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China eyes grand plan to develop Tibetan
regions
AP, BEIJING
Sunday, Jan 24, 2010, Page 1
China¡¦s top leaders say Tibet¡¦s development must include Tibetan areas in
neighboring provinces ¡X a move likely aimed at tying the region tighter to the
rest of the country after deadly riots two years ago.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (JÀAÀÜ) told the first high-level meeting on Tibet in
nine years that the development would require hard work to prevent ¡§penetration
and sabotage¡¨ by separatists working for Tibet¡¦s independence, Xinhua news
agency reported late on Friday.
Hu also said at this week¡¦s meeting that residents¡¦ awareness of being part of
China should be constantly enhanced, Xinhua reported.
The meeting was the first of its kind since the deadly riots in March 2008, the
largest uprising against Chinese rule in decades.
China¡¦s leaders agreed in the meeting from Monday through Wednesday last week to
develop Tibetan regions in neighboring Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan
provinces as well, Xinhua said. Most, if not all, saw protests shortly after the
2008 violence.
One expert on Tibet said China¡¦s leaders like to ¡§homogenize¡¨ Tibet¡¦s problems
as a development issue to downplay the region¡¦s distinct culture.
¡§They¡¦re persisting in this argument that it¡¦s all about money and that Tibetans
have no other concerns,¡¨ said Michael Davis, a professor at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong. ¡§Including or connecting the Tibetan Autonomous Region
with other autonomous areas may just be more of that. Maybe I¡¦m too suspicious.¡¨
Davis said the move to include areas outside Tibet in the development drive
seems to be more about connecting them to the rest of China than to each other.
The research director for the government-backed China Tibetology Research
Center, Lian Xiangmin (·G´ğ¥Á), told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post
in a report yesterday that widening the development focus to other Tibetan areas
was a major policy change.
Hu said the per capita income of Tibet¡¦s farmers and herdsmen should be close to
the national level by 2020, Xinhua reported. As of last year, it was barely one
quarter of the national average of about US$2,000 a year, the government said.
China this month appointed a former soldier as Tibet¡¦s new governor, reasserting
hardline policies there in the face of resentment over political restrictions
and perceived economic exploitation.
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