China slams US Tibet resolution

The foreign ministry Wednesday slammed a resolution approved Tuesday by a US Senate committee on Beijing's policy in the Tibet Autonomous Region, accusing some lawmakers in Washington of interfering in China's internal affairs. "The Chinese government is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups, and the protection of citizens' religious freedom," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters. "Some US legislators are inverting black and white, confusing right and wrong, in an attempt to use Tibet-related issues to interfere in China's internal affairs. China is firmly against that," Hong added. The resolution, approved by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said the committee deplores "Beijing's repressive policies targeting Tibetans," AFP reported, adding that the resolution had been sent to the full Senate, which is likely to pass it soon. The approval came on the same day that Hong accused the Dalai Lama and his associates of planning a self-immolation in New Delhi on Monday, which resulted in the death of a 27-year-old Tibetan. Beijing has condemned the Dalai Lama clique for a string of self-immolations that has broken out in Tibetan areas in the provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai in recent months. Wu Zegang, chief of the Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, where most of the self-immolations occurred, told the Xinhua News Agency that police have investigated self-immolations in Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu in recent months, finding that the victims were used by separatists to create chaos. Li Xiaojun, an official at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, wrote in the Hindustan Times on Tuesday that the Dalai Lama had said he could notcall self-immolation a wrongful action. "His words amount to encouragement of self-immolation. The ulterior motive of the Dalai Lama in giving tacit support to those engaging in self-immolation is to stage his coming to power," Li wrote. Xiong Kunxin, a professor of ethnic theory and policy at the Minzu University of China, said the self-immolation cases showed that some Tibetans lack understanding of their own religion and are easily misled by separatists who use the region for their own political gains."The government has carried out a series of beneficial policies to improve the livelihood of the Tibetan people. It needs to continue promoting the importance of social stability and the Buddhist doctrine of 'no killing' among Tibetans," Xiong told the Global Times. Wednesday marked the 53rd anniversary of the emancipation of 1 million serfs following the central government's democratic reform in Tibet on March 28, 1959. According to official statistics, the autonomous region's gross domestic product climbed to 60.6 billion yuan ($9.6 billion) in 2011, 94 times the level of 1959. Du Yongbin, a research scholar with the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing, said that in recent decades, the two-way population flow between the inland and Tibet has been active. "Many Tibetans work and live in the inland cities and have contributed to both the promotion of Tibetan culture and national integration," Du said. Qiangba Puncog, top legislator of the Tibet Autonomous Region, admitted in an interview with china.com.cn Wednesday that the autonomous region faces severe challenges in anti-separation efforts. He said that the autonomous region is trying to establish a long-term stability maintenance mechanism by enhancing ideology, implementing a stability work responsibility system and raising the living standards of the people. Regarding a previous Tibet Daily report, which quoted an official as saying that portraits of national leaders will be put on to walls in monasteries, Qiangba said the portraits will be displayed on a voluntary basis. "It is very natural to send portraits as gifts among the Tibetans. Portraits of Mao Zedong is seen in the homes of many Tibetan families, who admire those who contribute to our country and our people," he said.