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LONDON, December 1, 2000 - China's Western Development campaign, announced by President Jiang Zemin in June 1999 in a drive to promote development of the regions that make up 56 percent of China's land area, is placed under scrutiny in a new book, China's Great Leap West, published this week by Tibet Information Network.

 

 

The stated aims of the proposed development of the western regions are to improve infrastructure, strengthen environmental protection and develop science, technology and education. This enormous undertaking will affect almost a quarter of China's vast population, including Tibetans, Uighur Muslims and other "national minorities."

Widespread poverty means that appropriate development in China's western regions is urgently needed. Yet there is a clear political agenda underlying this campaign - the need to maintain stability. One Chinese economist working in Beijing says frankly: "The worst-case scenario - and what we're trying to avoid - is China fragmenting like Yugoslavia. Already, regional [economic] disparity is equal to - or worse than - what we saw in Yugoslavia before it split."

Voice of Tibet radio wishes all our listeners a Happy Losar and many Tashi Deleks for the Tibetan Royal Year of 2127, Year of the Iron Dragon.

Dharamsala, India - January 5, 2001  To make information about Tibet and the Tibetan issue more accessible to people across the globe, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) today launched its official multilingual Website, TibetNet, and also announced TibetMail, a Web-based email service which allows users worldwide to write to each other in Tibetan script, to be released to the public on January 15.

With the sudden proliferation of Tibet-related Websites, it is my hope that a virtual Tibetan community can be created in cyberspace, to be freely accessible to everyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan culture and Tibet's present tragic fate. I am  particularly happy that Tibetans throughout the world are increasingly taking to the power of information to spread the word about Tibet and provide information on Tibet's rich cultural heritage. I have always believed that as more unbiased information is made available to the international community, it will become more supportive of the Tibetan cause and will make concerted and sustained efforts to end the suffering of the Tibetan people in Tibet.

    I am especially happy that the TibetNet site is accessible in Chinese. Ever since China opened to the outside world and started sending young Chinese scholars and intellectuals abroad for further studies, we have made an extra effort to reach out to them in the hope that they would be able to hear the Tibetan side of the story, which was denied to them in China. I hope that our Chinese brothers and sisters will visit the site and come to understand the issue of Tibet from the Tibetan perspective.

Tibet's ancient and fantastic civilization and ecosystem are faced with extinction due to 50 years of mismanagement and abuse under its colonial ruler, the People's Republic of China. Knowing that this can only  be prevented by the empowerment of the Tibetan people, this site is dedicated to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the heart and soul of the  Tibetan nation. We will never rest until the fate of Tibet is once again  back in the hands of the Tibetans.

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