Dalai Lama: "The railway in Tibet will kill our culture"
The exiled leader says construction of the railway to link Tibet to China from 2007 is "politically motivated to bring about more demographic upheaval in Tibet". It would favour the Chinese Han.
Dharamsala (AsiaNews/SCMP) The Dalai Lama has warned that the railway linking Tibet to China's large cities could "lead to cultural genocide", drawing more Chinese workers to the region. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said the railway, which could be completed by 2007, would bring more pressures to bear on Tibetans.
He said: "A railway link is very useful in order to develop, but not when politically motivated to bring about demographic change." The railway is planned "in stages": the first will link Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to Xining, a city 1,956km away in the central Qinghai province. The railway, which will develop even beyond Xining, will cross the mountain range dividing Tibet from China at an altitude of 5,072metres. The project will cost more than four billion US dollars and the Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said that the railway will serve as a big boost for tourism.
Xu Jianchang, vice-director-general of the Tibetan regional government's Reform and Development Commission, said: "The main goal of this railway is to develop Tibet. After it is finished, Tibet's economy will undergo even bigger changes. It will bring capable, talented people and projects into our region."
However Tibetans fear the changes and developments will be controlled by Han citizens, that is, ethnic Chinese prompted by Beijing to migrate to Tibet after 1950, the year in which China's People's Liberation Army invaded the region. Following the flight of the Dalai Lama and his government to India, it is the Han who run commercial and political activities; they have become the elite of the region.
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