South China Morning Post
Stop modernising Lhasa, pleads Tibetan writer
Wednesday, 08 May, 2013, 11:25am
Comment Blogs
Amy Li
When Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser protested online this week against a commercial development in her hometown of Lhasa, thousands supported her by reposting her message and sharing their own thoughts on Tibet.
Most of the supporters said they had visited Tibet as tourists. Others said they had seen it only in pictures and movies. But few probably knew how difficult it has become for Woeser and other relocated Tibetans to go home to the autonomous region in western China.
When Woeser, who lives in Beijing, went back to visit her mother in October, she had to go to Jilin – where her hukou, or residential permit – is registered to get a travel document from local police. Only after police issued a letter stating Woeser had no crime history and a form was signed by an authority and stamped by the local precinct could she set off.
She could tolerate the procedures, but not what she saw at home.
Once home, Woeser said she was astonished by both the scale and the nature of commercial developments going on in the ancient part of the Tibetan capital.
“Lhasa is being destroyed by excessive commercial development,” she wrote in the headline of a petition on Saturday that was quickly censored after it went viral on Weibo. “Please save Lhasa[1],” she pleaded in the letter, which was reposted on her blog.
The development project in question was Barkhor Mall, a shopping centre being built in the old town section of the city. The mall, once finished, would cover an area of 150,000 sq m and have more than 1,000 parking spaces, according to its developer.
“How much underground water will be drained to make room for the parking?” asked Woeser, evoking memories of the panic and discontent among many locals when underground water was drained to build a big mall a couple of years ago. Development companies took two years to drain the water.
“People worry about sinkholes and collapses, and other damages to the old town,” she wrote.
What worried Woeser more was what many described as a trend by the local government to turn Tibet into another “Lijiang old town”, a historic town in Yunnan province now bustling with tourists. It’s constantly criticised for being overly commercialised and having lost its soul after many original residents moved out.
Lhasa locals worry that what had happened to Lijiang is now happening in Lhasa.
For instance, a plan revealed by the government said vendors and residents in the historic Barkhor area would be moved away from this historic and popular place for pilgrims and locals. Their houses and shops would be used to attract new businesses including restaurants, bars and art galleries.
Under the plan, old vendors would be moved to the new mall, and residents would be relocated to the suburbs, with each household receiving 20,000 yuan (HK$25,000) to 30,000 yuan in compensation.
“Lhasa doesn’t exist for only tourists,” Woeser told the South China Morning Post. “There are real people who live here and it’s also a religious place. You can’t just turn it into a Sanlitun village.” Sanlitun village is a high-end popular shopping destination in Beijing.
As much as locals fear that development will change Lhasa’s architecture, culture and religion, they were also scared of retaliation and do not dare speak out against the plans, said Woeser.
While most international media have given their attention to the recent cases of immolations by Tibetan monks, Woeser argued that a more imminent disaster in Lhasa has been largely ignored.
She decided to make her plea for support on social media, knowing it would mean possible retaliation from the government.
“I therefore plead to Unesco and other international organisations, Tibetan scholars and experts, and all of you, please stop this horrible modernisation from committing unforgettable crimes to Lhasa’s old town environment, culture and architecture,” she wrote.
Woeser’s letter received thousands of comments and reposts from supporters on Weibo before it was taken down by censors on Monday
David Cameron ‘to visit China this year’
BBC News 7th May 2013
David Cameron Downing Street said it was up to David Cameron to decide whom to meet
David Cameron aims to visit China this year, Downing Street has said, following reports the prime minister has been barred from the country.
Officials in Beijing are said to be angry that Mr Cameron met the Dalai Lama last year.
But Number 10 said no ban was in place and the government wanted to foster a “stronger relationship” with China.
Mr Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met the Dalai Lama at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The Buddhist spiritual leader is seeking a measure of independence from China for his homeland of Tibet.
‘Not pressure’
Mr Cameron’s spokesman said: “It is entirely reasonable for the prime minister to decide who he meets.
“The Chinese government always lobbies hard against any meetings between foreign governments and the Dalai Lama. We have made clear in advance to the Chinese government that British ministers will decide who they meet and when they meet them.”
Asked whether the prime minister felt under pressure from Beijing to apologise, his spokesman replied: “Not pressure, no.”
Questioned over whether Mr Cameron was effectively banned from China, he said: “No. I believe the prime minister aims to go before the end of the year.”
He declined to reveal whether dates for a proposed visit had been discussed, but said: “We regularly discuss issues of mutual interest and importance with the Chinese.
“The prime minister has recently had warm engagements with both the (Chinese Communist) party secretary and premier. Government ministers have had around 14 meetings with their Chinese counterparts since May last year.”
The spokesman added that UK exports to China had grown more than those of any other EU country last year.
He said: “We want to establish a stronger relationship with China, recognising that it is in the interests of both countries to manage our differences with respect and co-operate as much as possible.”
The meeting between Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg and the Dalai Lama had been part of the government’s approach of seeking “dialogue and discussion and gathering a wide range of viewpoints on issues of importance”, said the spokesman.
Mr Clegg told Sky News: “We have a very important economic relationship with them [China]. But that doesn’t mean we should somehow give up on what we believe in when it comes to human rights and freedoms which we will continue to express in a respectful but nonetheless firm way.”
First Tibetan Women’s Soccer Team Blazes a Trail
19.04.2013
DHARAMSALA — Last year, an American teacher and 27 high school students from across the Tibetan Diaspora formed the first Tibetan national women’s football (soccer) team. Since then, they have overcome local critics who opposed the formation of the all-female team and become an inspiration for others.
News that a team of Tibetan women would enter a men’s soccer tournament last May sent ripples of excitement through this sleepy hill station at the foot of the Himalayas. There was also some disapproval.
Even Tibetans who have long lived in exile retain some conservative cultural views, says José Cabezón, Dalai Lama chair professor of Tibetan Buddhism and cultural studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“Tibetan women have always had a considerable and powerful role within the family, but less so in society,” said Cabezón. “The patterns that existed tend to be preserved and change is not easily won in society.”
Cassie Childers is the 31-year-old teacher from New Jersey whose vision of the team one day playing in the Olympics is the driving force behind Tibetan women’s soccer.
She says Tibetan men already have a national team and the Tibetan government-in-exile offers broad funding for boys’ school clubs.
“But there was nothing for the girls,” said Childers. “So we had two aims. The first is to empower all Tibetan women. The second, very political, is to form Tibet’s first women’s national team, training our players to speak their truth, to tell the world about Tibet, as a tool for peace.”
Many of the young women selected for the team were born inside Tibet and had walked with their parents across the Himalayas to escape Chinese rule.
Many had never kicked a soccer ball before. To play their first match in the Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup, players from nine schools in the Diaspora trained intensely for a month.
Childers says as soon as the tournament began, questions about the team’s credibility seemed to fade, along with any opposition to women’s participation in competitive sports.
“There were 5,000 Tibetans in attendance,” she said. “When they saw our team walk onto that ground, something shifted. You could see this is something real. This is something big.”
And, then shortly after the second half began, Lhamo Kyi scored the first goal in the history of Tibetan women’s soccer.
“This girl kicked the ball in the net and then ran into the middle of the ground and did a flip,” said Childers. “And, that was the moment history changed. I never heard another [negative] comment.”
Like other young footballers around the world, team captain Lhamo and star midfielder Phuntsok Dolma aspire to the success achieved by heroes like British footballer David Beckham.
But a sense of responsibility, removed from the hype and money of the professional game, infuses the girls’ discussion of football. Dolma’s dream is to become a coach, like Childers.
“People say Tibetan women can never do what men can do,” said Dolma. “But [we have shown] we can. In Tibet women don’t get any opportunities. So I will teach them and say to them, ‘You must never give up. You can take this opportunity.”
Sarah Rosemann of Williams College, Massachusetts, is conducting a study on women in Tibetan society. She sees significant gains being made in gender equality, but offers some caution.
“Women are standing up like this; starting to demand the men’s roles and to get involved in really pursuing their independence,” said Rosemann. “A lot of that comes from being exposed to different ideas while in Diaspora. But, there is a lot more objectivization of women, as well.”
Although they may not have won the tournament, Coach Cassie and her players have already won broader victories.
By 2017 – emulating the Palestinian men’s team that has twice played against China – these young Tibetan women hope to achieve full international status from soccer governing body, FIFA.
(Articles from Voice of America 6th May 2013)
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