Tibet remains stable despite repeated secessionist attempts

Source: Xinhua | 03-08-2009 18:15

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A senior Tibetan official said here Sunday that the Tibet Autonomous Region remains stable and some foreign media's reports about increasing tension in Tibet are not true.

Legqog, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, confirmed that armed police have enhanced their service in some parts of Tibet but stressed that they are temporary security measures.

Legqog, director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, is in an interview with media on March 6. Deputies to the Second Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region deliberate the government work report in Beijing, March 6, 2009. (Xinhua/ Chen Tao)

"They are defensive against possible disturbance from the Dalai Lama's group and some Western groups of 'Tibet independence'," said Legqog, who is in Beijing attending the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).

"Most parts of Tibet are stable. People live a life as normal as usual. Religious activities, including major rituals, are also going on as usual," he said.

But, the Dalai Lama's group has never stopped promoting "Tibet independence", masterminding and creating chaos in Tibet since the March 14 violence last year, he said.

"They are not willing to see the stability and development in Tibet," he said. "This year they have intensified their secessionist activities."

They tried to collude with their agents in Tibet and even sent people into the region, Legqog said. "Through creating incidents that harm the region's stability, they want to internationalize the so-called 'Tibet issue'."

"We can not rule out that the Dalai Lama's group will continue their secessionist activities but their attempts will not succeed," Legqog said.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the region's Democratic Reform. In 1959, Tibetan serfs and slaves, who accounted for more than 90 percent of the region's population, were freed after the central government foiled an armed rebellion staged by the Dalai Lama and his supporters.

On March 2, the State Council Information Office published a white paper on the situation in Tibet before and since 1959. An exhibition on the same topic is held in Beijing.

"They (the white paper and exhibition) show the historic changes that have happened since the Democratic Reform, displayed the true new Tibet and told what we really think," Legqog said.

Editor:Shi Taoyang