TIBET FEELING THE IMPACT OF RAILROAD LINK FROM QINGHAI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000083

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM, OES AND G/STC
BANGKOK FOR USAID/MSTIEVATER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON SENV ELTN EMIN EPET PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: TIBET FEELING THE IMPACT OF RAILROAD LINK FROM QINGHAI

REF: A) 05 CHENGDU 207 B) 05 CHENGDU 209 C) 05 CHENGDU 603 D) USDAOBEIJING 09159580 E) CHENGDU 77

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1. (SBU) Summary: The Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) is
already feeling the impact of the Qinghai-Tibet rail link that
opened in July. Inland Chinese laborers, military personnel and
tourists bunk side-by-side on the train as they take advantage
of rail travel at a fraction of the cost of air travel to make
their way to the TAR. The train is expected to facilitate
natural resource exploitation, new jobs, and tourism, while also
leading to increased migration. By all accounts, while new
economic opportunities have been created, the train could very
well heighten the challenges to Tibetan culture due to an influx
of migrants from inland China, tougher competition for jobs, and
increased exposure to outside influences.
Photos from the train are posted to ConGen Chengdu's
Intranet/OSIS site at
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/che ngdu/archives/
qinghai_tibetan.html. End Summary.


2. (U) On March 13-14 CG, Beijing Polmincous, and Congenoff
traveled by train to the TAR, using the Qinghai-Tibet rail link
that opened in July 2006. We boarded the train in Xining,
Qinghai Province and passed through Terlin Ka (Ch: Deling Ha)
and Gormo (Ch: Geermu) Municipalities of Qinghai, and a 5,100
meter (16,700 foot) pass, before arriving, after 23 hours on the
train, in Naqu Prefecture in the Tibetan Autonomous Region
(TAR). From Naqu, we drove along a 510-kilometer stretch of the
Qinghai-TAR highway, which parallels the railway, to reach
Lhasa. (Note: The train journey from Beijing to Lhasa takes
approximately 48 hours. End Note). Reports on meetings in Naqu
and Lhasa with animal husbandry, labor, poverty alleviation and
health officials are reported septels.

Background
--------------

3. (U) The 1,956-kilometer railroad linking the TAR with the
inland province of Qinghai officially opened on July 1, 2006.
The USD four billion project took five years to complete. The
opening of the line was celebrated by Chinese officials as of
"great significance to accelerating regional economic and social
development" and "enhancing ethnic solidarity and consolidating
the motherland's frontier defense." Critics express concerns
about its possible deleterious effects on Tibetan culture and
religion, demographic dilution, and environmental damage.

Have Oxygen, Will Travel
--------------

4. (U) Train cars on the Qinghai-TAR line are similar to the
"green" passenger trains throughout the country, except for a
couple of special features. Each berth has a duct for piping
oxygen directly to passengers feeling the effects of high
altitude. Lavatories are generally clean, and although smoking
is technically prohibited, enforcement is lax. Soft sleeper
compartments have individual television screens and headphones
to help pass the hours. A one-way ticket in a soft-sleeper
compartment from Xining to Lhasa, is 810 RMB (USD 104),a
fraction of the cost of an airline ticket. The cheapest ticket
from Xining to Lhasa costs only 226 RMB (USD 29).

Environmental Protection
--------------

5. (SBU) Unlike railway scourges of the past, the Qinghai-TAR
line tightly controls the dumping of "white trash" (plastic bags
and styrofoam) as well as human waste along the route. Windows
on the train do not open and waste from the lavatories is pumped
out only at designated stations along the way. Turf and grass
removed from the plateau during the railway construction process
were replaced in large chunks in many areas, but it is clear
that these scarred areas will take a long time to recover.
Planners were careful to mine materials needed for the railroad
far from the immediate line of site of the tracks. Many roads
led off into the distance to large rock and gravel quarries
carved from the sides of mountains.


6. (U) Wildlife and habitat protection along the route have
also been serious concerns of environmentalists. During 12
hours of daylight travel, our group spied multiple herds of
Tibetan giselles and wild ass grazing not far from the railway.
We observed dozens of underpasses built into the railroad,
literally every kilometer or two, to allow animals to pass
through. Fences had been erected along the whole line to
prevent animals from crossing over the tracks and colliding with
the trains. The animals did not appear startled by the train.

Passengers
--------------

7. (SBU) Employees on the train said it was filled to capacity,
even though the winter season had not technically ended. About

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80 percent of travelers were laborers from inland China going to
work in the TAR. Approximately 10-15 percent were military and
police, and the remainder were Chinese and foreign tourists.
One man in his mid-thirties with a one-year-old baby told
Congenoff he was returning to his business in Lhasa, but was
hesitant to specify what exactly he did. The compartment next
to ours was occupied by four Hui Moslem minority women from
Gansu Province and one three-year old child. The child amused
himself throughout the long trip by talking to other passengers,
running and urinating in the passageway and singing "Allah h'o
Akbar" -- "God is Great" in Arabic. Further attempts at
discussion with both the child and his parent in Arabic were not
fruitful and the child's Arabic seemed limited to his basic
chant.

Mineral Resources
--------------

8. (U) One of the frequently-discussed aspects of the
Qinghai-TAR railroad is the opportunity it provides to open up
exploitation of the region's vast mineral deposits by reducing
high transportation costs. While mining sites were not observed
from the railroad, recent press reports have touted discoveries
of more than 600 new sites of gold, copper, iron, lead, zinc and
chromite. The plateau is estimated to have 30-40 million tons
of copper, 40 million tons of lead and zinc and billons of tons
of iron, according to the China Geological Survey, an agency
responsible for mineral exploration under the Ministry of Land
Resources. An official with the agency in a news article said
the newly discovered copper reserves are close to the railway,
so the new supply can come to market in two to three years.
Recently, a medium-sized 200 million-ton oilfield has been
discovered near the railroad. According to official sources,
the total value of natural resources along the northern (Naqu)
part of the railway reaches six trillion RMB (USD 776 billion)
and has been called the "Golden Belt."

Economic Resources and Employment
--------------

9. (SBU) Discussion of economic opportunities associated with
the railroad for local Tibetans is a sensitive topic for
government officials in the TAR. From previous conversations
with contacts in Naqu Prefecture and Lhasa we have learned that
local Tibetans had some employment opportunities as laborers in
the railroad construction, but that many Han Chinese workers
from inland China also poured into the region to take advantage
of these jobs. The majority of skilled positions were filled by
inland Han Chinese. Naqu officials were unwilling to comment
specifically on the percentage of Tibetan versus Han laborers
employed over the five years of railway construction.


10. (SBU) During our meetings, local officials claimed economic
opportunities have increased since the opening of the railroad.
The Director of the Naqu Animal Husbandry Bureau, Dozha (one
name),said prices for produce and food stuffs have risen
because of increased demand. He noted that the TAR is the 5th
largest producer of meat products in China, with yak meat
selling for 14 RMB (USD 1.80) per pound. The TAR is also the
third largest producer of dairy products. Caterpillar fungus,
while not cultivated, but collected from the wild, is currently
selling at 80,000 RMB (USD 10,322) per pound. In a separate
meeting, the Deputy Director of the Naqu Labor and Social
Security Bureau, Jique (one name),said there was a 17.2 percent
increase in the rural per capita income to 2,489 RMB (USD 321)
in 2006. He added that the poverty line in 2001 was 1,300 RMB
(USD 168) and there were 1.48 million people below the poverty
line. In 2006, the poverty line is 1,700 (USD 219) and there
are 370,000 people with incomes below this level.


11. (SBU) The Naqu Animal Husbandry and Labor Bureaus, as well
as the Poverty Alleviation Office all provide vocational
training for farmers and nomads as well as urban residents so
they may take advantage of these new economic opportunities.
Labor Bureau Deputy Director Jique said in 2006 the Labor Bureau
trained over 3,000 people. He asserted that 72 percent got
jobs. In addition, 3,100 people who were unemployed in Naqu
were re-trained and 2,000 of those were reemployed.


12. (SBU) In a separate meeting, in response to a question from
Beijing Polmincous, Wang Jian, Director of the TAR Poverty
Alleviation Office (PAO) said local people are not always
interested in the available employment opportunities, even after
they have received training. For example, he said local people
do not want to wash other people's hair even though
hairdressers can earn 1000 RMB (USD 129) a month. In addition,
he commented that the "production capacity" of local people is
too low. In yogurt production, for instance, local supply
cannot keep up with demand, so yogurt is imported from inland

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China. Wang added that while he had not seen any local
enterprises go bankrupt, they will continue to face big
challenges.


13. (SBU) In a meeting with the TAR PAO, Congenoff asked about
the ability of Tibetans trained in construction skills to
compete in the local market, citing an example from Naqu's
Sister Lakes Special Administrative Region (Tibetan: Tsonyi;
Chinese: Shuanghu) where she met inland Han Chinese laborers
earning 80-150 RMB (USD 10-19) per day. TAR PAO Director Wang
Jian said it is "a free market, (we) can't force Tibetans into
that business. . . the only solution is to let other people fill
those jobs." As for other business opportunities in remote
areas, Wang said that local Tibetan people are not interested in
running shops where they can only earn 30 RMB (USD 3.90) per day
- they would rather raise yaks. Wang stated he was not "worried
about" Shuanghu, because he thought it was so tough there that
inland Han Chinese people wouldn't stay too long. He added that
he was more worried about the Chinese in New York because "they
will stay there to raise their families." Wang concluded by
saying the PAO wanted to "help these local people and train
them, but the results are very disappointing. It is very hard
to convince them to work in urban areas."

Migration and Tourism
--------------

14. (SBU) According to the Director of the TAR Foreign Affairs
Office, 250,000 passengers came and went by train during the
period from July to December 2006. These passengers including
inland Chinese traveling to the region for work and tourism,
military personnel and foreign tourists. The TAR expects three
million tourists in 2007 (Reftel E). Critics of the railway,
including the Dalai Lama, have asserted that the "influx of Han
people" will lead to Tibetan "cultural genocide." In response,
Chinese government officials have claimed "Tibetan culture will
not have fundamental changes with the opening of the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway." Wu Yingjie, the Vice-Chairman of the
TAR government told foreign reporters recently that "Tibet's
unique natural conditions make it impossible for the Han people
and other ethnic groups to settle down there."

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

15. (SBU) What its supporters and critics alike can probably
agree on is that the Qinghai-TAR Railway is going to bring with
it change to what has historically been a relatively isolated
region. New economic opportunities will be created in industry,
agricultural and the service sectors; more and more tourists,
both from within and outside China will pour in; vast mineral
wealth will be exploited. At the same time, Tibetan culture
will undoubtedly continue to face heightened challenges due to
an influx of migrants from inland China, competition with them
for jobs, and increased and unprecedented exposure to outside
influences.
BOUGHNER