China calls the Dalai Lama “a small figure” With Plans to Expand Tourism

During the week long Shoton Yoghurt Festival in Lhasa, China stated that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was only a “small figure” in the international community; interested only in politics.

“He is an old lama who wears Gucci shoes and loves to travel all over the world… there are forces backing him in his activities,” said Xie Ying, Deputy Director at the Information Office of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), to journalists from India and other countries, who assembled at the week-long Shoton (Yoghurt) Festival in Lhasa.

Dalai Lama’s second day with IM. Stockholm, Sweden, 15 April 2011 (Photo: Erik Törner/IM)

Although Xie didn’t expand on “the forces” that were backing the Dalai Lama, this statement came after the recent meeting between the US President Barack Obama and the Tibetan leader at the White House, back in July; plus, Harvard-educated Lobsang Sangay being appointed as the new Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

Both Xie and Duoji Ciren, Deputy Director of the Ethnic and Religious Committee of TAR, told the visiting journalists that the Dalai Lama was misleading the world community and had hurt the interests of the Tibetan people by indulging in “undesirable” political activities. “There have been different interpretations and understandings about the activities of the Dalai Lama in China and foreign countries… there is a need for conducting a research on the very title of the Dalai Lama,” said Ciren.

Xie went on to say that the Province was on the path to “unprecedented prosperity” in the coming years. “All attention is being paid to the development of TAR… we did not pay attention to spreading information about TAR earlier but now we want the world community to see for itself how TAR is progressing in a harmonious way.”

Ciren also said that the title was given to the 4th Dalai Lama by the Mongolian emperor and that there was a clear difference between the activities of the Dalai Lamas past and present.

According to Xie, efforts were being made to expand the railway network in TAR. More than 10 million tourists have hopped on trains on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to visit north China’s Tibet Autonomous Region since the railway went into operation on July 1, 2006; with over 6 million people visiting Tibet in 2010 – Wang Songping, deputy chief of the region’s tourism bureau said that this demonstrated the railways ability to boost tourism in Tibet.

China, said Xie, also wanted to encourage more flights from different world capitals to Lhasa; however, regarding a direct flight between India and Lhasa she had no comment.

The region she added, had a “vast potential” for promotion of tourism, with over 2,200,000 visiting the TAR region last year and that the number was expected to increase this year, in 2011; with major infrastructure development plans to fully integrate the region with mainstream Chinese society.

“Tibet is advancing smoothly in the course of reform and in all of its undertakings, and we have every reason to believe that TAR will have a better future with the combined efforts of all ethnic groups in Tibet and the help of the entire nation,” another Chinese official added.

However, many in Lhasa believe that the Dalai Lama is a “good” and “nice” man. Although not many would like to go on record and say so.

Jane Poretsis

Source: www.tribuneindia.com