Opinions

By Khedroob Thondup When Beijing marched into Tibet in 1950, it declared the move a “liberation.” Yet more than seven

By Khedroob Thondup
When Tibet was engulfed by Chinese occupation in the 1950s, despair spread across the plateau. Villages were uprooted, monasteries destroyed, and a centuries-old way of life threatened with extinction. Out of this crisis rose the Chushi Gangdruk, the “Four Rivers, Six Ranges” resistance force, a grassroots army of Khampa fighters who refused to surrender their homeland. For 18 years, they became the backbone of Tibetan armed resistance — and their struggle was sustained by a powerful, if complex, ally: the Central Intelligence Agency.

By Khedroob Thondup
When the Republic of China (ROC) government fled to Taiwan in 1949, it carried with it the constitutional claim to rule all of China—including Tibet and Mongolia. For decades, this claim was not only symbolic but institutionalised through agencies like the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, which managed policies toward regions the ROC no longer controlled. Yet in 2017, Taipei dissolved that commission, a move that signalled the practical abandonment of its historic claims.

By Khedroob Thondup
For decades, Tibetans in exile have lived with the knowledge that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seeks not only to control our homeland but also to police our voices abroad. I have experienced this firsthand. In one of the more cynical manoeuvres, the Chinese government attempted to enlist His Holiness the Dalai Lama to rein in my public advocacy for Tibetan independence. Their request was not only misguided—it revealed the CCP’s fundamental misunderstanding of democracy and freedom of thought.

By Khedroob Thondup
Sixty-seven years of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule in Tibet has produced not trust, but alienation. The CCP’s occupation has been marked by broken promises, suppression of culture, and systematic efforts to erase Tibetan identity. For Tibetans, the experience of living under Beijing’s control has been one of coercion rather than consent.

By Khedroob Thondup
When historians weigh the legacies of China’s rulers, Mao Zedong inevitably looms as the architect of both revolutionary triumph and catastrophic suffering. Yet in the decades after Mao, China’s leadership sought to avoid repeating his excesses by building collective governance, term limits, and a cautious balance of power. Xi Jinping has not only dismantled those safeguards — he has introduced new instruments of authoritarianism that make him arguably the worst Chinese leader since Mao. His so‑called Unity Law crystallises this regression, revealing the racial chauvinism and political absolutism at the heart of his rule.

By Khedroob Thondup

Introduction. India’s relationship with China is one of the most consequential in Asia, shaping the future of regional security, trade, and diplomacy. Yet trust between the two nations has remained elusive. From the 1962 war to the Galwan clashes of 2020, China has consistently undermined India’s sovereignty and security. This brief argues that India cannot trust China, not because of paranoia, but because of a demonstrable pattern of aggression, expansionism, and disregard for agreements.

By Khedroob Thondup
Taiwan’s democracy is noisy, divided, and often bruising. The two dominant parties—the KMT, which emphasises engagement with Beijing, and the DPP, which champions sovereignty and independence—represent starkly different visions of the island’s future. Yet despite this polarisation, elections work. Democracy survives. And in that survival lies Taiwan’s greatest strength.