Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme

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Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme
Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme
In office
1964 – 1968
Preceded by Choekyi Gyaltsen
Succeeded by Zeng Yongya
Born February 1, 1910 (1910-02-01) (age 98)
Lhasa, Tibet

Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme (Tibetan: ང་ཕོད་ངག་དབང་འཇིགས་མེད་; Wylie transliteration: nga phod ngag dbang 'jigs med; Chinese: 阿沛·阿旺晋美; Pinyin: Āpèi Āwàng Jìnměi; born 1st Feb. 1910 in Lhasa, Tibet) is a retired Tibetan politician, a civil magistrate in local government.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Jigme was the son of a Tibetan aristocrat. He studied in Britain. He was married to Ngapoi Cedain Zhoigar (Āpèi Cáidàn Zhuógá), VP of Tibet Women's Federation.[1]

[edit] Career

Upon returning in 1932 from his studies, he joined the Tibetan army. As a cabinet member under the Dalai Lama, he advocated reform. While serving as governor of Chamdo in 1950, he was also the commander of the Tibetan armed forces.[1]

In October 1950 Jigme surrendered Chamdo to the invading People's Liberation Army. He headed the Tibetan delegation to the Beijing peace negotiations in 1951, where he signed the Seventeen Point Agreement[2] with the Chinese Communist government in 1951, surrendering Tibet's sovereignty in exchange for guarantees of autonomy and religious freedom. His signature of the Agreement, while obtained under tough negotiating conditions and exceeding the powers of representation he had obtained from the Tibetan government[3], was later accepted by Tibet's National Assembly and approved by His Holiness Dalai Lama the 14th[citation needed]. However, Dalai Lama claim he never accepted this agreement. In 1952, the Tibetan Prime Minister Lukhangwa told Chinese Representative Zhang Jingwu that the Tibetan "people did not accept the agreement.[4] In 1959, the Dalai Lama on his arrival in India after he fled Tibet repudiated the "17-point Agreement" as having been "thrust upon Tibetan Government and people by the threat of arms".[5]

After Chinese invasion, Jigme's career continued within the ranks of Chinese Communist administration of Tibet. He was also a member of the State Council's minority commission and CPPCC between 1951-1954.[1] Deputy commander of the Tibet Military Region between 1952-1977 and member of National Defence Council 1954 through the Cultural Revolution. Appointed lieutenant general and awarded "Order of Liberation" first class 1955. He represented Tibet in seven National People's Congress under the standing committee from the 1st National People's Congress in 1954 to the 7th in 1988. He was an honorary president of the Buddhist association since 1980. Head of the NPC delegations to Colombia, Guyana, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the early 1980s.[1]

Among other functions, he was vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China for many years. He was the third Tibetan in this position, following Dalai Lama the 14th and Panchen Lama the 10th.[citation needed]

Jigme was elected president of the "Association for the Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture", which was established on June 21, 2004.

[edit] Citations

  • In 1988 he said: "It is because of the special situation in Tibet that in 1951 the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, between the central people’s government and the local Tibetan government, came about. Such an agreement has never existed between the central government and any other minority region. We have to consider the special situation in Tibetan history while drafting policies for Tibet in order to realise its long-term stability. We must give Tibet more autonomous power than other minority regions. In my view, at present, the Tibet Autonomous Region has relatively less power of autonomy compared with other autonomous regions, let alone compared with provinces. Therefore Tibet must have some special treatment and have more autonomy like those special economic zones. We must employ special policies to resolve the special characteristics which have pertained throughout history."[6].
  • On August 31, 1989, Ngabo Ngawang Jigme said in Tibet Daily “Wu Zhongxin’s claim of having presided over the enthrone-ment ceremony (of the 14th Dalai Lama) on the basis of this photograph is a blatant distortion of historical facts."[7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Mackerras, Colin. Yorke, Amanda. The Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China. [1991] (1991). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521387558. pg 100.
  2. ^ Tibet: Proving Truth From Facts, The Invasion and Illegal Annexation of Tibet
  3. ^ Tsering, Shakya (1999). The Dragon in the Land of Snows. A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0712665339, p. 70-71
  4. ^ Lukhangwa said : “It was absurd to refer to the terms of the Seventeen-Point Agreement. Our people did not accept the agreement and the Chinese themselves had repeatedly broken the terms of it. Their army was still in occupation of eastern Tibet; the area had not been returned to the government of Tibet, as it should have been.” My Land and My People, Dalai Lama, New York, 1992, p.95
  5. ^ "The 17-Point Agreement" The full story as revealed by the Tibetans and Chinese who were involved
  6. ^ 'Seeking unity through equality' - www.phayul.com
  7. ^ China's highest Tibetan official excluded from selection meeting

[edit] References

  • Tsering, Shakya (1999). The Dragon in the Land of Snows. A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0712665339. 
  • Melvyn Goldstein: A History of Modern Tibet, Volume 2: The Calm Before the Storm: 1951-1955, University of California Press 2007 ISBN 978-0520249417
Political offices
Preceded by
Choekyi Gyaltsen		 Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region
1964 – 1968		 Succeeded by
Zeng Yongya
Preceded by
'		 President of Tibet Autonomous Region People's Congress
1979 – 1981		 Succeeded by
Yang Dongsheng
Preceded by
Sangjiyuexi (桑吉悦希)		 Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region
1981 – 1983		 Succeeded by
Duojiecaidan (多杰才旦)
Preceded by
Yang Dongsheng		 President of Tibet Autonomous Region People's Congress
1983 – 1993		 Succeeded by
Raidi

[edit] External links