The struggle over Tibet
- |
Even during the Beijing Olympics, antigovernment riots continued in Tibet. A key point of contention in the largely Buddhist region is the Chinese government's attempt to assert its authority by transplanting ethnic Han Chinese to the area. What share of China's territory is accounted for by Tibet?
A. 17 percent
B. 13 percent
C. 10 percent
B. 13 percent is correct.
The Tibet Autonomous Region, or TAR, with about 460,000 square miles , accounts for 13 percent of China's total land area. In contrast, TAR's population of 2.6 million equals only 0.2 percent of the total population of the People's Republic of China.
TAR, however, makes up less than half of historic Tibet and was created by China in 1965 for administrative purposes. The Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamsala considers Tibet to have an area of 965,000 square miles.
Riots and protests have flared up not just in Tibet, but also in the neighboring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is China's largest province. It accounts for 17 percent of the country's total land area of 3.7 million square miles.
The Globalist Quiz is produced by The Globalist, a Washington research organization that promotes awareness of world affairs. © 2008 The Globalist, theglobalist.com.
