China denounces Dalai Lama amid Tibet celebrations
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Chinese state media questioned the Dalai Lama's assertion he only wants greater autonomy for Tibet the same day China marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet autonomous region. In a pointed commentary published late on Thursday, hours after goose-stepping soldiers marched in a celebratory parade in Lhasa, Xinhua news agency criticised the Dalai Lama for bringing foreign influence into "an internal affair".
"It might not be respectful to doubt the wisdom of 'His Holiness' for not waking up to reality, but we have to wonder what on earth the Dalai Lama wants for the claim of 'greater autonomy'," the commentary said. The spiritual leader has since renounced independence and says he only wants more autonomy for Tibet, while China charges the spiritual leader with continuing to provoke separatism. Xinhua said the Dalai Lama's reaching out to foreign governments for support was proof he did not want to find a peaceful resolution to the Tibet question.
"A person who is pure-hearted in seeking compromise certainly will not sling mud on the other part, while an attempt to win international interference in an internal affair is an obvious denial of the framework that Tibet is part of China," it said. The commentary echoed China's standard defence of its rule, pointing to the freeing of "serfs and slaves once oppressed by the hierarchical regime" of the Dalai Lama and the improvement of living standards among Tibetans.
"He must face the fact that Tibet, under the current autonomous mechanism, has witnessed changes which would be impossible under his rule," it said.
Tibet has been ruled by China since the People's Liberation Army invaded the Himalayan territory in 1950. Nine years later, Tibet's god-king, the Dalai Lama, fled on horseback after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
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