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Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on province-level.

Within the PRC the TAR is identified with Tibet, a characterization hotly disputed by many Tibetan exile groups, particularly the Government of Tibet in Exile, which define the terms "Tibet" or "historic Tibet" to include not just the TAR, but also the traditional province of Amdo, today incorporated in Qinghai province and southwestern of Gansu province, and the traditional province of Kham (eastern half), today in western Sichuan province and northwestern Yunnan province. The TAR includes about half of historic Tibet, including the traditional provinces of Ü-Tsang and Kham (western half). Its borders coincide roughly with the actual zone of control of the government of Tibet before 1959.

There is also a debate surrounding the extent of actual autonomy in the TAR. The opinion of the PRC is that the TAR has ample autonomy, as guaranteed under Articles 111-122 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as well as the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy of the People's Republic of China. For example, the chairman of the TAR must be ethnic Tibetan, by law. However, independence advocates are of the opinion that the TAR has little or no autonomy. For over a decade, the 14th Dalai Lama has publicly stated that he seeks to negotiate "genuine self-government" or "genuine self-rule" for Tibet within the context of the Chinese state, indicating that he is of the opinion that the current state the TAR does not give the Tibetans genuine self-rule.

History

Before 1959, the present extent of the TAR, comprising Ü-Tsang and western Kham, was governed by the government of Tibet headed by the Dalai Lama, which the Government of Tibet in Exile characterizes as a sovereign independent nation, and the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China as a self-governing Region within China. Other parts of historic Tibet (eastern Kham and Amdo) were not under the administration of the Tibetan government during the 20th century; today they are distributed among the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.

Following Soviet practice, there is a convention that the governor of the TAR is an ethnic Tibetan from the TAR while the general secretary of the local Communist Party committee is an outsider, usually Han Chinese. Notable general secretaries of the TAR Party committee include Hu Jintao who served in the 1980s.

Geography

The TAR is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on Earth. Most of the Himalaya mountain range lies within Xizang; Mount Everest is on Xizang's border with Nepal.

The TAR is bounded on the north and east by Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Sichuan, on the west by India and Kashmir, and on the south by Yunnan, Nepal, India and Bhutan.

Administrative divisions

Tibet Autonomous Region is divided into 1 prefecture-level city (Lhasa) and 6 prefectures (Nagqu Prefecture, Qamdo Prefecture, Nyinchi Prefecture, Shannan Prefecture, Xigazê Prefecture, Ngari Prefecture). All of these are in turn divided into 1 district (Chengguan District, Lhasa), 1 county-level city (Xigazê), and 71 counties.

Demographics

The TAR has the lowest population density among all of the province-level administrative regions in China, mainly due to its mountainous and harsh geographical features.

Most of the population are ethnic Tibetans, who mainly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön. Han Chinese, who are recent immigrants from other parts of the People's Republic of China, comprise a sizeable portion of the population. There are some intermarriages between the two ethnicities.

Smaller tribal groups such as the Monpa and Lhoba, who follow a combination of Lamaism and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.

Economy

The Tibetans traditionally depended upon agriculture for survival. However since the 1980's, with the arrival of modernism from China, other jobs such as taxi-driving and hotel retail work have become available. In 2003, its GDP of 2.2 billion USD is the smallest in all of the PRC's provinces and regions -- contributing to just 0.1% of the entire country's economy.

Tourism

Ever since China opened its doors to tourists in the 1980s, many people from all over the world have came to visit and explore Tibet. The main attraction is the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

External links

For PRC rule and policies in Tibet

Against PRC rule and/or policies in Tibet

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