The destruction of Tibet’s culture (1960-1980)

1960 – 1980 The destruction of Tibet’s culture and oppression of its people was brutal during the years following the uprising. 1.2 million Tibetans, one-fifth of the country’s population, died as a result of China’s policies; many more languished in prisons and labor camps; and more than 6000 monasteries, temples and other cultural and historic buildings were destroyed and their contents pillaged. In 1980, Hu Yao Bang, General Secretary of the Communist Party, visited Tibet – the first senior official to do so since the invasion. Alarmed by the extent of the destruction he saw there, he called for a series of drastic reforms and for a policy of “recuperation”. His forced resignation in 1987 was said to have partially resulted from his views on Tibet. Relaxation of China’s policies in Tibet came very slowly after 1979 and remains severely limited.