People perform the Tibetan Guozhuang folk dance in March at Zongjiaolukang Park in Lhasa, the Tibet autonomous region. (Photos: Zhu Xingxin/China Daily)
Report says Dalai Lama and supporters must abandon violence and attempts to create a 'state within a state'
The Chinese government on Wednesday issued a white paper on the Tibet autonomous region, applauding its development path and denouncing the "middle way" advocated by the Dalai Lama.
The white paper, titled "Tibet's Path of Development IsDriven by an Irresistible Historical Tide", holds that Tibet's current development path is correct.
Tibet's continual progress on its present path of development is an objective requirement of modern civilization. This accords with the progressive trend of human society, the prevailing conditions and the current reality in China, as well as the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups in Tibet, says the white paper, which was released by the Information Office of the State Council.
However, the report points out that there is a party that clusters around the 14th Dalai Lama, representatives of the remnants of the feudal serf owners who have long lived in exile, driven by a political goal of "Tibetan independence" and a sentimental attachment to the old theo-cratic feudal serfdom.
Having failed to instigate violence in support of their cause, they turned to the "middle way", which negates Tibet's sound development path and attempts to create a "state within a state" on Chinese territory as an interim step toward the ultimate goal of full independence.
The report accuses the Dalai group of being opportunistic in the talks with the central government.
"When they thought the situation was working to their disadvantage, they would call for contacts with the central government; when they thought the situation was in their favor, they would break off these contacts," it says.
The central government has followed a clear and consistent policy toward the Dalai Lama, it says.
"Only when he makes a public statement acknowledging that Tibet has been an integral part of China since antiquity, and abandons his stance on independence and his attempts to divide China, can he improve his relationship with the central government in any real sense," it says.
"The only sensible alternative is for the Dalai Lama and his supporters to accept that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity, to abandon their goals of dividing China and seeking independence for Tibet, and to begin to act in the interests of Tibet and the country at large," it says.
