Mao Zedong Net Worth

After Mao Zedong won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, his goal became the unification of the "five nationalities" under the big family, the People's Republic of China, and under a single political system, the Communist Party of China. Aware of Mao's vision, the Tibetan government in Lhasa sent a representative, Ngabo, to Chamdo, Kham, a strategically high valued town near the border. Ngabo had orders to hold the position while reinforcements were coming from Lhasa and fight off the Chinese. On October 16, 1950, news came that the People's Liberation Army was advancing towards Chamdo and had also taken another strategic town, named Riwoche, which could block the route to Lhasa. With new orders, Ngabo and his men retreated to a monastery where the People's Liberation Army finally surrounded and captured them, though they were treated with respect. Ngabo wrote to Lhasa suggesting a peaceful surrender instead of war. During the negotiation, the Chinese negotiator laid the cards straight on the table, stating that "It is up to you to choose whether Tibet would be liberated peacefully or by force. It is only a matter of sending a telegram to the PLA group to recommence their march to Lhasa." Ngabo accepted Mao's "Seventeen-Point Agreement", which constituted Tibet as part of the People's Republic China, in return for which Tibet would be granted autonomy. In the face of discouraging lack of support from the rest of the world, the Dalai Lama, in August 1951, sent a telegram to Mao accepting the Seventeen-Point Agreement. However, the delegates signing the agreement were forced to do so and according to the Dalai Lama the Tibetan's Government's seal used was forged.