Haste would have been undignified for a Tibetan government official whatever his mission, and in any case the rough track that passed for the main street of Chamdo was heavily iced.
Gosay Tsering, my father’s eldest minister, spoke first. ‘For centuries, like the body following the head, we in Gonjo have paid taxes and obeyed the laws laid down by the government of Tibet. But in a few short years’ - he raised his hand in emphasis - ‘the Chinese have changed all that. Now our decisions are forced to be made by the fraudulent “Chamdo Liberation Committee.” ’ The mention of the committee in Chamdo brought heated response, for it was well known that though the committee was composed of Tibetans and Chinese, the Tibetans were represented in name only, and the governing force was Chinese.
