PORTRAIT OF A "HELP TIBET CADRE"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000239 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM, INR, AND G E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/27/2032 TAGS: PGOV PINR CH SUBJECT: PORTRAIT OF A "HELP TIBET CADRE" REF: CHENGDU 159 CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General, Chengdu. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: A two-week road trip in remote western areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR),throughout which we were closely accompanied by both Tibetan and Han Chinese officials, gave the Consulate a rather unique opportunity to experience firsthand the sometimes tense working dynamic at play between the two groups. While the central government provides a generous benefit package to encourage Han Chinese officials to volunteer to work in the TAR and "assist" in its development, cultural sensitivity does not always appear to be part of the agenda. A newly-appointed Lhasa Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) Deputy Director sent by Beijing told CG he believes it "highly unlikely" China will ever allow the Dalai Lama to return. The FAO Deputy Director's ethnic Tibetan assistants at times openly vented about what they referred to as both the bullying behavior and overall local ignorance of their boss and other "Help Tibet Cadres." END Summary. -------------- Setting the Ground Rules -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During a September 10-19 Congen visit to western Tibet, the first official U.S. delegation permitted into the region since 1949, CG, Congenoff, and Tibetan FSN spent many an hour on the road with our FAO handlers driving in the spectacular high-altitude terrain of the region. Throughout the trip, CG and Congenoff were asked to share a vehicle with Lhasa FAO Deputy Director Wu Yinjian. Wu told CG he wanted to make sure personally our "safety" could be guaranteed. Wu had our FSN ride with one of his own ethnic Tibetan assistants in a separate vehicle. When driving through Ngari Prefecture, we were also accompanied by another car carrying plainclothes security and local FAO personnel. ¶3. (C) Maintaining control of the itinerary and route, however, was probably the main reason for Wu's decision. Of the two ethnic Tibetan drivers, Wu apparently chose the lesser experienced one for our car, perhaps because he spoke better Chinese than his colleague and (unlike the other driver) was a Party member. Whatever the reason, Wu probably did not count on the other driver and his ethnic Tibetan FAO assistant to so openly vent their feelings in Tibetan about Han Chinese officialdom in front of our FSN. We cautioned our FSN to be wary of possible provocations and to be in listening mode only. By the END of the long trip, however, having ourselves spent a fair amount of quality time with Wu, it was easy to see how such negative perceptions might develop. -------------- Wu's World View -------------- ¶4. (C) Approximately 35-years-of age and a graduate of Nanjing University, Wu had just arrived in Lhasa from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing about a month previously to begin a three-year assignment as FAO Deputy Director. Wu referred to himself as a "Yuanzang Ganbu" or "Help Tibet Cadre," part of a program through which mostly Han Chinese from government bureaus and state-owned enterprises in eastern China volunteer to work for a given period of time in the TAR to pass along their expertise on development and other issues. Following graduation from university, Wu said he volunteered to do a three-year stint in Xinjiang, although he did not describe his work there. (Note: current TAR Party Secretary Zhang Qingli served a number of years as deputy head of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. END note). ¶5. (C) Although Wu's previous Foreign Ministry assignments include Hong Kong and Mumbai, his English appeared to be poor. Wu observed his wife and five-year-old son have never been allowed to join him at his postings and will remain in Beijing while he serves in the TAR. Originally from Shandong, Wu noted he does not like to live in Beijing and finds the people in the capital to be "arrogant." As a future "dream assignment," Wu CHENGDU 00000239 002 OF 003 would like to serve at the new Chinese Consulate in Honolulu, which he expects will be opened sometime "next year." ¶6. (C) Wu frequently reiterated (day after day) to CG he hoped this first-ever allowed visit by U.S. diplomats to western Tibet would help dispel "misunderstandings" that Americans have about the region. Speaking privately to CG, Wu asserted he does not think the Dalai Lama will be allowed to return as government authorities have little reason to believe he would not engage in "splittist activities." While a channel for dialogue will never be shut to the Dalai Lama, the central government does not see it likely to lead to anything concrete. Wu also appeared to be somewhat fixated on the issue of Western organizations trying to link Darfur to China's hosting of the Olympic Games and whether it is a possible momentum could be generated for a boycott. On one memorable occasion, Wu went on at length about how China really has more respect for freedom of speech than the United States. ¶7. (C) Particularly amusing incidents involving Wu included: -- His throwing of an empty water bottle at the feet of a Tibetan man at the Everest Base Camp. The man ran up to the bottle thinking he was being given something and said "tsering" or "thank you" in Tibetan. Realizing what Wu had thrown at him, he then said in Chinese, "garbage?" Wu later explained to CG he thought the Tibetans at the Base Camp would like to make a little extra money from recycling. CG did not comment. -- A comment made by Wu to a Han Chinese local government leader during a banquet in Ali (about a four-day drive from Lhasa in the far west of the TAR). The local official asked Wu how long he would be assigned to Lhasa. Wu responded, "three years, like any other foreign assignment." His answer resulted in guffaws and laughter from the ethnic Tibetan officials at the table. CG could also not refrain from just a little good-natured ribbing of the red-faced Wu. -------------- Tibetan Venting -------------- ¶8. (C) Behind his back and in a language he does not understand, Wu's ethnic Tibetan colleagues derided implementation of the "Help Tibet Cadre" program, characterizing it as a way to help Han Chinese officials study problems in the TAR without doing anything substantial for Tibetans in return. Recruitment incentives for the program are generous -- a doubling of salary; preferential school and job placement for one's child; three months paid vacation annually and an additional 25 days allowed for transit time; free phone calls to one's family back home, etc. Given the relative comfortable living conditions of Lhasa, however, special connections are needed if one is to be able to land a slot there. Such Han Chinese officials are derisively referred to by Tibetans as "chong cao," or "caterpillar fungus," an expensive ingredient used in medicinal tonics that can only be harvested in certain high-altitude regions, because they cost a lot of money and can only be found at work during warm summer months. ¶9. (C) Like FAO Deputy Director Wu, participants in the program are often put in positions of supervision or leadership, despite the fact they have little knowledge of the region. Wu's Tibetan assistants frequently grumbled about how he would forthrightly try to set out our route on a map without having any idea of how topography and road conditions would impact on driving time. Some even speculated the itinerary was designed to avoid sensitive military areas and noted our entire program would have likely been approved in Beijing. What particularly appeared to grate on one of the ethnic Tibetan FAO officials was when Wu, who barely has any experience in the TAR, would try to speak authoritatively on Tibetan culture and society during our official meetings in front of people who were born and raised there. The official commented he hoped to be able sometime to get revenge on Wu, perhaps, by reporting Wu's comment in Ali that he considers Lhasa to be a "foreign assignment?" ¶10. (C) Wu's Tibetan aides were also not happy he kept them up late at night playing cards and drinking -- not a good thing for drivers at high altitude -- and derided him for, "like other Han Chinese officials," being fixated on "girls and gambling." CHENGDU 00000239 003 OF 003 Apparently, the only time Wu tried to call it an early night during the trip was when one of the drivers was beating him at cards causing Wu to lose his temper. When Wu was winning, no one was allowed to go to bed right away. His Tibetan assistants complained such card playing sessions are a way by which government officials try to extort money from their subordinates. CG declined Wu's repeated invitation to play. -------------- Comments -------------- ¶11. (C) Some venting of course can always be put down to general office griping and jealousies. Not all Han Chinese officials in the TAR either act like or are seen by their local Tibetan colleagues as acting like Wu. For example, Lhasa FAO Director Ju Jianhua (reftel) appears to be respected, has taken the trouble to learn Tibetan, is interested in Tibetan culture, and has lived in the TAR for over two decades. Ju is even relatively liked by many foreign NGO representatives for being a man of reason who wants to be helpful and will try to deliver on commitments. It does not take many "Help Tibet Cadres" like Wu, however, placed in positions of authority and with little understanding or concern of local sensitivities, for quite bad perceptions to develop and become cemented in people's minds -- especially in light of continued strict controls on political and religious freedoms in the TAR dictated by Beijing. BOUGHNER