The present 14th Dalai Lama was born in Qinghai province. Originally named Lhamo Toinzhub, he was selected as one of the incarnate boys at age 2. After receiving a report submitted by the local Tibetan government in 1939, the central government ordered the Qinghai authorities to send troops to escort him to Lhasa.

After an inspection tour in Lhasa by Wu Zhongxin, chief of the Commission for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, in 1940, Chiang Kai-shek, then head of the central government, approved Tibetan Regent Razheng's request to waive the lot-drawing convention, and the chairman of the national government issued an official decree conferring the title of the 14th Dalai Lama on Lhamo Toinzhub.

People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. In January 1950, the central

government formally notified the local authorities of Tibet to "send delegates to Beijing to negotiate the peaceful liberation of Tibet".

The central government's adherence to the policy of peaceful negotiations greatly supported and inspired the patriotic forces in Tibet.

On May 23, 1951, the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet (also known as the 17-Article Agreement) was signed after the delegates of the central people's government and the Tibetan local government agreed on a series of questions concerning Tibet's peaceful liberation.

A conference of all ecclesiastic and secular officials and representatives of the three most prominent monasteries was called by the local Tibetan government between Sept 26 and 29, 1951, to discuss the agreement. A report to the Dalai Lama was approved at the end of the conference.

It stated: "The 17-Article Agreement that has been signed is of great and unrivaled benefit to the grand cause of the Dalai and to Buddhism, politics, economy and other aspects of life in Tibet.

"Naturally, it should be implemented."

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2008)