National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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India and Tibet : vol.1 |
388 THE ATTITUDE OF THE TIBETANS
our Trade Agent to represent the situation to him. He
reached Gyantse on January 31 of this year, and said that
the Chinese troops were still at Chiamdo, but as 'Tibetan
troops were massed at only half a day's march from that
place there was not the least doubt that there would be
bloodshed if the Chinese persisted in coming to Lhasa.
At Lhasa itself the Tibetans had continually requested
the Chinese Resident to arrange that these Chinese
troops should not be brought to Lhasa, but he refused to
take any action. After the return of the Dalai Lama to
Lhasa, the representatives of Nepal and Bhutan, together
with some of the leading merchants and Mohammedan
head-men in Lhasa, again approached the Chinese Resident
as well as the Dalai Lama, with a request that he should
settle the dispute as to whether or not these troops should
be allowed in Lhasa. In the meanwhile the Tibetans had
sent a considerable force to face the Chinese troops, which,
as previously stated, had arrived under Chao-Erh-Feng
at Chiamdo, a place tributary to, but not directly ruled
by, China. The 'Tibetan force was meant to intimidate
the Chinese, but, like the poor troops at Guru, had orders
not to fight.
The account subsequently given by the 'Tibetan
Minister of what next happened was that on February 9
the Assistant Resident, Wen, had an interview with the
Dalai Lama in the Potala. The Nepalese representative
and Tibetan traders were also present. A promise was
then given by Wen not to bring more than 1,000 Chinese
troops to be stationed at Gyantse, Phari, Chumbi, and
Khamba Jong. Wen further promised that there should
be no bringing to Lhasa of fresh troops, by which I sup-
pose he meant that the garrison of Lhasa itself should not
be increased. And he undertook to give them a promise
to the same effect in writing.
Tibetans are proverbially hazy in their accounts of
what was actually said or done on particular occasions, and
the Chinese Government afterwards denied that Wen could
possibly have given any such promise. But the Ministers did
show Mr. Bell, the Political Officer in Sikkim, a letter which
they asserted they had received from Wen. Wen wrote :
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