The
Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), also called
Xizang Autonomous Region (
Tibetan ???????????????????;
Wylie Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs;
simplified Chinese ?????;
traditional Chinese ?????;
pinyin Xizàng Zìzhìqu), is a
province-level
autonomous region of the
People's Republic of China (PRC).
Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of historical Tibet, including the traditional provinces of Ü-Tsang and Kham (western half). Its borders coincide roughly with the actual zone of control of the government of Tibet before 1959. Tibet is the second-largest province of China by area (spanning over 470,000&_160;sq&_160;mi/1,200,000&_160;km2) after Xinjiang.
Unlike other autonomous regions, the vast majority of inhabitants are of the local ethnicity. As a result, there is debate surrounding the extent of actual autonomy of the region. The Chinese government argues that Tibet has ample autonomy, as guaranteed under Articles 112-122 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as well as the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy of the People's Republic of China, while human rights organizations around the world accuse the Chinese government of persecuting and oppressing the local population.[1]
Before 1959, the present extent of the Tibet Autonomous Region (comprising Ü-Tsang and western Kham) was governed by the government of Tibet headed by the Dalai Lama. Other parts of historic Tibet (eastern Kham and Amdo) were not under the administration of the Tibetan government during the twentieth century; today they are distributed among the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.
