan officer said, he shared his appreciation for the kind of economic development the Chinese government has achieved in Tibet. He also shared his deep resentment against the Dalai Lama as the spiritual and political leader of Tibet.

45. Su, Wei, ‘Taiwan’s Relations with the Central Tibetan Administration in Exile’

46. Bhutia, ‘Tibet, Taiwan and China – A Complex Nexus’

47. They asked Khampas because the vast majority of members in the Chushi Gangdruk were Khampas.

48. Tethnong, ‘Tibet and Taiwan: Past History and Future Prospects,’ 66.

49. Chao, ‘The Icebreaking Journey: Meeting the Dalai Lama and Receiving His Delegation to China.’

50. Su, Wei, ‘Taiwan’s Relations with the Central Tibetan Administration in Exile.’185–186.

51. Mao, “How Will Taiwan Recognize ‘Tibet Independence’? Comment on Inviting the Delegation of the ‘Tibetan Government-In-Exile’ to Visit Taiwan.

52. Office of the President, Republic of China-Taiwan. ‘President Chen Shui-bian’s Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 International Symposium on Human Rights in Tibet’

53. Lin, ‘New Tibetan organization to be opened’

54. Abolished Organizational act of the MTAC, available at https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=D0000044.

55. See Lin, ‘The Impact of Uncertainty of Organisational Change on Job Stress and Career Development: A Case Study of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission’

56. Namgyal, The Twisting Saga of Tibet-Taiwan Relations.

57. Gyari, The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy; International Campaign for Tibet.

58. Gyari, The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy, ch. 17–18.

59. Ibid., 413.

60. Office of President, ‘President Chen Meet with Foreign Dignitaries’

61. Gyari, The Dalai Lama’s Special Envoy, 536–537.

62. Interviewed on December 12, 2021 in Taipei. Chuang An-Tsering came to Taiwan in 1990s as a part of the MTAC scholarship program for Tibetan students. He later joined the KMT and he is still associated with the MTCC.

63. Peng, Tsao, ‘President’s Administration Reverses Stance on Visits from the Dalai Lama’; Keating. “Ma Ying-jeou, the Dalai Lama, and Taiwan Part II, When is the Timing Right.

64. Huang, ‘Dalai Lama Visit Spurs Controversy in Taiwan’

65. Taiwan News, ‘Exclusive: Source says Taiwanese President Tsai revoked Dalai Lama’s invitation to Taiwan’

66. Zablocki, The Global Mandala, 231; Fraser, ‘Tibetan Buddhist Temples in Taiwan: An Exploration of Transnational Religious Architecture.’

67. Wang, Chen, “The Dalai Lama Sparks a Fever for Tibetan Buddhism – Taiwan Panorama.

68. Own, ‘The Development and Mechanism of the Gelug Sect in Taiwan: The Boundary and Integration of Sino-Tibetan in Theocracy Inheritance.’

69. Based on data provided by Mongol and Tibetan Culture Center, the total number of Tibetan monks that enter Taiwan increased from 1271 in 2010 to 2014 in 2019. See Mongol and Tibetan Culture Center.

70. Zablocki, The Global Mandala, 252–253.

71. In an interview with the director of office of the Dalai Lama, he reveals that every year the office organises a special teaching for Taiwanese followers constituting about 1000–1500 participants. In addition to the Dalai Lama, there are Sakya and Kaygue teachings that also attract an equal, if not fewer, number of Taiwanese Buddhist followers in India. Interviewed on 2021/08/12

72. Interview with one of the couples reveals that there are more than 50 cases of transnational marriage between Taiwanese and exiled Tibetans. Online interview on July 23, 2022.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan with project number: NSTC 112-2811-H-A49-500.

Notes on contributors

Dolma Tsering

Dolma Tsering is a Postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University. The fellowship is sponsored by the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan with project number NSTC 112-2811-H-A49-500.