Dalai Lama has become more and more unpopular in southwestern
China's Tibet
Autonomous Region since what he wants is to split the region
from China, regardless of its robust development momentum and sound
ethnic relations, said Qianbo Puncog, chairman of the region during
an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
"All the locals want the current stable and sound situation in
Tibet to continue but Dalai Lama, judging from his words and deeds,
simply wants to destroy it and make something different," said
Puncog. "And the result is he has grown more and more unpopular in
Tibet."
"What Dalai and some Western forces really want is nothing but
splitting Tibet from China," he said. "Whatever the names he
invents for Tibetan independence, his nature will remain the
same."
Dalai Lama had before put forward a series of ideas puffing high
degree autonomy in Tibet or establishing a "big Tibetan area" that
involves four more Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai
and Gansu.
However, according to the Chinese history, there was only one
"big Tibetan area" about one thousand years ago in southwest China
but no more reappeared thereafter.
"As far as today's Tibet is concerned, such an area is
absolutely nothing but impossible."
Puncog viewed Dalai Lama's "high degree autonomy" as one
intentionally invented against China's current ethnic autonomous
region system, a basic one for China that has proved quite
successful after effective for more than two decades.
Before that, Dalai Lama had suggested a "One Country, Two
Systems" solution, which is adopted by the Chinese government to
resolve the Taiwan issue, for Tibet and was rejected.
"The final purpose of those Western forces that support Dalai
Lama or seek internationalizing the Tibet issue is nothing but
splitting China by borrow hands from external interventions," he
said. "The Tibetans hold a clear-cut stand in their fight against
those forces."
The Chinese government's policies toward Dalai Lama on the Tibet
issue will never change in nature as far as Dalai Lama's nature of
splitting Tibetan remains unchanged, he said.
In Tibet, said Puncog, there are two famous slogans saying "Hold
a clear-cut stand in fights against splittism and firmly advance
Tibet's development," which are the two most crucial things that
the Tibetans should do today.
The so-called "Tibet issue" is merely a ghost invented from
nothing by some Western powers one century ago, said Puncog,
claiming it boasts no grounding among the Tibetan masses.
"If you have to say there are some 'Tibet issues', the issues
shall be ones related to the development of Tibet," he said. "You
know, what Tibet does need now is only development, no other issues
can prevail."
With financial and policy supports from the central government,
Tibet's economy has been growing with a rapid speed in the past
decade.
Its annual average growth of gross domestic product (GDP) has
kept at more than 10 percent for 10 straight years and reached 12.2
percent in 2004, bringing the region's total GDP to a record 21.154
billion yuan (US$2.56 billion).
The annual per-capita net income of Tibetan farmers and herdsmen
the same year also rose to 1,861 yuan (US$225), with the disposable
income of the urban Tibetans 8,200 yuan (US$991) in 2004, an
increase of 1.8 percent on a yearly basis.
In 2004, Tibet's per-capita GDP reached 7772 yuan (US$939.7), 75
percent of the country's average and listed 23rd among China's all
31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
At the same time, Tibet's fixed assets investment rose up to
16.844 billion yuan (US$2.03 billion ), up 25.7 percent over that
of the previous year.
"We have every reason to claim that Tibet is at its best time
given its speeding economy, solid ethnic minority unity and
consolidated border defense," said Puncog.
Puncog predicted that with the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet
railway, which is known as the world's highest and most difficult
one, Tibet will greet another robust round of development.
(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2005)