Commentary: "Dalai Lama´s high-degree autonomy for Tibet" means overthrowing China´s social system

Source: Xinhuanet | 04-28-2008 14:53

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Following is the full text of an article titled "'Dalai Lama's high-degree autonomy for Tibet' means overthrowing China's social system" by Hua Zi:

In an interview following the Fifth Session of the Tenth National People' s Congress (NPC) in 2007, a reporter from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that why the Chinese Government still regarded the Dalai Lama as a national secessionist since he indicated that he no longer sought Tibet independence?

Premier Wen replied: "Tibet is an autonomous region of China. If you still remember, this Dalai Lama served as the chairman of the Preparatory Committee for Establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1956. But he later set up the so-called provisional government abroad. He stressed ‘a high degree of autonomy' for Tibet and even went so far as to demand the total withdrawal of Chinese troops from Tibet and Han people and people of non-Tibetan ethnic groups residing in Tibet. It is not difficult to observe whether he really hopes for the unification of the motherland or he attempts to sabotage the motherland's unification. We will see not only what he says, but also what he does. We hope that the Dalai Lama will do more good things for the motherland's unification and development in Tibet."

With regard to the policy of the Central Government on the Dalai Lama, the cardinal principle has always remained unchanged. Shortly after he went into exile in 1959, Mao Zedong had pointed out in explicit terms: "The Dalai Lama can return home as long as he backs the two principles: first, Tibet is a part of China; second, democratic and socialist reforms must be carried out in Tibet." Today, the expression of the Central Government concerning the Dalai issue is that "as long as he renounces his proposition of "Tibet independence", stops his secessionist activities and recognizes Tibet as a part of China, Taiwan as a part of China as well and the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China, the gate to engagement and negotiations is open. The words are different and yet the principles are in one continuous line.

Viewing the pursuits of the Dalai Lama, "Tibet independence" has always been obviously written in his so-called "Exile-Government Constitution," with no revisions ever made to date. Some people in the world kept on saying that the Dalai Lama has abandoned "Tibet independence. " In fact, however, they can know the whole truth by just spending one minute reading the "Constitution." Since the late 1970s, the Dalai Lama has put forward pursuits in succession such as "a high-degree of autonomy," "a greater Tibet region" and "one country, two systems." All this was described by some people as "the Dalai Lama working for the benefit of the Tibet people, the preservation of the traditional Tibetan culture and the carrying forward of Tibetan Buddhism. " In the eyes of wise people, however, these high-sounding words cannot cover Dalai Lama's two basic targets: "Tibet independence" and opposition to the current social system as prescribed by China's Constitution.