Boston Globe: Editorials, February 26, 1997

By Globe Staff

Even after the Leninist oligarchy he left in power has passed from the scene, Deng Xiaoping may be remembered by his countrymen primarily as the realist who undid the damage of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution.

For another people, the Tibetans, Deng's historic role has already been clearly defined. From the early days of the Communist invasion of Tibet, Deng was the great tormentor of Tibetans.

In 1950, Mao entrusted the ``liberation'' of Tibet to Deng, leader of the party's southwest bureau and political commissar of the 2d Field Army of the People's Liberation Army, the military arm that the Chinese Communists used to conquer the ``roof of the world.'' Deng's brutal policies after the conquest provoked the Tibetan revolts of the '50s. In a deliberate effort to liquidate the religious and cultural tradition of the Tibetans, Deng had senior Buddhist lamas taken off to China, where they disappeared.

Sacred scriptures were used to pave public toilets.

Communist Party functionaries supplanted Buddhist monks in the administration of renowned monasteries.

Mao had wanted to proceed more slowly in colonizing Tibet, but Deng's insistence on a hard line prevailed. Deng purged Tibetan Communists who had the disloyalty to complain about the murder of Tibetans during the ``squashing rebellion'' movements from 1957 to 1959.

When Deng returned to power after being purged himself during the Cultural Revolution, he dictated Tibet policy. One reason his heir apparant, Hu Yaobang, lost power was because he proposed more autonomy for Tibet. In the last decade, Deng presided over campaigns of repression in Tibet and a migration of Han Chinese meant to render the Tibetans a minority in their own country.

In an open letter to Deng, the imprisoned Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng wrote that Deng will be "condemned by history'' for the tragedy he directed in Tibet. As a prisoner of conscience speaking truth to power, Wei exposed the parochial lies Beijing has told about Tibet. He identified history's verdict on Deng with Tibet's.