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© Reuters. File photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the welcome ceremony of Greek President Pavlopoulos outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on May 14, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Gabriel Crossley and Tian Yaolun
BEIJING (Reuters)-Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Tibet Autonomous Region for the first time as a state leader this week and urged people there to “follow the party,” the official Xinhua News Agency said on Friday.
Xi Jinping visited Tibet from July 21st to 22nd-this is the first time a Chinese leader has visited Tibet in 30 years-the country is facing increasing security issues due to the conflict with India and the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan .
Analysts said that this visit also showed that the ruling Communist Party of China is confident of establishing order and gaining support in this once turbulent region.
Xi Jinping flew to Nyingchi City on Wednesday, and the next day he took a train to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, along the high-speed railway section that was being built to connect the mountainous areas of Tibet with Sichuan Province.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping visited a monastery and Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, and “inspected ethnic and religious work” and the protection of Tibetan cultural heritage.
This palace is the traditional residence of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who went into exile and was classified as a dangerous separatist by Beijing.
The state TV station CCTV showed a Tibetan woman wiping her tears and joining a group of people dressed in traditional clothes to warmly applaud Xi Jinping.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping instructed local provincial officials to work hard to make the Tibetan people more agree with the “great motherland, Chinese people, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
He also stated that only when the people “follow the party” can the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” be realized.
Culture and loyalty
More than 80% of the population in Tibet is Tibetan, and Han is a minority. Most Tibetans are also Buddhists. China’s Constitution allows religious freedom, but the party strictly believes in atheism.
In Lhasa, Xi Jinping watched a theatrical performance showing Tibetan culture and loyalty to the party by singing and dancing, including a famous song “Sing a folk song for the party, the party is like my mother”.
In Linzhi, Xi Jinping also inspected rural revitalization and environmental protection.
On the border between China and India, Tibet is considered to be of vital strategic importance to Beijing. Last year, China and India had their worst conflict in decades on the disputed border in the Himalayas, with deaths on both sides.
The photos released by Xinhua News Agency show that Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and a senior general of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, accompanied him.
The last time Xi Jinping visited Tibet was in 2011, when he was the vice president.
Beijing sent troops into Tibet in 1950, officially called peaceful liberation, and maintained a strong security force in the area, which has always been prone to turmoil.
Yang Zhaohui, a professor of political science at Peking University, said that the violent clash between the Chinese police and Tibetan monks in 2008 on the anniversary of the 14th Dalai Lama’s trip to Tibet has left local authorities uncertain for many years whether visiting Chinese leaders will be welcomed or not. Safety. the University.
He said that Tibet’s high altitude may cause losses to leaders who are not accustomed to the climate, which is another reason why China’s top leaders rarely visit.
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