112 Years After Independence Declaration: China’s ‘Xizang’ Term Threatens Tibet’s Identity
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 13 Feb: A panel of leaders issued a joint statement today condemning China’s use of the colonial term “Xizang” for Tibet, calling on the international community to reject this nomenclature and take immediate action against attempts to erase Tibet’s distinct identity from global discourse on the 112th anniversary of the proclamation of Tibetan independence by the 13th Dalai Lama.
The statement was issued by the panellists – Dawa Tsering, the Director of the Tibet Policy Institute; Dorjee Tseten, a Member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile; Tenzin Passang, the National Director of the Students for a Free Tibet; and Sonam Tsering, General Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress – at the end of a debate titled “Tibet must stand: Tibet in Global discourse -Erasure and Resistance” organised by the Student for a free Tibet (SFT) at the community hall of Dharamsala Tibetan Settlement Office.
The panellists called on the international community to take immediate action against China’s attempt to erase Tibet’s distinct identity from the global discourse through misrepresentation of Tibet’s geographical and political status as well as linguistic and cultural manipulation.
It particularly called on the international community to reject the use of “Xizang”, “Western China”, or “China’s Tibet” to refer to Tibet. The demand was to ensure that Tibet is accurately represented on maps as a distinct and independent region, to condemn the sinicisation of Tibetan culture and religion and to promote Global Awareness and resistance to sinicisation.
The statement encapsulated the main focus of the panel, which was to examine the suppression of Tibetan voices in global discourse and the resistance by Tibetans to this erasure.
This issue arises particularly in the context of China’s assertive politics of nomenclature where the name Tibet has been replaced by the Chinese colonial term “Xizang” in all Chinese official documents in 2023. Since then, there has been noticeable complicity from Western institutions such as the Musée Guimet, the British Museum, and various international news agencies and government bodies.
Such a shift has meant a perpetuation of the act of ahistoricisation by China on an international scale, reducing Tibet and its history to a smaller region( currently the Tibet Autonomous Region in occupied Tibet) and limiting its cultural and civilisational significance from the broader narrative.
MP Dorjee Tseten, in his presentation on the risks and complicity of Western institutions in China’s colonial project, drew parallels to the renaming of Zimbabwe to Rhodesia under British colonial rule and argued that the politics of nomenclature serves as a universal tool employed in all colonial endeavours to reshape identities and control narratives.
The joint statement concluded by underscoring the continued relevance of this historic declaration in the face of ongoing efforts to suppress Tibet’s identity and sovereignty under Chinese rule.
On 13 February 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama declared Tibet’s independence following his return from exile in India, emphasising that the historical relationship with China had been based on a priest-patron (chöyön)relationship, not subordination.
The proclamation reiterated Tibet’s status as a small, religious, and independent nation that had to be defended by all Tibetans. This declaration aimed to solidify Tibet’s autonomy and called upon its people to safeguard their country against foreign encroachment, marking a definitive statement of sovereignty in the face of Chinese ambitions.
Since 13 February 2013, which marked the centennial of the proclamation of Tibetan independence made by the great thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tibetans and their supporters have been commemorating 13 February as Tibetan Independence Day to counter China’s claim that Tibet was historically a part of China.
