Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday made a rare visit to Tibet, a region where Beijing is accused of rights abuse, and urged ethnic unity as well as “religious harmony”.
Xi’s visit comes ahead of possible tensions over the succession of the 90-year-old Dalai Lama, who lives in India, where he established a Tibetan government in exile.
The long-standing China-Tibet dispute revolves around complex geopolitical issue concerning the status and governance of region.
Many Tibetans and international observers argue that Tibet was historically an independent nation, while China maintains that it has been an integral part of its territory for centuries.
In 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama declared Tibet’s de facto independence after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949, asserts sovereignty over Tibet based on historical claims and the principle of territorial integrity.
The vast high-altitude area on the country’s western edge was established as an autonomous region in 1965 — six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile.
What Xi said in Tibet
Xi Jinping, visiting Tibet for the first time since 2021, called for safeguarding political and social stability to safeguard the region.
“To govern, stabilise and develop Tibet, we must first safeguard political stability, social stability, ethnic unity and religious harmony,” AFP news agency quoted Xi telling a group of the region’s officials on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Visuals showed scores of people leaving red flags and cheering as a bus carrying Xi Jinping passed.
A massive portrait of Xi Jinping flanked a crowd numbering 20,000, according to CCTV, which included military personnel, school children and other members of Tibetan society, many in traditional Tibetan dress, AFP reported.
A parade also followed, showcasing Tibetan dancers, floats carrying official slogans, and formations of troops.
The visit by Xi comes weeks after the Dalai Lama said the spiritual institution would continue after his death, with a successor decided “exclusively” by his office.
China has insisted that the next Dalai Lama must be approved by the government in Beijing.
Xi called Wednesday made no mention of the Dalai Lama in CCTV’s coverage, however, he called for “guiding Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to socialist society in accordance with the systematic Sinicisation of religion”.
Xi also backed the “vigorous, orderly, and efficient” completion of the massive Yarlung Tsangpo dam, which began construction in July.
