Tears of the Lotus

In 1949 Mao Tse-tung first sent his People’s Liberation Army into the eastern Tibetan province of Amdo; he followed with an invasion of the province of Kham in 1950. Ill-prepared, disorganized and badly outnumbered, the small Tibetan armed forces were no match for the invaders.
At first the Chinese persuaded many Tibetans that their intent was merely to help them share in the future greatness and wealth that Mao had promised all. In a short time the Tibetan tribesmen realized, however, that the true purpose of the invasion was otherwise. Their religion and their freedom were at stake. Despite the repeated efforts by the Dalai Lama and others in Lhasa to dissuade them, the people resisted the Chinese—at great cost: over one million dead in the 1950s. This work includes accounts of the role of Tibetans who collaborated with the Chinese invaders, the resistance movement, the Dalai Lama’s lack of support for the movement, and how even so the resistance made it possible for the Dalai Lama to escape from Lhasa in 1959.

As a Central Intelligence Agency officer, the late Roger E. McCarthy trained members of the Tibetan resistance in the late 1950s. He lived in Henderson, Nevada.

Roger E. McCarthy
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 296
Bibliographic Info: 19 photos, maps, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006 [1997]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2847-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2163-0
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Prologue      9

1. The Past Forms the Present      11
2 The Imperialist Invasions      36
3. Agreement by Duress      63
4. Deeds of Deceit      77
5. Thunder in the East      98
6. Honey on a Knife      115
7. The Gold Throne      131
8. The Volunteer Defense Force      141
9. The Pendulum Swings      165
10. The Red Devils Unmasked      177
11. Four Sides of the Story      191
12. The Blood of Patriots      216

Epilogue      253
Appendices      261
Glossary      271
Notes      273
Bibliography      281
Index      283

“a powerful story”—Catholic Library World; “a detailed, readable, and often inspiring book”—The Royal Society for Asian Affairs; “an engrossing history”—Periscope.