Stability not served as Tibet’s economy grows

(TibetanReview.net, Feb09, 2010) The economy of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) will grow by at least 14 percent this year and may outpace the PRC’s for a decade as a result of boosts in Beijing’s spending there after the Jan 18-20 fifth Tibet work Forum Meeting of the Politburo in Beijing, reported Bloomberg Feb 8, citing China International Capital Corp. The forum decided to bring about a leapfrog economic development and lasting stability in the occupied territory over the next ten years.

The TAR’s economy has already been growing faster than the PRC’s as a whole since 1994, with its economic output witnessing a surge after the previous four major policy conferences, the report noted.

According to the report, the TAR will see investment from China jump by almost 500 million yuan (US$73.2 million) to more than 2.3 billion yuan this year. It noted that Tibetan stocks listed in Shanghai had rallied the week before on the spending plans, with travel services provider Tibet Shengdi Co. climbing 22 percent.

However, although China’s massive spending will no doubt boost growth statistics, the per capita increase in income and the like are likely to be accounted for by the far higher income of rising immigrant Chinese workers, entrepreneurs, officials, and the like. In that sense, rising development and income is hardly likely to contribute to stability but may, in fact, exacerbate it.

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