Author: Tibet Express Newsdesk

By Khedroob Thondup
The question of whether Tibetan lamas in exile should visit Tibet if permitted by Beijing is not simply a matter of travel. It is a profound test of spiritual fidelity, political calculation, and communal unity. On the surface, such visits promise a long-awaited homecoming, a chance to reconnect with sacred landscapes and ease tensions. Yet beneath that promise lies the risk of exploitation, division, and propaganda.

By Khedroob Thondup
The sweep of history reminds us of a simple truth: no empire, however mighty, is permanent. Rome, the Ottomans, the British Raj—all believed their dominion eternal, only to discover that power is cyclical, not absolute. Today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exercises seemingly unassailable control over the Tibetan Plateau, integrating it through modernization, surveillance, and demographic engineering. Yet the long arc of history suggests that rigid, coercive assimilation strategies ultimately face systemic limits.

By Khedroob Thondup
For sixty-seven years, Tibet has remained under Chinese occupation—a reality that has reshaped the Himalayan plateau and reverberated across the world. To imagine Beijing voluntarily loosening its grip on Tibet without seismic shifts inside China itself is to misunderstand both the strategic calculus of the Chinese state and the symbolic weight Tibet carries in the Chinese Communist Party’s narrative.