TAKING A STROLL DOWN "TIBET STREET"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000192 SIPDIS 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. -------------- -- LOCAL TIBETAN POPULATION -------------- -- ¶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. -------------- -------------- TRYING TO STEER CLEAR OF BIG BROTHER -------------- -------------- ¶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. -------------- THE TALKS -------------- ¶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." -------------- STREET IMPRESSIONS -------------- ¶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. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶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