On Mar. 7, which was Tibet Group Open Day, deputy party secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region and People’s Congress Chairman, Padma Choling gave a speech at the National People’s Congress.

On the afternoon of Mar. 7 the Tibet NPC plenary meeting was held in the Tibet hall of the Great Hall of the People, where they deliberated on the government work report and talked openly with 110 domestic and foreign media and over 170 reporters. Unlike other delegations at the meeting, the Tibetan delegation spared more time for reporters’ questions. The topic of questions ranged from poverty alleviation to economic development to areas of higher concern, such as theDalai Lama.

Dalai Lama must abandon Dalai Lama must abandon his separatist stance　

The meeting was chaired by Padma Choling, deputy party secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region and People’s Congress Chairman..

In response to questions associated to the Dalai Lama, Padma Choling said that, the government’s standpoint is consistent and clear: the Dalai must abandon his stance of dividing the motherland and put a halt to activities that sabotage national unity and divide the nation. He is engaged in these activities everywhere and we firmly oppose them; our attitude is the same as all other Tibetan representatives at the People’s Congress.

Chadma also stressed that since the Dalai Lama fled the country he has betrayed the motherland and the people. The activities he is engaged in are aimed at dividing the motherland and separating Tibet from China. Now that he wants to come back and hold talks, the door is wide open and we welcome him, but he must abandon the notion of Tibetan independence; he must admit to the world that Tibet is an inseparable part of China; that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China; and that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China. 

Wu Yingjie, representative of the National People’s Congress and deputy secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region Party Committee, also responded to questions related to the Dalai Lama. He said that, no matter what an artist’s purpose is, as long as the Dalai clique is involved, we are firmly opposed – artists should be responsible for their own actions.

“Tibet is the only place in China with no haze”

Losang Gyaltsen, Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region NPC, during his speech focused on the topic of ecology in Tibet.

He said that Tibet Autonomous Region has always held environmental protection as a minimum requirement. We must never allow the economy to develop at the expense of the environment and we must fully implement planning and construction of Tibet’s ecological security barrier. Currently, Tibet’s water, soil and atmosphere remain good; it is the only place in China with no haze.

During the reporters’ question session Losang Gyaltsen responded to the question of “whether developing drinking water will have an ecological impact in Tibet” by saying that Tibet has large reserves of natural drinking water, which has been flowing for thousands of years. Currently, we are just bringing this resource together by converting it into something we can sell and development of this is in line with the resource advantages of Tibet’s development. We have introduced a number of large companies with first class equipment. Chinese Academy of Sciences helped Tibet with planning and there won’t be any damage to natural environment.

Losang added that companies are welcome to invest in Tibet and,there is definitely money to be made. This doesn’t conflict with ecological protection and we are developing resources under the premise of ecological protection.