French reporter: railway leads Tibet into modernization

　　(Source: People's Daily Online)

　　BEIJING, July 27 -- From June 12 to 20, Patrick Fluckiger, special correspondent for the French "Alsace News，" carried out a week's worth of interviews in the Tibet Autonomous Region. When he returned to France, he wrote several articles about the region, showing French audiences a beautiful Tibet which is transforming from a traditional place into a modern one.

　　One of his articles on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is as follows:

　　A train runs on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, June 24, 2009. (Xinhua/Chogo)

　　Tibet has splendid landscapes, temples, Buddhist monks, the Potala Palace and the Himalayas which dominate the roof of the world... Now that people can reach Tibet by train, tourists have flocked there.

　　From July 1, 2006, people who wanted to visit Tibet have been able to get there by train. If you want to go to Lhasa from Beijing, the journey takes two days and crosses 4,561 kilometers. However, the journey is not monotonous. You can comfortably relax on the train, and when you wake up in the morning, the view through the window is spectacular, with antelope leaping across the tundra and snow-covered mountains all around.

　　A train runs on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, June 25, 2009. (Xinhua/Chogo)

　　The Qinghai-Tibet Railway was a technical and humanistic feat. Thousands of people had to work against all odds and overcome many problems, including breaking through permafrost and working under intense sunlight. In order to protect the fragile eco system, viaducts cross over sensitive areas. Rubbish is collected and stored in the corridors and the carriages of the trains, to be unloaded on arrival at the destination.

　　Chinese officials proudly said that the "railway leads Tibet into modernization." However, not all people think so, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was the first issue to trigger a dispute between the central government and the "Dalai Lama clique." Some Tibetans, especially the "Dalai Lama clique" regard the Qinghai-Tibet Railway as a political and economic tool used by the Chinese government to "strengthen colonization" and exploit Tibet's mineral resources.

　　The Information Office which cooperated with us said that the "Dalai Lama wants Tibet to return to the feudal system of the Middle Ages, where he could exercise his power. However, Tibetans have the right to live in the 21st century, just like all the other people of the world."