Lhalu Tsewang Dorje

Lhalu Tsewang Dorje (bo|t=ལྷ་ཀླུ་ཚེ་དབང་རྡོ་རྗེ་|z=Lhalu Cêwang Dojê; zh-sp|s=拉鲁·次旺多吉|p=Lālǔ Cìwàng Duōjí) (born 1915), commonly known as Lhalu, Lhalu Se, or Lhalu Shape, is a Tibetan politician who has held a variety of positions in various Tibetan governments. Lhalu's father was Lungshar, an influential official in the Lhasa government and a favourite of the 13th Dalai Lama's. Following the Dalai Lama's death in 1934, Lungshar, a moderate reformist, carried out a series of plans to take control of the government, but was outmanœuvred by the more conservative minister Trimön; Lungshar was arrested and punished by blinding. All of Lungshar's descendants were then banned from government service. Lhalu had entered government service as a boy in 1927, but he was dismissed from his position after his father's arrest. Lhalu was adopted by the family of Lungshar's common law wife, the Lhalu family, which lacked a male heir. By making the public claim that Lungshar was not his biological father, and by paying large bribes, Lhalu was able to become an official again in 1937, after which he became increasingly influential.

In 1946, Lhalu was appointed a "shape", i.e. a member of cabinet, by the regent, Taktra. He played an active role in the arrest of the former regent, Reting Rinpoche, when Reting was charged with attempting to assassinate Taktra. Shortly after the Reting incident, Lhalu was appointed governor of Kham, with his headquarters in Chamdo. He was serving in this position in 1949 when the People's Republic of China consolidated its control of China proper and began a build-up of troops in the provinces bordering Tibet. Lhalu began preparations to resist Chinese forces, but he was replaced by Ngabö Ngawang Jigme before the invasion actually occurred.

After Tibet was incorporated into the People's Republic of China, the Tibetan government was reorganised. Lhalu was dismissed from government service in 1952. He participated in the Tibetan uprising in 1959, and would later describe himself as having been the commander-in-chief of the rebel forces. Lhalu was captured, subjected to struggle sessions (known in Tibetan as "thamzing"), and imprisoned in Drapchi Prison.

After his release from prison in 1965, Lhalu became a farmer. He was eventually politically rehabilitated and, in 1983, became one of the Vice-Chairmen of the Tibetan Regional People's Consultative Conference [probably meaning the "Tibetan Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference"] Fact|Mars 2008|date=March 2008. He has praised the Chinese government's policies in Tibet and has been strongly critical of the old Tibetan government and of the Dalai Lama. He said in an interview, "I have become disappointed with the Dalai Lama," and " [h] e does not behave like a reincarnated living Buddha but is a stooge of the Westerners." [http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:0WTBSiOV7NcJ:www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1996/3/13_6.html+cewangdoje&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a] Lhalu's recollections of his life appear in his book, "Recalling the Road I Took".

In 2003, Lhalu's son Gyai'ra Losang Dainzin, became vice-chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region government. [http://en.tibet.cn/en_index/hac/t20050310_276223.htm]

See also

*List of Tibetan political prisoners

Notes and References

*cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/ch-xizang/tibet/historical_status/english/e0902.html |title= Democratic Reform |accessdate=2007-09-01 |author= Wang Jiawei|coauthors= Nyima Gyaincain|work= The Historical Status of China's Tibet |publisher= China Intercontinental Press|pages= |language= English
*cite web |url=http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/biography_118.html|title=Lhalu Se|accessdate=2007-09-01|work= Who Was Who In Tibet?