Underneath, she said, most Tibetans deeply resent the Chinese presence here. Tibetans are unlikely to forget the relentless efforts to destroy their culture that came in the years after Chinese forces consolidated control in 1959. Times change, as do methods. Chinese authorities make much of the stubbornly medieval nature of Tibet's old society, where slaves of various grades were taught that they suffered for the misdeeds of a past life. But material gains have come on Chinese terms.
Schools are theoretically bilingual, but in practice Chinese dominates.
Many Tibetans, accepting the fact of Chinese dominance, push their children to study Chinese, because it broadens their chances for decent employment. Some send their children to study at schools in China proper. But I want what is best for my daughter. Like many other Tibetans, this woman complained that economic gains in Tibet have overwhelmingly benefited Chinese here, not Tibetans. It is hard to measure, since economic status is not measured by ethnic group, but Tibetans uniformly say that unemployment among Tibetans is many times that of Chinese.