01/10/09 |
Tibetans pushed to the margins 60 years after birth of People's Republic of China
Free Tibet today publishes a briefing, "Pushed to the Limits", which
documents the accelerating marginalisation of Tibetans inside Tibet (1).
The briefing outlines how Tibetans have been disadvantaged in Tibet's
increasingly competitive urban job market by failed Chinese policies.
These policies have resulted in Tibet being blighted by the highest
illiteracy rates anywhere in China. As a result of these deeply
engrained educational disadvantages, Tibetans are finding it
increasingly hard to compete against a rising tide of migrant Chinese
workers who are able to capture the best paid jobs which require Chinese
language fluency and familiarity with Chinese business practices and
networks.
Pushed to the margins of Tibet's booming economy, Tibetans have also
witnessed the steady erosion of Tibetan culture and language in public
life as Tibetan towns and cities have become increasingly dominated by
Chinese settlers.
As Free Tibet's briefing makes clear, Chinese policies that have
encouraged an ever increasing collective Chinese presence on the Tibetan
Plateau have pushed Tibetans to the limits. These policies, and similar
ones in Xinjiang, have resulted in recent widespread protests against
Chinese rule. The protests, and the deep-rooted failure of Chinese
policies that sparked them, emphasise the hollowness of official Chinese
celebrations in Beijing today to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the
founding of the People's Republic of China.
Free Tibet spokesperson, Matt Whitticase, said:
"No amount of razzmatazz can disguise the fact that today's so-called
celebrations are anything more than an empty charade. 60th birthday
celebrations in Beijing look extremely hollow when China has been
obliged to put almost half of its territory in Tibet and Xinjiang under
tight military lockdown."
Ends
For further information:
Matt Whitticase, External Communications
t +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / +44 (0)7515 788456 and email: matt@freetibet.org
<mailto:matt@freetibet.org>
Notes to Editor:
(1) The briefing is available to download from the pdf here:
http://www.freetibet.org/files/October%201%202009%20media%20briefing%20final.pdf