Does Tibet have a right to self-determination under international law? There are strong legal grounds to show that it does and that this right is being denied by China. As the recent protests in Tibet and the disruptions to the Olympic torch relay have demonstrated, Tibet is an international problem crying out for a solution.

The official position of the Chinese government is that Tibet is an inalien-able part of the People's Republic of China (just as France once claimed that Algeria was an inalienable part of metropolitan France). Those who question this are regularly attacked in the official Chinese media in vitriolic terms as "splittists", and anti-China. If they are themselves Chinese and live in China they are liable to be imprisoned.