The March 14 riot in Lhasa was no ethnic conflict, and some people who would so label the incident might harbor ulterior motives, said an expert on Tibet on Wednesday.

Lian Xiangmin, a researcher with the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC), said the riot was not an ethnic issue, but a political one, as the mob attacked not only ethnic Hui and Han people, but also Tibetans.

"I've noticed residents of various ethnic groups in Lhasa, including Tibetans, have all condemned the violence. In our research center, Tibetan scholars are also very indignant over the riot," Lian, director of the Research Projects Office of the CTRC, told a press conference.

"So this is by no means an ethnic issue or ethnic conflict," he said. "However, the Dalai Lama and his backers have tried to make it look like an ethnic problem as most businesses attacked were owned by Han and Hui people. This further proves that the incident was politically motivated."

As for those who called the riot an ethnic issue or a Han-Tibetan conflict, Lian said, "Some of them did so because of a lack of understanding of the situation, while others might harbor ulterior motives."

"The Tibetan people, like the other 55 ethnic groups in China, also wish to see political stability, economic progress and improvement of people's livelihood in the country," said Lian.

Zhalo, a scholar with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Tibet has never been inhabitated purely by Tibetans, and in terms of economic pattern, the Tibetans and other ethnic groups have always been complementary.

"The Tibetans used to be nomads who produced ample animal products but no crops, while the agriculture-oriented Han people were the opposite. The Hui people, then, were good merchants going in between the two."

Modern times have witnessed an intensified economic integration and frequent population movements, and Tibet has been no exception, said Zhalo, himself a Tibetan.

"From the perspective of ethnology and anthropology, co-existence of different cultures is a very common phenomenon and mutual adaptation is a necessity. Every culture should learn to adapt itself to co-live with other cultures," he said.

"Nowadays, people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds go to Tibet, either for sightseeing or for business. The Tibetan people should also learn to co-exist with these people," the scholar said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2008)