Xi Jinping makes rare Tibet visit amid row over Dalai Lama succession

Xi Jinping has called for unity during a rare visit to Tibet, where thousands marked the region’s 60 years as an autonomous Chinese state with songs, dances, a parade – and placards heaping praise on the Communist Party.

In his second visit to the tightly controlled Himalayan territory, Mr Xi thanked local officials for their “struggle against separatism”.

According to state media, he also called for the creation of a “modern socialist” Tibet that is “united, prosperous, civilised, harmonious and beautiful”.

His surprise trip to the regional capital Lhasa, some 2,200 miles from Beijing, dominated national newspaper headlines and television bulletins on Thursday.

Unsurprisingly, there was little mention of long-standing resistance to Chinese rule, or a renewed dispute with the Dalai Lama over succession.

It is now 66 years since the Tibetan spiritual leader fled to India following a failed uprising, and 60 years since China formally established Tibet as its fifth and final autonomous region.

That designation was supposed to provide ethnic minority groups a larger say over policy, including freedom of religious belief. But rights groups and exiles have instead consistently described China’s rule of the mountain-top state as “oppressive”, documenting the demolition of some monasteries, imprisonment of monks, and gradual erosion of a centuries-old Tibetan identity.

While Beijing denies oppression, critics say institutional control has only tightened since Mr Xi rose to power – with Tibetan children now forced to study in Mandarin at state-run Chinese schools, and the president arguing for stronger regulation of “religious affairs”.

In recent months, these tensions exploded in a bitter dispute with the Dalai Lama. While he has called for a “middle way” of genuine self-rule within China, he is considered a separatist by Beijing.

Now the two sides are in an argument over succession. As the current Dalai Lama turned 90 this year, he announced a non-profit institution he set up would have sole authority to select his successor. China’s leaders responded angrily, saying that only they have the right to appoint his reincarnation.

They also continue to restrict the Dalai Lama’s contact with foreign leaders, suggesting it sends the wrong message to “separatist” groups. Last week, Beijing said it would “cease all engagement” with the Czech president Petr Pavel, as he met the spiritual leader in India on a private trip.

But recent divisions were pushed to the side during Mr Xi’s trip this week, where he was joined by a massive delegation from Beijing. The president visited Tibet once in 2021, and before that the last Chinese leader to make the trip was Jiang Zemin in 1990.

According to officials, life for ordinary people has improved drastically under Chinese rule – with poverty falling and infrastructure expanding.

It was this that was being celebrated on Thursday, according to footage broadcast on national television showing a “grand gathering” in a massive square by Lhasa’s Potala Palace – once the Dalai Lama’s winter residence.

In the images, thousands of people hold red flags and placards emphasising the need to follow Xi’s guidance.

“Adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and fully implement the Party’s strategy for governing Tibet in the new era,” one of the placards read, according to Reuters.

Another one said: “Grateful to the general secretary, grateful to the Party Central Committee, and thankful to the people of the whole country.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/xi-jinping-makes-rare-tibet-105437900.html