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"Freedom of religion" (of all religions)
is a fundamental right of Chinese citizens
under the protection of China Constitution
Every day thousands of Tibetan Buddhism belivers
(including local Lhasa residents and overseas pilgrims)
can be seen taking ritual walks encircling Potala Palace.
Foreign Tibetan living in India or Nepal
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Difference between Genuine and Foreign Tibetans
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Tibet University and Preservation of Tibetan culture
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Tibet sees happy Buddhism believers
2008-07-04 09:54:00
Buddhism believers are taking ritual walks in front of the Potala Palace, photo from chinatibetnews.com, June 30.
Buddhism believers in the Tibet Autonomous Region enjoy the freedom of religious belief with the support from the government.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200807/t20080704_410827.htm
Expert: Big progress in religious freedom in Tibet
2008-04-22 10:55:00
A Tibet expert on Monday defended progress in religious and individual rights in the region, saying religion had progressed from a coercive force before 1951 to a legally protected freedom.
Old Tibetan law stipulated that Buddhism was the only legal religion, and other religions were banned as heresy, said Sherab Nyima, vice president of the Beijing-based Central University for Nationalities, on the sidelines of the Beijing Forum on Human Rights.
Now freedom of religion was a fundamental right of Chinese citizens, which was under the protection of the constitution, he said.
Under the feudal serfdom of old Tibet, most people were merely slaves who were deprived of basic human dignity. They had no personal rights, and no right of subsistence, not to mention political and other human rights.
Tibetan law before 1951 when Tibet was peacefully liberated even publicly protected privileges of a few and inequality, he said.
The expert said the Chinese government's respect of religious freedom was out of the respect for basic human rights.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200804/t20080423_377117.htm
Tibetan people enjoy religious freedom
2008-05-27 15:35:00
A Tibetan Buddhism believer is reading blessing scriptures that he just took from Jokhang Temple, photo from Tibet Daily.
The religious freedom in the Tibet Autonomous Region is well protected with China's religious freedom policy. More than 40,000 monks and nuns get along well with believers as well as free thinkers.
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/editor/200805/t20080530_402510.htm
Tibet builds first Buddhism academy
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-18 18:01:27
A foundation-laying ceremony of Tibetan Buddhism College is held in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on Oct. 18, 2008. With a total investment of 80 million yuan (about 11 million U.S. dollars) and an area of 17.5 hectares, the college is expected to be the first comprehensive higher educational institution of Tibetan Buddhism in the region. (Xinhua Photo)
LHASA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A general academy of Tibetan Buddhism, the first of its kind in the southwestern autonomous region, began construction of the 80 million yuan (11.7 million U.S. dollars) facility on Saturday.
The Tibetan Buddhism Academy in Nyetang Town, Quxu County, covers an area of 17.4 hectares. Quxu is under the jurisdiction of the regional capital Lhasa.
Its total investment is all from the central government budget.
The first phase of construction will cost about 50 million yuan and is scheduled for completion in 2010. Its design includes a library and buildings for religious activities.
"This will be the first comprehensive and high-level Tibetan Buddhism academy in Tibet," said Lobsang Gyaincain, head of the United Front Work Department of the Tibet committee of the Communist Party of China.
"The academy will contribute a lot to conducting Buddhist studies and exchanges with the outside world."
The facility aims to train patriotic and devotional religious personnel who are widely recognized both in their religious accomplishments and moral character, he added.
In addition to religious theories, students will also be taught knowledge of other disciplines such as politics and sociology.
Currently, Tibet has more than 1,700 religious venues accommodating about 46,000 monks and nuns.
Since the 1980s, the central and local governments have invested more than 700 million yuan for the preservation and maintenance of monasteries and cultural relics in Tibet.
Lamas attend the foundation-laying ceremony of Tibetan Buddhism College in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on Oct. 18, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/18/content_10215198.htm
(97)Catholic Church with more than 140 years of history in Tibet
2006-10-02 10:39:00
Perched on a hill, the whitewashed compound in the valley west of the Jinsha River in far-flung eastern Tibet, gleams under a sky that is unbelievably clear and blue.
But this building is no ordinary Tibetan-style residence. The two crosses fixed to the outer walls, and the beautiful interior decoration featuring Gothic arches and a ceiling painted with scenes from the Bible reveal the truth this is the Catholic church at Yanjing, also known as yerkalo, the only Catholic church in the whole of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Upper Yanjing has a population of 900 villagers, 600 of whom are Catholics. When Catholics from other areas are included, the church boasts 740 parishioners, compared to 342 when the church was first founded.
The Tibetan priest in residence, Father Laurent, says The existence of the Catholic church here, with a history of over 100 years, proves that different religions can co-exist in harmony.
According to him, the Catholic church was founded in 1865 by a French missionary named Felix Biet. Born in 1838, Father Felix was twenty-five years old when he was ordained in January 1864. He set out almost immediately for Tibet, arriving in March of the same year. He became a bishop and died in September 1901.
The Catholic church in Yanjing has a three-storey bell tower which also houses the clergy, and a two-storey church where religious services are held.
Getting established in Tibet was no easy matter for the small Catholic congregation. Clashes between the Catholic church and a nearby lamasery were a regular event and they culminated in the death of Father Felix's successor, Father Maurice Tornay, in the 1940s. Armed lamas then took over the church.
The church was not returned to Catholic hands until 1951.
During the Cultural Revolution, the church compound became a primary and middle school. Some of the church's treasures were destroyed, and the roof of the church was dismantled so that the school could expand. In the late 1980s, the church was partially renovated at a cost of 102,000 yuan (about 12,750 U.S. dollars), including 95,000 yuan of government funds.
Father Laurent's assistants in Yanjing parish are two Tibetan nuns.
There are two masses each day on weekdays and three on weekend days, with each mass lasting one hour. However, baptisms and weddings are not performed.
Lisa, an 84-year-old Tibetan woman from Upper Yanjing Village, is illiterate, but capable of reciting aloud the Tibetan version of the Holy Bible.
Newborns are brought to the Church by their parents and are christened by the priests. They bear their Christian names all their lives and are buried in accordance with Catholic rituals when they die, said Lisa.
The church has introduced locals to new ideas and also taught them to be more tolerant of people with different religious beliefs.
Lovers who belong to different religions no longer have to deal with opposition from their parents. They can stick to their faith when they get married, said Mary, the Tibetan nun in her 40s. Their children will also be free to choose their own religion.
Paul, a senior editor with the editorial board of Tibetan Studies Magazine published by the Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences, said As a matter of fact, my father is a Catholic and my mother a Buddhist.
I have six siblings. The first three kids in the family all have Christian names like me, but the last four were given Tibetan names, said Paul.
Paul spent his childhood in Upper Yanjing Village. He nevertheless insists he believes in Marxism.
The Catholic faith in Tibet has taken on Tibetan features. For instance, Tibetan Catholics consider the Tibetan New Year, which normally falls in March, to be the beginning of the year, and recite the Holy Bible in Tibetan instead of English. They present hada, long pieces of silk used as a greeting gift among Tibetans, to the Virgin Mary, and the clergy wear Tibetan costumes, according to Priest Laurent.
The Tibetan priest says they invite parishioners from neighboring provinces or Buddhists from nearby lamaseries to celebrate occasions such as Christmas and in return are invited to attend Buddhist festivals.
Only a small minority of believers in Tibet are Catholics. The vast majority of Tibetans are Buddhists. But despite our religious discrepancies, we all have the same nationality and lifestyle, says Gongqiu Zhaxi, director of the Upper Yanjing Village Committee. Religious conflicts between Catholics and Buddhists were a thing of the past.
http://eng.tibet.cn/religion/school/200801/t20080116_330131.htm
Religious autocracy under the cover of democracy
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(98)Prayers return to normal at riot-hit mosque in Lhasa
2008-03-23 09:13:00
Prayers have returned to normal at the violence-hit grand mosque in Lhasa.
Friday is Jumu'ah, a day of holy obligation for Muslims, and at 2 p.m. on Friday more than 1,500 gathered at the mosque in Bagor Street, downtown Lhasa, to take part in prayers led by Imam Yagu.
Speaking about the riots, Imam Yagu told the congregation: "A handful of lawless people tried to cause conflict among people of different religions. Some people with ulterior motives seized the chance and spread rumors to sow discord among people of different ethnic groups and cause confrontation, which will not succeed."
The Imam urged believers to have a clear understanding of the situation and support social stability, economic development and national unity.
The unrest, which broke out in the Tibetan capital on March 14, left businesses looted and residences, shops and vehicles torched. The grand mosque was also set on fire at around 8:30 p.m.
At least 18 civilians and one police officer have been confirmed killed in the unrest, which also saw 382 injuries. Rioters set fire to seven schools, five hospitals and 120 residences. A total of 84 vehicles were burnt and 908 shops were looted. Damage is estimated at more than 244 million yuan (about 34.59million US dollars).
A group of officials from the China Buddhist Association Tibet Branch visited the prayers on Friday at the grand mosque.
Zhikongqungcang Lobsangqiangba, vice chairman of the China Buddhist Association Tibet Branch, said muslims in Lhasa and Tibetan Buddhists had been getting along well since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and expressed his sorrow for the harm they suffered in the Lhasa unrest.
"The riots were organized, premeditated and incited by the Dalai clique, with the purpose of damaging national unity, fomenting discord among people of different ethnic groups and causing chaos in society," said the Buddhist leader, hoping muslims could see clearly the nature of the Lhasa unrest
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200803/t20080323_370841.htm
U.K. <<Guardian>>: Down with the Dalai Lama
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Bustling roads for ritual walks
2008-04-11 10:17:00
Buddhism believers are taking ritual walks at the foot of the Potala Palace, photo from Tibet Daily.
The Buddhists in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, take ritual walks as usual with increasing stability in the city.
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/photo/200804/t20080411_375970.htm
Tibet Fought Against Foreign Invasion
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Dalai Lama does not represent all Tibetan or Tibetan Buddhism and he has lots of enemies, even within Tibetan Buddhism. Enclosed photo showing a demonstration against Dalai Lama by Tibetan Buddhism Monks in Germany. In this photo many Germans(like many of us) were very much surprised.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-06/23/content_8424644.htm
In every capital of every European nation Dalai Lama was met with Protest: Stop Lying
Religious autocracy under the cover of democracy
Analyzing Dalai Lama's action for excluding Gyaiqen Xudain believers
2008-02-04 10:41:00
On January 6, 2008, the 14th Dalai Lama compelled the monks in India's Gaden Monastery to sign the pledge not to believe in the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain and drove away nine monks who refused to take an oath. For another time, the Dalai Lama clique started a climax for restraining the believers of Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain. On January 9, the Dalai Lama brought forward that the problem of "Gyaiqen Xudain" can't wait any longer and forcibly ordered that the final decision must be made by a "public vote". Under Dalai's threat, some Tibetan Buddhism temples in India launched the "public vote" one after another to decide whether they should believe in the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain or not. This action resulted in a great disturbance among Tibetan communities and Tibetan Buddhism believers.
Greeting Tibetan Buddhism believers who called this Nobel Peace "lying"
Why does the Dalai Lama care so much about the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain? According to Dalai, he has two reasons for forbidding believing in Gyaiqen Xudain: Firstly, it is harmful to the fundamental cause of Tibet and is no good for the Dalai Lama's health by having faith in "devils"; Secondly, the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain is heresy, the sect with evil wishes. In recent years, whenever the Dalai Lama was ill or there was any frustration of the so-called "Tibet Independence" cause, the Dalai Lama started accusing the Gyaiqen Xudain. It indicates that the 14th Dalai Lama becomes self-distrust, but there is no reason to force anyone else to stop worshipping what they believe in. There is a hidden purpose and that is to exclude dissidents. In 1990s, in the name of fighting against the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain, the 14th Dalai Lama started slaughtering the members of "New Kadampa Sect" who dare accuse him. The 14th Dalai Lama incited the "Tibetan Youth Congress", "Tibetan Women Federation" and some other branches to forcefully dismantle the statues of the Buddhist Guardian Gyaiqen Xudain, and beat people who refused to obey them. Those who still refused in spite of these efforts were suppressed, with lamas and nuns driven out of monasteries or nunneries. Now, the 14th Dalai Lama resumes his former tricks dissimilarly with a name of "public vote".
Both the democracy and public vote are the production of modern civilization, but such "public vote" by the Dalai Lama is a kind of religious autocracy under the cover of democracy to attack and persecute the monks, nuns and believers who have faith in the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain. Such "public vote" is indeed a kind of blasphemy and mock to democracy and freedom. Due to Dalai Lama's religious autocratic behavior, people can't help thinking about the inquisition in the Dark Ages and the Pope's slaughter to the heathenry. Die Welt published an article coauthored by Victor Trimondi and Victoria Trimondi, in early August 2007£¬saying "Tibet did not end its dark medieval period until the mid 20th century. Before that, it was plagued by violence, wars and power struggles under the name of religion. The religious trials held under the Lama regime were no different from those under the Catholic rule during the medieval days. For the problem of the Buddhist Guardian, Gyaiqen Xudain, the 14th Dalai Lama emphasizes his exclusive authority and orders an end to worshipping the Buddhist Guardian which has been inherited for hundreds of years. Though he himself goes in for democracy, the 14th Dalai Lama's leader station can't be fluctuated through the so-called public vote."
Dalai's religious autocracy action has caused strong resentment among international religious people and Gyaiqen Xudain believers. Early in ten years ago, over 300 Gyaiqen Xudain believers marched in the UK to protest the Dalai Lama with a slogan of "Your smile is charming, but your behavior is harming" and a 51-page material sent to over 300 news agencies to reveal Dalai Lama's persecution to Gyaiqen Xudain believers. Time flies, but the 14th Dalai Lama keeps on his religious autocracy and continues violating Gyaiqen Xudain believers' human rights and religious freedom, holds on making Buddhism sects split. Can it be that a "Tibetan Buddhism leader" or a winner of "Nobel Peace Prize" should have such action?
It is funny that those who are crazy about flattering the Dalai Lama and giving him a name of democracy and human right guard are silent as the grave about the incident that the 14th Dalai Lama persecutes those Gyaiqen Xudain believers and they treat it as if there is no such happenings. Do you really know nothing about this incident, or you have no choice, but keep silent before the fact or you guys simply agree with or even support the Dalai Lama to do things offensive to God and reason? Really hope that those advocators to democracy and human rights are brave enough to give a public answer.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200802/t20080204_367686.htm
China urges U.S. to stop supporting Dalai Lama in any form
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-28 11:18:54
BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Relevant people in the United States should stop supporting and conniving with the Dalai Lama and separatist forces for "Tibet independence," the Foreign Ministry said here on Monday.
Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks when commenting on a report that Republican presidential candidate John McCain had met last Friday with the Dalai Lama, who was visiting the United States.
"China is seriously concerned about the report," Liu said, noting the Tibet issue is China's domestic affair.
China opposed the Dalai Lama conducting separatist activities in any country with any individual and opposed anyone making use of the Dalai Lama issue to interfere in China's domestic affairs. The stance is persistent and clear, Liu said.
He urged relevant people in the United States to abide by the basic principles of international relations, see clearly the true face of the Dalai Lama as separating China and destroying social stability and national unity in Tibet under the cloak of religion and stop supporting and conniving with the Dalai Lama and the separatist forces for "Tibet independence," as well as anything interfering in China's domestic affairs and damaging Sino-U.S. relations.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/28/content_8786288.htm
In Germany: Dalai Lama was accused "Cultural Genocide"
In Rome: Dalai Lama was called "Hypocrisy!"
In London: "Dalai Lama GIVE Religious Freedom"
http://news.ifeng.com/mil/2/200807/0714_340_651682.shtml
Tibet Before 1951 Peaceful Liberation
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Tibet After 1951 Peaceful Liberation
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China launches largest ever Tibet cultural relic preservation
2008-04-20 09:38:00
China on Friday launched a 570 million yuan (81.43 million U.S. dollars) project to preserve 22 historical and cultural relics in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region.
The project, China's largest protection move in the region, will last until 2010. It included 15 monasteries under state-level protection and seven historical sites proving the rule over Tibet by central governments through history, said Yudawa, the Tibet Autonomous Regional Cultural Heritage Bureau director.
The preservation efforts were financed by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance.
Of the funds, 118 million yuan will go to the preservation of the 237,000-square-meter Zhaxi Lhunbo Lamasery in Xigaze. It consists of a main palace and six minor ones, 56 sutra halls, and more than 6,000 rooms for monks. It was built in 1447 and was the traditional residence of Panchen Lamas.
It is expected to take workers up to four years to seal cracks on the walls, fix windows and doors, repair water discharge channels, replace worn out electrical wires and install firefighting and lightning-proof facilities in the lamasery, the second largest cultural relic after the Potala Palace in Tibet.
Also included is 50 million yuan to be used for the preservation of the Jokhang, Ramogia, Sanyai and Samgya-Goutog monasteries. The restoration will start this year after the construction tenders are decided.
The latest move to protect Tibet's cultural and religious relics comes after a 330 million yuan preservation project on the Potala Palace, Sagya Monastery and Norbu Lingka Palace. These began in 2002 and were expected to be finished this year.
Over the past two decades, China has invested more than 700 million yuan to preserve and maintain more than 1,400 monasteries, cultural relics and religious sites, Yudawa said.
"These projects have protected Tibet's historical and cultural relics effectively."
The launching ceremony of a five-year Tibet Autonomous Region key cultural relics protection project and the Tashilumpo Monastery protection project is held at the Tashilumpo Monastery in Xigaze of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on April 18, 2008. The region's overall protection project covers 22 key cultural relics at a planned cost of 570 million yuan (81 million U.S. dollars), nearly 200 million yuan (28 million dollars) more than the previous five-year protection project. (Xinhua Photo)
Performers dance at the launching ceremony of a five-year Tibet Autonomous Region key cultural relics protection project and the Tashilumpo Monastery protection project held at the Tashilumpo Monastery in Xigaze of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on April 18, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
A lama smiles while attending the launching ceremony of a five-year Tibet Autonomous Region key cultural relics protection project and the Tashilumpo Monastery protection project held at the Tashilumpo Monastery in Xigaze of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on April 18, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/photo/200804/t20080420_376754.htm
Official: Historical records defy claims of lack of religious freedom in Tibet
2008-06-11 08:48:00
Two telegraphs sent by the 14th Dalai Lama to Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1956 and 1957 defied proclamations that "Tibet is lacking in freedom of religious belief", an official with the State Archives Administration (SAA) said here on June 8.
The two telegraphs, published by the SAA on its website, praised efforts of the communist Party of China in protecting religious freedom in Tibet, said SAA director Yang Dongquan.
"The Communist Party of China (CPC) represents the interests of all ethnic groups in China. It has resolutely implemented the policy of freedom of religious belief since its birth," the Dalai Lama wrote in his telegraph to CPC Central Committee Chairman Mao Zedong on July 1, 1956, congratulating the 35th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.
On April 1, 1957, the Dalai Lama wrote to Chairman Mao in his telegraph upon his return from India after taking part in a Buddhism conference, "Through participating in the Buddhist meeting in India we have not only strengthened the friendly relations between China and India, but also made the world see that the policy of freedom of religious belief has been and is being implemented thoroughly in China."
"From what the Dalai said in his telegraphs, it is reasonable to conclude that China has maintained religious freedom in Tibet after the region's peaceful liberation," Yang Dongquan said.
He said records of conversations between Mao Zedong and Lhalu, head of a visiting delegation of Tibetan youths, and Kashod Choskyi Nyima, personal representative of the Dalai Lama to the founding meeting of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 1955 also revealed that religious freedom is well respected and preserved in Tibet.
"In the past, we were a bit afraid to hear that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was coming. And when it had actually arrived we saw that the PLA respected religious belief, protected lamaseries, helped people solve their difficulties, our misgivings were dispelled," Lhalu, who was born a noble in Tibet, was quoted as saying in the 1955 records.
Kashod Choskyi Nyima also hailed PLA's adherence to religious freedom according to the records.
"The Tibetan people generally have religious belief. Because the PLA has implemented the policy of equality among different ethnic groups, the policy of freedom of religious belief, the previous doubts of the Tibetan people have been largely dispelled and the Tibetan people and the PLA are better united," he said, over 50 years ago.
"From these words of the Dalai Lama and top officials of Tibet back then, we can see that China has fully implemented the policy of religious freedom after the peaceful liberation of Tibet," Yang Dongquan said.
However, in 1959 the Dalai Lama and the reactionary clique of the upper strata of Tibet instigated an armed rebellion in Tibet and went into exile abroad. They have since continuously claimed that "Tibet is lacking in the freedom of religious belief", Yang said.
"We can deduct from the contradiction of Dalai's own words that the essence of the Tibet issue is fundamentally not a religious one. Religious freedom is only an excuse employed by the Dalai clique to split China," Yang said.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200806/t20080611_405495.htm
Tibetologists call for better understanding of Tibet
2008-07-21 09:43:00
A senior Chinese Tibetologist has said in New York that regular and frequent exchanges of ideas can help Americans gain a better understanding of Tibet.
Tobdrub Wangben, vice minister of the State Commission for Ethnic Affairs, told a press conference here Friday that although China and the United States share similar views on many Tibet-related issues, they differ in many others as well.
However, frequent and in-depth exchange of ideas between the two countries' people will help achieve a better understanding of Tibet.
It is fairly important for the American public to understand the truth on Tibet, he told the press conference held in the Chinese Consulate-General in New York.
Wang Pijun, a senior official with the China Association for International Cultural Exchange, said the four-member Chinese Tibetologist delegation, headed by Tobdrub Wangben, has found that many people in the United States are ignorant of the current situation and history of Tibet.
Some legislators even haven't heard about the fact feudal serfdom once existed in Tibet, he said.
According to Wang, many politicians, legislators and media professionals said they changed their impressions of Tibet after they visited the Chinese autonomous region.
They believe that Tibet has a good governance, has set a good example for the world in dealing with issues relating to ethnic minorities and there is obvious religious freedom in Tibet, he said.
To help more people get a clear picture of Tibet, China will send more people from Tibet to exchange ideas with people in other countries and invite more foreigners to tour Tibet in the future, Wang said.
When asked about the consultation between the representatives of the Chinese central government and the Dalai Lama's envoy, Tobdrub Wangben said that the Chinese central government has been maintaining a persistent stance towards the Dalai Lama and the door of consultation remains open.
The consultation will move forward after the Beijing Olympic Games, he said.
Tobdrub Wangben also highly commended the efforts by the Chinese government in preserving and developing the Tibetan culture, saying the so-called cultural genocide in Tibet is absolute fabrication.
Luorong Zhangdui, a professor of Social and Economic Research Institute under the China Tibetology Research Center, said that tourism industry in Tibet is booming again. He advised those who want to visit to plan their trips as early as possible, or they may not be able to make it.
The four-member Chinese Tibetologist delegation arrived in New York on July 17 to promote understanding on the Tibet issue.
The group met with media professionals, lawmakers and scholars to present their views on Tibet issues, including the central government's policy, religious freedom and Tibetan cultural preservation.
The delegation is scheduled to leave the United States on July 21 and head for Canada.
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200807/t20080721_413503.htm
(99)Interview: Abolishing Tibetan feudal serfdom equates to ending slavery in U.S
2008-07-24 10:31:00
There is no difference between the abolishing of feudal serfdom in Tibet and the ending of slavery in the United States, a senior Chinese Tibetologist said Monday.
Many Americans understand neither the history and the current situation in Tibet, nor China's Tibet policies, which always lead to wrong judgment on Tibet-related issues, especially when they are influenced by "one-sided" information, Tobdrub Wangben(local Tibetan born and raised in Tibet), vice minister of China's State Commission for Ethnic Affairs, said in an interview with Xinhua before leaving the United States for Canada.
"When I told Larry Seabrook, current New York City councilman from District 12 in New York City, that the abolishing of the feudal serfdom in Tibet in the 1950s is the same as the ending of the slavery system in the United States, Seabrook understood quite well what I was driving at," he said.
After hearing a brief introduction about the situation in Tibet and the facts of the March 14 riots in Lhasa, Seabrook offered to help Americans improve their understanding of Tibet by arranging them to visit Tibet and form their own opinion.
"If we could tell Americans as much as possible about the truth on Tibet, many of them could change their stereotyped ideas about Tibet," said Tobdrub Wangben, head of a four-member Chinese Tibetologist delegation, which arrived in New York last Thursday to promote understanding on the Tibet issue.
Harboring the hope that the delegation could tell more truth on Tibet to the American public, Tobdrub Wangben said regular and frequent exchanges of ideas between the two peoples are fairly important.
The U.S. tour was quite fruitful as many U.S. officials and legislators said that what they heard about Tibet was different from what they had heard in the past, he added.
Therefore, Tobdrub Wangben said, they expressed hope that more delegations of this kind would come to the United States and exchange ideas with the American public on a regular basis.
"The American public has shown great interest in Tibet, and of course, we will come back and satisfy their demands," he said.
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200807/t20080724_414624.htm
Tibet Before 1951 Peaceful Liberation
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Tibet After 1951 Peaceful Liberation
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United States has to respect that today
Local Tibetan born and raised in Tibet
DO NOT WANT click here Dalai Lama to return Tibet
Genuine Tibetans Spoke in Ottawa, Canada 2008-07-23
Interview: Tibetologists say Tibetan culture well preserved
2008-07-24 10:04:00
The Tibetan culture has been well preserved and developing, said a visiting senior Chinese Tibetologist on Wednesday in Canada.
Tobdrub Wangben(local Tibetan born and raised in Tibet), professor of the Chinese Central University for Nationalities, told Xinhua in an interview that the Dalai Lama's claim of the so-called "cultural genocide" in Tibet is totally groundless.
Wangben is heading a four-member Tibetologist delegation on a three- day visit to Canada to promote understanding on the Tibet issue. The delegation has met with scholars from the Canadian International Council, local media outlets, government officials and parliamentarian representatives.
The total population of Tibetan ethnic group in Tibet has increased from nearly 1 million before 1951 to 2.77 million last year, while the illiterate rate dropped significantly from 95 percent in 1951 to 28 percent last year, Wangben explained with figures to make it clear whether the culture in Tibet was being damaged or developed.
When asked about the restrictions that foreign media encountered in Tibet, Wang Pijun, a senior official with the China Association for International Cultural Exchange, said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to strengthening communications and understanding with the international community on the issue of Tibet, and has arranged several rounds of visits by foreign correspondents to Tibet.
The government has promised to arrange more such tours in the future, Wang added.
Talking about the Dalai Lama's claim of not seeking Tibet independence, Lian Xiangmin, Director of Science and Research Office at China Tibetology Research Center, said people should not only look at what he says but also at what he does.
"The Dalai Lama said he is not seeking Tibet independence while he is the leader of the illegal Tibet government in exile," said Lian.
And it is also stated in the charter of some organizations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) which seeks Tibet independence that they will listen to what the Dalai Lama says, and the Dalai Lama said he support the TYC's cause, Lian added.
Luorong Zhandui, professor of the Social and Economic Research Institute under the China Tibetology Research Center and a Tibetan himself, noted that the economy of Tibet and living standards of people there have improved greatly during the past years. The Qingzang Railway has proved to boost the local tourism considerably, and this is of vital importance to the industrial development of Tibet and to the promotion of Tibetan culture, he said.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200807/t20080724_414411.htm
Genuine Tibetans Spoke in Sydney, Australia 2008-07-25
Tibetologists hold talks with Australian officials
21:37, July 25, 2008
Visiting Chinese Tibetologist delegation on Friday held meetings with Australian officials, members of parliament and scholars, and briefed them about the situation in Tibet.
While meeting with Nic Manikis, Director of Office of Multicultural Affairs in Australian Capital Territory, Professor Sherap Nyima(local Tibetan born and raised in Tibet), head of the Chinese Tibetologist delegation, said the Chinese government has taken special measures to protect Tibetan culture and attached great importance to improve the education in the autonomous region.
Before 1951, only two percent of children received education, but now, 98 percent of children can go to schools with more than 1000 schools being established, of which 6 are universities, said Nyima, who is the Vice-President of the Central University of Nationalities of China and an expert on Tibetology.
Responding the concerns of Gary Humphries, the federal parliament senator, about the temples in Tibet. Nyima told him that temples in Tibet have been well protected by the local government .
"There are more than 1700 temples in Tibet with more than 46,000 lamas. It is a big amount in terms of its population of 2.8 million," the Tibetologist said.
Nyima assured Australian officials that the Chinese government had promised to maintain its policy towards the minorities as well as its support to the economic development in Tibet, after the incident in Lhasa on March 14.
"Only a tiny part of Tibetans took part in the incident, how could that change the determination of the central government to maintain its policy in Tibet?" Nyima said.
Grant Dooley, assistant secretary of North Asia Branch at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Australian government has always maintained its policy that Tibet is part of China. He also hoped that the talks between the Chinese government officials and the private representatives of Dalai Lama could have some results so that the Tibetan issue can be solved.
During its stay in Canberra, the Chinese delegation also held talks with scholars and experts on Chinese affairs in Australia National University, including Richard Rigby, Executive Director of Chinese Institute of ANU and exchanged ideas and opinions about the Tibetan affairs.
The Tibetan delegation arrived in Australia on Wednesday for a five-day visit before heading for New Zealand to continue its tour.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6459708.html
What to negotiate with Dalai Lama?
2008-07-01 16:41:00
To most people, no matter in the old Tibet or in Dharmsala today, where Tibetan government-in-exile locates, Dalai Lama is both a political and a religious figure. Although Dalai himself frequently refers to the "government-in-exile" as a "democratic government", he has never denied he is the political leader. But it does not make any sense at all to compare theocracy to a democratic system. If it did, people would assume he either lacks or ignore common sense.
Theocracy was abolished in Tibet. This is the reason why Dalai left Lhasa in 1959(click here), and it is also the result of his absence.
Tibet is an autonomous region, so the Tibetan autonomous government is the only legal government to represent Tibet, not that government-in-exile.
Therefore, to negotiate with China is actually to negotiate Dalai's future. Because he is not able to represent neither Tibet nor Tibetan on any legal grounds, and China will never consent to negotiate with him when he claims himself as the political figure of the "government-in-exile". I am not sure whether Dalai is clear about this or not.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200807/t20080701_410293.htm
What to talk with Dalai Lama?
2008-07-01 16:39:00
Seems a new round of talks between the Beijing central government and the Dalai Lama will start soon. Then, what are the topics on the table? Is it the current situation of Tibet, position of Tibet, future of Tibet, or the destiny of the Tibetan people, of course NOT.
The reason is simple. Dalai is a Buddhist lama, his past political status was based on the system of theocracy. The system, in which a society is ruled by a priest or monk who represent a god, has been abolished in Tibet long before. So if one is going to discuss with a monk the position and future of Tibet, and destiny of Tibetan people, doesn't that give an impression that China will allow theocracy to resume in Tibet?
Tibet is an autonomous region of China, and representing it is the government of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The 14th Dalai Lama has set up an "exile regime" in Dharmsala, India, and he claims to be the leader of the exile regime. The fact is that not a single state in the world today admits the legitimacy of Dalai Lama's exile government in Dharmsala. If the central government is going to discuss the position, future of Tibet, and destiny of Tibetan people, doesn't that give an impression that Dharmasala exile regime is legitimate?
Tibet has achieved a lot in the past 50-odd years, but Tibet's success and progress has nothing to do with the Dalai Lama(click here). He by no means can represent Tibet or the Tibetan people now. So, China's central government is not going to discuss with Dalai Lama the current situation of Tibet, position of Tibet, future of Tibet, or the destiny of the Tibetan people, but only the future and destiny of Dalai Lama himself.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200807/t20080701_410290.htm
Last opportunity for Dalai Lama
2008-07-01 16:41:00
The 14th Dalai Lama is running out of opportunities. And that's why he is using the Beijing Olympics as his last straw. But could he really make the best use of this opportunity? Some Westerners are providing Dalai Lama with badly-needed guidance and support, which shed light on why he frequented Western countries in a rush. However, there are vast differences in the interest of those Westerners' and Dalai's, which can be seen through the fact that Dalai has been given a cold shoulder by the West from time to time in the past decades.
Therefore Dalai should tell the difference in interests and stop binding himself to certain political forces, which will lead to his loss of opportunities. Judging from the current situation, Dalai Lama is losing his most important opportunities on mending ties with the Chinese central government.
Of course, it remained to be seen whether Dalai Lama still has any power and influence to muster, without the support of some political forces in the West.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200807/t20080701_410291.htm
Chinese central government officials meet with Dalai Lama's private representatives
www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-03 15:37:37
BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with private representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama in Beijing recently, the department said on Thursday.
Du, also the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the two representatives, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, the central government's policy towards the Dalai Lama is consistent and explicit. The door for dialogue is always open.
The Dalai Lama should openly and explicitly promise and prove it in his actions not to support activities to disturb the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, not to support plots to fan violent criminal activities, not to support and concretely curb the violent terrorist activities of the "Tibetan Youth Congress" and not to support any argument and activity to seek "Tibet independence" and split the region from the country, he said.
While the country is welcoming the 30th anniversary of its reform and opening up, Tibet, together with the rest of the country, has progressed to realize economic development and improve people's living standards while protecting the environment and effectively using resources, he said.
In Tibet, the adherence to the CPC leadership, the socialist system and the regional autonomy of ethnic minorities will not be altered, he said.
The central government will apply its policies in Tibet, support the region's economic and social development and work to improve living standards of people in Tibet as it did before.
Du also briefed them about the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12 and the relief work.
He said at time of difficulty, the Chinese nation has shown strong cohesiveness and profound love among its people. The relief work serves as vivid illustrations of China's protection of human rights.
The CPC implemented its principle of putting people first and ruling the country for the people, while the advantages of socialist system are also manifested in the quake relief, as indicated in the policy of saving lives first, nationwide mobilization for quake relief and timely and smooth flow of information, he said.
Zhu Weiqun and Sitar, two deputy heads of the department, also met with the Dalai Lama's representatives and exchanged ideas on detailed issues.
If the Dalai Lama makes positive moves, the next round of contact may be held before the end of this year, according to the officials of the department.
The Dalai Lama's representatives also expressed their ideas on several relevant issues and said they would report the results to the Dalai Lama.
During their stay in Beijing, the two toured the Olympic stadiums and talked with some Tibetologists.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/03/content_8483444.htm
What kind of olive branch from the Dalai Lama?
2008-08-21 11:23:00
Just on the former day of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, "New York Times", an American newspaper, published an article titled "An Olive Branch from the Dalai Lama" by Nicholas D. Kristof, a journalist who once worked in China. The article introduces the Dalai Lama's new opinions about Tibet.
Before analyzing the Dalai Lama's new ideas, I would like to share two points which puzzle me most.
Firstly, the Chinese government always opens doors to the Dalai Lama for talks. As a matter of fact, from 2002 to the beginning of this year, the departments concerned have conducted six rounds of talk with the Dalai Lama. In addition, after the March 14 Riots the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) had dialogues with the Dalai Lama twice although local people in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) were very angry with separatists due to great damages caused by riots. If the Dalai Lama has any new ideas indeed, he should communicate with the central government directly instead of conveying his comments by western media. The proposition from a western journalist not only makes people disbelieve its authenticity but also doubts the Dalai Lama's sincerity. Does he wish to solve the issue or just to strengthen public relations among the western world for another time?
Secondly, one point of the Dalai Lama's new allegation is that the object of the dialogue should be changed to the supreme leader from the United Front Work Department of CPC, which is out of all reason. That would do no good to the following dialogue. On the contrary, it will set new blocks to the progress. So I have to suspect the Dalai Lama's sincerity of resolving issues.
The first point of the Dalai Lama's new ideas is that "the Dalai Lama is willing to state that he can accept the socialist system in Tibet under Communist Party rule", which he regards as an important compromise. Actually, this is what the Dalai Lama should do according to the dialogue. It is really wise enough to interpret an inevitable thing as a big compromise, in terms of negotiation skills. It is a popular tactic in western public relations to put forward a fake topic and then gain virtual profit by making compromises. With the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 after the democratic reform in 1959, the socialist system has become the foundation of Tibet's society today. The result of changing the reality is unimaginable. On the foundation of current social system, TAR has made great progress on the way to modernization. Further promoting the autonomous region is millions of Tibetan people's requirement and rights. It is selfish that some few people hope to change the progress of the history, which is impossible as well.
The second point of view is about the Dalai Lama's so-called "greater Tibet". He can accept the current boundary between TAR and other provinces but calls for "greater Tibet" "to be placed under one administration" and demanded "to create a Regional Authority for Tibetan Affairs that would administer key aspects of life" in greater Tibet. That is to say, he would like to gain the practical domination over greater Tibet by superficially giving up greater Tibet. Here we can learn the negotiation tactics of "moving forward two steps by moving back one step". In history, there has never been "all Tibetan areas" with an effective and consolidate administration. In the rule of law, his claiming greater Tibet disregards other nationalities' rights completely. As for politics and real life, if the plan of greater Tibet takes effect, a race launder with unprecedented scale will happen. Thus the plan of greater Tibet itself is ridiculous and persisting this plan is one of the greatest barriers for the dialogue between the central government and the Tibet separatist group. The Dalai Lama changed the expression way of the issue of greater Tibet without giving up the preposition actually, which is the essence of the problem of the so-called new ideas.
After recommending the new policy of his highly-praised Dalai Lama, Kristof raised a series of detailed requests on behalf of the Dalai Lama, such as allowing the Dalai Lama to arrive in or depart from China according to his will; restricting other ethnic people's migration; stopping the patriotism education in monasteries; permitting pre-school age children to go to school; promoting the status of Tibetan language and boosting the occupancy of Tibetan cadres. In my opinion, it is the Dalai Lama's rights to raise requests, but all those requests should be based upon rationality and reality.
Let's have a simple discussion at some topics. Firstly, the so-called migration problem. In terms of the modern nomology, except the well-organized and large scale migration to some areas based upon governmental public power and resources, it is the basic rights under the guarantee of constitution for citizens to migrate according to one's own interest demand within the frontier. It is wrong to restrict individual free migration according to the nomology and according to the modern human rights view, it is also improper. Now the fact is that there is no issue for government to organize migration to Tibet or some other Tibetan-inhabited areas while the government should respect and protect the behavior of individual migration according to market economy demand.
Secondly, permitting pre-school age children to go to school. The key problem is the balance of rights claim. China respects citizens' religion freedom according to the law and in opposite, the citizen must respect the law to fulfill the legal obligation and this is a kind of balanced contract relationship. It is the rights for children to enjoy education and the duty of parents and the government to help children to finish compulsory education. The reasonable claim is to help those children finish education and allow them to choose their religion belief after they have ability to fulfill their rights to perform their rights according to the constitution.
Thirdly, about the Tibetan language. With the development of modernization, any nationality will meet the challenge of adjusting to the modernization and protecting the traditional culture. A clear fact is that since the Reform and Opening-up, the Chinese Government has done a lot to popularize Tibetan language, protect and develop the Tibetan culture and has also made a lot of progress. In stead of criticism without any fact basis, the Chinese Government deserves affirmation and encouragement for its efforts on Tibetan language and Tibetan culture.
In Kristof's quotation cited from the Dalai Lama, a marked paragraph shows that he pays much attention to those words: "The main thing is to preserve our culture, to preserve the character of Tibet, That is what is most important, not politics." It sounds really good, but if you read carefully, you will still feel that culture is just used as an excuse as what the Dalai Lama cares most is the politics.
http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200808/t20080821_421558.htm
Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth
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Interview: U.S. journalist commends China's efforts to develop Tibet, preserve its culture
2008-05-06 08:22:00
The Chinese government has made impressive efforts to bring Tibet to the modern world of the 21st century and preserve its traditional culture, a U.S. journalist said on Sunday.
David Jones, the interim managing editor of the Washington Times, said in an email interview with Xinhua that he saw during his trip to Tibet last September that large sums of money had been put into repairing temples and building museums.
Traditional Tibetan singing and dancing were also kept alive as part of the government's efforts to preserve Tibetan culture, he said.
"Large sums have been spent to preserve and restore Tibet's temples and monasteries ... Almost 30 million U.S. dollars has already been spent on the Potala Palace alone," he wrote in a report about his trip to Tibet published in October.
"The government also sponsors professional and amateur dance and theater troupes and set aside up to one-third of Tibet's total area for wildlife preserves," he added.
In his October report, Jones said officials in Beijing and Lhasa seem to have come to the same conclusion that they could attract tourists to the region by preserving the world's most original culture.
Jones recalled that he had a "romantic picture" that Tibet was rather a backward and very religious place before he went there, but he was surprised to see a modern Tibet with first-class highways, many SUVs and good communication, and that even yak herders have cell phones and motorbikes.
"It is obvious to me that the government had spent a lot of money to build infrastructure," he said. "The mobile phone reception in some parts of Tibet is even better than West Virginia."
He also found the government of Tibetan Autonomous Region is "very much a mixture of Tibetan and Han officials at all levels."
Jones, a former reporter based in Hong Kong in 1980s, said that he has witnessed China's dramatic change in politics, economy and social life during several visits to the country from 1983 to 2007.
"Each time I went to China, I was amazed to see how much progress and development that have been (achieved) in such a short time."
Jones said that he was surprised to see how much more freedom Chinese people enjoy nowadays in choosing their professions and traveling abroad, among others.
He said he realizes westerners should not deny China's development mode based on its 5,000-year history. They should acknowledge how dramatically China has changed in such a short period and how challenging it is to undertake these changes in such a populous country.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200805/t20080506_378568.htm
No one knows about Tibet better than the people from India
<<The Hindu>> Journalist first-hand Tibet visit experience:
Social well-being a striking aspect of life in modern Tibet
| by: Parvathi Menon | From: The Hindu
2008-08-28 14:16:00
Life has changed beyond recognition since 1959, when the system of monastic feudalism presided over by the Dalai Lama was overthrown and over a million serfs were set free.
In what used to be the dungeons of the Potala Palace, once the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas in Lhasa and now a religious and tourist site, is an unusual museum. The Zhol jail, a place where disobedient or rebellious serfs and labourers were subject to horrific forms of torture, was once located here. Today, photographs, paintings, models, and sound effects are used to recreate the brutality of the ancien regime against those classes whose labour created and sustained the splendid monument that soars above.
The squalor, poverty and social hierarchies of Lhasa, captured vividly in black and white photographs of the 1940s and 1950s, belong to a historical phase now squarely in the past.
Today the Potala Palace overlooks a city of modern infrastructure and conveniences. It has attractive tree-lined avenues, a busy business district, hotels, cultural centres and open spaces like the 12.2 square km Lhalu wetlands, a protected marsh that acts as what our hosts refer to as the kidneys of the Lhasa urban area. The modernity of the capital bears the impress of a strong Tibetan stamp in architecture, dress, and cultural practice.
Apart from warm clothes and altitude sickness pills, a foreign visitor to Tibet usually carries baggage of another kind. This is a belief that the 'real' Tibet lies hidden somewhere beneath what the eye sees and the mind registers; that the well being and modernisation evident in contemporary Tibetan society is a sort of maya. This perspective has been shaped by a vast literature and propaganda offensive that has emanated over the years from within the support base of the 14th Dalai Lama. It comes in large part from people who have not set foot in Tibet, and has, unfortunately, many well-meaning adherents.
A report published this year by the Dalai Lama's Dharamsala-based Government-in-Exile and titled Environment and Development in Tibet: A Crucial Issue has this to say: China claims that Tibet is experiencing growth and prosperity, but the reality is that, under Chinese rule, Tibetans are impoverished, marginalised and excluded; the sensitive and globally important ecology of Tibet is deteriorating; and many plant and animal species face extinction.
In fact, the fatal flaw of the report is that it has been written by people who have not visited their research area, for it is evident to any visitor's eye that the allegations of the impoverishment, marginalisation, and exclusion of Tibetans are unsubstantiated.
I was part of a journalists' delegation invited by the Chinese government to Tibet in July this year. To a visitor, the relatively high levels of living standards of people in the Tibet Autonomous Regions (TAR) are a striking feature of observable social life. In Lhasa, small towns and the villages of Tibet, there are no crowds of people ill, destitute, and unemployed - on the contrary, the overwhelming visual impression is of a population healthy and gainfully employed. Schools and universities hum with activity, and cultural assets like museums and ancient monasteries are treasured - these are but some marks of a society that is on the move.
Older Tibetans emphasise that life has changed beyond recognition since 1959, when the system of monastic feudalism presided over by the Dalai Lama was overthrown and over a million serfs were set free.
I consider myself middling-prosperous, says Zhuoga, the head of an eight-member farming family in Gapa, a village of 60 households, 10 km from Lhasa. She and her family members offer fruit, biscuits and Tibetan tea to her visitors in her warm and colourful sitting room decorated with Tibetan thangkas (religious scroll paintings) and carpets.
The Zhuoga household's annual income of 20,000 yuan (roughly Rs. 140,000) comes from her oilseed and corn harvest, from the rent paid by vegetable farmers for land they lease from her, from a 500 yuan annual subsidy given by the Government, and from collective work she and the family put in on village projects. School education and health care are free. Although a Buddhist, she thinks the Dalai Lama is not a good man as he masterminded the disturbances of March 14th 2008. We could not go to the city for work, she said. I was angry and scared.
Life now is like this, says Pingtso Tashi giving a thumbs-up sign. And before 1959 it was like this. He holds up his little finger. This 58-year old dam inspector and farmer is the son of former serfs. Today, hard work pays, he said. Every village family owns land and the average individual land holding of the village is 3.8 mu (15 mu = 1 hectare)
A range of special preferential policies and measures for social and economic development apply to Tibet. There is a preferential taxation policy by which income tax in Tibet is three percentage points lower than elsewhere, and farmers and herdsmen are completely exempt from taxes and administrative charges. There is a preferential interest rate on bank loans, the rate being two percentage points lower in the TAR than in the rest of China.
Yang Chen and Deji, microbiologists working for a bio-pharmaceutical company in Lhasa, and their office colleagues, are part of a cheerful and spirited group of women dressed in formal western office wear who have come to see a photographic exhibition on Tibetan women at the Tibet museum in Lhasa. Asked about the exhibition and whether it reflects the progress of women in Tibet, Yang Chen says, Yes it does. Today we are equal to men in every way. She and Ms Deji have two daughters each, and hope that the girls will one day become doctors. The one-child norm does not apply to Tibetans and other ethnic minorities as it does to Han Chinese.
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200808/t20080828_422961.htm
Modern education a key to Tibet's social and economic progress
2008-09-04 10:01:00
| by: Parvathi Menon | From: The Hindu
Before 1951, 92 per cent of the population of Tibet was illiterate. That proportion is now 44 per cent.
A report published this year by the Dalai Lama's Dharamsala-based "Government-in-Exile" and titled Environment and Development in Tibet: A Crucial Issue (available on their website) seeks to perpetuate the myth that Tibetans are fast becoming a minority in their homeland as a result of a state-sponsored policy of Han settlement in Tibet. In fact, of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) population of 2.8 million, Tibetans account for 92 per cent, other ethnic minorities for around 2 per cent, and Han Chinese a little under 6 per cent.
Government officials in Tibet emphasise that the accusation that Han Chinese control the administration of Tibet is wrong. Tibetans constitute a majority of the cadre within government and the Communist Party. According to Duo Ji Ciren, Vice-Commissioner of the Administrative office of Nyingchi prefecture, 70 per cent of civil servants in Nyingchi prefecture are either Tibetans or from other ethnic minorities, and key prefectural posts are held by Tibetans.
Education has been key to social and economic progress in Tibet. Modern education only began after 1951. In 2007, enrolment in primary schools reached 98.2 per cent, in middle schools 90.97 per cent, in high school 42.96 per cent, and in colleges 17.4 per cent. Before 1951, 92 per cent of the population of Tibet was illiterate. That proportion is now 44 per cent, although the illiterate are now concentrated in the older age groups.
"You had to be a monk if you wanted education in the old society," said Dr. Losang Yundeng, 51, Director of the 210-bed County Peoples Hospital in Nyingchi. An ethnic Tibetan from a poor family of labourers in a remote village in Nyingchi prefecture, he was sent to one of the first schools to be opened in his village. When a medical team visited the village in 1972, the 15-year-old boy was chosen by his village to train as a barefoot doctor. After the Cultural Revolution, Dr. Yundeng trained at the Nanjing Medical College and later at the famous Norman Bethune Medical Academy to become a doctor.
Dr. Wangmo, 44, a brilliant Tibetan plant pathologist and professor in the Department of Plant Technology at the Tibetan Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Nyingchi, speaks of how education transformed life in her village. "I studied in a village which you could only get to by horse," she said. "But education gave us ability and confidence. In my school, 80 per cent of the children were Tibetan and our Tibetan education was very good." In the college where she teaches, half of the 3,000 students are girls and 80 per cent of all students are Tibetan.
Dr. Wangmo's current research is on understanding the structure of a fungus called Cordyceps Sinensis, which grows wild in certain high-altitude counties. Called "yatsagompo" in Tibetan, the fungus, which looks like an innocuous dry twig, has been the reason for a sudden increase in incomes among certain communities living in these regions. Used in traditional medicine and valued for its healing properties, the fungus is highly priced. "I have seen people earn 80,000 yuan a year from this," Dr. Wangmo explained. Her research team is also working on how to undertake the sustainable cultivation of this precious resource.
Indeed, the issue of ecological sustainability and protection of the natural habitat is one over which demonstrable measures have been taken. The Tibetan plateau is a cradle of the planet's natural wealth. It has the world's highest peaks and lakes, gives birth to Asia¡¯s mighty rivers, and has vast deposits of mineral and forest wealth.
The 10-hour drive from Lhasa to the Nyingchi prefecture, one of TAR's ecological treasure houses, is as remarkable for its stunning landscapes as it is for the absence of heavy motor traffic, roadside hoardings, the defacement of rock surfaces with advertisements or writing, and litter. The Nyingchi Prefecture has a forest cover of 46 per cent, the largest virgin forest in China. The preservation of the ecology is central to government policy here. "Our slogan is 'Build Nyingchi as the largest district in western Tibet with the best preserved ecology,'" said Mr. Ciren, its administrative head. The beautiful Environmental Museum in Nyingchi offers a stunning display of its plant and animal wealth.
China's Tibet policy was defined to us by Dong Yunhu, Director General of the State Council Information Office, as "the continuous improvement in the living standards of Tibetans," By this criterion, the implementation of China's Tibet policy is marked by measurable and visible success.
http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200809/t20080904_424239.htm
China issues white paper, refutes charge of "cultural genocide" in Tibet
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Religious autocracy under the cover of democracy
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Compulsory and Free-of-Charge Education
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Senior Nepali journalist: Fundamental human rights well protected in Tibet
2008-05-08 09:19:00
There are many facets of human rights and those fundamental and basic ones are well protected in Tibet, a senior Nepali journalist who visited Tibet last year told Xinhua in a recent interview.
"If you want to know about my first impression, I was highly impressed with China's economic development. My visit to Lhasa was an eye opener of the fact that so much has been accomplished," said Ambar Mainali, Chief Reporter of The Rising Nepal.
The development, which is crucial to human rights, is well safeguarded in Tibet, he said.
Mainali paid a half-month visit to Tibet and the provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan in the western part of China last September, where he visited different cultural sites and "saw that many monasteries were being renovated."
"There cannot be absolutely good human rights situation anywhere in the world. As for basic and fundamental rights of free movement, doing business and having access to education, all of them seem to be well protected in Tibet," he said.
"I feel that one country has its own policies and one should stick to it while at the same time respect the international human rights treaties that they have signed," Mainali said, referring to the recent Lhasa riots.
"It is obvious that Nepal has been sticking to the one-China policy," he said.
Talking about the recent anti-China activities by some Tibetan separatists in Kathmandu, Mainali noted that the Nepali government will not ignore the activities, which they believe, are not intended for peaceful purposes.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200805/t20080508_378821.htm
Russian scholar: Tibetan culture well preserved
2008-04-25 08:15:00
The Tibetan culture is well preserved and the cultural development there is prosperous, a Russian sinologist told Xinhua Thursday.
The Chinese government is preserving the Tibetan culture sincerely, said Vinogrotschi, chief editor of the Russian magazine China, in a written interview with Xinhua.
Recalling his visit in 2007 to Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and several other major cities, Vinogrotschi said he was left with a deep impression by some of the religious sites and places of interest.
The 51-year-old sinologist, who has devoted himself to the research of ancient Chinese culture for a long time, took part in the translation of a series of Chinese classics, including I Chingand Inner Canon of Huangdi.
The preservation and development of culture in modern society is not an easy job, Vinogrotschi said. "I believe that China wants to solve the problem and is pursuing the harmonious and right way to do it. This is what I saw (in Tibet)," he added.
Also impressing Vinogrotschi during his visit is the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the first of its kind to connect Tibet with other parts of China. He described the project as a "tremendous blessing" to the Tibetans.
Showing great interest in the Himalayan plateau, Vinogrotschi expressed willingness to introduce Tibet to Russian readers. "It needs extremely careful and deep research on Tibet, and more material related should be published," he said.
Vinogrotschi hoped that China will continue to present the true picture of Tibet to the international community, so that the public will not listen to groundless accusations.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200804/t20080425_377322.htm
German scholar refutes Dalai's claim of "cultural genocide" in Tibet
2008-04-25 08:12:00
A German sinologist and ethnologist on Wednesday refuted the Dalai Lama's claim that the Chinese government has conducted "cultural genocide" in Tibet and criticized some Western media for not letting the voices of ordinary Tibetans be heard.
CULTURAL GENOCIDE? COMPLETELY WRONG
"The concept of 'cultural genocide' is completely wrong," said Ingo Nentwig, who chairs the research department of the Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig, in a written interview with Xinhua.
"The Tibetan culture flourishes and prospers in China," including "language, literature, study of oral literature, everyday life and traditional architecture," he said.
Nentwig said that China has published a vast collection of books, newspapers and magazines in Tibetan language, and "there are a lot of Tibetan publishing houses, not only in Tibet but also in the neighboring provinces and even in Beijing."
Tibetan authors write in the Tibetan language and Chinese, Tibetan translation of foreign books are also available in China, and "there is an academy for traditional Tibetan medicine in Lhasa," he cited the example to illustrate his point.
The scholar said that unlike "some representatives of the clerical elite demanding independence for Tibet or just wanting to exert political power" who describe the modernization of the Tibetan society as "cultural genocide," "most Tibetans recognize the opportunities in a modern Tibet, which is part of China and open to the modern world."
SYSTEMATIC ASSIMILATION? OUT OF THE QUESTION
Nentwig said a systematic immigration and assimilation of Tibet "through a Han-Chinese (China's majority ethnic group) settlement invasion is just out of the question."
"If you come to Lhasa, you actually have the impression that there are many Han-Chinese who account for more than 50 percent of the population in Lhasa for sure," he said, but noting the bulk of them, however, stay there only temporarily.
Soldiers, for example, are to leave after demobilization, many construction workers are just there for road or railway projects, some officials are assigned to work in Tibet on a rotation basis and then leave. While some business people operate stores or restaurants there, but they seldom intend for a long-term stay, he said.
"But once you leave Lhasa, you hardly meet any Han-Chinese," said Nentwig, who spent a month in Tibet for a field research on yak shepherds in the summer of 2002.
"I did my field research in a county where just 20 or 30 Han-Chinese live among 50,000 to 60,000 Tibetans," he said.
The scholar said the overall proportion of long-term Han residents in Tibet is about just 7 percent, while ethnic Tibetans account for over 90 percent.
Even taking the short-term residents into account, the Han people account for an estimated 20 to 25 percent of entire population in Tibet, while ethnic Tibetans are still the "overwhelming majority of about 75 to 80 percent," he said.
Areas inhabited by ethnic Tibetans in the neighboring provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, however, are ethically and culturally more diversified, where Tibetans have coexisted peacefully with Han and other ethnic groups such as Hui, Mongolian, Qiang, Tu and Salar for many centuries, Nentwig said.
If exiled Tibetans, under the "anti-assimilation" or "anti-sinicization" slogans, want to fight for Tibetans' cultural or political dominance, this would go against the historical truth and would be unfair for all other residents there, he said.
OLD RULING CLASS' ACCUSATION? DIFFERENT STORY TO TELL
The scholar listed some historical and geographical reasons for Tibet's relatively slow development compared with other Chinese regions.
Tibet is "unsuitable for a comprehensive industrialization and its agriculture is also handicapped by natural conditions" as large grazing areas there have "such thin topsoil that virtually nothing can be cultivated," he said.
He also called attention to the fact that before 1950, there were no hospitals and no schools except the monastic education.
While acknowledging such huge gap "can not be narrowed overnight," Nentwig noted with delight that the average life expectancy in Tibet has raised from 35 years in the 1950s to the present 67 years.
He hailed the liberation of the vast majority of the Tibetan people from the bondage of serfdom as a "great progress," adding most Tibetans are in much better conditions now than 50 years ago.
He said the Chinese government's ethnic policy is "enormously generous" and there are many examples to illustrate that China's ethnic minorities are given preferential treatments.
"The Tibetans, for example, may basically have two children ... (and) Tibetans in the countryside may have three or even more children" while the one-child policy is applied to the Han.
"The latest census showed that in the past 20 to 30 years, the population growth rate of Tibetans was much higher than that of the Han," he said.
Nentwig criticized some Western media for only reporting the voices of the former ruling class, namely, representatives of the old theocracy, the clerical and feudal aristocrats, who lost their power and can "no longer exploit the people at will," while ignoring the voices of the ordinary Tibetan people who "have a totally different story to tell."
Admitting that China's approach to ethnic minorities still has much room for improvement, he said if anyone wants to criticize China, such criticism should be concrete, constructive and based on expertise.
"It helps nobody if unqualified nonsense is disseminated as many Western media unfortunately have done and are still doing," he said.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200804/t20080425_377318.htm
Think again when matters about Tibet calm down, says China's religious department head
2008-04-17 14:19:00
Every rational person should reflect on the chaos surrounding the Tibet issue, a senior Chinese religious official said in his essay on Tuesday's People's Daily.
Ye Xiaowen, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs of China (SARA), raised three problems he himself had considered in the essay titled "Please Think Again When Mote Drops Placidly."
"What will a boycott to the Olympic Games bring?" he wrote. "Did those trying to grab the Olympic torch during the relay realize they were harming the feelings and dignity of 1.3 billion Chinese? Did those trying to boycott the Olympic Games realize they were boycotting the Olympic spirit of peace, harmony and friendship recognized by 6 billion people?"
China is hosting a sport event that harasses nobody, he wrote. "We believe the world will smile to us if we smile to it."
"Second, what will a connivance with violence bring?" Ye wrote.
As a disaster for all human beings, violence and its extreme form terrorism is often linked in today's world to ultra-nationalism and religious extremism, he said in the essay.
Citing the United States as an example, Ye said it indulged violent organizations in the Middle East years for its political concerns, and it backfired .
"I have noticed a tendency of integration of ultra-nationalism and religious extremism among supporters of Tibetan independence," he said. "Didn't the 'Tibet Youth Congress (TYC)' say openly that it did not rule out gaining independence through suicide bombing?"
If it indulged such tendency, the world will soon see a group of terrorists "fighting for Tibet independence" and it will be a disaster, and not only for China, he said.
"Third, what will theocracy bring?" the essay said.
Tibetan people tried very hard to get rid of a theocratic feudal serfdom half a century ago and are moving into a modern social system, Ye said in the essay. "European countries had undergone the same thing some 600 years ago."
Tibetans are living a better life than five decades ago. The average life-span has increased from 35.5 to 67 years, he said.
About 120,000 monks and nuns are living in 3,700 monasteries in Tibet, compared with its 2.62 million population. Some big monasteries hold several thousand monks.
On the contrary, the Dalai Lama who had sat at the top of the old hierarchy in Tibet still sticks to theocracy. The "constitution" of his "government-in-exile" holds that Tibet is a theocratic "country," Ye wrote.
"He and his men attacked every new move in Tibet's modernization, from financial assistance given to Tibet by the rest of China to the Qinghai-Tibet railway," he wrote.
"Is anyone in the world willing to return to the Middle Ages?" he asked.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200804/t20080418_376598.htm
Commentary: Violence under the cloak of religion
2008-03-20 08:48:00
"Religion is the last subject that the intellect begins to understand," the late Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and philosopher Will Durant said on March 19.
The power of religion and belief was often used to further the political ambitions of kings and emperors. Even in modern times, religious shrines and the faith of the faithful can still be used by those with ulterior motives.
Sometimes by cliques that attempt to split a country.
There could be only one real purpose for the bloody riot in Lhasa: to separate Tibet from China.
Otherwise, why did the rioters kill and attack innocent civilians, set fires and destroy public facilities?
Why did groups of monks start a "March to Tibet" across the border in India, on exactly the same day that 300 aggressive monks from the Drepung Monastery paraded into downtown Lhasa?
Why did similar turmoil occur in other parts of China and why did mobs attack Chinese diplomatic missions overseas?
And on top of everything, why is the man behind the bloodshed playing the good guy and making false claims that the Chinese government, rather than the rioters, was to blame for the violence?
Anyone with the least common sense can see through this: by pleading innocence, he is seeking sympathy from innocent people across the globe and soliciting international support for his independence claim.
The chain of events that took place in Lhasa and elsewhere was apparently organized. The Lhasa mobs, who seem to have been equipped with stones and flammable liquid, were ready to kill, sabotage and trigger public fear.
What happened in Lhasa is not even remotely close to what the Dalai Lama and his clique claim: that the events were "spontaneous" and "peaceful" protests.
When the Dalai Lama clique allegedly tried to defend Tibet fromso-called "cultural genocide" and "religious repression", they were using the same old trick to put their anti-China stance under the camouflage of religion.
"The rioters who wore cassocks were no real monks and what they did is completely against Buddhist codes," said Ngawang Daindzin, a living Buddha.
If the Dalai Lama really wanted to be worthy of his self-proclaimed title of spiritual leader, he should at least have stopped abusing the power of religion.
And if he really loved his homeland and his fellow Tibetans, he shouldn't have disrupted the peaceful Buddhist holy city with fire and blood and left innocent people groaning in pain.
Even children became victims.
My heart ached when I read that more than 20 knife-wielding mobs set fire to a school in Lhasa after failing to break into the campus on Friday. More than 800 teen-aged students huddled together in fear and felt anguish over their lost classrooms, satchels, books and the danger of losing their lives.
I have no idea how long the painful memory will cling to these children, Tibetans and Hans alike. Not all their lives, I hope.
The Dalai Lama's hypocrisy has put the power of his religion at stake, but he cannot cheat all the people all the time. Buddhism is no harbor for separatism.
All in all, it's China's Tibet, now and forever.
http://eng.tibet.cn/Features2008/314sj/commentary/200803/t20080324_370949.htm
Dalai's brag about "peace", "non-violence" is nothing but lie
www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-08 20:20:48
BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday criticized that the Dalai Lama has proved with his own acts that his brag for "peace" and "non-violence" is nothing but lie.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks at a regular press conference on Tuesday afternoon when asked to comment on the Dalai Lama's claim in his recent statement that he sticks to his "middle way" approach and does not seek for "Tibet independence".
Jiang said the Dalai Lama is the head representative of the serf system which integrates religion with politics in old Tibet.
Such serf system, which harbors no democracy, freedom and human rights in any form, is the darkest slavery system in human history, Jiang said, adding that only the serf owners could enjoy special privileges under such a system.
The "middle way" approach that the Dalai Lama is pursuing for is aimed at restoring his own "paradise in the past", which will throw millions of liberated serf back into a dark cage, Jiang said.
"Such a 'middle way', who can accept it?" said Jiang.
On the Dalai Lama's claim that he is unconnected with the riots in Lhasa, Jiang said "Dalai has always been dependent on telling lies", noting that it does not matter much about what he said, only what he did.
One thing that the Dalai Lama has done recently is to instigate and orchestrate the violence in Lhasa, Jiang said.
The Dalai Lama's own acts have proved "peace" and "non-violence" are all lies to cheat people, Jiang said.
Jiang also added that the central government's policy toward the Dalai Lama is consistent and the central government has been patiently keeping contact with the Dalai Lama side.
"Our door to conduct dialogue with the Dalai Lama was open in the past and is still open now", Jiang said.
Only if the Dalai Lama changed his mind, stopped separatist activities, violence and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games, "we are still willing to contact and consult with him", Jiang said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/08/content_7941607.htm
"Nonviolence" in the mouth of "Dalai Lama"
16:29, June 24, 2008
Buddhists always preach that no living things are to be killed and all violent actions have to be opposed. "I say that 21st century should be one of dialogue," the Dalai Lama told his audience on May 19 when he delivered a speech in Berlin, and he said repeatedly that he only wants autonomy for Tibetans. "This (21st century) should be the century of peace and dialogue," he noted.
Can his remarks hold true for the whole 21st century? Only three days latter, on May 22, he alleged in Paris that if the talks between his personal envoys and China broke down, grave violence may occur in Tibet again.
So, it is quite possible for "nonviolence" and "grave violence" to slip back and forth in the mouth of the same person.
Dalai Lama has passed himself off as "a disciple of the Gandhi school" and so he adheres to the nonviolence. He, nevertheless, has hardly expected what Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule, had explicitly said, "Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and put off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being."
But the Dalai Lama has indeed taken nonviolence as a garment to hide his shame and so he has put on and put off at will. Why does he need to put on such a garment? He could be overjoyed if "stayed naked and then he would have nothing to worry about," as a popular Chinese saying goes. It is not because he is not willing but he won't able to do so. As he had said explicitly in an address in Oslo in 1989: If Tibetans took up arms, Communist troops in China would have the excuse for the suppression of them and they would be possibly be extinct.
The Dalai Lama claimed that he advocates "nonviolence"but he is not able to stop the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) and other radical forces from going in for violence, as he said that some of the Tibetans in exile listened to him while others did not. As is known to all, 80 percent of the staff of the government in exile were TYC members, and the so-called "the charter (or constitution) of Tibetans in Exile" specifies that these Tibetans must obey the "supreme political and religious leader Dalai Lama."
Since the Dalai Lama is the "supreme leader" who controls and governs all the supreme power in politics and religion, how he is not able to check TYC and curb violence?
In numerous journals owned by TYC, there are often articles concerning the use of violence or to spouse armed struggle to materialize their dream of "Tibetan independence". There are also agitating articles in recent years to urge Tibetans to follow suit of Palestinians to carry out suicide bombing, and openly alleged that they had a lot to draw on from the terrorism of the September 11 attacks of 2001 in the U.S. The Dalai Lama, however, has turned a deaf ear and blind eye to all this.
While parroting "nonviolence", the Dalai Lama has often instigatted and voiced his support to violence both in public or in private. Sufficient evidence has showed that the March 14 Lhasa violence was part of the "Tibetan People's Uprising Movement," a schemed plotted by the Dalai clique. So, he was so elated that day and repeatedly exhorted that he appreciated with all his heart the Tibetans inside the border for their absolute loyalty, courage and determination.
What the Dalai Lama has"appreciated" is the unrest erupted in Lhasa on March 14 when rioters set fire to and looted public facilities, residential houses and shops. On the same day, he told American reports that he would not stop Tibetans because they had the right to do whatever they desired.
To date, the dust has been settled in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet autonomous region, and the splendid, towering snow mountains around remain holy. The Dalai Lama, however, has turned somewhat impatient, anxious and restless, and he even predicted that grave violence could possibly recur in Tibet. Was it something not more plain and definite that what he had "appreciated" days before the "March 14th" riot'? And what he was really hinting, inciting and expecting?
With a too fast replacement of the "nonviolence" garment by the garment of "violence", it seems that flaws or burst seams are apt to be exposed. No wonder some personality in the West have referred to the Dalai Lama as the "Drama" Lama and often found what he said or preached joining in the fun or playing the game merely on the occasion.
In order to retain the Dalai Lama's "Buddhist" compassionate face and rope in the kind-heated people, the Dalai clique have all along brandished the "nonviolence" as their banner. Whenever following in their footprints, these people can see the stripes of "violence" on their buttocks, and then roar with laughters and disperse helter-skelter.
By People's Daily Online and its author is Zong Yiwen, a council member of the China Religious Culture Communication Association
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90780/91342/6436017.html
Dalai clique is chief criminal of violent crimes
16:54, June 07, 2008
The three bombing cases that took place in eastern Tibet's Qamdo prefecture in April have recently been cracked. All suspects are Buddhist monks who have been instigated by the Dalai Cliques' separatist thought. Plots of the attacks echo the 3.14 unrest. The Dalai clique is the chief criminal of the three bomb attacks.
"Buddhists should believe in clemency. True Buddhists should learn Buddhist scriptures by heart; love their country and their religion; abide by the law; and bring happiness to people. They should not involve themselves in cruel murders and sabotage," said Dainzin Chilai, vice-chairman of the China Buddhist Association and vice-chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference of the Tibet Autonomous Region. His words are a reminder of the essence of Buddhism, and criticism to the Dalai clique and the few monks who are keen on violent attacks.
People's actions are inseparable from their thoughts. The bomb attack suspects are inspired and instigated by the Dalai clique's propaganda. Having listened to overseas radio broadcasts for a long time, they have accepted the Dalai Lama's separatist thoughts. Once know the happening of the Lhasa incident and the contents of "Tibet Uprising" planned by the Dalai Lama, they actively cooperated with the Dalai clique. The three bomb attacks indicate how dangerous the Dalai Lama's separatism is and therefore demands our attention.
Facts prove again that "Tibet Independence" is unpopular and violent acts are intolerable. Those who try to undermine social stability come to no good end; and the separatist activities will never succeed.
By People's Daily Online
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90780/91342/6426375.html
Video: Tibet Riot Documentary.
Facts exposing Dalai clique's masterminding of Lhasa violence
17:21, March 31, 2008
