For decades, Beijing has tried to engineer affection for China among Tibetans through a mix of coercion, propaganda, and economic inducements. Yet the harder the Chinese Communist Party presses, the more it exposes the futility of its project. Love cannot be legislated, nor can identity be erased by decree.
Tibetans possess a distinct language, faith, and history that long predate Chinese rule. These elements are not superficial markers but the very foundation of Tibetan selfhood. Attempts to dilute them, whether through Chinese-medium schooling, restrictions on monastic life, or surveillance of cultural practices, only deepen the sense of alienation.
Policies that criminalize religious devotion or punish expressions of Tibetan pride do not foster loyalty; they breed quiet defiance. Inside Tibet, families continue to teach children their mother tongue, monks work to preserve rituals, and communities cling to traditions despite the risks. Far from producing love for China, suppression has hardened Tibetan resilience.
Among exiled Tibetans, the CCP’s heavy-handedness is seen as proof that Beijing fears Tibetan identity. Diaspora communities amplify this narrative globally, reminding the world that Tibetans are not passive subjects but active custodians of their culture. The more China insists Tibetans must love the Party, the more Tibetans abroad highlight the absurdity of forced affection.
China can build roads, impose laws, and flood Tibet with propaganda. But it cannot command the human heart. Affection arises from trust, respect, and shared destiny, none of which Beijing has offered Tibetans in any meaningful measure. Instead, Tibetans see a state that demands obedience while denying dignity. That contradiction ensures that loyalty will remain elusive.
In the end, Beijing’s campaign to make Tibetans love China is doomed by its own methods. Suppression may silence voices temporarily, but it cannot extinguish identity. Tibetans will continue to resist, not with weapons, but with memory, culture, and faith. And no amount of coercion can turn that resistance into love.
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Khedroob Thondup
Khedroob Thondup is the son of Gyalo Thondup, elder brother of the Dalai Lama. Educated at St. Stephens College Delhi University and the University of San Francisco. He was a personal assistant to the Dalai Lama and accompanied him on his first trip to the U.S. in 1979. He was sent by the Dalai Lama to Beijing from 1980 till 1993 for dialogue talks where he interacted with Xi Zhongxun and Hu Jintao. He has served as Member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile for three terms and is the President of the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre Darjeeling since 1987. He has edited two books, Dalai Lama My Son and Tibet in Turmoil and presently lives in Taipei, Taiwan.
