Foreign Reporters Invited to Tibet
Dharamsala 24 August: It was only a few years ago that the propaganda machinery of China knew that glorifying stories of Tibet could best be received in the international community if the stories are not written by Chinese journalists but by foreign reporters.
That China has realised the fast growing international support to Tibet cause and admiration for His Holiness the Dalai Lama is evident in the recent gearing up of its Tibet propaganda. China had sent a Tibetan delegation headed by Jampa Phuntsok, Governor of Tibet Autonomous Region, to Russia, Canada and a few other countries to win support to its policies being implemented in Tibet.
In its most recent attempt to lure international respect and attract foreign investment in Tibet, the International Press Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China, organised a tour of foreign
correspondents based in Beijing and Shanghai to Lhasa and Nyingtri, Tibet, from 12 to 19 August 2004.
Thirty-two correspondents from 22 news agencies were invited on a trip
to Tibet. In Lhasa, Vice Chairman Wu Jilie of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Vice Mayor of Lhasa, Deputy Director-General of the Reform and Development Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Director of the Management of the Potala Palace were among the few top officials of the region to be referred to by the journalists.
One of the most important projects China tried to highlight during this press tour is the Gormo- Lhasa railway line due to complete in 2006. The foreign correspondents visited the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery. They witnessed the opening of the ‘Shoton Festival’.
Going by some reports which brought out the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama still is the ‘heart and soul of Tibet’ the press tour has served China’s purpose adversely as far as winning Tibetans’ hearts is concerned.