Archive Article: Why Is Tibet Such A Popular Cause? 28th June 02
December 29, 2008

The Dalai Lama was recently in Australia and his lecture tour attracted enormous interest. A colleague of mine has asked me why there is so much support for the Tibetan cause in Australia. This is an interesting question – given that there is so little at first sight to attract Australians to the cause.

The Australia Tibet Council has estimated that 110,000 people attended the public talks of the Dalai Lama. This is an astonishing number. They cannot all have been Buddhists (even though there are now as many Buddhists in this country as Baptists). Australia is one of the world’s most secular countries – and yet people flocked to hear this spiritual leader.

Additionally, China opposes any official contact with the Dalai Lama and China is a major trading partner of Australia. Economic rationalists – who believe that money is the measure of all things – would therefore suggest that we should not jeopardize relations with a major trading partner. China can offer us trade – Tibet cannot.

Well, then: why is the Tibetan cause so popular in Australia. First, while Australia may not be land of Buddhism, there is obviously a spiritual quest underway. There is a yearning for something or someone to believe in. This is partly a reflection on the failure of many of the current churches that have evidently not been able to satisfy that quest. Hence people are looking elsewhere.

Second, Australians are often on the side of the underdog – and Tibet is certainly an underdog. The history of Tibet is itself a matter of controversy. However it seems that back in the year 822 China first recognized Tibet as an independent country. They have had an uneasy relationship, then, for about 1400 years. China’s new communist rulers invaded the independent country of Tibet in 1950.

The Chinese have been moving some of their own citizens into Tibet. This will help ease the population pressure in China. It will also help integrate the Tibetan economy (such as it is) into the Chinese one. It also nullifies one of the main campaign objectives of human rights organizations like the International Commission of Jurists, which have recommended that there be a referendum in Tibet so that the people can vote on their future status. With so many Chinese now based in Tibet, any such act of “self-determination” would be lost because of all the Chinese voters.

Additionally, China would not want an independent Tibet. An independent Tibet could be an inspiration to parts of western China, notably the Moslem-dominated Xinjiang to break away. Also, an independent Tibet could be a pro-Indian country and this would make China very nervous. One of the big struggles of the 21st Century will be between China and India (India’s dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir is just a sideshow for India).

Therefore, Tibet seems a lost cause. This adds a further source of interest for Australians: the Dalai Lama is working hard for a lost cause. There is a poignancy here that resonates with Australian fatalism.

But is Tibet a lost cause? The International Commission of Jurists was also a supporter of an independent East Timor – and Australian Governments kept staying that that was also a lost cause. East Timor’s eventual freedom came partly from the turmoil within Indonesia. If China runs into its own internal problems, then there could be a window of opportunity for Tibet.

Broadcast On Friday 28th June 2002 On Radio 2GB’s “Brian Wilshire Programme” At 9pm And On 30th June 2002 On “Sunday Night Live” At 10.30pm