A Tibetologist on Sunday refuted the "middle way" approach repeatedly advocated by the Dalai Lama since the 1980s, saying that what the Dalai clique really wants is still "Tibet independence."

"Greater Tibet" and "high-level autonomy" are the core contents of the "middle way" claims, but they are neither reasonable nor acceptable, said Zhu Xiaoming, of the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center.

By "Greater Tibet," the Dalai clique wants not only the present Tibet Autonomous Region, but also the entire region of the adjacent Qinghai Province and parts of Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan provinces and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Theses areas altogether occupy up to 2.4 million square kilometers, or about a quarter of Chinese territory.

"The so-called 'Greater Tibet' has no historical foundation, no matter what perspective you look at it from, administrative division, religion or ethnic groups," Zhu said.

There has never been such a "Greater Tibet" region governed by the local government of Tibet or the Dalai Lama in history, even before 1959, he said.

"Besides, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is actually a multi-ethnic region. Apart from Tibetans, there are more than 10 ethnic groups living on the plateau for generations, such as Han, Hui, Mongolian, Tu, Monba and Lhoba," he said.

The expert pointed out that by preaching "Greater Tibet," the Dalai clique wants to draw together his followers from regions other than Tibet and win support, sympathy in the world to pave the way for secession -- many people in the world do not know that various other ethnic groups are living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in addition to Tibetans.

"The real purpose for the Dalai clique to give up saying 'Tibet independence' but advocate 'Greater Tibet' is to shift their secessionist activities from abroad to home and regain their power in religion and politics in Tibet," Zhu said.

By "high-level autonomy," he said, what the Dalai clique really wants is to deny China's system of people's congresses and system of regional ethnic autonomy, but restore theocracy in Tibet, featuring the dictatorship by monks and the noble.

In that society, more than 90 percent of the means of production, such as farmland, pasture, livestock and tools, are controlled by officials, the noble and senior monks, while the people, or the serf, have nothing, he said.

"The feudal serfdom regime headed by the Dalai Lama has been replaced by the democratic government established by the Tibetan people themselves for a long time. The destiny and future of Tibet will no longer be decided by the Dalai clique, but by the whole of the Chinese people including the Tibetan people," Zhu said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2008)