Counter point : Tibet was also it’s own empire long ago, it also was unstable during most of the Quin rule, kept it’s own political class since it’s medieval times, rebelled against and expeled ethnical chinese several times in its existence and was mostly a tributary of the several political entities that are seen as the precursor of modern China.

It stopped being a truly independent empire after Tang. Post Tang, it hovered between being a tributary state and being formally part of China.

Llhasa was always it’s own thing under the mongolian rule, the quin dynasty rule, the gelug rule, ect… With their own tribal leaders, sub religions (from bon to all the flavors of buddist they had) perpetuating their own peculiar brand of rule on their people.

Yuan also had a special imperial office for the head Tibetan Buddhist. This office was also the titular head of all things Buddhist within China, not just Tibetan Buddhism. So this imperial office, which had to be staffed by a member of the Tibetan clergy, was the final say with regards to Buddhism regardless of whether you were a Tibetan who practiced Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet or a Han who practiced other schools of Buddhism in other provinces. If people outside of Tibet had to subscribe to Tibetan religious customs, then you can no longer claim separation between Tibet and the rest of China.

What you are claiming is akin to saying that Quebec in Canada always was Canadian because their indigenous tribes contiously were conquered by the English and French colonist in the 15-16-17 centuries…

Now that’s just silly. Tibet’s incorporation in Yuan was completely peaceful, mostly because the Mongols didn’t want to wage war and the Tibetans didn’t want to be waged war at. Tibet’s incorporation in Qing was a struggle between the Dzungar Khanate, a Mongolic polity. and Qing, a Chinese polity, over Tibet. While Qing would go on to ethnically cleanse the Dzungars, Tibetans were left alone.