Dharamshala alarmed at rate of Chinese migrants coming to Tibet

Thursday, 15 March 2007, 3:45 p.m.

Dharamshala: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) expressed its deep concern at the accelerating Chinese immigration to Tibet and intensified mineral exploitation.

The train from Beijing to Lhasa, which became operational since July 2006, unloads thousands of Chinese migrants to Lhasa everyday and it is also involved in exploitation of Tibet’s mineral resources.

“We cannot but be alarmed at the rate of Chinese migrant workers coming to Tibet and China’s mining of various minerals on the Tibetan Plateau” said Kalon Tempa Tsering of the Department of Information and International Relations of the CTA.

Expressing his apprehension about the survival of Tibetan’s distinct cultural heritage, Kalon Tempa Tsering said, “The pace of China’s settlement of Tibet’s urban centres with Chinese migrant workers and its exploitation of Tibet’s mineral resources are undermining the ability of the Tibetan people to hold on to their distinct cultural heritage.

“It is precisely for this reason that we are firmly committed to the Middle-Way Approach of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which will allow Tibetans to have an effective say in their affairs and the allocations of their resources without undermining Chinese sovereignty”, he added.

Kalon Tempa Tsering further said the Tibetan Plateau cannot sustain such a population explosion. Already the Tibetans in Lhasa are a small quarter of the city, excluded from the construction boom all around them. We oppose all development project that does not benefit but marginalises Tibetan population socially and culturally.

For the full text of the CTA’s press release: click here