May 23 marked the 70th anniversary of the Seventeen Point Agreement, signed under duress on March 23, 1951 by the delegates of the Dalai Lama after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950.
For the May 23 anniversary, China has published yet another White Paper on Tibet. It uses the Seventeen Point Agreement to claim that the Tibetan delegates acknowledged in 1951 that Tibet had always been part of China. Even if they signed under Chinese pressures, this is a tendentious interpretation of the text.
And the Seventeen Point Agreement also stated that, “The central authorities will not alter the existing political system in Tibet. The central authorities also will not alter the established status, functions, and powers of the Dalai Lama. Officials of various ranks shall hold office as usual.”