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TIBET INSIGHT NEWS
POLITICAL NEWs
Army asked to follow Xi Jinping's orders
August 17, 2014
While inspecting PLA and People’s Armed Police Force (PAPF) personnel serving in Tibet and Qinghai in mid August, Xu Qiliang, Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), asked the army to ‘absolutely’ obey the commands of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Central Committee.
He exhorted them to resolutely implement the strategies made by the CCP CC and the Chairman of the CMC Xi Jinping, and uphold the correct decisions to investigate Zhou Yongkang and punish Xu Caihou.
Xu Qiliang urged all military officials to unswervingly oppose and seriously punish corruption. He told the army to strengthen combat training with the goal of "winning the battles" and enhance the ability to fulfil tasks assigned by the Party and the people.
Conference on 20th Anniversary of Aid-Tibet Work held in Beijing
August 25, 2014
A video and telephone conference was held in Beijing on Aug. 25, 2014 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Aid-Tibet Work and the project to provide assistance to the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) by pairing its cities with flourishing coastal cities and State-owned Enterprises.
In his address, Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee and member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC), noted the many achievements of Aid-Tibet work during the past 20 years. He said that efforts now need to be focused on the allocation of funds for Aid-Tibet work, innovative methods of rendering aid, guiding the role of central and State-owned Enterprises in aiding Tibet and in the management of Aid-Tibet cadres.
Asserting that the project was an important strategic policy, he said that during the last two decades it had promoted exchanges among different ethnic groups while increasing development, national integrity and social stability in Tibet. He said the project was equally applicable to the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai where a number of Tibetans reside.
Individuals who made special contributions to aid-Tibet work were praised at the conference and they promised to help in the construction of Tibet.
Zhang Gaoli, Vice Premier of the State Council, Ling Jihua, Director of the CCP CC’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), Sitar, Deputy Director of the CCP CC’s UFWD, Lobsang Gyaltsen (Ch: Jamcan) Chairman of the TAR People’s Government and Chen Quanguo, Party Secretary of the TAR Party Committee, attended the conference. Representatives of government ministries, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Aid-Tibet representatives from inland cities and representatives of the media also attended.
17 provinces, 17 central enterprises and government ministries are involved in Aid-Tibet work and since 1993 the TAR received seven groups of officials and professionals from inland provinces and municipalities.
Exhibition by Chamdo Propaganda Department
August 29, 2014
The Chamdo (Ch: Changdu) Propaganda Department organized a poster exhibition on August 27, titled “Deep and open expose of Feudal Tibet and to critique the Dalai Group and the exile forces”. The special poster exhibition was held at “Liberation Square” in Chamdo. The Party Secretary of the Chamdo Prefectural Committee, Norbu Dhondup, attended the exhibition along with other cadres.
Chamdo Prefecture Party Secretary Norbu Dhondup said the “purpose of the exhibition is to educate masses and cadres of all ethnic groups and guide them as to what is true or false through galleries of pictures, texts and also to safeguard the unity of the motherland. And Chamdo administrative district plays a vital role in it.”
He added that Chamdo’s Propaganda Department and its various units play an important role in educating the public and creating public opinion.
Deputy Secretary of the Chamdo Prefectural Committee Yao Hong; Deputy Secretary of the Chamdo Prefectural Committee Rinchen Yangzom; Chairman of the Chamdo Organization Department Li Fuzhong; Vice-Chairman of the Chamdo People’s Congress and Deputy Chairman of Chamdo Propaganda Department Rinchen Norbu; and the Vice-Chairman of the Chamdo Prefectural Committee and member of the Chamdo Discipline Committee Ma Yikui, attended the exhibition.
Teleconference in Chamdo for a clean government
August, 2014
A teleconference was held recently in Chamdo (Ch:Changdu) where Norbu Dhondup, the Party Secretary of Chamdo Prefectural Committee talked extensively about accountability, transparency and corruption free government at all levels and warned of severe punishment to any official indulging in corruption and taking bribes.
Teleconference in Shigatse for a clean government
August 19, 2014
On the directions of the TAR Party Committee for implementation of a clean and corruption free government, the Discipline Inspection Committee of Shigatse (Ch: Xigaze) took the initiative to hold a teleconference to convey the message to all local authorities.
Tenzin Namgyal, Party Secretary of the Shigatse Prefectural Committee delivered a speech. The teleconference urged Party authorities at all levels across the region to follow the speeches of President Xi Jinping given in the eighth report of the Third Plenary Session of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC)
It asked concerned authorities to start implementing measures to strengthen institutional mechanisms for innovation and anti-corruption safeguards. It reaffirmed the need for strict discipline and punishments for anyone indulging in corruption.
CHINA-TIBET: Travel restrictions
August 27, 2014
The Shanghai-based popular newspaper ‘Xinmin Evening News’ recently reported that the Tibet Tourism Bureau issued an “emergency notice” imposing new restrictions on tour groups going to Tibet. The new rules require that, starting August 19, all groups and individual tourists who have not yet reached Tibet must cancel travel plans. For those already in Tibet, the total number of passengers travelling by bus are limited to no more than 20, including the driver, tour guide and one policeman.
China claims Sino-Tibet talks still ongoing
August 26, 2014
Wu Yingjie, a Deputy Secretary of the TAR Party Committee, told a group of Indian journalists being taken on a guided tour of TAR on August 24 that talks with the region’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, were “ongoing and always smooth”. The Indian newspaper ‘Hindu’ reported on August 25, 2014, that Wu Yingjie had clarified that the talks, being held through “personal envoys”, was limited only to discussing the possibility of his return to Tibet.
Wu Yingjie said “All Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama and the people around him, can return if they accept Tibet and Taiwan as part of China, and give up ‘splittist’ efforts.” He claimed that the nine rounds of talks held between 2002-2010 between China and envoys of the Dalai Lama broke down because the exiled Tibetan leader’s demands were unacceptable. He asked: “How can the Dalai Lama demand that China withdraw its army from Tibet? The army is a symbol of our state. Will India agree to withdraw its Army from Arunachal Pradesh?”
Wu Yingjie also sought to allay Indian concerns about the strategic implications of China’s massive railway projects in Tibet in the aftermath of the opening on August 15 of the 251-km Lhasa-Shigatse Railway line. He said “rest assured, however many railway lines China builds, it will abide by the Panchsheel principles of coexistence.” He urged India, Nepal and China to cooperate on “letting railways cross over borders as they do in Europe” and pointed out that Nepal has been asking China to extend the railway line from Shigatse to its capital Kathmandu.
All-out efforts to encourage Tibetan-Chinese intermarriages
August 18, 2014
China has launched a campaign to push harder its policy of encouraging marriages between Tibetans and Chinese in an apparent attempt to assimilate Tibetans. A recent report said that in recent weeks Chinese officials in charge of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) had ordered local newspapers to publicise reports promoting mixed marriages. TAR Party Secretary Chen Quanguo met 19 ‘mixed marriage’ families for a photo-op on June 18, 2014. At the event Chen Quanguo was quoted by Tibet Daily as observing “As the saying goes, ‘blood is thicker than water,’ we should make our ethnic relationship like that.” Praising intermarriage as “recognition of the great motherland, Chinese as a people, Chinese culture, and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics”, Chen Quanguo added that the government must “actively promote intermarriages.” He called on government departments to do everything in their power and designate key officials to steer public opinion in favour of such marriages. Party and government officials should act as matchmakers, he said.
A report published in August 2014, by the CCP’s Research Office in TAR claimed that mixed marriages had increased annually by double-digit percentages for the past five years, from 666 couples in 2008 to 4,795 couples in 2013. It attributed the growth of such marriages to favourable policies in areas like social security, reproduction rights, vacations, prizes and special treatment for children born from such marriages, including in the areas of education, employment and membership in the Chinese Communist Party.
According to China’s official census, the TAR’s population is roughly 90 percent Tibetan and 8 percent Chinese. The children of mixed parentage often speak Mandarin and many choose to give their children Chinese, rather than Tibetan, names.
Gold smuggling from Tibet increases
August 25, 2014
Nepal’s police said that smuggling of gold into Nepal via Tatopani border is on the rise due to lax security in areas along the border. Weak security patrols in the border areas are attributed to flooding and landslides that have blocked the highways.
The rising trend in gold smuggling via the Nepal-China border is reflected by police confiscating 16 kilos of gold from the area in the last three weeks alone.
According to Police Inspector Jayashwor Rimal, the Area Police Office of Barhabise on Monday arrested Dorje Gurung, 47, of Manag district as he tried to sneak in four kilos of gold, valued at Rs 17 million, from nearby Khasa. Gurung is suspected to be smuggling gold in to Nepal from Tibet.
Former Prime Minister of Nepal, Madhav Nepal in Lhasa
August 28, 2014
The Vice-Chairman of the TAR Party Committee and Secretary of TAR Politics and Law Committee Deng Xiaogang met former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) leader Madhav Nepal and his Party delegation on August 27 afternoon in Lhasa.
Deng Xiaogang warmly welcomed them on behalf of TAR Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, TAR People’s Government Lobsang Gyaltsen and all other TAR government representatives. He thanked them for not allowing any forces to use Nepalese territory to engage in anti-China activities and appreciated the Nepalese Government’s efforts to maintain peace in the border areas. Deng Xiaogang said that China and Nepal are geographically and traditionally close neighbours with a long history of friendship. He stated that in recent years both sides had strengthened friendly relations, intensified growth of trade and cultural relations and high-level exchanges in various fields.
He assured the former Prime Minister of Nepal that TAR attaches great importance to Nepal and is willing to develop multi-faceted cooperation especially in the field of bilateral economic, cultural and personnel exchanges and border police cooperation.
Former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) leader Madhav Nepal spoke highly of the great achievements made in the economic and social development of Tibet and pointed out that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China; Tibet's economic and social undertakings had made remarkable achievements. He reiterated that the Government of Nepal always firmly pursues the ‘one-China policy’ and considers Tibet an inalienable part of Chinese territory. He assured that the Nepalese government will never allow any separatist activities Nepal.
(Comment: TAR People’s Congress Chairman Pema Choling met a Nepalese delegation led by its Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat on August 10 in Lhasa. The visit by Madhav Nepal is the second high level bilateral visit in a month.)
Protests over language on the train tickets
August 22, 2014
Tibetans successfully protested the absence of the Tibetan language on train tickets for the new Lhasa–Shigatse Railway. Passengers on the new Lhasa–Shigatse railway discovered that the train tickets were only in Chinese. Tibetans promptly complained about this discrimination, including on social media like Weibo. Within a few days it was noticed that the authorities had added Tibetan in the railway tickets prompting ‘victory celebration posts’ on Weibo.
Tibetans concerned by Chinese tourists trampling on Tibetan prayer flags on top of a holy mountain in Tibet.
Photographs of Chinese tourists sitting and walking on Tibetan prayer flags on top of a holy mountain in Tibet were recently posted by an anonymous Tibetan on Weibo with the comment, “The object under your feet is the object of my faith that I place above my head. The thing you have ignored is my lifelong dream. Thank you for coming, but you is not allowed to trample my dignity.” Another Tibetan posted a comment, “It is alright if you don’t have a faith to believe, but you should respect faith of other people. It is alright that you don’t love other people, but it is not alright that you don’t have any sense of humanity. We feel sorrow for you. Please do some homework to understand a bit about religious beliefs and cultural traditions of Tibet before you come here as tourists. And show some respect for religious and cultural faiths her.”
CULTURAL/RELIGIOUS NEWS
Panchen Lama holds Buddhist activities in Tibet's Ngari
August 18, 2014
The 11th Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, travelled to Ngari Prefecture in TAR for the first time to hold Buddhist activities.
After his arrival on August 13, the Panchen Lama worshipped Mount Everest or Gang Rinpoche, a holy mountain for Tibetans about 6,656 meters above sea level in Burang County. Before the ceremony on August 14 morning, he prayed at a temple at the foot of the mountain. He also visited the tomb of Kong Fansen, a model official who had dedicated his life to the building of Tibet.
2014 Shoton Festival in Lhasa
August 26, 2014
The 2014 Lhasa Shoton Festival officially opened on August 25, 2014, evening at the Tsechokling Live Theater of Princess Wencheng on the bank of the Lhasa River.
Zhang Yanqing (a Tibetan) Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor of Lhasa Municipality and the Director of the Shoton Festival Organizing Committee, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. Chedak Lha (Ch: Qi Zhala) Standing Member of the TAR Party Committee and Party Secretary of Lhasa Municipality, declared the festival open.
With the theme "Beautiful Homeland, Happy Lhasa", the 2014 Lhasa Shoton Festival features paintings of Buddha, a Tibetan opera competition, Thangka fair and other cultural and religious activities. It took three months of preparations for the 25-minute opening gala. The festival ends on September 2, 2014.
Sports Games held in Lhoka of Tibet
August 30, 2014
Tibet's 11th Sports Games opened in Tsethang Township, Lhoka (Ch: Shannan) Prefecture in southwest China on August 29, 2014. 1,069 athletes and 12 delegations are participating in the largest event in the history of these games.
MILITARY NEWS
Dorjee Tsedup and He Wenhao at 110 Command Center in Ngari
August 23, 2014
On August 20th afternoon, Dorjee Tsedup, Vice-Chairman of the TAR People’s Government, Director of the 7th Advisory Inspectorate of TAR Party Committee and Deputy Director of the TAR Stability Maintenance Advisory Inspectorate, and He Wenhao, Vice-Chairman of TAR and Deputy Secretary of TAR’s Politics and Law Committee accompanied by Wan Zhaoqi, Party Secretary of the Ngari(Ch: Ali) Prefectural Party Committee, inspected the 110 Command Center of the Regional Public Security Bureau.
At the 110 Command Center, DorjeeTsedup and He Wenhao watched video footages and received a briefing on the stability maintenance and prevention and control work across the region. They contacted all the counties under the 110 Command Center to ascertain the status of their work.
Taking note of all the achievements in regional stability maintenance and prevention and control work in the past years, DorjeeTsedup suggested steps for the next level of work and pointed out that the entire Ngari region needs to be covered by ‘security production work’ to promote tourism and guarantee security and protection.
He Wenhao emphasized that every surveillance station needs to carry out its duty of surveilling every vehicle, goods and people passing through the station and strictly implement protection and control measures.
Military training and mobilization of high school students in Ngari
August 28, 2014
Students of a high school in Rutog County of Ngari (Ch: Ali) on August 27, 2014, commenced 10-day military mobilization and training programme before the start of the Fall semester. This training-cum-mobilization is held every year and usually lasts from seven to ten days. Students are trained in “discipline, basic military skills and enhancement of patriotic feelings for the motherland and to create awareness about the national defense system.”
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Tibet and Nepal to open Kathmandu-Lhasa Air Route in October
August 20, 2014
China Tibet Airlines signed a joint venture agreement with Nepal in Katmandu on August 19, to set up ‘Himalaya Airlines’. The joint venture plans to open the Kathmandu-Lhasa air route in October, 2014.
The registered capital of the newly established Himalaya Airlines is $ 25 million with Tibet Airlines holding 49% of the shares and Nepal holding 51% of the company. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai, said that in recent years China and Nepal had cooperated in various field such as, hydropower, tourism, commercial aviation etc. He described establishment of Himalaya Airlines as a pioneering effort providing new impetus to the further development of China-Nepal ties. Cheng Yi Ru, Chairman of Tibet Airlines, was present at the signing ceremony.
Affordable Housing projects in Ngari
August 22, 2014
According to Ngari (Ch: Ali) Administration Office, a total investment of 88.29 million Yuan were spent on the construction of 2902 houses for herdsmen of Ngari in 2014. 10,000 people are said to have benefitted with a per capita housing area of 18 square meters. Of the total 2652 houses, 1516 were for public renting and staff quarters and 1386 houses are shanty towns.
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