Tibet is stable and prospering under Chinese rule, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) said yesterday in comments indicating China would maintain its tough stance toward Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama over the region’s future.
Wen told a press conference the key to future talks rested with the Dalai Lama abandoning “separatist activities,” a charge the he has long denied.
“The situation in Tibet is on the whole peaceful and stable,” Wen told reporters in Beijing at the end of China’s annual parliamentary session.
As the sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against China passed in the Himalayan region under tight security, Wen defended China’s policies in Tibet, saying they had kept stability and improved the lives of its people.
“Over the past few years, the government has increased its fiscal input in Tibet to accelerate the pace of economic development and worked to improve the living standards of the Tibetan farmers and herdsmen,” he said.
“It is a fact that Tibet’s peace and stability and continued progress have proven that the policies we have adopted are correct.”
Armed Chinese security forces have sealed off Tibet and neighboring areas with Tibetan populations to prevent unrest during the anniversary of the 1959 uprising, which forced the Dalai Lama into exile and cemented Chinese control.
The crackdown has drawn condemnation from rights and pressure groups as well as foreign governments such as the US, which called this week for China to reassess its “harmful” policies there and open talks with the Dalai Lama.
However, Wen went on the attack, accusing the Dalai Lama of lying and trying to deceive foreign leaders in a bid for international support.
He repeated China’s position that it will resume contacts with the Dalai Lama’s government in exile if he abandons separatist activities.
“As long as he abandons separatist activities, we are willing to carry out consultations with his representatives. This door is always open,” Wen said.
China has long accused the Dalai Lama of scheming to subvert Chinese control in a bid for Tibet independence but has offered no credible evidence.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly denied the separatism charge, saying he only seeks more autonomy for Tibet’s people through negotiations, plus an end to Chinese repression.
In a speech from his exiled base in Dharamshala, India, on Tuesday to coincide with the uprising’s anniversary, the Dalai Lama said Chinese rule had made his homeland “hell on earth.”
However, Wen countered that China would push ahead with its controversial plan of pouring billions of dollars into the region to develop it.
“Tibet will remain committed firmly to the policy of opening up because this meets the needs of Tibet’s own development,” he said.
The Dalai Lama and other critics of China’s rule in Tibet say so-called development has brought in a massive influx of Han Chinese people, eroded Tibetan culture and damaged the region’s environment.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number