(TibetanReview.net, May 28, 2024) — The anniversary of China’s illegal annexation of Tibet seems to have gone unnoticed among the Tibetan diaspora, but a press conference was held in Beijing to mark the event. The people of Xizang (the new name for the western half of Tibet proper, which China has classified as the nominal Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)) have been liberated from the shackles of aggressive imperialism and have embarked on a bright path of unity, progress and development together with all other ethnic groups in China, Chinese state media globaltimes.cn reported on May 23. To this day, China has yet to name the “aggressive imperialist” forces it claims have saved Tibet.
The press conference, delivered by Tibet Autonomous Region Government Chairman Yang Jinghai and Vice Chairman Xu Zhitao, reportedly focused specifically on “ethnic unity” – a term often used as an official euphemism for the sly dilution of Tibetan ethnic identity – and on tourism and clean energy development in the region. Officials notably avoided any mention of China’s large-scale, environmentally destructive mining operations in the Tibetan homeland.
Over the past 73 years, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the region has striven to forge a new path to high-quality economic development, with its various ethnic minority peoples living happily together. Tourism resources continue to attract both domestic and international tourists, the report quoted Tibet Autonomous Region officials as saying at a press conference.
“Currently, Tibet’s different ethnic groups are living in a favorable atmosphere of political stability, ethnic unity, religious harmony and improved living conditions – all of which are closely related to the agreement signed 73 years ago,” said Xiong Kunxin, a professor at Beijing’s University of China for Minzu.
China forced a Tibetan government delegation at gunpoint to sign a 17-point agreement on May 23, 2011, which committed Tibet to a sort of “one country, two systems” policy. China abandoned the agreement after the Tibetan popular uprising that began in the capital, Lhasa, on March 10, 1959. China then began its violent Sinicization policy, along with economic modernization and development of the region.
The Tibet Autonomous Region plans to expand services for tourists and work to streamline the paperwork process for foreign visitors entering the region, two Tibet Autonomous Region government officials said on Thursday (May 23) during the 73rd anniversary of Tibet’s peaceful liberation, the report said.
Yang, who is described as a Tibetan from Qinghai Province with a Chinese name, said that in 2023, the number of tourists visiting the Tibet Autonomous Region from home and abroad will reach 55.17 million, and tourism revenue will reach 65.1 billion yuan ($9 billion), up 83.7 percent and 60 percent respectively from the previous year, both record highs. Yang added that the Tibet Autonomous Region will see nearly 20,000 foreign tourists visit in 2023, with the number of foreign visitors reaching 4,300 in the first quarter of this year.
Calling the Tibet Autonomous Region a “sun city” with 3,500 hours of sunshine per year, Yang said the region has solar energy development capacity of 9.8 billion kilowatts, hydroelectric resources of 1.7 billion kilowatts and wind energy potential of 1.8 billion kilowatts, excluding geothermal and pumped storage power generation. The total installed capacity exceeds 10 billion kilowatts, all of which are clean energy sources, Yang added.
Xu, who is of Chinese descent, said the region will broaden its range of tourism services and improve the efficiency of paperwork processing for foreign tourists entering the Tibet Autonomous Region, according to the report. He said the focus on language translation and electronic payment systems will make the Tibet Autonomous Region more attractive to international tourists.
He also said Tamil Nadu would open more direct flights to mainland Chinese cities and international markets “to attract more investment companies to enter the local cultural tourism market.”
