TIBET: CHINA RAMPS UP PROPAGANDA IN ADVANCE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 000605

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIFR CH
SUBJECT: TIBET: CHINA RAMPS UP PROPAGANDA IN ADVANCE OF
MARCH ANNIVERSARIES

REF: A. OSC CPP20090302710005

B. OSC CPP20090302172001

C. BEIJING 483

D. BEIJING 419

E. CHENGDU 41

F. CHENGDU 34

G. NEW DELHI 369

Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief
Dan Kritenbrink. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) In advance of the 50th anniversary of the
March 10, 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) is engaged in a propaganda
campaign focused on "positive" aspects of its rule
over Tibet, particularly its "emancipation" of
serfs, as a device for diverting media attention
away from the Dalai Lama during this sensitive
period. This propaganda effort has included the
release of a March 2 "White Paper" on "Fifty Years
of Democratic Reform in Tibet," and the CCP
Propaganda Department has reportedly directed media
outlets to write positive reports on the new "Serf
Emancipation Day" holiday. The Xinhua News Agency
even fabricated quotes from a Western journalist
supposedly supporting Chinese policies in Tibet,
following the journalist's participation in an
official tour of the TAR in February focused on the
new "Serf Emancipation" holiday. Tension between
some central and local officials has reportedly
erupted over restrictions on foreign journalists'
access to Tibet, with some Beijing officials arguing
that restricted access to Tibet has harmed China's
international image, while TAR leaders do not favor
any loosening of the rules. Meanwhile, TAR
officials continue to lay blame for any unrest among
Tibetans at the feet of the Dalai Lama and his
"agents." End Summary.

PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON THE "REAL" TIBET
-------------- --


2. (U) With the approach of the 50th anniversary of
the March 10, 1959 failed uprising by Tibetans
against Chinese rule and subsequent flight of the
Dalai Lama to India, the Communist Party is engaged
in a propaganda offensive aimed at legitimizing its
rule of Tibet. Elements of this propaganda campaign
include:

-- Guidance by the CCP Propaganda Department to all
Chinese media outlets to report positively on the
March 28 Serf Emancipation Day Holiday (see
paragraph 5).

-- Heavy coverage of Tibetan New Year (Losar in
Tibetan) celebrations on February 25. While
celebration of Tibetan New Year in 2008 received
only modest media attention, this year state
television and radio outlets devoted extensive live
coverage to the festivities. In Beijing, China
National Radio staged a live broadcast of
celebrations by the capital's Tibetan community.
(Note: China National Radio also announced March 1
that it would expand its Tibetan-language
programming from four to 18 hours per day.) China
Central Television's (CCTV) flagship evening
newscast, Xinwen Lianbo, devoted nearly a third of
its February 25 broadcast to scenes of Tibetans in
Lhasa lighting fireworks and cooking traditional New
Year dishes. Simultaneously, official media
published editorials denouncing calls by exile
Tibetans to boycott Losar celebrations.

-- A new exhibit on "Democratic Reforms in Tibet,"
which opened February 24 at Beijing's Cultural
Palace of Nationalities. According to press
reports, the exhibit, which will run through April,
includes recently "declassified" documents related
to the March 14, 2008 riots. One of these documents
is an alleged "written confession" by Wangdui
(Wandu),an ethnic Tibetan and former employee of an
Australian public health NGO, who received a life
sentence in October 2008 for "espionage."

-- A front-page editorial in the March 2 edition of
the Party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily (ref

BEIJING 00000605 002 OF 003


A),that denounces Western, especially American, use
of the Tibet issue to "contain China." Western
politicians, the author says, believe that "to
control Tibet is to control China."

NEW WHITE PAPER: "50 YEARS OF DEMOCRATIC REFORM"
-------------- ---


3. (C) Also on March 2, China's State Council
Information Office (SCIO) issued a white paper on
"Fifty Years of Democratic Reform in Tibet" (ref B).
Propaganda officials attempted to drum up interest
in the paper among Beijing-based foreign
correspondents. Wall Street Journal Beijing
Correspondent Ian Johnson (protect),told PolOff on
March 2 that he got a "frantic call" from Chinese
SCIO officials early on March 2 summoning him to the
SCIO office to receive "important news." Johnson
said he was disappointed to learn that the
"important news" turned out to be an advance copy of
the White Paper that was released later that
afternoon. Journalists for Reuters were similarly
called in urgently by the SCIO to receive advance
notice of the document.


4. (U) The White Paper rehashes well-worn propaganda
themes regarding Tibet's "society of feudal serfdom"
that was supposedly eliminated by the "democratic
reform" that took place after the failed 1959
uprising. In summarizing the white paper, China's
media has focused on passages alleging that the
Dalai Lama and his family members owned 6,000 serfs,
as well as the document's claim that China's
"liberation" of Tibetan serfs "is entirely
comparable to the emancipation of slaves in the
American civil war."

FOCUS ON EMANCIPATION, NOT DALAI LAMA'S EXILE
--------------


5. (C) The current PRC propaganda campaign on Tibet
has been in the planning stages since the fall of
2008, according to Zhou Qing'an (protect),a
professor at Tsinghua University's Center for
International Communication Studies. Zhou told
PolOff March 3 that, soon after the close of the
Beijing Paralympics in September 2008, the CCP
Propaganda Department called a meeting of central
and TAR officials to discuss strategies for dealing
with the upcoming sensitive Tibetan anniversaries in
March. TAR officials, according to Zhou, suggested
the creation of the new "Serf Emancipation Day"
holiday as a propaganda device to give the media
"something to talk about" other than the first
anniversary of the March 14, 2008 Lhasa riots and
the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight into
exile. China's central leadership approved the plan
in November 2008, Zhou said, and in January 2009 the
TAR People's Congress formally "passed" the measure.


6. (C) In February of this year, the Propaganda
Department issued guidance that China's media should
"pay attention" to Tibet and report on the "Serf
Emancipation Day," Zhou said. The Propaganda
Department was urging all media to focus their Tibet
coverage on the "positive" developments in Tibet
over the last 50 years, especially economic
development, and to shift the emphasis away from the
Dalai Lama. China's official propaganda continues
to attack the Dalai Lama, Zhou observed, but
recently this criticism has been largely restricted
to his role in Tibet's pre-1959 "serf society." As
part of this "emphasize-the-positive" theme, China's
media is now downplaying the Dalai Lama's alleged
role as the "mastermind" behind last year's
violence, Zhou said. (Comment: This shift in
emphasis aside, high-level TAR officials attending
the National People's Congress in Beijing continue
to publicly blame the Dalai Lama for the violence of
last year. TAR People's Congress Chairman Legqog
(Lieque) told journalists March 8 that the Dalai
Lama's supporters "have intensified secessionist
activities" and are "trying to collude with their
agents in Tibet.")


7. (C) Another contact separately confirmed that the
Propaganda Department was indeed orchestrating "Serf
Emancipation Day" coverage. Cai Wei (protect),an
editor at Sanlian Life Weekly (Sanlian Shenghou
Zhoukan, a mass circulation lifestyle magazine),

BEIJING 00000605 003 OF 003


told PolOff March 6 that not only was the Propaganda
Department directing "Serf Emancipation Day"
coverage, but that in response to the Propaganda
Department's guidance, Sanlian is working on a Tibet
issue that will appear later in March, featuring
interviews with former serfs. Although he
frequently travels to the TAR and is currently
working on a novel about Tibet, Cai Wei told PolOff
that he did not volunteer to help with Sanlian's
Tibet coverage because he does not want to take part
in "directed" (fangzhen xing) reporting. Cai Wei
lamented that even doing "positive" stories about
Tibet is difficult because of the many restrictions
and sensitivities surrounding the subject. That is
why, Cai said, he decided to write a novel rather
than a non-fiction book about Tibet, because
publishing a non-fiction work would be "impossible."

JOURNALIST TAKEN TO MEET FORMER SERFS
--------------


8. (C) Part of the "Serf Emancipation Day"
propaganda campaign included a February 10-13
foreign media tour of Tibet organized by the SCIO,
the MFA and the TAR Government. Reuters
correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison (protect) told
PolOff March 4 that organizers arranged for the
journalists to meet with several former serfs. In
addition, Chinese officials packed the schedule with
visits to tourist sites and other activities of
little or no news value, resisting her attempts to
conduct interviews outside the set program. Chinese
journalists shadowed the group and wrote glowing,
though highly inaccurate, accounts of the tour.
Xinhua News Agency even went so far as to publish a
story on February 17 (which only appeared in Chinese
and was ironically headlined, "The Power of Truth"),
quoting Graham-Harrison as saying she "must" report
more on social instability in Tibet in order to
"satisfy the demands of (Reuters') clients.... But
I am really more interested in Tibetan traditional
culture, which the facts show has been very well
preserved." Graham-Harrison complained to PolOff
that this and other quotes attributed to her and a
Reuters cameraman were "completely fabricated."

CENTER-LOCAL DISCORD OVER TIBET MEDIA POLICY?
--------------


9. (C) Many officials in the CCP Propaganda
Department and the State Council Information Office
realize that highly stage-managed media tours are
ineffective in generating more positive coverage of
Tibet, Zhou Qing'an told PolOff. Some officials in
the central propaganda bureaucracy were arguing that
China should relax restrictions on travel by foreign
journalists to Tibet once the sensitive March
anniversaries pass. TAR officials, however, remain
highly resistant to any liberalization, Zhou said.
Graham-Harrison told PolOff she saw hints of this
center-local dynamic on the February tour.
Originally TAR officials refused to allow the
journalists to visit any of the major monasteries
near Lhasa. After the journalists complained, TAR
minders later added a visit to the Drepung Monastery
to the itinerary, though Graham-Harrison said she
believed SCIO officials had to lean hard on their
TAR colleagues to make it happen. She also relayed
that one of her SCIO minders, in an unguarded
moment, admitted that People's Armed Police units in
Lhasa had been confined to their barracks during the
journalists' tour. Foreign journalists, the
official acknowledged, are not fooled by such
measures, which he indicated were the work of local
TAR officials, not the SCIO.
PICCUTA