The Quest for Self-Rule in Tibet

Issue Date October 2007
Volume 18
Issue 4
Page Numbers 157-171
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The difficulties between the PRC Government and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile over their favored path to autonomy in Tibet stretch back over fifty years since China’s original occupation and the Dalai Lama’s 1959 flight into exile. While China’s actual control over Tibet has gained international recognition, a non-violent strategy of resistance against sometimes-harsh policies has won the Tibetan exiles considerable international solicitude. This article assesses the historical record and current practice to argue that a form of autonomy that is appropriately grounded in China’s Constitution and international human rights practice may offer a path out of the current dispute.

About the Author

Michael C. Davis was professor of law at the University of Hong Kong until 2016. He is currently a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Senior Research Associate at the Weatherhead East Asia Institute of Columbia University, and professor of law and international affairs at Jindal Global University. He is the author of Making Hong Kong China: The Rollback of Human Rights and the Rule of Law (2020).

View all work by Michael C. Davis