Let's look at the US narrative in two periods:
- 1944: World War: China (ROC) was a US ally
- 1961: Cold War : China (PRC) was a US enemy
Exhibit A — Why We Fight: The Battle of China (1944)
As the legal successor to the Ching Dynasty, the Republic of China held claim to all its predecessor's territories. The ROC was an indispensable ally of the US, as Chinese fighting meant less Japanese troops deployed elsewhere, and access to airbases that eventually let the US bomb Japan.
Exhibit B — Communist Imperialism (1961)
The PRC is not an ally of the US. The US is in no rush nor does it have the incentive to (re)educate the public, and the media, about the complexities behind China's territorial issues.
The general level of knowledge and ignorance among Chinese people stems from lack of knowledge or refusal to acknowledge western worldview. It is very rare to find Tibet independence supporters among Chinese people, because they view this issue from their perspective of history and sovereignty. This is an issue that crosses political lines, and not confined to just PRC citizens alone.
Chinese people do not think Westphalian sovereignty theory applies to independent state entities within the "Chinese realm". The lands of China experienced regional independence and reunification many times between dynastic changes, so what happened between 1911 and now was sort of a warring states period. Also, when the Westphalian system was forced on China in the 1800s, all lands of the Chinese Empire at the time were considered sovereign to China alone. Clearly any future ambiguity, the PRC passed an anti-succession law in 2005; similarly, the USA deems it unconstitutional for states to secede from the Union. In other words, regardless of public opinion, Texas and Tibet has the same chance of leaving their current countries: zero.
Chinese people are sensitive to history. We all learned about how China was carved up by foreign powers in the 1800s and lost lots of land, and likely never getting back, e.g. Outer Manchuria. Foreigners requesting Tibet independence is uneasily similar to imperialist overtures from history. Chinese people, regardless of political loyalties or where they live, do not want history to repeat itself. One can argue that this is a result of nationalistic bias in education, but this shaped the Chinese identity from the 20th century onward.
Chinese opinions diverge on how Tibet should be governed and how Tibetans should be treated. On paper, it is great to be Tibetan in China, due to positive discrimination, such as exemption from the One-Child Policy or education grants, etc. Government incentives are not necessarily in-line with what people really want, and this is not a problem unique to the PRC government. But how much can public opinion influence policies in China? That is another question...
My opinion is that conflicts are mostly driven by national interests and mainly economics, with everything else as excuses. We can only hope that PRC and USA won’t go nuclear, figuratively or literally, over Tibet.
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