ABSTRACT

There is a Tibetan question. It is a domestic question – both for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and for Tibetan identity 1 – as well as a domestic question of international concern, because of humankind’s interest in the preservation of the uniqueness of Tibetan culture, as it is also the case with other endangered cultures. The ground for asserting a legitimate international concern in the Tibetan question is thus rooted in a humanist attitude of respect for the essence of the human condition and for its collective capacity to produce history and culture, as it appears to be the case with Tibet – by virtue of its spiritual dimension as well of its (more than simply) physical attachment to the land of traditional settlement. Such ground, therefore, is not connected with any a priori anti-Chinese attitude, or with an a-critical partisan political support for Tibet, or in an exclusive interest for the dignity of this people alone.