China’s Tibet?: Autonomy or Assimilation

A thorough . . . study of relations between the two entities over the last century. (May 2008 Library Journal)

Admirable because it lays out in jargon-free language the political and cultural nature of the China-Tibet relationship. It is further admirable because Warren Smith, who writes for the Tibetan Service of Radio Free Asia, is scrupulously fair, including in his pages complete policy statements from Beijing and the Dalai Lama’s exile government. (July 2008 Wall Street Journal Asia)

Anyone who is a Tibet activist, a serious student of Tibetan Buddhism, or a history buff will find Smith’s book indispensable. . . . What is truly fresh and original in China’s Tibet?—and reveals Smith at his most penetrating and disturbing—is his analysis of China’s greatest propaganda successes. . . . The tug of war between recorded fact and historical revisionism, autonomy and assimilation, Tibetan Buddhist culture and Chinese real estate, will continue while the rest of the world looks on from the sidelines. In the meantime, we should be very grateful that Warren Smith has kept a superb scorecard for us. (Tricycle Magazine)

Smith has extensive living experience in the region and does his research with great care. . . . Recommended. (CHOICE, November 2008)

This is a landmark study of China’s efforts to fully subsume Tibet and to rewrite Tibetan history to conform to this official reality. Smith’s dispassionate, critical, and detailed account makes clear China’s goal of complete assimilation and the futility of the Dalai Lama’s policy to seek some kind of ‘meaningful autonomy’ for his country. (Jamyang Norbu, author of The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes)

In seven fluid chapters, the book covers recent Tibetan history, with an emphasis on Chinese propaganda and how Chinese leaders have viewed Tibet. . . . China’s Tibet? is essential for understanding how the Sino-Tibetan relationship became what it is today. . . . His clear-eyed analysis makes a very convincing case. (Far Eastern Economic Review)