Press conference and materials from Sino-Tibet talks

November 10, 2008 Press Conference of United Front Work Department
Transcribed from YouTube by THE TIBET CONNECTION

WALL STREET JOURNAL: The March anti-government riots in Tibet showed that there’s definitely a lot of anger in Lhasa and other ethnic Tibetan regions, and whether or not it is directly supported by the Dalai Lama you can argue, but in any case there is definitely tension there in that region. And now, you’re presenting us with what looks like a situation where there is a really giant distance between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and your position. So if talks fail and there’s this anger, how can you move forward in maintaining peace and stability in that region if it looks like the negotiations are at a complete impasse?

ZHU WEIQUN—Executive Vice Minister of the Central United Front Work Department: I must just say that there is stability in Tibet and it will have durable stability in that area. There is no such tension at all. Talking about tension, I think it is the people who are engaged in the criminal activities in Tibet and the people who stand behind them who are nervous at this moment. And it’s not bad for them to get nervous. The government officials and people in Lhasa and in Tibet as a whole, all believe that thanks to the reform opening up program and the support given by people around the country and the Central Government, they have benefited a lot. And they are opposed to separation, they are for unification, they are against turmoil, and they are for stability. So they are the force that we can count on and we have no doubt that they are very reliable.

After the March 14th incident, the situation was calmed down immediately. It can be calmed down so soon because the people in Lhasa and the people in Tibet are opposed to separation, they are opposed to violent activities, and this is why we can calm down the situation so rapidly. And I can tell you here that in the process of fighting against separation and fighting against those bad people who were engaged in criminal activities that Tibetan cadres and Tibetan police and people who were actually on the front and they were the force that we count on in the struggle against separation and they are actually stabilizing forces rather than those ones who are creating trouble. So don’t think that more troubles and more chaos will be created on this piece of land.

Now the people in Tibet are trying their best to grow their economy, to maintain social stability, and improve their livelihood, so the future of Tibet is clear and foreseeable. So anyone who is concerned about the future of Tibet should just rest assured.

HONG KONG JOURNALIST: Before this round of talks, the Dalai Lama spoke to media organizations that he was not optimistic about this round of talks at all. He did not place much hope on this round of talks. What is your comment on this? My second question is, after this round of talks, are you planning on having another round of talks and did you discuss the time for the next round?

Mr. SITHAR— Vice Minister of the Central United Front Work Department: We have noted remarks made by Dalai Lama to some media organizations. The key is how we approach or how we view the contacts and talks. If the contacts and talks are regarded as a way to seek Tibet independence, they will never be successful and they will always be disappointed by the contacts and talks. If the contacts and talks are regarded as an opportunity to reflect on one’s own mistakes and face up to the reality, and return to the correct and patriotic stance, then the door is always open.

In talking about future contacts and talks, we have made clear repeatedly that the door for contact and talks is open (unintelligible) and the door for the Dalai Lama to return is open, but the door for Tibet’s independence will never be open.

JOURNALIST: Question re genuine autonomy (unintelligle)

ZHU WEIQUN—Executive Vice Minister of the Central United Front Work Department: The system of regional ethnic autonomy is stipulated very clearly in China’s constitution and our law on regional ethnic autonomy has stipulated details concerning the conduct and practice of this system. The system of regional ethnic autonomy in China is perfected, it is well established, and it very successful in practice. So in China this is the very way that we practice this regional ethnic autonomy and there will never be the so-called ‘genuine’ autonomy.

In our work, we will continue to implement the provisions of the Chinese constitution and the law on regional ethnic autonomy. And with the support and help of people around the country and the Central Government, we will try to speed up the development of the autonomous localities and improve the livelihood of the local people, but this is totally different from the so-called genuine autonomy proposed by the Dalai Lama.

Indeed, there is something that the Dalai Lama can do which has already been made very clear by the Central Government. What he can do includes giving up the separatist position, stop separatist activities, openly recognize Tibet as part of China and openly recognize that Taiwan is part of China, and recognize that the government of the PRC is the only legal government representing China. And on such basis we will continue to conduct contacts and talks with him concerning the future of them.

So these are the things that should be carefully thought about by the Dalai Lama. Is that he should not think about how to invent better packages for the high degree of autonomy in the so-called greater Tibetan region, and he should not continue to think about having a better package for Tibet independence and half-independence, etc, or talk in a roundabout way with the Central Government.

QUESTION FROM CCTV for Vice Minister Sithar:
In recent years, the Central Government has carried out several rounds of contacts and talks with the private representatives of the Dalai Lama. And in the talks they made some commitments. Do you think they have fulfilled such commitments and what evidence do you have?

MR. SITHAR—Vice Minister of the Central United Front Work Department: On the 2nd of July, when the private representatives of the Dalai Lama came to Beijing for the second time this year, the Vice Chairman of the CPPCC and Minister of the Department of the United Front Work of CPPC Mr. Du Qinglin, pointed out to them that the Dalai Lama side should openly and explicitly undertake to take credible measures not to support activities disrupting and undermining the Beijing Olympic Games, not to support violent criminal activities, not to support and take credible measures to reign in the violent activities of the Tibetan Youth Congress and not to support any propositions and activities aimed at seeking independence and separation of the country.

On the 2nd day afternoon of that round of contacts, Mr Zhu Weiqun and some colleagues, including me, had a conversation with the representatives of the Dalai Lama. They said to us with instruction from the higher level, the Dalai side considered it acceptable concerning the four not to support commitments. We pay a lot of attention to their commitments, however their actions and their words later on further disappointed us. They did not honor their commitment of not disrupting the Beijing Olympic Games. I can give you several examples. Somewhere around the 8th August of the opening of the Olympic Games, the Dalai side organized altogether 16,000 people to attack the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions abroad, and disrupting the normal work of those agencies, and undermining the security and safety of the personnel and their property.

And another example, around the opening of the Olympics, some foreigners were organized by the Dalai group to create troubles outside the Olympic venues and on the Tiananmen Square. So they never fulfilled their commitment as not to support the activities disrupting the Olympic Games, And on the other hand they did not stop supporting violent activities. On the 28th July, the Tibetan Youth Congress organized several rounds of food-strike in New Delhi India, trying to hijack the Central Government. And on 7th of August they declared to launch the second phase of the so-called People’s Uprising. And on the 13th August, when testifying in the French senate, the Dalai Lama himself admitted that some people, Tibetan people, may have engaged in violent activities, but he never condemned such activities. And in September this year, premier Wen Jiabao attended the UN General Assembly in New York when he encountered disruptive activities from the Tibetan independence people and his safety was seriously undermined.