Tibetans' Cultural Identity Crisis

Working Title: Young Tibetans’ Cultural Identity Crisis

Suggested Outlet: BBC Radio 4 Crossing Continents

Idea: Close-up of how today’s young Tibetans consider their culture identity in the environment of the feud between China and Tibetan government-in-exile.

Story

The feud between China and Tibet always attracts the world’s attention; along with Beijing being the host of the Olympic Games in August and the protests to free Tibet is crossing the continents.

The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader has argued for Tibet’s autonomy, he also accused Beijing of committing “cultural genocide”.

What does this mean by cultural genocide? Is Tibetan culture being swept out by the Chinese?

How is China imposing its Han culture on Tibetan children at schools (both in Tibet and rest of China) – and how are they responding?

In the last two decades, a handful of new schools only for Tibetans were built up in the major cities in China.

I'd like to ask how these students' special experiences of studying outside of Tibet influence them later in life, especially regarding shaping their characters, religious belief and mentality?

Do they feel strong cultural conflict within themselves or is there a huge loss of their Tibetan cultural identity?

In the meantime, schools in Tibet have also implemented new syllabus.

I’d like to investigate in-depth of the school syllabus and its teaching methods, and find out how the changing system influence young Tibetans’ cultural identity.

Apart from school, what are families' attitude towards young Tibetans' cultural identity? What families have done about it?

Interviewee contributors

Chongqing Tibetan Secondary School, Chongqing, China.
Schools in Tibet, Tibet, http://www.tibetanms.cn/
A Tibetan family
Prof. T H Barrett, SOAS, http://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff30627.ph,p
Prof. Xiaopu Wang, Uni. Peking, http://www.pku.edu.cn/academic/zggds/002/004.htm
School Syllabus Department for tibetan student, China, http://www.pep.com.cn/kcs/
Tibet Foundation, London, http://www.tibet-foundation.org/tf/index.php
Tibet Culture, Lhasa, http://www.tibetcul.com/

Treatment

At school: typing keyboard from computer, reading, taking part in activity etc
Daily life: shopping (shop background music)
Traditional Tibetan music