China attacks western media coverage of its white paper on Tibet

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Tibet

(TibetanReview.net, Sep08, 2015) – China has condemned the Western media for being critical of its repressive policies in Tibet even after it had issued a whitepaper on the region on Sep 6, which glorified its 56-year iron-hand rule of the region. “Stamping out religious freedom” and “launching Tibetan cultural genocide” are some of the criticisms frequently seen in Western media, said a commentary carried by the official Xinhua news agency Sep 7.

It is the rule of the Communist Party of China that has ended serfdom in Tibet and brought prosperity to a previously backward region, the commentary claimed. It continued that anyone who has been to Tibet would find these accusations ridiculous.

Unfortunately, visiting Tibet is more difficult than visiting China for any foreign visitor but especially for journalists and diplomats, human rights organizations, and even UN officials. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has, for example, never been allowed to visit Tibet despite repeated requests in recent years.

Yet the commentary said, “It is easy to conclude that Western critics pointing a finger to China’s Tibetan policy have not set foot in the ‘mysterious’ land, otherwise they would be singing a different tune.” That remains doubtful. Even foreign journalists taken on rare chaperoned tours of Tibet fully sponsored by the Chinese government have found all the signs of an occupied territory in the region, with its people living in an atmosphere of overwhelming fear and intimidation.

The commentary suggested that western journalists would be rewarded with easy access to Tibet and much better treatment if they stopped reporting what they actually see and hear and, instead, parrot the Chinese government’s praises of itself contained in the white paper. “Accusers who are engrossed in defaming China’s rule in Tibet should be reminded that they are missing opportunities of cooperation with China to improve this plateau of purity,” it said.

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