The return of Hong Kong and Macao to China marked the end of the colonial period in Asia. But not every Chinese knows that the shadow of colonization still exists in southeastern Tibet and the border area of western Tibet. There are still borders to be demarcated, disputes over territory. Such disputes which have even resulted in armed clashes, have all been caused essentially by the British colonialists and their successors.

The so-called McMahon Line is an unhealed wound in the flesh of China. The semi-tropical area and the mountainous tropical area to the south of the high ridge of the Himalayas, namely, Lower Zayü (Gyigang), Lhoyü and Monyü have been part of Tibet since ancient times. China's sovereignty over those areas is indisputable. In Monyü, the Raksasi Temple has been a place of annual sacrifice for Tibetan officials for centuries, and in the area of Lhoyü there is a hill known as the magic Hill, which is a sacred place for believers in the indigenous Tibetan religion known as Bon. Every 12 years, that is, the Year of the Monkey by the traditional Tibetan calendar, Bon adherents go the walk round the hill.

This area covers 90,000 sq km, a size similar to that of Zhejiang Province. It has a total population of 100,000 Monba, Lhoba and Tibetan people. To its east lies the largest chasm in the world-the Yarlung Zangbo Canyou-in the south of Medog County. On both sides of the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River and the vast area between the river to Moindawang in the west are endless snowcapped mountains, thick forests and fertile farmland. The sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, who was also a great poet, was born in Moindawang, the administrative center of the Monyü area. A decree was issued by the Tibetan government that his clan would have permanent ownership of its land, serfs and properties, and be exempted from corvee labor. The inhabitants of the Monyü area were mostly government laborers and serfs, while some were owned by Lhasa aristocrats, and others by the three leading monasteries, which owned land and temples everywhere in Tibet.

How could a place the sovereignty of which is indisputable become an area of dispute? To explain this, we have to start from the Simla Conference. The situation  in China in 1913 was rather complex. The British government took advantage of the anxiety of Yuan Shikai, a northern warlord, to be recognized by Britain as the new ruler of China to force the Chinese government to participate in a meeting held in Simla, India. The conference agenda included no Sino-Indian border issues, but the border disputes between Tibet and Han-inhabited areas, a totally internal issue of China. Six months before the conference, Britain sent Charles Bell to Chomo, where he met privately with Silon Shatra Paljor dorje, a temporary official of the local government of Tibet who was to attend the conference. After three months of conspiratorial talks, they struck a political deal. Their strategy was that the representative of Tibet to the conference would raise the issue of a "greater Tibet." Then the British delegate, McMahon, would introduce a pre-arranged "compromise." Step by step, they pursued the "independence of Tibet." So, at the beginning of the conference, Xazha raised a six-point proposal demanding territory from Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, Gansu and Tibet, which was obviously not within the jurisdiction of the local government of Tibet. This was, of course, rejected. Chen Yifan, the delegate of the Chinese government, put forward a seven-point program to solve the dispute between Tibet and the Han-inhabited areas. As it was a stalemate, McMahon fished out the "compromise," which provided that Tibet would be divided into an "Inner Tibet" and an "Outer Tibet." "Outer Tibet" referred to Tibet under the control of the local government of Tibet, while "Inner Tibet" referred to adjacent regions inhabited by Tibetans, Han and other ethnic groups. According to this plan, "Outer Tibet" could exercise autonomy for the time being. The British delegate used a blue pencil to draw a line between so-called "Inner Tibet" and "Outer Tibet," and then used a red pencil to draw another line along the south of "Outer Tibet." No one paid much attention to the red line, focusing instead on the blue line. the demand for an "Inner Tibet" and an "Outer Tibet" was strongly opposed by the Chinese people. Che Yifan refused to sign the agreement, and the Chinese government, headed by Yuan Shikai, had to announce that the agreement was null and void. Britain and Tibet privately signed the agreement, but it was stated in this agreement that it would have no effect without China's acknowledgement. So the so-called Simla Agreement was a mere piece of waste paper.

In 1935, a British botanist crossed the border to do some research and was arrested by the Tibet government. To solve the problem of whether the botanist had crossed the border or not, the Indian government searched for some past documents and happened to find the drawing with blue and red lines. Indians were delighted, yet dared not use it since that document itself was invalid. Stealthily, they withdrew and destroyed all copies of the 1929 edition of the Acheson Collection of Treaties which carried that Silam Agreement. Instead, they published a new edition but with the same old publishing date. At the same time, the British government of India began surveying the border region in preparation for its annexation, setting up tax collection office there. In 1951, when China was busy fighting the USA invaders in Korea, the newly independent Indian government took the opportunity to occupy Moindawang. In 1959, Indian troops started to move north of the "McMahon Line," and in 1962, clashes between them and Chinese troops resulted in the Indians being driven back. Then the Chinese troops returned back to the north of the red line. It was another 10 years before China and India resumed diplomatic relations, but to this day the border issue remains unsolved.

As the old saying goes, "Internal dissension invites outside bullying." The 13th Dalai Lama unscrupulously let the wolf in through the door to solve the disputes between Tibetan and Han residents of Tibet. Interference by Britain complicated the contradictions between nationalities in China. Official documents which have only come to light in recent years in Britain, the United States and India fully expose the plot to split Tibet from China and put in under their "protection."

After Britain established the East India Company, a base of aggression, in Bengal in the 17th century, it began a series of aggressive expansion moves into South Asia. When it had full control of India, it advanced northward. In the early 19th century, it gradually took control of the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Sikkim lay in its way. This small country had been a dependency of Tibet since ancient times, and when it was invaded by the British army in 1888, it asked the Qing court for help. But, having just been defeated by the allied armies of Britain and France, the Qing government was unable to give any assistance. The Gaxag government deployed its army at Mount Lungdo, but the British were victorious, and occupied the whole of Sikkim. Next, Bhutan and Nepal, which had for centuries had a very close relationship with Tibet, also feel into the hands of Britain. The next target of the British aggressors was Tibet. But as long as Tibet was part of China, Britain would have to consider its interests vis-à-vis China as a whole. To put Tibet under its "protection," Britain would have to find a way to spilt Tibet from China. That was the origin of the Simla Conference. This was the political situation of Tibet in the first half of the 20th century.

In the wake of the Simla Conference and the drawing of the illegal McMahon Line, step by step Britain and India expanded the area under their control, speeded up control over the ruling class of Tibet, and did their utmost to bring about Tibet's independence or so-called "de facto" independence. India, a colony itself, regarded itself as a semi-master of Tibet. When, in the mid-1940s, India declared independence, it still regarded itself as the protector of Tibet.

In face of such a complicated situation, rulers of Tibet including the 13th Dalai Lama inevitably had to embark on an arduous path and agonize over choices to determine how to keep the political and religious order in Tibet, and in which direction Tibet would go.