Research On The Activities Of The British Delegation In Lhasa During The Republic Of China (1936-1947)

During the period of the Republic of China,in order to strengthen its penetration and control over Tibet,the British sent missions to Tibet several times and made efforts to establish permanent offices in Tibet.In 1937,up to its wish,the British at length established the British Mission at Lhasa,which became the forefront of the British invasion of Tibet.The British tried every means to keep prolonging the time of the mission stayed in Lhasa again and again,even wanted to make the mission a permanent representative office in essence and form through the establishment of the pavilion,until it becomes the Indian Mission.After the establishment of the British mission at Lhasa,the members of the mission kept in close contact with people from all sides in Tibet.Through visiting each other,having dinner,watching movies,drinking tea,playing football,playing badminton and tennis,congratulating each other on festivals,watching dramas and listening to the radio,they gradually built up close relations with Tibetan and formed an information network.The intelligence network facilitated stealing the intelligence of Tibet,so as to formulate the corresponding policy to Tibet,it is also conducive to the implementation of various political infiltration activities in Tibet,and played an important role in events such as blocking the Tashi lama return to Tibet,the British arms supply for Tibet,Reting Rimpoche Event,Tibetan Revolution Party Event,Tibet set up foreign office illegally and attended the Inter-Asian Relation Conference,which seriously influence the central government of the Republic of China on the management of Tibet.This paper bases on the text record of the British mission at Lhasa of its activities in Tibet,LHASA MISSION DIARY,and combines with Chinese archives,to analyze and discuss the British delegation in Lhasa through the following sections:The first part introduces the background and evolution of the British mission at Lhasa.By sorting out the history of British attempted to set up a mission at Lhasa,the purpose,means and process of setting up the mision,as well as the process of the eventual handover of the mission with the new Indian regime,to explains the relevant historical background.The second part introduces the activities of the British mission in Tibet after its establishment.This paper analyzes its contacts,activities and concerns in Tibet.From the details of their activities to find out the real purpose behind their activities.The third part analyzes the influence of the British mission at Lhasa on its activities in Tibet from three aspects:cultivating pro-british forces,influencing the central government’s administration in Tibet,and Britain’s cultural influence on Tibet.In the conclusion part,the author summarizes the whole paper and analyzes the follow-up effects of the British mission’s activities at Lhasa,so as to reflect on the fact that we live in the society of information globalization.We should take history as a mirror and pay special attention to the importance of information and intelligence work,so as to avoid repeating the historical mistakes.