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LHASA, China (AP) — The wind shakes the yellow flags of the temple while dozens of Tibetans, some of them on crutches, They gather around an altar in an old Buddhist ritual. crossing the street, a red flag reveals the existence of a new faith, that the Chinese Communist Party tries to instil with increasing fervor.
“Xi Jinping's new socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics is the guide that the party and all nationalities follow to fight for the great rejuvenation of China”, says a sign in Tibetan and Chinese, alluding to the Chinese president, that tries to leave its mark on all aspects of the life of this vast country.
Lately he has focused a lot on religion, both in the center of China and in its margins, In places like Tibet. The party promotes a program that seeks to instill Chinese culture in Tibet through programs designed to discourage the use of its language, its customs and, above all, His devotion to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibet who lives in exile from 1959.
In the patio of the Jokhang temple, One of the most sacred sites of Tibetan Buddhism, The main monk, Lhakpa, He said that Dalai Lama is not its spiritual leader. When asked who it was, He replied: “Xi Jinping”.
The Associated Press participated in an unusual tour of the Tibet, closely controlled by Chinese authorities, organized to highlight what the government describes how the social stability and economic development of the region after 70 years of PC government. Included visits to monasteries, temples, Schools, projects to relieve poverty and tourist sites.
The visit seems to reflect the confidence of the PC in which the battle is winning to change the public opinion of the Tibet and counteract complaints that Tibetanos arrests abound, its economic marginalization, A suffocating control and strong pressures to be assimilated to most have and jurrate loyalty to the PC.
Tibetans in exile say they were a region in independent practice for centuries and accuse China of trying to eliminate Buddhist culture and Tibetan language, while exploiting its natural resources and encouraging Chinese from other regions of the country to settle in Tibet. Beijing, For its part, maintains that Tibet has long been part of China and that the communists freed hundreds of thousands of illiterate servants when they overthrew the ruling theocracy in 1951.
Security measures were reinforced since the anti-government demonstrations of the 2008 and efforts were redoubled to promote economic development and eliminate Buddhism. In the model city of Baji, east of the capital Lhasa, Residents wearing traditional attire told foreign reporters that anti-poverty programs had changed their lives..
“Times have changed, and also what people ask for. In the old days we needed religious beliefs for spiritual reasons, But not ", Tsering Yudron commented, A counter 25 years.
The government says it invested billions of dollars on roads, Airports, Railways, schools and hospitals, and that development doubled the life expectancy, brought electricity, jobs and opportunities to a region that was very delayed.
"Extreme poverty has been eradicated in Tibet", says a government report of the 2019. "People lead a better life and are happy. There is a new form of socialism in Tibet ".
The impact of these campaigns on traditional culture has been enormous. Like Christians and Muslims, Buddhists are pressed to “synicize” His religion under a program launched by the Government of XI, The most authoritarian Chinese leader since the time of Mao Zedong. While repression has not been as intense as in neighboring Xinjiang, where there have been mass arrests of Túrquico Muslims, The inhabitants of the Tibet are pressed to be watched between them and any violation of Chinese norms can generate long prison sentences, According to human rights organizations.
The PC created a system that seeks to control Tibetans through their faith, According to Robert Barnett, Expert at the Tibet of the School of Eastern and African Studies of London. The goal, said, It is "instilling love for the PC among Tibetans from children". In study houses, Temples and homes hang portraits from XI where there were previous images of the Dalai Lama.
"Tibetan Buddhism must adapt to socialist society and develop in a Chinese context", XI said last year.
China criticizes hard to Dalai Lama, who escaped from Tibet during a failed uprising against the Chinese government in 1959 And in recent years he resigned from his political role as head of a Tibetan government in exile. The PC prohibited all the images of the Dalai Lama in 1996, It cannot be appointed in radial and television books and transmissions, and installed militants in most peoples, monasteries and convents.
The Dalai Lama says that he only seeks autonomy under the Chinese government, But Beijing accuses him of supporting terrorism and trying to separate Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama will fulfill soon 86 Years and China says that he will appoint his successor. Traditionally the successor is selected by disciples, from spiritual signals and visions. But China states that only Beijing can name the successor, In a ceremony in which a gold urn will be used to choose from among several candidates approved by the Government.
In a Tibetan Buddhist school on the outskirts of Lhasa built by the Government, There are some 900 Religion students, policy, Laws, computing, Chinese and Tibetan. Eight of them, from seven a 11 year old, They are recognized as reincarnations or "living Buddhas".
China has built a network of schools and institutions throughout Tibet to try to impose a “domesticated version” of Tibetan Buddhism, Dibyesh Anand pointed out, Director of the International Relations Department of the University of Westminster in London.
The goal, According to Anand, is to transform Tibetan Buddhism generating confusion around Dalai Lama and its leadership, And eventually erase his legacy as "Supreme National Leader".
