TAKING A STROLL DOWN "TIBET STREET"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000192

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SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G/STC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/23/2032
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CH
SUBJECT: TAKING A STROLL DOWN "TIBET STREET"

CHENGDU 00000192 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General , Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: A recent visit to "Tibet Street" in the Sichuan
provincial capital of Chengdu underscored the neighborhood's
role as a magnet for a mostly transient or floating population
of ethnic Tibetans, which may number as many as 300,000 during
any given year. Some of the area's denizens shared their
concerns on tight monitoring by local security and religious
affairs officials. Others expressed overall pessimism about
talks between Chinese authorities and representatives of the
Dalai Lama. End Summary.

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LOCAL TIBETAN POPULATION
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2. (SBU) Congenoff and Consulate's ethnic Tibetan political
assistant recently made a trip to Chengdu's Tibet Street to try
to get a better feel for the political and social pressures
faced by the city's ethnic Tibetans. Hard information on the
number of ethnic Tibetans resident in Chengdu -- a city of over
ten million people -- is difficult to obtain. Figures from the
Chengdu Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) indicate the
number of "permanent" Tibetan residents to be only about 10,000.
A 2005 article in the academic publication "Tibetan Research"
entitled "The Contribution of the Floating Tibetan Population to
Chengdu's Diversity," however, states the number of "temporary"
Tibetan visitors each year to the city to be in excess of
300,000. Chengdu has traditionally served as China's gateway
into and out of Tibetan areas and the western Sichuan
prefectures of Ganzi and Aba (Tibetan: Kardze and Ngaba),which
have a combined population of over one million ethnic Tibetans,
are now just a few hours drive out of the city.

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TRYING TO STEER CLEAR OF BIG BROTHER
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3. (C) Several people with whom we spoke during our visit
stressed that Tibetans in Chengdu are closely monitored by local
security organs and the Religious Affairs Bureau. One
individual noted, however, that ethnic Tibetans from outside of
the city also come to Chengdu specifically in order to use
long-distance telephone and Internet services to communicate
with relatives in India and in other countries under the
assumption that the telecommunications facilities may be "safer"
(i.e., more private) than those in their own hometowns.
According to the interlocutor, this assumption is misplaced as
Tibet Street is closely "eavesdropped upon" by security organs.


4. (C) We were told that until fairly recently several shops and
restaurants had displayed (albeit discreetly) photos of the
Dalai Lama as well as of the rinpoche (living Buddha) known
formally as the 17th Karmapa Trinlay Thaye Dorje, or "Karmapa,"
who escaped from China to India in 1999. According to a number
of shopkeepers, however, RAB teams swept through Tibet Street in
early June and forced businesses to remove all such photos.
When asked whether photos of the Karmapa Lama were available,
print shop owners said that such sales were now forbidden - "We
don't dare." Nevertheless, we were able to find one photo of
the Dalai Lama in a Tibetan restaurant, displayed discreetly
inside a private dining room.

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THE TALKS
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5. (C) Local scholars we came across at Tibet Street shared with
us their understanding of discussions between the Dalai Lama's
representatives and central government authorities in Beijing.
One university professor commented, "I have heard about (the
talks),but I hold few hopes. I think the Chinese Government is
negotiating only to help its international image and create a
good environment for the Olympics ~ China is just waiting for
the Dalai Lama to pass away." On the other hand, a Tibetan
academic originally from Ganzi Prefecture in western Sichuan
despaired over the lack of understanding of China among Tibetans
in exile. "They have a policy (of approaching China),but no
tactics ~ I think China is `sincere' in dealings with the Tibet
issue, but it's extremely hard for China to make any political
compromises within the framework of its Constitution."

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STREET IMPRESSIONS
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6. (SBU) From what we picked up during our trip, Tibet Street
serves as a "magnet" for ethnic Tibetans not just due to its
approximately one hundred shops and restaurants that cater to
Tibetan tastes. The area is also home to two hospitals, the
Number 363 Military Hospital and the Tibetan Autonomous Region
Hospital, which have a history of treating Tibetan patients.

CHENGDU 00000192 002.2 OF 002


In addition, Tibet Street is close to the Southwest Minorities
University, a center for ethnic minority students from
throughout the region. Chengdu itself is home to three
retirement facilities for ethnic Tibetan government officials:
one near Tibet Street, one near the main railroad station, and
one in the Shuangliu District.


7. (U) Tibet Street boasts numerous shops selling Tibetan
religious goods such as prayer flags, thangkas (religious
paintings),yak butter, incense, and statuary. According to
shopkeepers, most of the smaller statues on sale are imported
from Nepal or Taiwan. Larger statues are manufactured in
Chengdu's outlying districts or in Yunnan. Some thangkas come
from the Tibetan Autonomous Region, while others (generally
cheaper and lower in quality) are made in Chengdu or Kunming.
Incense comes from Nepal or India. Cheaper goods such as prayer
flags and khatas (white scarves used as ritual gifts during
audiences with religious figures) are manufactured in rural
areas of Chengdu and Sichuan. Other shops sell non-religious
goods in demand by Tibetans, such as blenders used for making
butter tea and clothing for both monastic and lay use. In
addition, many shops sell items obviously intended for the
tourist trade.


8. (SBU) At least half of the merchants and tourists in the area
actually appeared to be Han Chinese. Many Tibetan shopkeepers
were sinicized in dress and speech, as were younger Tibetans
with whom we came in contact. However, many more traditionally-
garbed Tibetan monks and laypeople were also present - locals
said that these were mostly visitors to the area, mainly from
the ethnic Tibetan areas of Sichuan. There were at least one
half-dozen cheap hostels with signs in Tibetan, where rooms
could be had for as little as five RMB (about 65 cents) a night.
Many of those establishments had so-called "massage parlors" or
"hair salons" nearby, where young women (mostly of Han descent,
judging from appearances) lounged on couches. Han and Tibetan
beggars were both common and aggressive.

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COMMENT
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9. (SBU) While our stroll of several hours through Tibet Street
could not of course give us a comprehensive look at Chengdu's
ethnic Tibetans, it did provide an interesting glimpse at some
of the undercurrents issues at play within the community. While
the great majority of the city's Tibetans live and work near
Tibet Street, smaller populations live in the Shuangliu District
(near the airport in the southwest quadrant of the city) and
near Chengdu's main railroad station in the north. In addition,
there are other clusters of ethnic Tibetan populations in
outlying rural districts such as Pixian, to the city's northwest.
BOUGHNER