ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the policies pursued by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Tibet since the tumultuous events of 1989. The CCP's primary policy goal in Tibet includes securing its sovereignty, territory and strategic benefits as well as ideational values such as national identity or national unity, national image, legitimacy and soft power. National Regional Autonomy (NRA) has been the most prominent and enduring element of China's nationality policy. The decision to open Tibet for business and economic activities by Han and Hui Chinese was taken deliberately during the Second Tibet Work Forum in 1984, despite opposition from Tibetan officials. Mass political campaigns have been recurrent features of Chinese politics since 1949. These campaigns invariably assume ethnic dimensions in minority regions. In March 2008, Tibetans rose up in an unprecedentedly widespread uprising against Chinese rule. Martial law was imposed in Lhasa and overwhelming military and paramilitary force was used in other Tibetan regions to quell the rebellion.
