China’s foreign minister warned other countries on Saturday not to let the Dalai Lama use their territory to try to sever Tibet from Chinese control.
No image available
/ 12 January 2009
China is likely to establish a holiday to mark what it calls the ”liberation” of Tibetan serfs, state media said on Monday.
Eight months after its historic opening the railway to Tibet has already brought economic benefits to the remote region, but detractors continue to see the new line as a tool for Chinese colonisation. ”I have returned home,” said Wang Ping, a few days after stepping off the train as it arrived in Lhasa.
Forty years ago during the Cultural Revolution, it took an edict from China’s then premier Zhou Enlai to protect the Potala Palace from the destruction of the infamous Red Guards. Now a new menace — tourism — threatens the jewel of Tibetan Buddhism, which has come to be the symbol of Tibet.
While China is keen to stress the environmentally friendly aspects of the new railway to Tibet, many are concerned about the line’s impact on the Himalayan region’s fragile ecosystem. China has said 1,54-billion yuan (-million) was spent on railway-related projects to protect the environment, such as 33 crossings especially arranged for the Tibetan antelope, a protected species.