Seventeen Point Agreement (1951)
17조 협의 (1951)
The “Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” signed in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, on 23 May 1951 by delegates of the Central People’s Government (led by Li Weihan) and of the Tibetan government (led by Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme). Tibet entered the People’s Republic of China and accepted the entry of the PLA and central control of foreign affairs, in exchange for promises that its existing political system and the Dalai Lama’s status and powers would not be changed and that reform would not be imposed. It followed the Battle of Chamdo of October 1950, and in 1959 the Dalai Lama, going into exile, repudiated it as signed under duress.
In depth
The agreement consists of a preamble and seventeen articles. Its core articles read:
一、西藏人民團結起來，驅逐帝國主義侵略勢力出西藏，西藏人民回到中華人民共和國祖國大家庭中來。
1. The Tibetan people shall unite and drive out the imperialist aggressive forces from Tibet; the Tibetan people shall return to the big family of the motherland, the People’s Republic of China.
四、對於西藏的現行政治制度，中央不予變更。達賴喇嘛的固有地位及職權，中央亦不予變更。各級官員照常供職。
4. The central authorities will not alter the existing political system in Tibet. The central authorities also will not alter the established status, functions and powers of the Dalai Lama. Officials of various ranks shall hold office as usual.
十一、有關西藏的各項改革事宜，中央不加強迫。西藏地方政府應自動進行改革，人民提出改革要求時，得採取與西藏領導人員協商的方法解决之。
11. In matters related to various reforms in Tibet, there will be no compulsion on the part of the central authorities. The local government of Tibet should carry out reforms of its own accord, and when the people raise demands for reform, they shall be settled by means of consultation with the leading personnel of Tibet.
Article 2 further had the Tibetan local government actively assist the PLA to enter Tibet; Article 8 reorganised the Tibetan army step by step into the PLA; Article 14 placed all Tibet’s external affairs under the unified handling of the Central People’s Government; and Article 15 set up a military and administrative committee and a military area headquarters. The Tibetan delegation tried to remove Articles 5 and 6, which guaranteed the Panchen Lama’s status, but the Chinese side refused, saying he had to be treated in the same way as the Dalai Lama.
The Tibetan delegates, unable to communicate with Lhasa, were presented with a finished text and, though not authorised to sign, did so under pressure, using seals made for the purpose. After a meeting of officials in Lhasa in September 1951, the Dalai Lama ratified it by telegram on 24 October. Having fled to India in March 1959, the Dalai Lama declared that it had been concluded under duress; Ngapoi maintained that there had been no duress. The Chinese government calls it the “peaceful liberation of Tibet”; the Tibetan government in exile regards it as invasion and annexation.