Tibet has long believed itself to be an independent state in terms of culture, relations and resources. However, in 1951, the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet and claimed the land as its own, an unstable addition to China that has endured to the present day. The Tibetan people have seen their culture oppressed, their religion banned, and riotous violence against those protesting the new government. The people of Tibet feel that they should be an independent nation, regardless of the imperialistic claims of the Chinese on their lands. Their leader, currently the 14th Dalai Lama, has been exiled from his country but travels the world to promote peace, compassion and the hope of resolving the Tibetan-Chinese conflict. Even though he is miles away from the millions of Tibetans he leads, those Tibetans consider him their true leader and his government the true government of Tibet. Before Chinese rule, Tibet was an independent state rich in culture, language and religion. and nationality. The Tibetan dynasty spread across much of western China and was considered very powerful and mystical by the 7th century. Buddhism was deeply rooted in the history of ancient Tibet and therefore most modern knowledge of Tibet's history comes from Buddhist monks. The reason why China took power in Tibet in the 1950s is most likely because the Chinese thought that Tibet was part of their homeland, and since they were chasing many foreign influences out of China at the time anyway, they wanted to unify the whole region as a People's Republic. of China. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet, they imposed totalitarian laws on the Tibetans: religion was outlawed, monks and other spiritual leaders were killed or driven out of the country, and there was a lack of food... half of paper... ....olving." Los Angeles Times: 0. October 27, 2002. ProQuest. Web. January 14, 2014. Shai Oster, in X., Gordon Fairclough, and James T. Areddy. "Tibet and China: A History of Conflict. " Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2008. ProQuest. Web. January 14, 2014. Sperling, Elliot. "I Don't Know Much About Tibetan History." The New York Times (2008): 16. The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama" Timeline of Events". His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, nd Web. 14 January 2014. When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun, Dir. Dirk Simon, Dalai Lama Film, 2010. Netflix. Netflix Web, 11 January 2014. The Collapse of Will China bring freedom to Tibet?. "China: Tibetan sets himself on fire." New York Times, 20 December 2013. Web. 14 January. 2014.