(TibetanReview.net, May30’23) – After delivering their expected lines or having had propaganda praises of China attributed to them, saying how wonderful life is for Tibetans under Chinese rule, a delegation of participants in the “2023 Forum on the Development of Xizang, China” Beijing, have recently been rewarded with a junket to Nyingchi (Tibetan: Nyingtri) and Lhasa “to experience unique culture and magnificent scenery” of Tibet.
The forum was held on May 23 to mark the 72nd anniversary of China’s annexation of Tibet.
The delegation composed of “diplomats, experts and scholars in various fields” from Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines, Mozambique, Fiji, Venezuela, Colombia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and other countries, reported China’s official eng.tibet.cn May 29. Other delegation members were stated to have been hosted in Tibet ahead of the forum in Beijing.
Some of the delegates have written pieces on China’s official online media, without any pretence at being fair, balanced and objective in their coverage and assessment. Indeed, there is no way any such piece could find a place in China’s official media.
The report said that in Nyingchi, the delegation visited the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, experienced the production of traditional Tibetan paper, inspected local villages, and enjoyed the natural scenery of alpine pastures. Later, they visited the Museum of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Tibet, where they learned about Tibetan history and culture through pictures, material objects and simulated scenes.
These would, no doubt, help to embellish the delegation members’ “understanding” of the situation in Tibet from China’s propaganda point of view.
The report said that during their stay in Lhasa, the delegation visited Norbulingka, the Tibetan Medicine Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet University, the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Nanshan Park and other places. They also experienced the beauty of the lakes and mountains on the plateau at Yamdrok Yumco, 100 kilometres away from downtown Lhasa.
The delegation was also stated to have visited the No. 2 Primary School in Nyingchi City and the Lhasa Beijing Experimental Middle School to investigate school education, learn about students’ study, and experience their colourful campus life.
This was no doubt meant to supposedly rebut UN human rights experts’ recent reports on allegations that about a million Tibetan children had been coercively removed from their patents and cultural environment to boarding schools where they were being sought to be acculturated to become Chinese in their mentality, outlook, habit, and behaviour.