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Top CCP official urges struggle against
Dalai Lama
AP, BEIJING
A top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official has called for a renewed struggle
against the Dalai Lama¡¦s influence, as well as strengthened controls over
Tibetan Buddhism, state media reported yesterday.
The comments by Jia Qinglin (¸ë¼yªL) come weeks ahead of the third anniversary of
the most widespread uprising against Chinese rule by Tibetans in decades.
China blamed followers of the exiled Dalai Lama for fomenting the disturbances
on March 14, 2008, including a riot in Lhasa that left 22 people dead.
The Dalai Lama, who heads the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, has denied
the charge.
¡§We must deepen the fight against the Dalai Lama clique, more circumspectly
carry out each task in maintaining stability and do a solid job in regards to
Tibetan Buddhism,¡¨ Jia was quoted by Xinhua news agency as telling CCP officials
at a meeting on Thursday.
Officials must ¡§create a positive environment for development¡¨ in Tibet and
Tibetan regions of four neighboring provinces, said Jia, the party¡¦s
fourth-highest ranking official.
Jia¡¦s remarks reflect China¡¦s two-pronged approach toward Tibet that combines
pumping in funds to boost incomes, while tightening controls over religious and
political dissent.
The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in
1958, remains deeply revered among many Tibetans, despite Beijing¡¦s campaign to
vilify him and undermine his influence.
Successive rounds of talks between Chinese officials and representatives of the
Buddhist leader have made no apparent progress.
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to separate Tibet from China, despite
his claims to be working only for a high degree of autonomy under Chinese rule.
China says Tibet has been part of its territory for at least four centuries,
while many Tibetans say they were effectively independent for most of that time.
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