China's reforms in Tibet: Issues and dilemmas∗

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Abstract
Since the visit of Hu Yaobang to Tibet in 1980, which precipitated a series of changes in China's policies toward Tibet, the following years have been marked by China's reforms in Tibet, considered by many highly controversial. In general terms, living standards rose, and economic reforms and political liberalization achieved what appeared to be a remarkable success. Yet, at the height of the period, in 1987, the reforms, instead of enhancing Tibetan loyalty to China, precipitated demonstrations in Lhasa on a scale never before seen by the outside world. The demonstrations indicated the general failure of the reforms. Some scholars argue that the reforms are highly successful and that the demonstrations and the instability in their wake are the result of outside instigation rather than rooted in the reforms themselves. This paper argues that the failure of the reforms is due to a far more complex set of circumstances that are the result of the historical legacy, the nature of the reforms themselves, and the instability of political process in Beijing. This paper examines the reforms, their implementation, and their failure in the economic, political, and social arenas to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of the environment in which China instituted the reforms in Tibet and to investigate the underlying reasons for the unrest. The paper argues that the problems in Tibet are far beyond the creation of outside “instigators” and far beyond the capacity of the reforms to solve.

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