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 CHENGDU 00000083 001.2 OF 003 ¶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 CHENGDU 00000083 002.2 OF 003 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 CHENGDU 00000083 003.2 OF 003 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