Beijing Wants to Erase Tibet’s Name. Don’t Let Them.

In this essay we argue, Beijing is attempting to fundamentally alter the global public understanding of Tibet, and is doing so by adopting a well-honed strategy of linguistic imperialism, one that operates at three separate levels: the discursive, the territorial, and the civilizational. But why is Beijing intent on displacing a name with deep history and wide usage, and why is it unwilling to let Tibet stand as the name of the Tibetan people’s homeland?