(TibetanReview.net, Jun11’20) – China said Jun 10 that 26 construction projects covering infrastructure, public services and tourism were officially launched in Nyingchi (Tibetan: Nyingtri) City of Tibet Autonomous Region that day. Although the official Xinhua news agency said Jun 10 that the projects would help generate labour and other peripheral sorts of income for local Tibetan villagers, their larger purposive effect will be to create a new socio-economic community of Chinese settlers in the region.
The report said a ground-breaking ceremony for the projects, with a total investment of 302 million yuan (about US $42.71 million), was held in Caimen Village in Mainling County.
The report said the projects were part of a pairing-up aid programme between Guangdong Province and Tibet (Autonomous Region) and would provide jobs for more than 650 locals. “Locals” include decades-long Chinese settlers who have their household registration in the city.
The report cited Liu Guangming, an ethnic Chinese executive vice mayor of Nyingchi, as saying the project for the Caimen scenic spot, for instance, aimed to develop the area into a tourist zone along the Yarlung Zangbo River and would increase the income of farmers and herders. He was described as the head of the ninth team dispatched by Guangdong for the aid programme.
The report said Guangdong had planned 51 projects in Nyingchi this year, with a total investment of 543 million yuan.
“Villagers will be encouraged to provide homestay services and open restaurants thanks to the new project,” Migmar, director of the Caimen villagers’ committee, was quoted as saying. But if past trends are any indication, they will soon be overwhelmed and elbowed out by Chinese immigrant-run hotels, restaurants, and shops.
