Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CHENGDU297
2007-12-20 02:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Chengdu
Cable title:  

A PRC SCHOLAR LOOKS AT LHASA'S FLOATING POPULATION

Tags:  PGOV ECON ELAB PHUM SOCI CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6180
RR RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHCN #0297/01 3540223
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 200223Z DEC 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2700
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0054
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3269
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000297 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM, G/SCT, AND DRL
NSC FOR CHRISTINA COLLINS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2032
TAGS: PGOV ECON ELAB PHUM SOCI CH
SUBJECT: A PRC SCHOLAR LOOKS AT LHASA'S FLOATING POPULATION


CHENGDU 00000297 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: John Hill, Consul General, Chengdu, Department of
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000297

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM, G/SCT, AND DRL
NSC FOR CHRISTINA COLLINS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2032
TAGS: PGOV ECON ELAB PHUM SOCI CH
SUBJECT: A PRC SCHOLAR LOOKS AT LHASA'S FLOATING POPULATION


CHENGDU 00000297 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: John Hill, Consul General, Chengdu, Department of
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: The July 2006 opening of the Qinghai-Tibet
railway greatly boosted access to the Tibetan Autonomous Region
(TAR) for both tourists and migrant workers, accelerating
economic growth and ethnic Han immigration to the TAR. Sichuan
University Tibetology Department PhD student Bao Dong's November
2007 issue of "Tibetan Studies" marshals tourism, public
security and family planning data and estimates to provide an
interesting open-source picture of the size and dynamics of
Lhasa's floating population. According to Bao, the increase in
visitors has improved Lhasa's economy and cultural situation,
and has nurtured a feeling of "national unity," although it has
also brought an increase in crime and environmental degradation.
See the summary translation of the article by Congen Chengdu
below. End summary.


2. (C) The following is Congenoff's summary translation of an
article by Sichuan University Tibetology PhD student Bao Dong
that appeared in the November 2007 issue of "Tibetan Studies,"
titled "Analysis of Lhasa's Floating Population After the
Opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad."

BEGIN SUMMARY TRANSLATION

With Opening of Railroad, Lhasa's Floating Population Increases
Rapidly
-------------- --------------
--------------

3. (SBU) As the historical, cultural and economic center of the
TAR, Lhasa draws large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and migrant
workers. Since the Qinghai-Tibet railway opened, the increasing
movements of population from the Chinese interior into the TAR
has been of great concern not only to the Chinese government and
the Communist Party but has also attracted foreign attention as
well. After the railroad opened, President Hu Jintao directed
that more attention be paid to research and management of

Tibet's floating population. The TAR has called several
conferences on the floating population. This article examines
issues related to the floating population of Lhasa since the
opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad.

How Many Are Coming, and Who Are They?
-------------- --------------

4. (SBU) Over the five months following its opening on July 1,
2006, the Qinghai-Tibet railroad transported over 600,000
passenger-trips. Most of the train trips were departures from
the TAR, since the train started in the middle of the May -
November floating population high season. Air traffic to
Lhasa's Gongar Airport jumped as well from 885,000 in 2005 to
1.04 million passenger-trips in 2006.


5. (SBU) According to the Lhasa Family Planning Office, before
the railroad came to Lhasa, Lhasa's "floating population"
(Congen note: persons there without local household
registrations or hukous) was 70,000 to 80,000 in the
December-April off season and about 170,000 in the May -
November high season. After the railroad began operation,
Lhasa's floating population annually peaks at over 200,000
(Congen note: Lhasa's floating population includes Tibetans
from rural areas of the TAR, so the number of non-ethnic Tibetan
floaters during the off season is likely less than 80,000. End
note.) Short-term travelers, business travelers and visiting
government workers who stay 4 - 8 days along with Tibetan
Buddhist religious pilgrims at over 2 million person-trips were
the biggest component of Lhasa's floating population. Tourists
typically come during the May-to-November high season, while
pilgrims from the TAR, non-TAR ethnic Tibetan areas, Nepal and
elsewhere typically come during the summer when there are many
religious holidays and festivals.


6. (SBU) Most of the TAR's floating population is between the
ages of 20 and 50 years old. Older people find living on the
high plateau physically too taxing. However, the rapid increase
of discretionary income in China over the past decade, and the
much lower transportation costs made possible by the train, has
made a family trip to Tibet within the reach of many average
urban Chinese.

For Bao, Positive Effects
--------------


7. (SBU) Bao Dong lists the following positive effects of the

CHENGDU 00000297 002.2 OF 003


increased floating population on Lhasa:

-- The floating population has turned tourism and the service
sector generally into pillars of Lhasa's economy. In 2006, the
Lhasa City government encouraged Lhasa peasants to get jobs in
the tourist industry. About 5200 farmers employed in tourism
earned 61 million RMB (USD 8.1 million) or 3.6% of Lhasa's
tourism income. Demand from the floating population has boosted
sales and prices of local Tibetan products such as chongcao
(caterpillar fungus) used in Chinese traditional medicine.

-- The floating population includes many educated or talented
people who bring in science, technology and advanced management
methods, and furnishes a competitive supply of potential hires
for Lhasa employers.

-- Person-to-person contacts between ethnic Han people from the
interior and ethnic Tibetans builds relationships that
strengthen unity among China's peoples. This also reduces the
feeling among the Han that Tibetans are exotic.

-- The floating population is changing the thinking of Lhasa's
people. More Lhasa people are studying not just Chinese but
other foreign languages. Some monks at the Jhokang speak
several foreign languages. The increase in the floating
population also brings changes in ideas about family life.
Lhasa people used to think the more children the better; now
more and more think of having fewer children so they can take
better care of them.

-- Sanitation in Lhasa has improved considerably since the 1990s
when one saw human waste on the street.

And Negatives:
--------------


8. (SBU) -- Lhasa now has traffic jams, something formerly
unfamiliar to Lhasa people. The many cars coming from outside
have made Lhasa traffic even more disorderly than before,
including an increase in the numbers of cars without plates and
unlicensed drivers.

-- The rapid increase in Lhasa's floating population has harmed
Lhasa's environment. Many of Lhasa's more crowded places, and
especially big construction sites, are very dirty and have
become breeding places for disease.

-- Noise, air, and water pollution have all increased with
congestion. In the center of Lhasa, one often sees beggars and
people sleeping out in the open.

-- Some members of the floating population from rural areas
aren't used to city life, and spit and leave human waste in the
street. This not only harms the tourist industry but also harms
the image of China in the eyes of foreign friends.

-- Lhasa has a fragile high plateau environment. If it is
damaged by the floating population, it will be very hard to
restore.

-- As in other large Chinese cities, auto emissions and garbage
produced by the floating population is several times higher than
that of residents.

-- The crime rate has risen steadily along with the increase in
the floating population. According to the Lhasa Public Security
Bureau, the number of crimes and the cleverness of the criminals
have increased considerably since Lhasa's link to the
Qinghai-Tibet railway opened on July 1, 2006. Several incidents
of theft of railway equipment since the railroad opened were all
done by members of the floating population. The Lhasa Public
Security Bureau is concerned about growing links between Lhasa
criminals and criminals in the Chinese interior and overseas.

-- Since the railroad has brought more tourists and pilgrim to
Lhasa, visiting the Potala Palace has become much more
difficult. Overloading of the Potala Palace will damage it and
shorten its life. Tickets to get in are in short supply and are
often scalped for several times the 100 RMB (USD 13.30) original
price. The treasures of the Potala Palace are likely to become
the target of criminals hiding within the floating population.

Bao's Suggestions
--------------


9. (SBU) Bao Dong makes suggestions for management of Lhasa's
floating population as follows:

CHENGDU 00000297 003.2 OF 003



-- The floating population contributes to Lhasa's development,
but it needs to be managed so that its pluses and minuses can be
more clearly understood.

-- The efficiencies of computer networks need to be used to
improve the management of Lhasa's population management, taxes,
administration, planning, public health, etc. This will make it
much easier for public security and other offices to exchange
information to avoid stove-piping.

-- Laws and regulations on Lhasa's floating population need to
be drawn from the experience of Chinese cities in the interior.
The Party and government should do more research on how the
opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway is changing the composition
of Lhasa's floating population.

-- Lhasa has an important role to play as a center for tourism
and pilgrimage as well, in addition to its importance in the
defense of China's southwestern frontiers.

-- Therefore the size of the floating population that does not
contribute to Lhasa's development should be controlled. Most of
these fall in the category of drifters who "have no legal
documentation, no legitimate job, and no legitimate residence,"
criminals, pimps and prostitutes, drug dealers and thieves, as
well as people from abroad who have ulterior motives and want to
engage in splittist activities. Only if the floating population
is properly controlled can the floating population contribute
optimally to Lhasa's development and its negative effects on
Lhasa minimized or eliminated.

END SUMMARY TRANSLATION

Comment
--------------


10. (C) With inmigration into the TAR a highly sensitive topic,
Chinese officials are rarely willing to discuss the situation
frankly. However, PRC academic journals, many now easily
available through the massive multi-million article PRC full
text CNKI academic database, offer much more information, frank
analysis, and a fair idea of some of the analysis and
recommendations being presented to China's leadership. Although
Bao Dong's "Pluses and Minuses" appear to emphasize the economic
and public security effects of the changes in Lhasa's floating
population, the article also provides a relatively detailed look
at the situation and a framework for analyzing the effects of
inmigration in Lhasa and other cities in the TAR.


9. (C) Note: The CNKI database is accessible not only online at
cnki.net but also to USG users anonymously through the Special
Collections Library at Wright-Patterson AFB. See opensource.gov
for details.
HILL