Suicide Protesters in Eastern Tibet: The Shifting Story of a People’s Tragedy
Memo #302 By Antonio Terrone – a-terrone [at] northwestern.edu The recent wave of self-immolations across the Eastern Tibetan regions of the People’s Republic of China continues to leave the world in dismay for both its violence and determination. They also represent a new shift in terms of the demography of protesters in Tibetan society. Among […]
Professor Halkias Talks Pure Land in Tibetan Buddhism
Memo #263 Featuring Georgios T. Halkias A few months ago the Asia Pacific Memo sat down with Dr. Georgios T. Halkias a noted scholar of Pure Land Buddhism, particularly of the Himalayan region, and the author of Luminous Bliss, A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2012). He was a […]
Security or Nationalism? Making Sense of Tibetan Resistance against China
Memo #247 By Tsering Topgyal – t.topgyal [at] bham.ac.uk Scholarship on the Sino-Tibetan conflict maintains a primarily binary representation of the Chinese as security-driven and the Tibetans as ethno-nationalistic. In reality, for Tibetans it is the sense of identity security or insecurity (that is, the relative prospects for the survival and reproduction of their identity) that informs […]
The “Exotic” Minority in Western China: Why Domestic Ethnic Tourism in China May be Doing More Harm than Good
Memo #241 By Brianna Botchwey – blsb2 [at] cam.ac.uk In western China, domestic tourism is on the rise and ethnic tourism is a central but troubling part of this industry. While tourism may provide poorer, minority areas with income, the increase in ethnic tourism is a problematic development for the future of relations between China’s Han […]
Managing South Asia’s Himalayan Rivers: A Human Development Framework
Memo #164 – What would an ideal regulatory system to manage an international river look like? Some have called for an innovatively designed regulatory authority for international rivers, such as the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system in the Himalayan region. Existing models are not compatible with the geopolitical conditions in South Asia. Rather than furthering traditional nationalist approaches, the new design must take into account the people living in the region.
Water, Scarcity, and Tibetan Plateau Frontiers
Memo #142 Theme Editors: Tashi Tsering and Jack Hayes Freshwater (in)security is quickly rising as a critical global challenge. Today, March 22, is World Water Day. The focus is freshwater and measures for conservation and management. Last fall, Asia Pacific Memo published four Memos as part of its Theme, “Water, Scarcity, and Tibetan Plateau Frontiers.” […]
China’s Plans to Divert Water on the Tibetan Plateau
Memo #110 – The prospect of China controlling the taps of Asia’s main rivers is a subject of intense debate. Downstream countries are understandably concerned. But Chinese experts say it is the Chinese who should be most worried about its government’s plans.
The Xinhai Revolution and Counter Revolution on the Frontiers of Republican China
Memo #103 – The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and the subsequent founding of the republic sought to remould China as being composed of five nationalities: Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, and Uyghur. This vision of a multi-ethnic nation had no appeal to Tibetans and Mongols. .In divergent ways, the Xinhia revolution created an opportunity for China, Tibet and Mongolia to creat a modern nation state.
China’s Counterinsurgency Strategy in Tibet and Xinjiang
Memo #88 – Separatist riots in Tibet in 2008 and in Xinjiang in 2009 demonstrated that Chinese authorities may be efficient at riot control. But the protests also indicate that China has not addressed the root causes of recurring ethnic unrest and deteriorating loyalty towards the Chinese regime among Tibetans and Uyghurs.
Conditions in Tibet Since 2008
Memo #41 – In this interview, Dr. Robert J. Barnett, Director of the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University, assesses the importance of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (IATS). The IATS brings together international scholars and scholars from within Tibet and China. In August 2010, Dr. Barnett was a participant of the 12th Seminar of the IATS, which was hosted by the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia.