Bhutan has become the last nation to designate Tibet as “Xizang”, which prompted Tibetan politicians and defenders to urge Bhutan to stop using the term promoted by Beijing who, according to them, contributes to the efforts of China to erase Tibetan identity.
In a declaration of March 17, the Ministry of Bhutan of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs used the term “Xizang” to refer to the Autonomous Tibet region, an administrative region designed by the Chinese government which is only part of the region larger than Tibetans call “the largest Tibet”.
The Bhutan Declaration – which concerned a cultural performance of two days of Tibetan artists from March 18 to 19 at the Royal Institute of Management of the capital of Bhutan Thimphu – also qualified Tibetan artists as “Chinese cultural troop” and performance itself as a “Chinese cultural performance”.
Tibetan leaders and activists say that such a language is used to advance the broader Beijing campaign to erase the historical and cultural identity of Tibet. In 2023, China officially adopted the term in all its official documents to refer to Tibet.
Chinese government policy in Tibet is simply a “cultural genocide,” said Lobsang Yangtso, coordinator of Tibet Advocacy Alliance – India.
“As a country engaged in democracy and the rule of law, the linguistic choices of the Bhutanese government have important implications, and the use of the term` Xizang ” exacerbates the cultural genocide of China, “he said.
On March 25, Tibetan activists, including Yangtso, delivered a letter of appeal to the Bhutanese Embassy in New Delhi, India. The letter was sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan Lyonpo Dn Dhungyel and signed by a coalition of 144 organizations of support in Tibet.
The government in exile of Tibet, the central Tibetan administration, in Dharamsala, India, has also rejected.
“Cultural performance friends have marked the start of the Chinese invasion of Tibet and I see similar models taking place in Bhutan,” said CTA spokesperson, Tenzin Lekshay. “He must remain cautious and we would like to ask the government to refrain from using terms like Xizang.”
The Bhutanese government did not immediately respond to the request for a response from Radio Free Asia.
Use of propagation
The use of the “Xizang” has gradually infiltrated international media reports, the declarations of several governments and even in museums.
Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam have all published official statements in the recent past using the promotional term in China.
“Whether due to monitoring or an official policy of policy, the appearance of the term” Xizang “for” Tibet “in an official declaration … is worrying,” said Bhuchung Tsering, head of the research and monitoring unit of the international campaign based in Washington for Tibet.
“If it is surveillance, he needs a correction,” said Tsering. “But if it is a political decision, Bhutan then becomes a prey of the political agenda of the Chinese government for any gain that could have been promised.”
Meanwhile, several museums, including Musée Guimet and Musée du Quai Branly in France and the British Museum in the United Kingdom, also aroused criticism of eliminating the name of Tibet in their exhibitions for Tibetan artifacts.
“The Chinese Communist Party has long understood the importance of names,” said Michael Sobolik, principal researcher at the Hudson Institute, at Radio Free Asia.
“By controlling the verbiage, you can move a story,” he said. “This is part of the broader prosecution of the Party of Speech Power and one of its tools to justify its political oppression in places like Tibet.”
“For all these reasons, the use by the Bhutan of” Xizang “is disturbing,” he said.
Growing regional influence of China
The last blow of Bhutan suggests that it is more and more under Chinese influence at a time when Beijing seeks to extend its influence in South Asia, analysts said.
“China attaches great importance to the development of good and friendly relationships with Bhutan and is willing to work together to support traditional friendship, improve exchanges and cooperation, and better benefit people from the two countries,” said the Chinese ambassador of India Xu Feihong during the Bhutan cultural event.
Experts also believe that the adoption by Bhutan of the term suggests that the nation will probably make more concessions in the future to appease its most powerful neighbor.
“This shows that the role and profile of China in Bhutan increase to a extent that Bhutan’s ability to resist Chinese advance is weakening more and more,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice-president of studies and foreign policy at New Delhi Observing Research Foundation.
“In some respects, this shows the growing profile of China on the outskirts of India and it is something that should be concerned about India,” said Pant, who is also a teacher of international relations at King’s College London.
Border negotiations
Bhutan and India both have border disputes with China and are currently engaged in ongoing border negotiations in the middle of Chinese construction of hundreds of “border villages”.
These villages are used for civil and military purposes. They secure the border, contain military infrastructure and allow the resettlement of more Chinese Han, which changes the demographic composition of the region.
A 2023 report by Chatham House, based in the United Kingdom, has shown that China had continued its “unauthorized colonial construction program” through the disputed border in northern Bhutan.
“Bhutan accepting Chinese requirements on a series of problems will only grow from here,” said Pant.
During the Cultural event of Thimphu, Sonam Wangyel, secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bhutan, said that the event serves as a “cultural bridge and bond of friendship” between Bhutan and China, and that Bhutan is impatiently awaiting “broader cultural exchanges and stronger bonds of friendship” between the two nations.
The Tibetans, however, expressed the hope and confidence that the government of Bhutan will tackle the question in a way that takes into account the religious, cultural and historical ties that they share with the Bhoutanese people, most of whom are Buddhist.
“The Bhoutani people have a long geographic, historical, spiritual and social relationship with Tibet and the Tibetan people,” said Tseering. “I believe that the Bhoutani government can have a commitment in principle with China which does not affect its historical relationship with the Tibetan people.”
In the letter dated March 25 by rights defense groups, the activists wrote: “We respectfully call the Bhoutani government to rectify its use of” Xizang “, returns to the precise name, Tibet and any additional use of” Xizang “in all communications”.
“This would demonstrate respect for historical and cultural ties between Bhutan and Tibet, and maintain the importance of preserving the unique identity of Tibet.”
Additional Tenzin Norzom and Dorjee Dolma reports. Edited by Malcolm Foster.