Tibet

China led a military assault on Tibet in October 1950, and in April 1951 Tibet's leaders said they were strong-armed into signing a treaty, known as the 'Seventeen Point Agreement', which gave China control over Tibet's external affairs and allowed Chinese military occupation, in return for pledging to safeguard Tibet's political system.

There was widespread open rebellion against Chinese rule within Tibet by 1956, which tipped over into a full uprising in March 1959. Tibetans say that thousands died during the occupation and uprising, but China disputes this.

On the night of 17 March the Dalai Lama , the spiritual leader of Tibet, fled to northern India. Some 80,000 Tibetans followed over the next few months.

The Chinese government went on to establish the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) in 1965, and in 1966 Tibet was subjected to China's Cultural Revolution, which destroyed a large number of its monasteries and cultural artefacts.

China terrorizes Tibet

Tibet functioned as an independent government until China sent troops to Tibet in 1950, and summoned a Tibetan delegation the following year to sign a treaty ceding sovereignty to China.

Q&A: China and Tibet . Tibetan exiles keeps their identity alive. They self-immolate (set themselves on fire ) to protest China's rule over them. They grow increasingly frustrated about what they see as the Chinese government’s limitations on their religion and culture – a charge Beijing denies.