other peoples now thoroughly integrated as Han people" (Smith 79).
In interpreting the interactions between Tibet and China since 1950, Elliot Sperling (25-26) states that the Chinese contend that Tibet has been an integral part of China for centuries and that from the Chinese perspective, there is no legitimate argument to be advanced in favor of Tibetan independence. The Tibetan people in contrast, have consistently argued that there is no natural affinity between their country and China and that Tibet did not become a part of China during the Yuan period (1271-1368) as China asserts (Sperling 28). The Tibetans assert that their traditional government, the Gandan Photrang, has always integrated political and religious leaders and the continued exile of the Dali Lama is the end result of Chinese efforts to prevent the Tibetans from acquiring their legitimate independence.
There are those who argue that Tibet "has been experiencing political turmoil and ethnic unrest for the last 60 years with tightening control of the country by China.... The center of the displaced group is the Himalayan hill station of Dharamsala, India, where spiritual Tibet has arisen" (Dhussa 1). In the Tibet that is located within China and from which hundreds of thousands have fled into exile in
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