ABSTRACT
In 1962, the Dalai Lama published his memoirs in which he recounted the circumstances and the content of the 17-Point Agreement. The preamble said that 'over the last one hundred years or more', imperialist forces had penetrated into China and Tibet and 'carried out all kinds of deceptions and provocations', and that 'under such conditions, the Tibetan nationality and people were plunged into the depths of enslavement and suffering'. It admitted that the Chinese government had ordered the 'People's Liberation Army' to march into Tibet. Among the reasons given were that the influence of aggressive imperialist forces in Tibet might be successfully eliminated and that the Tibetan people might be freed and return to the 'big family' of the People's Republic of China. 'The Tibetan people shall unite and drive out imperialist aggressive forces from Tibet. The Tibetan people shall return to the big family of the Motherland the People's Republic of China'.
